being lonely | minsung | ✔

10

"I hate walking around with a sweaty body all day," I complain, ruffling my hair because it still seems to stick to my forehead, even though I've just had Korean class for an hour. Plenty of time to cool down but that sticky sensation always seems to remain, only disappearing after a nice shower.

"Don't girls find that hot these days?" Hyunjin questions as we march to our usual spot in the crowded cafeteria. "I mean-"

"You and I both know very well that I'm not interested in what girls think," I remind my friend with a gentle pat on his shoulder before we sit down on the linoleum floor again, just as we do every lunch break.

"Oh well, maybe boys find it attractive too, I don't know," my best friend shrugs as he digs into his bag to find his lunch box.

"Aren't you a boy?" I frown.

"Of course, but it would be really strange if I would call my best friend hot because he looks sweaty," Hyunjin explains, taking this matter awfully serious all of a sudden. "My opinion on this doesn't matter because I don't have one."

"Let's stop this conversation right away," I demand, slightly weirded out. My friend immediately stuffs his mouth with rice.

I place my hand on my bag to get my lunch but hesitate. There's a chance Minho will show up with lunch, right? It would be strange if I'm already eating if he decided to bring me lunch. But if I spend my entire lunch break waiting without touching my actual lunch and he doesn't show up, I'll die of starvation.

I am really overthinking this.

"You're really overthinking this, Ji," Hyunjin informs me between two bites. "It's not even that big of a deal so stop stressing."

I silently nod and my best friend continues, "did you know stressed spelled backward is desserts? Which is a good thing."

His random statement draws a little laugh from me and he seems satisfied as he continues to eat again. I, too, take out my lunch box. I don't open it immediately; I'll wait a few minutes and if he didn't show up after, I'll eat my own lunch. Not that I'm that eager to eat the taste-lacking premade lunch.

But then a pair of checkered vans appear in front of me, accompanied by a familiar voice saying, "Put that away, mister. You won't be needing that today."

Unconsciously, a grin spreads over my face as I look up to meet Minho. My heart makes a little leap as I find the black lunchbox in his hands, surprised that he really went through the effort of making lunch for someone he just met.

"You look awfully surprised," the oldest jokes. "Why do you think so low of me?"

Minho crouches down in front of us before sitting down on the floor, unaware -or simply not caring- that he's blocking the way for students that use this quiet spot in the cafeteria as a passageway to the schoolyard.

"I don't think low of you," I quickly defend, not wanting to be that person who made a friendly stranger upset after just meeting them. "I'm just careful with believing good things people say."

The boy lightly tilts his head to the side, his eyes searching mine momentarily. I suddenly realize that statement must've sounded really gloomy and depressed and I quickly flash a reassuring smile.

"Get used to me then, I'm a man of my word," Minho snickers, extending his arms with the lunchbox in them, inviting me to grab it. "Here, I put my blood, sweat and tears into these pancakes so you better enjoy them."

"Pancakes?" Hyunjin chimes.

"I'm not a vampire so could you leave out the blood next time?" I attempt to joke, accepting the box with a grateful smile. Minho hit the bullseye by making pancakes since I enjoy to eat them but hardly do since I'm not exactly a star cook and burn them most of the times.