Heartstrings

Chapter Nine: Down The Memory Lane

"....and then came the Joseon era starting from 1392 to 1897. King Gojong was the 26th and the last king who..."

The history teacher kept on telling the class about the Joseon history while Baekhyun continued to stare out the window right next to his seat. He had least interest in the subject and he wondered every day why he even opted for Korean History when there were still some seats available in other subjects of his interest. Was it because Kyungsoo had made it sound exciting when they were going to choose classes or because of a certain giant who was also going to take it but chickened out at the last moment? Whatever the reason was, Byun Baekhyun only regretted his choice. He could never understand what was the need of learning all those events and dates and names that were history now. Will it be any beneficial in the future?

No.

Yet the stupid Institution made them study this overly dead-boring subject and although Baekhyun was failing in the class, he could never bring himself to concentrate. Looking at his watch, he realized there were still twenty minutes left before lunch and since his classmates were too engrossed in knowing about the Joseon era, he thought that it would be much better to look at the blooming flowers to kill time.

It was the coming of Spring and Baekhyun could see the slight changes in nature. It was as if the teeth of winter had shattered and the kiss of a new season approached. The wind had lost its bite, it had become congenial, ambient and no longer stealing the warmth. The disheveled grasses became lush green, erasing every memory of the winter. The trees budded with leaf and blossom, the scent of the flowers scattered in the school garden and the song of the birds notified that the cold and cruel winters had come to an end and the Season of Birth has arrived. Baekhyun tilted his head a little towards the vast, blue sky to feel the new heat in the sunlight's kiss. How he missed these warm sunny days in those long wintry Seoul months. The song of the wind, the rustling of the leaves and the birds tweeting, Baekhyun would always choose these over the white, cold days any day. He despised everything that was related to the winters. The feet-freezing snowy paths, the dead garden, the chilly air and the layers of clothing he had to wear in order to protect himself from getting sick, Baekhyun hated it all. The reason for this deep hatred was still unclear to him. Maybe it was because of that ill-fated day when Baekhyun had fallen straight on his butt because of the slippery floor in front of his crush while they were still in kindergarten.

Or perhaps he was just born with it.

Closing his eyes and breathing deeply, Baekhyun was enjoying the soft rays of the sun when the sound of the bell ring echoed in his ears.

Have twenty minutes passed already? Baekhyun thought, eyeing his watch curiously. Indeed it had, making the teen wonder if good time really flies fast.The sound of slamming books and talks filled the class as soon as the teacher left making the boring atmosphere suddenly alive. Baekhyun as well had his bag packed and was on his way towards Chanyeol's class when something made him stop in his track. In the corner of the hallway stood Park Chanyeol with a girl. A freaking girl whom he hated more than Korean History. And if that was not all, then please insert a bunch of morons 'awwing' and 'oohing' over them as if they were some sort of celebrities.Okay maybe Park Chanyeol was but that girl was totally not. Well, not for him at least. And yes it was not the jealousy talking because Byun Baekhyun is not that stupid to envy some plastic. Baekhyun glared at her and if glares could kill, then that girl would definitely have been buried six feet below. Now maybe he was just overthinking, maybe they were just talking about a group project or something but from how the girl, or Tzuyu, was standing with her hands clasped and a creepy blush on her face, it wasn't too hard to guess what was going on and as she opened her mouth, it only made Baekhyun's blood to boil.