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On Fridays, she only needed to stay for the morning since she'd opted out of the running team since the start of the new final semester. As she stared at the whiteboard full of her least favorite physics formulas, she bit into her own lips, letting her mind drift to a previous matter.
Apparently, Minseok had taken a day off for her. It seemed to her that every time they looked at each other, he was the one with the raised eyebrows – full of concerns and worries. She at least truthfully admitted to herself that she was a little flattered at such gestures which were questionable to her no matter how endearing they may be.
She remembered the dumbfounded look he had when she told him she was going to school either way. The man couldn't really say no. High school scores really mattered if a student wanted to enroll in a university. He did make several attempts to ask what had happened the other say that made her so down.
"Do you really want to know?"
His facial expression reminded her of a chubby newborn baby. The frantic nods made her swallow her giggles; it was unbelievable to see such a grown man acting like a kid – at any rate, still a reasonable kid.
"I'm on my period."
The horrid look on his face when the fresh information had sunk in.
"I mean I had it for the first time last-"
"Got it! Anything you want me to do?"
She wouldn't say there was a mean side to her, but she considered it to be a daring one. The way his face burned a light shade of scarlet earned a quiet laughter from the girl.
"Yonggi-ah, come on, it's time for you to go home." Dark short hair filled her vision. It was still unnerving to see her best friend's once red and long hair turned into something so simple yet outlandish for a girl like her. "You're giggling to yourself like a maniac. You okay?"
Feeling like deer in a headlight, Jayoung cleared her throat and shook her head while packing up her backpack, getting ready to go home. "I'm good."
"What about the cramps? Acting up again?" Her chubby body pressed against hers and threw an arm around her lovingly. Sometimes, the love she gave fell short for Jayoung. Sometimes, she felt like her friend was only doing out of pity. Was she a bad friend for thinking this of her own best friend?
"Today's a bit numb, but- Well, couldn't have felt any better on a day like this. Oh, and Hari-ah?"
"Um?" It'd been a month, and she felt the need to tell someone about her condition. Her family knew of that, but someone close who could help share the burden would be great. "Yah, you spaced out again. You've been really out of it lately. You sure it's just the period?"
She drew out a long breath. "Sorry, yeah. Just the period."
Maybe this wasn't the time just yet. Maybe when she was ready. Maybe then, she would be able to say something.
Hari had made sure she boarded the bus and took a seat properly. It was 1:35 pm, and she was going home once more.
These days, the act of going home bored a strange type of anxiety. She wasn't sad when she was on the way home, but she wasn't exactly happy either.
The man meant no ill-intention, but as to why he didn't explain to her who the blonde woman was the other day made his actions certainly a bit suspicious. She would've added the fact that her parents were also the ones causing her distress; however, she sensed that she'd given away much information to the man, and he has yet to reveal much about himself.
Jayoung-ah, I'm sorry, but can we meet on Sunday instead? Something came up, and Saturday is out for me.
Jimin was an old friend she was surprised to have reconnected with once again. She never thought anyone would want to pursue a friendship with her after all of many schools she'd changed.
She quickly sent back a no problem text, though feeling a little down. She and Jimin used to run on the track team together back in secondary school. He looked so much different now. The last time she saw him was a time when the boy still had cute freckles on his pale cheeks, but now he was so much more mature than she was, being a little over a year older than her.
Tell you all about it later ;)
At home, she found Minseok fresh out of the shower with a towel on his head and his bathrobe still on. After awkwardly pointing at the supply he had bought for her on the couch, Jayoung timidly nodded, picked up the bags full of sanitary pads and other things a girl like her needed, and rushed up the stairs to hide in her room.
At least, she knew one thing from him she was sure about. Persistence. Perhaps his profession had something to do with this.
"Jayoung-ah?"
She was still in her school uniform when she stepped out of her room to answer the call.
"Come, I want to show you something." The man had a warm looking yellow sweater on instead of turning the air-con up. His bright blond hair was still a little damped and was covering his forehead unlike the usual professional gelled and swiped upward style.
His weird cologne filled her nose as she followed him close behind toward the room was right below his bedroom. This was the one room she couldn't access in the whole house. It was always locked, so she'd assumed it was a storage room of some kind.
Once he turned the key in the knob, he stepped back and motioned his hand toward the now-open part of the house. There was a mischievous yet excited look in his eyes – an expression she hadn't seen him made before.
"Go on."
The warm fire-like lighting from inside the room drew her in, and all of sudden she found herself marveling at the many shelves that filled the walls and the bookshelves that aligned themselves in five neat rows she counted.
The empty desk looked extremely inviting as if it was asking someone to occupy the space. Adjacent to it was a sturdy windowsill covered by a soft creamy duvet and a pillow at the end with the view to the garden outside.
Oh, she'd always wanted a windowsill, so she could spend the rainy days lying beside the window, watching the droplets romantically hit the glass.
"You can study or spend your time here if you want. I'm not really using this as much anymore." She could felt the genuine enthusiasm in his voice as he stood right beside – a bit too close for her liking. "Oh, here at the back..."
His right hand nudged her shoulders lightly and lead her to the left side of the final row of the bookshelves.
"These are all of my high school and college notes." He pulled out a green book and held it in both of his hands happily.
"Omo! SATs!" She quickly grabbed a hold of it and realized that she'd also got his hands in hers, but the action was swift, and she hid her startled reaction well. "Wah~~ With notes and everything..."
"Just put things back where they once were, okay? I may need to read here, too."
"Thank you very much, oppa." Jayoung deeply bowed to him and immediately let her mind take her to the various colorful books waiting for her.
The distinct scent of books brought her joy and nostalgia, and when she saw his proud smile towards her, she knew this was something different.
