𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 | 𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐣𝐚𝐲

4: project

"𝐀 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐝,"

~🌙~

"Please take a note of your partners as you leave and start it as soon as possible! You have a week before your presentations," the teacher yelled over the bell. The screeching of chairs filled the room as we flooded out of the classroom. I took a glance over the heads of other students piling in front of the bulletin board and squinted. 

PARK JONGSEONG, SIM JAEYUN, KIM AEMI

PRESENTATION THEME: HEART DISEASE

"Nice!" Jake shouted as he clapped me on the shoulder, "Partners again, Jay-ah. I can already feel that A heading towards us." 

I smirked at his arrogance, but it was true. The pair of us were invincible with our combined knowledge and always topped every group assignment. Not to mention, doing a project with one of your best friends is incredibly fun. 

"It's a shame. Sunghoon will be disappointed," Jake sighed sarcastically. 

"Of me, yes," 

"Why do you say that?" 

I snorted at how puzzled he looked.

"Dude, you two are inseparable. You do everything together,"

"That is not true!" He argued. I laughed at his denial shaking my head. What caught my eye was a disappointed looking Sunghoon strolling out of our classroom. 

"Is it so hard to put all three of us in a group? It's not like she picks us randomly either," Sunghoon mumbled under his breath. I was right thinking he's be disappointed, but he'll get over it. Who knows maybe his group will do better than ours. 

"Cheer up, Hoonie. It's only one project. There will be plenty more," I tried to console him. He nodded with an accepting smile. 

"Who do you have instead?" Jake asked.

"Taehyun and Kai. Don't get me wrong, they're great, but we're the 02z. You get me?" He vouched. I hummed in agreement and Jake patted him on the back. 

"I'm sure you'll do just fine. They're really smart too. I think I partnered with them last year and got an A," I explained to try and lift his spirits. He returned my smile and decided to forget about his dismay. A split second later he and Jake were conversing about a movie they have been wanting to watch. 

And just like that he was back. Sunghoon's mood was restored by Jake and the two were off being their perfect pair. I decided to keep to myself and walk behind them. I loved them both like brothers but they were sometimes so involved with each other that all they can hear is each other. I found it very amusing and sometimes teased them about it. This time, I interrupted to make a comment about overpriced popcorn. 

"Just sneak it in a bag or something,"

"It's not as simple as that. Everyone does it and the ushers are sure to know if you walk in with a huge bag." Sunghoon said, waving his hands about as if it added more meaning to his words. 

"Do they actually check though?" I questioned back.

"No, but-,"

"Then you see, it's done. I've gotten away with it many times. It will work," 

"Or you could just buy the popcorn instead?" Jake replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yah, do you think we'd be having this conversation if we wanted to just buy it?!" 

The two of them laughed at my sudden anger, clapping their hands like seals. I rolled my eyes at their playfulness and continued walking. I took a moment to think about our actual assignment. 

A presentation on heart disease? It didn't sound so challenging, but Biology was not my forte. What was there to write about? The topic was so vague that our presentation could end up being very vague or too long to finish in ten minutes. I was beginning to panic. 

In addition to that, the thought of having a third group member sounded like trouble. The good thing about having Jake as a partner was that he knew all of my moves before I mentioned it. If I needed a book, he'd go looking for it. Similarly, if he struggled with Korean wording I'd be writing before he asked for help. It was a smooth connection that helped us ace the class. A third person would just be extra baggage. 

"Jay-ah, have you met Kim Aemi?" Jake popped up beside me. I snapped out of my thoughts and found myself stood at our lunch table again. It bewildered me how my mind drifted off for two minutes and I end up in a completely different place.

"Who is Kim Aemi?" 

"Our other partner," 

"Oh, yeah. Is she new?" I asked as I sat down. It was almost as if deja vu rushed over me. Sunghoon and Sunoo's sandwich exchange, Heeseung now with a different book and this time it was a yogurt pot being played for. I wouldn't change a thing.

"She's been in our class since first year! How do you not know her?" Sunghoon mentioned from across the table. I frowned thinking about his words but my mind was cloudy and blank. 

"I just don't? Have I ever talked to her?" 

"Probably," Jungwon mentioned as he opened the yogurt pot that he rightfully won, "She tutored me last year. Not the brightest student, but I don't want to pass judgement."

"But you just did," Ni-ki said with a raised eyebrow. The two of them continued bickering as I tried to pick out a memory of this Kim Aemi from my brain. Minutes passed and still nothing. 

"Even if you don't know her, you will. Since she's your partner and all," Heeseung said not looking up from his book, "It doesn't really matter as long as the work gets done."

I nodded, because his wise words were right. The good thing about having him as a hyung was the free advice, even though he wasn't much older than me. I agreed with his words, but I wasn't fully convinced.

Why I was trying so hard to remember this stuff? 

Why did I feel the need to remember a girl that I didn't recognise?