Her | ✓

Chapter 2 - Seeing Her

Monday. Taehyung had never hated Mondays so much. It was his first day at his new school in Busan. Uniform on. He looked in the mirror and exhaled. He'd been doing that a lot lately. Sighing.

"Taehyung! Come downstairs and eat before you go!"

"Coming, Aunt Nabi!"

One last glance at himself in the mirror, then he turned and exited the bedroom. He found the twins stuffing their faces and fighting over food. Kyung Mi just casually munched on some toast while scrolling through her phone.

"Good morning, Taehyung! Here, have some breakfast."

"Thanks, Aunt Nabi."

He sat down beside Kyung Mi and began to pile small portions of food on his plate. She spoke without glancing at him.

"You're going to the high school with me. I'll be a few years below you, so if you need me, I'm on the first floor of the building."

He nodded awkwardly. "Thanks."

Aunt Nabi walked back into the room.

"Boyoung, Bogum! Hurry up so I can drive you to school!"

Taehyung watched the youngers choke down their food and rush to get their bags for school. Kyung Mi stood up as well.

"I'm finished. When you're done eating, I'll be in the living room waiting for you." He nodded as she walked out.

Then he was left alone on the kitchen with his food. But at least he had a few minutes of peace before entering the halls of hell. 

***

It had snowed the previous night. Taehyung was wrapped up in a thick coat and scarf. Kyung Mi silently cursed the school for making the girls wear skirts in such weather.

"Maybe the principal's a pervert." He chuckled.

"This isn't really funny, Oppa. My legs will turn into ice at this rate."

"Sorry."

He turned away from her pissed-off glare. They approached the school, stopping a couple of meters away from the front doors.

"This is it. I'm sure you can find your way around. I'll be late, so later."

Kyung Mi ran off from him and into the building. He sighed. Now what? Really, Taehyung didn't want to go in. He desperately wanted to turn around and run away. And for a second, that's what he did.

He turned around and took a step forward before something stopped him. He was caught in some kind of trance. A girl. A girl with dark hair and pale skin was walking up to the school.

It felt like the world was slowly coming to a stop. All he could hear was the pounding of his heart. He was drawn to her. The darkness that surrounded her, enveloped her like a letter that should never be opened. Wrapped her up like a fragile ornament that could break with one touch. Hugged her like a young child that needed to be protected and thus should never be let go.

He could feel it as the snow crunched under her feet, her steps carrying her towards and past him. His eyes followed her as she entered the building. Even after she was gone from his eyesight, all he could see was her. 

***

In the end, Taehyung introduced himself to his new class. The teacher placed him in the seat by the window, which he was very thankful for. As the lesson carried on, Taehyung found himself blocking it out.

It wasn't surprising. He often did this in his old school. This time was different, however. It wasn't random thoughts that distracted him. It was the image of her. The girl from this morning was still in his head.

All that he could think about was her. Something about her just...

Taehyung flinched a bit as a paper ball hit the side of his face. Turning his head, a boy from across the room gestured for him to pick it up. So, he did. He opened the paper and read the note.

'Would you like to eat lunch with me new kid?'

Taehyung looked back up towards the kid who was smiling at him. With a shrug, Taehyung nodded in agreement. Better than being alone on your first day. 

***

Lunch came around, and the boy, Youngjae, dragged Taehyung towards a table with a few other boys after grabbing some food from the lunch counter.

"Guys! This is the new student from my class, Kim Taehyung."

Three boys looked up curiously. Youngjae pointed to each one of them as he explained to Taehyung.

"This is Yugyeom, he's a grade below us. Then this is Yoongi Hyung and Hoseok Hyung. They're in a relationship."

Taehyung nodded as each one said hello. Yugyeom waved his hand excitedly with a smile.

"Taehyung Sunbae, do you have a girlfriend?"

"Um, no."

"Oh, you'll be in trouble then." Hoseok said.

"Why is that?"

He pointed directly at Taehyung's face. "You're a pretty attractive guy. Plus, you're new here and girls will definitely want to 'try you out.'"

'Try me out'? You mean... Taehyung choked on his food a little bit. Yugyeom and Hoseok chuckled at him, while Yoongi just smirked. Youngjae kindly patted Taehyung's back as he chugged some water.

"Don't worry about that, Taehyung. Just reject them and you'll be fine."

"Th-Thanks, Yoongi Sunbae."

Ah. It was her again. Taehyung caught sight of her sitting all alone at a table in the corner. She wasn't eating anything, just sipping what looked like tomato juice or red punch.

Once again, Taehyung found himself enchanted by her. Without tearing his eyes away from her, he nudged Youngjae beside him.

"Who's that?"

"Who do you mean?"

"That girl over there."

Youngjae found where Taehyung was pointing and immediately shook his head.

"You don't want to get involved with her. Trust me on this as your new friend."

Taehyung shifted his gaze towards Youngjae. "Why not? What's wrong with her?"

"Ah, no one really knows. She has a 'guardian' that attacks anyone who goes near her. That's why she's always alone."

"A guardian?"

"Yeah, Hyung's right. Stay away from her if you don't want to get hurt."

Taehyung's eyes found themselves upon her once more. Despite the warnings, he still felt the urge to go and talk to her. Get to know her. He wanted to know anything and everything about this pale-skinned girl.

CHAPTER II fin.