Paperthin Hymn

Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

Holy. Freaking. Crap.

Her. Again.

I stared in shock, my mouth opening and closing like a fish's.

"Annyonghasaeyo," she said quietly, bowing. "I'm Lexi Hwang."

I blinked a few times before coming to my senses, then I jumped up and bowed in return. "Annyonghasaeyo," I replied, barely finding my voice. "I'm Choi Seung-hyun." She was looking at the wall behind my left shoulder, a smile now plastered on her round face. It didn't reach her eyes, though.

"Seung-hyun, Lexi is only a few months younger than you," Mrs. Hwang said, obviously pleased. "There are cookies on the table. I'm going to go out and weed my flowers so you two can get to know each other. You don't need an old lady making you nervous!" And then she bustled out of the house. Don't go... I flinched as the screen door slammed shut.

My face was hot with shame. She must hate me. She had to. She probably wanted to rip out my vital organs and throw them against the wall, cursing my ancestors, while my mother watched. Was she going to yell at me now that her grandmother was out of hearing?

Instead she sat in the wingback chair to the left. The seat farthest from me. She crossed her legs neatly, which looked kind of weird when she was wearing that ancient skirt and ratty converse tennis shoes. She tucked a lock of frzz behind her ear. Then, perfectly polite, she asked, "Aren't you going to sit?"

"Oh. Yeah." I dropped into my seat, fidgeting with a loose thread on the hem of my T-shirt. I needed to apologize. Right now. Before I exploded.

"So," she said, very perky. Too perky. "I just got to Korea yesterday. It's my first time coming. The plane landed in Seoul, and I couldn't believe how big it was! And so crowded! I was really glad when I found out Halmoni doesn't live in the city. It's so peaceful here. But we're still close enough to the city that we can go whenever we want..."

She spoke fast, and I squirmed in my chair, unable to look at her. She must loathe me. And she's being so nice...how could I do that? Ugh...

And then I caught a glimpse of her elbows. Both of them were covered with big band-aids, peeling a little because they wouldn't stick when she bent her arms. There were bright red scrapes barely showing. I inwardly moaned with guilt. Someone kill me. Now.

She paused, and even though I had kind of zoned out I looked up at the sudden silence. She was chewing her bottom lip, her expression unsure. "So...what do you like to do?"

I sank back further into the couch cushions, wishing I would disappear in them. "Write," I mumbled. "Read. Play video games."

Her eyes lit up a little. "You write? That's so cool! What do you write?"

"Stories," I said ever so bluntly, like she was an idiot.

Confusion and possibly hurt flitted across her face, but it was gone in an instant and she gave a nervous laugh. "Oh. That's cool."

Dangit. What a stupid, sarcastic answer. I mentally smacked myself. One word. Like I was mad at her. But I hadn't done it on purpose! It just...came out that way. And I make A's in school. Grades really don't mirror your intelligence.

"I like to read, too," she continued. "I practically lived at the library back home." She lapsed into silence, twirling a piece of her hip-length hair around her finger.

Okay, Seung-hyun. Now. Say your sorry. But there was a giant lump in my throat that kept me from speaking. I tried to clear my throat, but my muscles wouldn't work right. I couldn't.