"hey."
"·········."
He called me
A few weeks later, it was in front of the cafeteria.
Startled by his call, I furrowed my brow at the deluge of leaflets that poured down. How could you possibly keep your head up and continue doing what you've been doing after killing a cotton ball? Thank goodness you didn't spread a rumor. Even prostrating yourself profusely wouldn't be enough, so why bother grabbing a busy person? That night, the questions I couldn't even utter aloud boiled inside me, rising to my throat. I steeled myself once more, calmly picking up the leaflets and answering his call.
"I called you."
"what."
"··· Do you want to go see a cat?"
"what?"
What is this...
"Last time, I was a bit, "
"·········."
"I'm sorry."
She assumed he'd called her to ask her to keep the events of the night a secret, but he completely defied her expectations with a surprising answer. He explained that the incident had been a coincidence, and suggested they go see the cat to clear up any misunderstandings. I suspected there might be some misunderstanding between them, but seeing the cat wouldn't be so bad, so I readily accepted his offer.
"This Friday in front of the school gate."
"··········."
"I'll pick you up."
"uh·········."
When the female protagonist, taken aback by his sudden attitude, trails off, he raises one corner of his mouth and lets out a breathy laugh. This Friday, in front of the school gates...
The heroine had no way of knowing his true feelings.
Time goes by and it's Friday, the day of the appointment. It's already past 11 o'clock, lunchtime, and there's no word from Purun Hat. My longing for a cat keeps coming back to me, and somehow, somehow, I even ended up thinking about Jeon Jungkook. Thinking back, I realized he only told me the date, never even mentioned the hour. What does he want me to do...? With no choice but to keep going until it works, I scribble black ink marks on a white piece of paper in the empty classroom.
On my shoulder
When you feel someone's presence
If you turn your head and look in that direction,
"Wow. Are you studying?"
"Oh, that's a surprise······."
He's behind me with his fur hat
Squatting down.
"As expected, school work is different."
"······How did you find out about this place?"
She felt awkward in the awkward atmosphere
I turned the conversation around and asked him a question.
"You're Kim Yeo-ju."
"·········."
"Kim Yeo-ju, class 4, second grade."
"··· How do you know that?"
"How do I not know you?"
"········· what?"
"let's go."
As he peeked at his bent upper body,
Shake off the hem of your knees.
"Where are you going?"
"To see the cat."
"Is it still class time?"
"It's lunch time."
"······Are you saying we should quit school?"
Eleven years of school life
The female protagonist, who had never deviated from her studies,
He said with his pupils widening in embarrassment.
"uh."
"·········."
"Well, I can't help but dislike it."
Is there anything I can do to help you?
If it were usual, I wouldn't have hesitated
Even though she was the one who would have rejected it outright.
"let's go."
A rebellious spirit for no reason
Blooming from deep within her
It appeared above the water with a bang.
"Are you going?"
"Let's go, before I change my mind."
I followed him out of the classroom without saying a word.
The heroine also followed his footsteps quietly.
Disorganized black letters
It was just rolling around on Yeoju's desk.
Avoiding the sharp-eyed leaders, she arrived at the school gate—the place he had agreed to meet her in front of the cafeteria the previous time. A crumpled, blue motorcycle, barely able to crawl behind the tightly closed barbed-wire fence, caught her eye. Opening her eyes a little wider, she saw dark red blood staining the front seat, which confirmed it was the motorcycle she and he had ridden that night. The dim lighting had allowed her to see things she hadn't seen before, but now she could clearly see the initial P on the motorcycle's body, matching the design on his hat.
"get on."
It was hanging over the motorcycle handlebars
Put a red helmet on my head.
"Are you crazy? Riding a motorcycle in broad daylight?"
"Well, what do you think?"
For her, who valued her image based on public opinion, skipping school was nothing but a self-deprecation. While skipping school was an impulsive act born of a needless rage, riding a motorcycle with that punk in a white hat through the city in broad daylight was enough to further tarnish her image. Especially for a female protagonist who held the title of "most winners in national competitions."
"I can't do it."
"what?"
The heroine took off her helmet and put it down
From the motorcycle and him
Take a step away.
"What if people found out that I skipped school and rode a motorcycle?"
"·········."
"At that time, I really... couldn't handle it."
"Even if I go back now, nothing will change."
"······ what?"
"I've already done it once, so I'd rather get penalized and hear that annoying comment."
"······."
"I'd like to try something different once in a while..."
"·········."
"I don't think it's bad."
You've only steadfastly walked the path others have told you to take. That's why you earned the title of genius. -I had no way of finding out how he knew me so well, but- he was right. Raised by two successful parents, I'd always had to study, even at a schedule that wasn't suited to my abilities, to uphold my cause. Those hundreds of pencils and sheets of paper, constantly clinging to me, were what made me who I am today: the natural-born genius Kim Yeo-ju. Ironically, there wasn't a single thing wrong with his words. I laughed out loud. Fuck...
"Choose."
"·········."
"I'm going, I'm going."
Will you break free from the shackles of bondage?
Will you steadfastly defend your cause?
"Hey, what are you guys doing there?!"
A male student over the back of my head
Until a loud voice is heard
The heroine's thoughts remained unchanged,
"Ah... F**k."
He felt impatient
After you put me on the motorcycle
"Hold on tight."
"What are you doing now...!"
Little by little, my thoughts
It started to get twisted.
"If you drop it, I won't pick it up."
In a completely unexpected direction.
Perfect Youth
over
* Continued from the next part.
Ps. This was originally going to be a short story, but as I wrote, it ended up becoming a part 1 and then a part 2. I want to apologize to those who were looking forward to the ending! The attached photo at the end is a comment I found while listening to a song about youth on YouTube because I really liked the phrase! I wasn't planning on attaching that comment originally, but I thought the content was too much about Jungkook and Yeoju's situation, so I just... 😂😂
I hope you have a great day today without any problems.