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6th September 2004
"We have a new student, everyone!"
Jinhyuk nudges me, and I look up from my notebook, mouth ajar as a girl walks in, a cute pretty girl with round innocent eyes, perfect dark hair framing her smooth face, her uniform crisp and new.
"Hello, I'm Lee Hwarin, please take care of me!"
She bows cutely, hair whirling through the air as she stands up straight again. In doing so, a book falls out of her grasp, and she sinks to the ground, apologizing to everyone.
"It's okay," I whisper ,and Jinhyuk hears me, chuckling.
"You like her already, Joon-ah?"
I turn to him, cheeks flushed. "No..."
Jinhyuk smirks mischievously. "You totally like her."
"No I don't." She slides into a seat, just a row and a column away.
A seat I find myself gazing at for long periods of time for the next seven months.
She was the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, and for the first time in my ten years of existence, I was love-struck. At least, I think I was. Every time I saw her, my heart skipped a beat and my hands went clammy, and if we ever accidentally made eye contact I was the first to look away, blushing like a strawberry.
We had so much in common too. She loved to read, and I watched her browse the library from behind my own book, wishing I could go over and recommend some of my favourites. She was also very smart, receiving the highest grades out of all the girls, while I was the smartest out of all the boys. Plus, the way she spoke, with such maturity and confidence, left me in awe.
"I made a new friend!"
My sister Min who was only seven announced one day as we were eating dinner.
"The new girl, Lee Jaehwa. She's really nice! She says she has an older sister in your class, Joon-oppa."
"Oh." I immediately blush. "That's right."
"Eomma, Appa, can I go play at her house tomorrow? Please?" my sister begged our parents and they relented, making me feel very nervous. What if I have to talk to her now?
But I never did. When I went to pick Min up from the Lee's house, I never got to see her, and out of all the opportunities I had, something always stopped us from interacting. Despite being the two highest achieving fourth graders, we were never put together, never forced to talk to each other or anything. She had her friends, and I had mine. We were living in two different worlds, so close yet still so far away.
But then one day, she was gone. And I never saw her again.
Until now.
🌻
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I apologize immediately, stepping back from him, and I gasp a little. He's kind of cute.
His golden skin is glowing, his eyes so dark that they reflect everything, giving them a coloured sparkle, and those eyes seem to be searching for something as they meet mine.
After a pause, he breaks into a smile that transforms his face, making him look younger than he seems, although he doesn't look that much older than me. "It's okay," I'm surprised to hear an Australian accent emerge from his plump lips, and I notice him fiddling with something in his hands, a black snapback, and that's when lightning strikes in my mind, reviving a distant memory, or perhaps one that's not so distant...
"Hey!" I point at him, and he raises his eyebrows, watching me expectantly. "I never thanked you!"
"Thanked...me?" he looks genuinely confused now, so I spurt out a laugh.
"Yeah! You were the one who helped me get my bag out of the luggage compartment on the plane! Right?" It had to be him. I mean, he has an Australian accent, and a snapback, and he's tall, just like the guy I saw...
He looks surprised. "That was you?" Now he looks even more confused, raising a hand to his golden locks, sweeping it back as he juts out his jaw slightly. "Huh."
I completely forgot Kara was with me until she whispers, "Isn't he the crab dude?"
Crab dude hears her, for he stifles a laugh, shaking his head and looking at the ground while I put two and two together. "Ah, yes, the guy who likes talking to crabs. We saw everything," I smirk, and he raises his gaze to me again, scrunching his face up in embarrassment.
"Everything?"
"Everything," I grin triumphantly, and he winces, before flashing those dimples again.
"I guess I'll never live that down," he chuckles, a sound as warm as chocolate. Then he takes a step to the side, and I remember the reason that I am here. The toilet.
"Well, it was nice meeting you, Crab Dude," I shoot him one last smile before turning on my heel, but then he speaks.
"Namjoon," his name rings through the air, and it takes me a second to register that he is introducing himself. I spin around to face him again, and he wears an almost wistful smile. "My name's Namjoon."
"Okay, Namjoon," I don't know why he's smiling like that, or why he's suddenly telling me his name. I would be perfectly fine just remembering him as Crab Dude.
"Aren't you going to tell me your name?"
I'm stopped in my tracks once again by the sound of his voice, his silky smooth voice pulling me back to face him once more, and when I look into his deeply carved eyes, I swear I've...seen them before. A long time ago. But how could that be possible?
"I have to pee," I don't know why I blurt that out, but the overwhelming urge to pee messes with my brain, making me unable to perform basic human things like telling someone your name. As I dash off into the bathroom, Kara follows, hissing, "Why didn't you tell him your name? He's cute!"
I enter a stall, holding the door open as I reply. "Because I have a feeling he might already know it."
"You know him?"
"I don't, but...I think he knows me."
The way he looked at me...have we met before? But...where?
🌻
"Where is the nearest bus stop?"
I'm on my way back, and to be honest, I am a terrible navigator. If only I were here with Yoongi, or even Jin, though the latter would probably get me even more lost than I am now. Curse me and my inability to sense direction.
"Okay, thanks, sir, have a nice day!" I wave at the man before heading on my way along the road. If only I could drive, or had my bike with me, but all I have is my wallet and my two legs, among other things.
I can't believe she doesn't remember me.
But are you really surprised, Namjoon? When you never even had the guts to try and be her friend? Or even just talk to her? Stupid, stupid, stupid.
How could someone so smart be so stupid?
Yet she's here...in Hawaii. And she was there, on the plane. She moved to Australia.Just like I did. And now we're both here. In Hawaii.
Could it be...that we were destined to meet again?
