Chapter 6

“Hey, you… . Aren’t you partners with Kang Tae-wan of the 3rd class in the 2nd grade?” chirped the girl with a high ponytail and pouty, bright red, tinted lips.

This type of situation and attention was burdensome, but Ha-yeon did not say it out loud.

“Huh. By the way, do you know Kang Tae-wan’s cell phone number?” The girls twinkled their eyes and asked.

“No. I don’t know.”

“You really don’t know?” The girls eyed Ha-yeon suspiciously.

“Huh.”

“But you are partners.”

“We are, but we aren’t close.”

“Oh really?” Upon hearing Ha-yeon’s words, the girls were a little relieved.

“Then, can’t you give me Kang Tae-wan’s mobile phone number? It will be easy for you to find out since you are partners. You can take a look at his phone, right?”

“That’s going to be difficult.”

“Oh, hey. What’s the matter? It’s not that difficult. I’m just asking for a cell phone number. Huh? I won’t tell on you. I’ll keep it a secret.”

Ha-yeon looked down at the girls with an indifferent expression. The girls who regarded her silence as a sign of anxiety began to chatter.

“Actually, I like Tae-wan. However, Tae-wan doesn’t contact his friends, and there is no way to find out his cell phone number. I want to stay in touch. Huh? So can’t you help me just once?”

While Ha-yeon felt that it was not a difficult request, she looked at the girl and said:

“I’m sorry, but I’m not really close with him at all, and it’ll be embarrassing. So you can do it yourself.”

“How is it embarrassing?”

“It should be too embarrassing to ask for such favors.”

Actually, it wasn’t embarrassing; it was annoying, but Ha-yeon looked at them briefly before turning around. Then, a cold grunt snorted behind her back.

“Wow, what a real bitch.”

“Does she think she’s so great? Does she believe she’s a woman?”

“Hey, that’s it. Get lost. Go.”

Ha-yeon turned the corner of the corridor while listening to the female students’ poisonous words. She knew what they were laughing about as it was the same complaint she had about herself. Whenever the subject height came into question, she definitely would never be left out of that discussion. She did not like to react, so she pretended not to hear any of it.

Then she stopped where she was standing. It wasn’t common to see a boy’s shoulders first when a person looked straight ahead. She seemed to recognize the person who was facing her. As she held her gaze on him for what appeared to feel like an eternity, she saw Tae-wan’s face as expected.

It was a little embarrassing to think that he had heard all the entire fiasco she just went through  with the girls. It was too late to go to the store, and it was time to pass him by, hoping to go to the bathroom and then head back to class.

“Sorry.”

Ha-yeon’s head lifted in the direction of a low voice. It looked as if he was the one who just spoke.

“I’m sorry that you get caught in troublesome situatios because of me.”

“It’s OK. It wasn’t anything you did. You would be tired of it too.” She replied, knowing that it wasn’t his fault, so he shouldn’t have to worry.

Then Tae-wan stared at her and suddenly commented: “You’re good at talking.”

“… … .”

“But why don’t you say a word at school?”

“I would say the same to you too.” Ha-yeon was terrified at her own retort.

Luckily for her, the school bell sounded announcing that the break was over.

Rush! She heard the sound of students dashing into the classroom. Some of the students who were still wandering up the stairs gawked when they saw Tae-wan and Ha-yeon facing each other. They turned their heads and stared at the two at length as if they had found something awesome.

“The break is over. Let’s go in.” It was the first thing he had ever really said to Ha-yeon.

She frowned. She didn’t get to go to the convenience store, and didn’t even go to the bathroom. She turned around, checking the time on the black wristwatch on her pale wrist.

“If I talk a lot, would you do it too?”

“… … .” Ha-yeon forgot the time in reaction to the unexpected words.

“Are you talking to me?”

“Uh.”

“… … .”

“If I talk to you, will you answer me?”

“… Probably.”

She hated the annoying inconvenience, but she wasn’t rude enough to ignore anyone talking to her face.

“Okay. Okay.”

What did they have in common to talk about? Before Ha-yeon could even ask him anything, he passed her by.

* * *

After the lunch break, the classroom was unusually noisy. The students went to brush their teeth, looked at their cell phones, each minding their own business.

Ha-yeon, who refused to ask either of her friends Ji-yoon or Yul-hee to go to the library with her, laid face down on her desk.

It was the day before the weekend when she would have to perform a favor for her aunt, so she was a little nervous.

She will be posing for a cover photo in a women’s magazine that most teenagers don’t read. Although the faces weren’t visible, she was still worried. If her parents found out, while they will dislike it, Ha-yeon hated getting more attention in school even more than she already was. She wanted to live quietly* until she graduated.

Ha-yeon laid on one side of her face and rested while emptying her head as much as possible. The sound of an object landing on her desk corresponded with a shadow eclipsing the light filtered through her eyelids.

When she opened her eyes, something yellow was blocking her view.

She raised her head and looked. It was banana milk. Ha-yeon’s eyes alternated between the banana milk in a bottle and Tae-wan sitting next to her. He was also having banana milk.

“What is this?”

“Banana milk.” Tae-wan replied plainly.

“Why are you giving me this?” She wasn’t asking because she didn’t know.

“I’m giving it to thank you for protecting my cell phone number.”

“… … .”

“Drink.”

Ha-yeon stared at the banana milk.

“This is sweeter than I thought.” Tae-wan frowned weakly as if it was his time drinking this kind of milk.

Is this your first time having this kind of milk? So why drink it then? Ha-yeon had a lot of questions she wanted to ask, but she shut her mouth when she saw the students milling in. Instead, she stashed the banana milk in her bag.

She didn’t think Tae-Wan would accept it even if she tried giving it back. It was also her favorite milk. She felt like drinking it while it was still cool, but she didn’t want to show the other students that she was doing things with Tae-Wan, such as eating together. Ha-yeon zipped up her bag tightly.

“Do not give it to someone else, you must drink it yourself.” Tae-Wan insisted in a voice that was inaudible to other