"What...?" Minji stood by her doorway, dumbfounded at the entire situation. She could have never expected that Minjoon was actually waiting for her. That he would actually wait for her! Wait for her?! As if Minjun could feel her surprise, he raised his hand to awkwardly fondle his bangs while avoiding eye contact.
"I thought it would be a little rude to just leave after exchanging greetings yesterday." He said as he stared in her direction, but he was unable to make eye contact as he stared at what seemed to be the top of her head. Perhaps he was perfectly aware of how awkward this situation was. It also seemed as if he was regretting his decision of staying.
"Uh yeah sure... Uh thanks for waiting for me? Let's go then," Minji spat out awkwardly as she gestured towards the elevator. Thankfully, seeing as how Minjoon was also rigid made her feel a tiny bit more comfortable going to school with him. Though, she enjoyed her quiet and peaceful morning walks to school, especially the beautiful bustling city atmosphere. Perhaps having someone to share the morning with would be another new experience...
Which was what she had hoped.
But they did not exchange a single word together on their way to school.
A quarter of the way to school, Minji snuck glances at Minjoon several times, but he was either focused on the scenery or on walking. There were no indications as to whether or not he would initiate a conversation, so Minji gave up on initiating one herself and focused on the morning walk as well. But, she was so self-conscious the entire time that she felt each step she take become even heavier than the last.
Finally, they made it to school and Minji saw one of the girls who spent time with her yesterday. After giving a brief look to Minjoon, she gave a small gesture and quickly made her way to the girl. Even though she wasn't the type to approach others, she wanted to flee the awkward situation with Minjoon.
"Hey there" Minji gave a slight push on the girl's back. If she recalled it correctly, her name was Jieun. She was able to remember her name since her round glasses made her distinct from the other girls who surrounded her yesterday. She felt Jieun flinch at her touch in shock as she abruptly turned around to see who touched her shoulder.
"Minji! Good morning!" The girl responded amicably. Thankfully, she was welcomed with a warm greeting. Minji was a little surprised by how amiable all of the people seemed. Even her neighbor who initially gave off a very cold, closed-off impression seemed to have an awkward and caring side to him. Perhaps this time she might spend a decent time in school.
*Hopefully... *
Minji shut off her thoughts as she entered the classroom along with Jieun. Unknowingly to her, during this time, a classmate had been closely following behind her.
...
Minji stretched her legs once the teacher left the classroom. She had spent the first three hours of school focusing on her classes and she never got up to use the bathroom even once. It was now time for lunch and she scanned the classroom to find Jieun. After spotting her, she began to rise up from her seat.
"Minji" Minjoon called out. He sat down in the seat in front of her, facing her. Minji abruptly sat back down when she heard her name and stared at him with a blank expression.
*What? Why does he keep approaching me?*
"What is it?" Minji brushed her hair behind one of her ears and gave him the best poker face she could make.
"Do you know the answer to this?" Minjoon pushed something toward her. Minji stared down at the piece of paper. It was a crossword puzzle...?
"What?" She asked, confused. She glanced towards the column that his finger was pointing to. It looked relatively easy.
"Policy optimization?" She gave what she thought was the correct answer. As if a lightbulb went off in his head, Minjoon hurriedly wrote down the answer and gave Minji a warm smile. Or she assumed it to be a smile through his mask.
"Thanks," Minjoon said briskly. As if nothing had happened, he got up from the seat with no other explanation and went back to his group of friends. Minji sat there dumbfounded. What was his deal?
She glanced at him and his group of friends leaving the classroom for lunch. While doing so, she locked eyes with a boy with blue hair and green eyes.
*Isn't this the same guy who I made eye contact with yesterday?*
This time, she didn't break eye contact first and raised one of her eyebrows in confusion. Seeing her expression, the boy laughed and stopped looking. She continued to stare at them until they disappeared from her sight.
"Oh my gosh, Minji! What's up with you and Minjoon? Are you two dating?" Jieun and the girls from yesterday came running over once his group left the classroom. Overwhelmed with all of the questions and enthusiasm, Minji had to excuse herself to the restroom to escape.
*Damn that Minjoon! If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have had to have lunch by myself*
Thanks to her excuse, she was able to escape that suffocating atmosphere, but now she found herself munching on some bread outside on the grass. She kept grumbling to herself as her feelings for Minjoon went from neutral to dislike. Was he doing this all on purpose so she was forced to be alone?
She finished eating all of her bread and just sipped on her milk, appreciating the view of the school's courtyard.
"Hey there," a gentle voice caused Minji to jump in fright. She turned around to see the owner of the voice. It was the brown-haired boy she met in the teacher's room yesterday.
"He-" Minji started to cough on her spit as she was so surprised to see the handsome student from yesterday.
*Oh god I hope he didn't hear any of my mumblings. He must think I'm crazy*
"I guess someone has discovered my secret eating spot" he scratched his head. Perhaps it was just Minji, but he sounded disappointed.
"Oh, sorry I was kind of in a rush just now and chose some random hidden spot," Minji said as she stood up to leave. As she was about to stand up to leave when the brown-haired boy gestured at her to sit back down.
"Sorry, I didn't say that for you to leave. It's nice to have company. Why not have lunch with me?" he proposed to her. Minji sat back down and stiffened up as the boy sat next to her. It was so silent that she could hear the tree leaves ruffling from the wind. She looked at his lunch which comprised of bread and milk.
"Is that all you're having?" Minji asked him.
"Isn't this what you had too?" he replied. Minji felt her face blush. She didn't know why but every word from this student made her feel flustered.
"I'm Minji," Minji blurted out her name. She knew that it was an abrupt self-introduction but she felt that her face would burst from heat any second now.
He stared at her briefly before giving a warm smile. Those dimples of his caught her attention again. "I'm Yejoon. Nice to meet you," he said in between bites. Minji nodded in silence as she took in his name.
*Yejoon... It suits him*
"Speaking of, weren't you that new student who mistook me for a teacher yesterday?" he asked rather abruptly.
"Wha-" Minji bit her tongue in shock. Yejoon laughed out loud after seeing Minji's flustered face. It took her a moment to realize that he was just messing with her.
"Geez, so mean," she puffed out her cheeks as she hit him. Minji felt her body become less tense as she became more comfortable around him. Yejoon seems to be more playful and friendly than she expected. Actually, it was surprising to her that everyone in this school seemed to be friendly (at least so far).
"How do you like school so far?" Naturally starting a new conversation, Yejoon started to eat as he stared in the same direction as Minji.
"I like it here. Everyone seems friendly" Minji replied.
"Really? Even me?" Yejoon gave her a small smile as he teased her again.
"Yes, even you" Minji said as she shrugged. She was always the honest type. It's not like she confessed her secret feelings or something so she didn't feel too embarrassed.
Yejoon laughed at her response as if taken aback by her honesty. She smiled back at him, and the two of them sat in silence for the rest of the time until the bell rang.
"Join me for lunch again anytime. You have my special permission" Yejoon said before they left for their respective classrooms. Minji felt her mood lighten up. It was the first time she seemed to have made a friend in this school. Someone who saw her for who she was. Not the "new girl" or the "one who was with Minjoon." Just Minji.
In a good mood, Minji's footsteps back to her classroom seemed lighter and she almost forgot about her mini incident with Minjoon.
Until she reached the classroom and was greeted by the girls again. Except for this time, rather than surrounding her, they stayed away from her.
*Huh? Are they avoiding me or am I just overthinking things?*
Confused yet grateful for the silence, Minji sat back down. She couldn't seem to shake off the stares she kept receiving from the people around her. Just what happened for the atmosphere of the room to change so suddenly?