02
I ignored the stares I felt from the side for several minutes. The more I avoided the transfer student, the more jaded he became. His behavior filled me with questions. Was he acting like this because I didn't greet him earlier? Did I really look that funny? Was this the American way of threatening with my eyes? I cringed, my already small body twitching. To others, it would have looked like a large, rambunctious boy harassing a small girl. But the boy was actually staring at me with a glint of sweetness.
I turned my head slightly and our eyes met directly. But something was off about his eyes. They were even more curious than before. It would have been better if someone had spoken to the transfer student, but everyone else just watched from afar. Swallowing back tears, I glanced in Kim Taehyung's direction. Then, as if called, he abruptly stood up. The transfer student, who had been staring at me for a while, looked away.
“Did you say Jay?”
“···Yeah. Me, Jay.”
“Yes, Jay! I’m Kim Taehyung.”
“Tae, bro?”
“Call me whatever you want. If you’re going to shorten it, you can call me hyung!”
The transfer student tilted his head, not understanding what he was saying. Kim Taehyung simply slapped him on the back, dismissing it as nothing. That's why he called out to Kim Taehyung whenever he was in an uncomfortable position. Kim Taehyung was unfazed, even with strangers he'd never met before. The reason a shy kid like me became close to Kim Taehyung was entirely because of him. I took a deep breath, feeling much more at ease. Once Kim Taehyung opens his mouth, he's the kind of guy you can't stop.
"you?"
"···me?"
“Yeah. You.”
“Why me···?”
Oh, crazy. Is this what it means to be kicked in the butt by someone you trust?
“I want to know...your name.”
The transfer student asked, blushing shyly. "I'm sorry, but it's not cute at all if you touch me with that body." As I made a blank expression, someone next to me chuckled. The source of the laughter was Kim Taehyung. When our eyes met, he covered his mouth as if he couldn't hold it in anymore. "Yeah, why was he so obediently helping me?" I wondered. Meanwhile, the transfer student was glancing around, waiting for an answer. In the end, as Kim Taehyung had intended, he spoke first.
“···It’s Kim Yeoreum. Please take good care of me.”
“Summer? Right?”
“Uh ...
“Hey, you.”
"···what?"
“Hey, hey, I like you.”
The transfer student threw a fastball with a smile on his face. There was no way I, a mere rookie, could withstand that fastball. Either he liked the nickname, or he liked me. I tried to avoid the latter, but it seemed the class didn't agree. They all cheered and exclaimed, or worse, grabbed the back of their necks at the transfer student's cuteness. "This is going to blow my mind. Even when I lived in America, I never encountered such open-mindedness." Kim Taehyung, who had been watching the situation with fascination, cleared his throat.
“Okay... Okay, Jay. Let’s stop here for now.”
“Huh? What?”
“Yes, something like that. I think Kim Yeoreum is quite busy right now.”
“···Um, I don't understand.”
This isn't flirting? Then just how bad is flirting in America? My future already felt bleak. I could only hope the transfer student would quickly learn about Korea's conservative culture. While I was exhausted and exhausted, Kim Taehyung and the transfer student continued their conversation. Surprisingly, they seemed to mesh well together.
"Jay!"
A sudden shout drew everyone's attention to the back door. A boy from our class was staring at us. He explained, "The teacher told me to go to the teacher's office!" That idiot. There's no way a kid who lived in America until a few days ago would know the words "teacher" and "teacher's office." As expected, the transfer student just stood up with a bewildered expression. He went when I called him, but he didn't seem to know who or where. That scene reminded me of myself in the past, when I was ignored because I was Asian. Damn.
I stood up, deliberately making a noise. I then walked ahead of the transfer student. The transfer student, unable to hide his embarrassment, froze in place.
“···What are you doing? Aren’t you going?”
“Oh, no! I'll go.”
The transfer student often followed me at a brisk pace. Seeing Kim Taehyung laughing like he was going crazy was a year's worth of teasing. But what could I do after what I'd already done...? Yeah. I resigned myself to that, and the transfer student staring at me with such a straight face became a huge topic of conversation among the kids.
- behind -
Q. Summer is why Jay elusive Is it??
A. hmm···.
[Summer is coming Seeing Jay]
And brutal affectionate dissonance
+ (Spo) Summer's trauma
[half The kids Seeing Real Jay]
In love Missing Soft bean cake