October 30, 2009

Yoongi comes back to school for the first time since his mother’s funeral.  However, he struggles to catch up with schoolwork because no one is willing to share their notes with him.  Please, it would be nice if you could share your notes with him.

<:>

            Yeoreum bit her lip in an attempt to hide her smile as Yoongi stalked into the room.  Heads turned and people began to whisper, as many, including Minji, had assumed that Yoongi had dropped out of school.  Yeoreum had hoped otherwise, and her hopes were confirmed.

            “What.” He looked at her before plopping into his chair.

            “Welcome back.”

            He scoffed.

            “Since you were gone for a while, you can copy my notes if you’d like,” she continued shyly.

            “I don’t know if you think that we’re close now because of what happened two weeks ago,” Yoongi said, “But we aren’t.  Forget everything you saw that day.”

            “Okay.” She smiled.  “But I still want you to have my notes.”  Yeoreum placed them on his desk.  “You can take your time with them.”

            He didn’t say anything, which she took as acceptance.

            “Also…”

            “What?” he replied.

            “Do you have a friend named Kim Namjoon?”

            “Who the hell is that?  Someone bothering you?” he growled.

            Yeoreum shook her head.  “No, no.  Forget it.”  She returned to her own thoughts, tracing patterns on her desk even as Mr. Kim walked into the room.  “Good morning, class.”

            “Good morning,” everyone replied.

            “Today, I’m announcing something a little different,” Mr. Kim said.  He turned to the chalkboard, writing “PARTNER PROJECT” in big letters.  “It’s a small project I’d like you to complete with the person sitting next to you.”

            “All right!” some people cheered.  Minji shot Yeoreum a look from her seat.

            “You sit next to each other every day, but how much do you really know about each other?  For this project, I want you to get to know your partners.  If you two are already friends, then this should be a pleasant exercise for you.  And if you aren’t,” Mr. Kim seemed to stare at Yeoreum as he spoke, “Then it would be a great chance to get to know each other better and maybe even become friends.”

            Yeoreum looked at Yoongi, who stared straight down at his desk.

            “Type up a small report and submit it to me.  Let’s make these projects due in a week, shall we?”

            Everyone nodded.

            “Great!  Now that that’s settled, let’s move on.  Who’s excited for some English!”

<:>

            “So, for the project…” Yeoreum trailed off, wondering if Yoongi would be annoyed.

            “When are you free?”

            “Today!  I mean…I’m pretty much free all the time, so whatever works with you.”

            He scoffed.  “Today works with me too.”

            “Really?” she exclaimed.

            Yoongi nodded.  “My apartment is a ten minute walk from here.  We can go there after school.”

            “Okay!”

            “Don’t get too excited,” he replied.  “Just because I’m related to a company president doesn’t mean I’m not rich or anything, so don’t get your hopes up.”

            She lowered her gaze.  “I-I didn’t mean it that way...I was just excited that you were inviting me over…”

            “Whatever.” He was lucky that she was looking down, otherwise she would’ve seen a small smile on his face.

            “Ah, Yeoreum, I was wondering if I could speak with you after class?” Mr. Kim walked up to their desks.  Yeoreum stared at Yoongi, who shrugged.

            “I’ll wait,” he said.

            “Good!  Stop by the teacher room after class, okay?” Mr. Kim said.  “I’ll be waiting.”

<:>

            As soon as the bell rang, Yeoreum walked into the teacher office, surprised to see that everyone else had already left.  Mr. Kim sat at his desk, staring at a framed picture, before noticing that she had entered.

            “Ah, Yeoreum, you’ve arrived.”

            “You wanted to talk to me?”

            “Yes.  Have a seat.”

            She hesitantly sat across from Mr. Kim.

            “I notice that you and Yoongi have been getting along well.”

            “I try.”

            “He seems like a difficult child on the outside, but I think he’s soft on the inside.  I just wanted to ask you to keep on trying to reach him.”

            Yeoreum nodded.  “I will.”

            “Good.  That’s all I wanted to say.”

            Yeoreum bowed, standing up.  She briefly glanced around the room, marvelling at how different the teacher office was compared to the classrooms.  Briefly catching a glimpse of Mr. Kim’s nameplate, her eyes widened, and she fell back into her seat.

            “Kim Namjoon!”

            “Yes,” he replied slowly, looking up from his computer, “that is my name.  However, Yeoreum, even though school has ended, I’d appreciate it if--”

            “I got a letter from you!”

            This time, Mr. Kim’s eyes widened.  “By any chance…” He reached into his desk drawer, pulling out a red book.  “You were the student who found this in the library?”

            “It was me.”

            “But how did you--”

            “I was searching for books about the Joseon Dynasty, and I found it stuffed between a few of the books.”

            “Do you have the letter with you?”

            Yeoreum nodded, taking the letter out of her backpack and handing it to Mr. Kim.  “Here you go.”

            “This is also definitely my handwriting.  I was wondering if the person who received the letter mentioned in this book was you, but I didn’t know how to approach the subject,” he admitted.

            “When I found the letter, I was in disbelief,” Yeoreum replied.  “Until things started to happen just as the it said.”

            Mr. Kim scanned over the letter.  “Did you read the last line?”

            “Yes.”

            “What do you think of it?”

            “I won’t let him die.”

            “So you’re going to save him?”

            She clenched her fists.  “Yes.”

            “Then I’ll support you,” Mr. Kim said simply.

            “You...think I can do it?”

            “From what I’ve seen,” he replied, “I think you can.  Has the letter remained accurate all this time?”

            She shook her head.  “The major events are still the same, but the little things are beginning to change.”

            “Good.  That means that the future is changing.” Mr. Kim handed the letter back to her.  “Don’t give up, Yeoreum.  I think that Yoongi needs someone like you.”