hyun ryu didn’t want to go home that day. thirteen years old, and he’s sitting on a bench outside of the school, bent over an english copy of shakespeare’s julius caesar. fingers trace along the letters on the pages, mouthing the words, brows furrowed in concentration. hyun knew that when he got home late, it would be horrible for him. he knew he’d be called an ugly, lazy, disrespectful boy. but if he could at least escape for a little while… just… a little while…
a jolt passes through his body when he sees someone stop in front of him, snapping him out of his focus. he sees dress shoes and knee-high socks and the hem of a skirt. then he glances all the way up. it’s a pretty girl, one in his class. what’s her name again…? sunhee kim, right? she stares at him with bright hazel eyes framed by tawny hair and a smile at her lips. hyun is wary, but she doesn’t make to touch him, to invade his space.
“you don’t want to go home?” her voice is nice. hyun doesn’t think he’s really heard her talk before. it’s breezy, gentle, sweet. he shakes his head, slowly, and her hand tightens around the strap of her bag.
“me neither... ah, well… can i sit with you, maybe?”
“su— sure.” he scoots aside to make room, feeling his face heat up when she settles down beside him, peering over at the pages of the book.
“do you know english? i’m trying to learn…”
“yeah. um, a bit. mainly from reading.” god, he must be red as a beet right now. every muscle freezes when sunhee reaches over, but not to touch him. instead, she brushes her fingertip over one of the words on the page. hyun blinks, turns his gaze up to her, where her eyes are focused on the book.
then she glances up to him, snickering quietly. “can you read a little bit to me? if it’s not too much trouble…”
hyun gnaws on the inside of his cheek, wills his muscles to relax, to release the tension in them. but he nods, glances back down to the page while he clears his throat. it comes easily to him, and he wonders just how long they sit there with his voice mixing with trees rustling and birds chirping. it’s when she finally hops off the bench that he stops. it’s late. the sky is painted a vivid orange. she bids him farewell, eyes sparkling all the while, and hyun manages a grin and a wave as she scampers away.
the book is slid into his bag. quietly, he makes his way home.
sometimes, things weren’t all bad.
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