"Hyun Min, what do you want to become in the future?"
I asked excitedly as I turned from my seat to look at him.
Why? I was suddenly happy to talk to him again.
Maybe it was because I knew his name.
I just want to keep calling him.
For no reason.
Do I need a reason to call his name?
Hyun Min.
He looked up from his book and he had the look of; 'why are you bothering me' written boldly on his face.
But,
He answered anyway after taking a deep sigh.
"Why? Why do you want to know what?"
I shrugged, pouting a little.
"No reason. I just want to know. Am I not allowed to know that much?"
"Are we friends?" He tossed a question at me and I drawed back a little.
Is he drawing the line already?
I thought we passed the first stage of non-strangers yesterday.
Why?
Why is he suddenly acting distant?
"I-If you don't want to tell me just say it… why are you taking it so far?" I scoffed ready to turn away from him.
"A doctor. Satisfied?"
I smiled.
"I'm going to be a business woman… and I will probably visit your hospital when I suffer insomnia."
Tch.
What was I saying?
Insomnia?
Hyun Min abruptly stood up from his seat, packing his books into his bag at once.
I watched him,
A little bit confused.
Is he going somewhere?
Or, am I boring him out?
He closed his seat and walked towards mine, while carefully arranging a little notepad, his busy gaze finally landed on mine.
And then, he noticed.
The look of 'what's wrong' was sitting pretty in my eyes and he noticed that much.
He opened a page in the notepad and dropped it on my table and he tapped on the page he had opened nudging me to take a look.
I finally looked away from him to check what he was pointing at.
Math equations.
Already solved math equations.
In their simplest forms.
In simple terms.
I raised my gaze from the note pad at Hyun Min. He was still impatient, but...
I was touched.
Such little things made my heart sting.
"Thank you." I mouthed unconsciously.
And then he smiled while giving me a small nod.
"I will be back soon." He replied and with one final look, he rushed out of class.
I watched him.
His hair fluttered to the back because of the wind.
He ran out like the main character from a high school romance drama.
In slow motion.
Running through the hallway.
And my eyes never left him as he ran.
Until…
"Aera!" Na Yeon called, standing in my view, making me miss the last of Hyun Min's dash.
I could have killed her at that moment.
But I had no knife nor did I possess a gun.
I bit my lower lip as I eyed her irritatedly.
She ignored this and sat in front of me and then I noticed the hand cast she was wearing.
"Did you fall off the stairs?" I asked, still annoyed by her prompt act and I withdrew the notepad from my table so she couldn't see it.
"Did you forget? I had a scuffle with Da Hye last night. If not for your tip off, I wouldn't have known she was going out with my Ho Jin." She yapped, not stopping for a second to catch her breath.
It took a minute for me before I could process her words well.
"Who's Ho Jin?"
"What? How can you not remember Ho Jin? You introduced us, remember? He is my boyfriend now." She winced, shuffling her leg over the other while letting a sly smile take control of her lips.
And then, she continued yapping…
But, my mind trailed off to the night I had called her over the phone.
"Aera? We just talked on the phone an–" She paused. "Ah- is this Areum? Aera said you would call for help and I'm sorry I can't betray my friend for anything. I can't help you with whatever is going on."
At least, she wasn't going to betray her friend in the end.
I smiled.
"Thank you, Lim Na Yeon." I muttered hoping she would hear what I had said despite her non stop yap.
And then,
Aruem came.
"Aera! Look, I got our birthday invitation cards printed. Aren't they cute?" She pouted and showed me all the cards.
Na Yeon grabbed one and her jaw dropped wide.
"This is crazy! You guys will be eighteen this Sunday and I haven't gotten any gifts ready?" She wailed, knocking her head after dropping the invitation card.
How considerate.
I love Na Yeon.
I loved her so much.
She was a good friend.
And I still love her.
"Aera, what are you going to ask for your birthday present? What are you going to ask our parents?" Aruem continued taking a seat on my table without notice.
The other girls in the class began to line up around us, wanting to get an invite at least.
We were the richest birds in that school.
Who wouldn't want to attend our birthday party?
Who wouldn't want to be on our good sides?
"I'm not sure." I gave Aruem a reply and collected a card from her. "I can invite anyone I want, right?"
She gave me a little hug and whispered into my ear.
"Of course."
I shrugged off pulling out a fake smile as well.
"I will head out first." I added and grabbed my school bag. I couldn't forget the notepad as well and I had that dropped in my bag as well.
The card had to be in my hand.
I have to invite him.
"Girls! Come around!" I heard Areum call out loud as she was ready to distribute our birthday invitation cards to other rich birds she deem fit enough to attend our party.
How petty.
I walked to the park unconsciously.
I couldn't say I was sane.
Why was I here again?
Who am I hoping to see?
Hyun Min?
No, I shouldn't be here.
I turned around, coming back to my senses and as I was about to start walking away,
I heard him call my name.
"Aera!"
Yes, I was waiting for him.
But now that he's here, what's next?
I slowly turned around and I watched him run up to me.
He was full of smiles.
And I must confess, it was charming.
I didn't notice when a smile crept into my lips as well.
What's his deal?
He finally caught up to me and he began to pant right in front of me.
"I-I t-thought you had left." He rushed, trying hard to catch his breath.
"Why did you run?" I asked, suddenly pulling out a cold demeanor.
No!
I shouldn't be doing this.
He was never in my story.
He was never a character in my life until that night.
He shouldn't be a character in my life during highschool.
A variable will be created.
A loop will be created.
Time will get smeared with.
I will be destroying things.
"Ah,..." He started to say, still trying to catch his breath. "The library had this on limited sales and I had to get it for you before it gets sold out."
He handed me a textbook and I openly accepted it while reading the title at once after carefully hiding the invitation card behind me.
"Why?" I murmured while looking at the book.
"You said you wanted to become a business woman, no? This will help you a lot." He replied and I looked up at him.
He was now smiling heartly.
Why?
The sun was insanely bright at that moment.
Or was it him?
Lightning up the mood?
I opened my mouth to say something.
And all that fell out was;
"Hyun Min, do you like me?"
"Uh?!"