STARLIGHT

13.Follow-Ups

"Oh my God!!!! You don't say! Really? He? That guy?" Neori asked Saomi, animatedly.

"Yes, Neori. That guy," Saomi said, her face in her hands.

"Were you close?" Neori asked, leaning closer towards her over the canteen table.

"Inseparable...,"Saomi whispered sadly.

"And how long did you know each other?"

"We were both very young. I think they stayed here for about 10 years. And then they left for their hometown. It's just been 5 years since we've met. We lost contact somehow but.....I remembered him every day. How could he just forget me?" Saomi explained, looking extremely disappointed.

As she sat at the table with Neori over lunch, a day after the welcoming ceremony, Saomi played the whole scene in her mind again and again.

Flashback to a day ago

"Hi...I'm Kim Sam Hyuk," the tall boy behind Keya said, "and you?"

Saomi stood dumbfounded, her mouth agape and her heart beating a little faster than usual.

What? He...he....doesn't....

"Helloooo? Saomiiiii....Why are you standing there like that?" Neori asked, waving her hands in front of Saomi's face.

"Huh?...." Saomi said, coming back to her senses, "uh....um..." was all she could say as a thousand thoughts clouded her mind. She looked at the extended hand in front of her and then at the confused face of the hand's owner. She slowly found her hand moving forward to meet his and finally shook it, not breaking her gaze from his face.

"Uh...your name?" Samhyuk asked with a warm smile.

".....Sao..mi...Suzuki Saomi," she replied, "Suzuki Saomi," she said again a little louder, as if laying emphasis on her name, as if trying to convince him that it meant something.

"Alright...Saomi," he said, still shaking her hand, "Nice to meet you."

"Yeah,"she whispered, finally shifting her gaze away from his face and down to the floor, taking her hand away from his, "yeah."

Neori came forward and introduced herself too, while Saomi quickly walked away and caught up with Keya, who was headed in the same direction, and soon passed her to get into Room S3C.

"Saomi? Eh? Where did she run off to?!"Neori exclaimed once Samhyuk walked away to his own classroom, along with Keya.

End of Flashback

At lunchtime, Saomi decided to tell everything to Neori, convincing herself that she was trustworthy and that she was allowed to tell people about her feelings now that she had a friend. She owed her an explanation for running off alone after the awkward encounter and after school as well.

"Hmmm....hard to say. Guys are dumb, we all know that.....," Neori started, "Oh by the way, that was the same guy I saw Keya with the other day. Remember I told you..."Neori explained.

"What?!" Saomi screamed into Neori's face and suddenly looked pensive.

What if...?

"Yeah...but you know" Neori said, not realising Saomi's sullen face, "even if we consider the dumbness of the male species, it still doesn't serve as an excuse for not remembering a childhood friend. That's just ridiculous!!!"

"So, what am I supposed to do? Tell him? What if he doesn't care? Or not say anything and come to school every day with butterflies in my stomach? When did he move back here anyway? And...and why couldn't he contact me all the while he was in South Korea?" Saomi spoke in one breath, snapping out of her sombre phase.