PAPER FLOWERS ; yang jungwon

two.

Yang Jungwon is on his way to his mother's office after being given a pink slip to leave class. He spots a lot of stray papers on the ground and goes to pick them up. Some of the papers were too wet to be saved and some were dry enough to be given back to the owner. He gives the dry papers to the teacher just next door and throws away the wet ones.

As he was picking up the papers, he noticed a blue origami flower in between, a tulip i think? It looked really pretty so he puts it in the front pocket of his bag. He feels his phone ring in his pocket, reading his mom's contact on the screen, he answers right away.

"Yes Mom?" He asks with a hint of oh no did i do something wrong?

"Jungwon, what is taking you so long to get here? I called your teacher 15 minutes ago?"

"Oh sorry, I found some scattered papers on the ground by the sacred tree so I picked them up and returned the retrievable ones to the teacher, I'll be there in 2 minutes," he says with a sigh of relief.

She takes a couple seconds before responding, "Okay, Good job, Wonnie, but hurry up, we are waiting for you," she ends the call immediately and he questions to himself; we, who's we?

He arrives to the 'Principal's Office' and knocks on the door, "Mom, I'm here." And lets himself in without being told. He sees his mom talking to a girl, who's seated on the couch. They were talking about something but instantly became silent after seeing me enter.

The girl looks up to Jungwon and he is in awe. He stares into her pretty green grey-ish eyes that sparkle with a hint of sadness. Was she crying? He could look into her eyes for hours and never get bored. But that sensation is gone, once she looks down to her shaky hands that are caressing gently over her knees.

"Jungwon, come sit down" his mom says while patting to the chair next to her. He took the seat and sat down, never taking his eyes off of the girl that seems so fragile. Like she could break any second now. "Jungwon, this is Hwayoung. And Hwayoung, this is my son, Jungwon. Do you know each other?"

They both answer, "No," simultaneously. 

i didn't know the principal had a son.

her name is so pretty, like her.

"Hwayoung, after the.." the principal pauses and shares a glance with her, but she shakes her head, "...the incident, you had to skip a lot of important projects and exams. It is basically impossible for you to make them all up before Spring Break. So I had a discussion with all your teachers and we put together one big exam for you to take on Friday."

She looks up to the principal with worried eyes. Jungwon feels sad to see her eyes darken. I wonder what incident my mom is talking about.

"I don't think I'll be able to do it," she rubbed her hands against her thighs, and winced at the pain. Forgetting that the cuts were still fresh from 3 days ago. "It-It's too soon.." she mumbles.

Jungwon felt like his heart was breaking. He's only met Hwayoung but there is something about her that just makes him want to give her the biggest hug. He has no idea what she has been through, but with the way her eyes dim with darkness, the way she fidgets her hands a lot, the way she talks so quietly. He can sense that she's been through more than he can imagine.

"And that's where Jungwon comes in. He will help you learn and study the topics. He's in the same grade as you, so he know's what to do."

He looks at his mom very confused. They didn't discuss about this at home. He already helps so much other students with their homework, but he actually doesn't mind helping Hwayoung. He wants to get to know her.

"Oh." She spares him a glance and then back to the principal, "I don't want to bother anyone, I can do it on my own."

The principal opened her mouth to object but Jungwon spoke first. "I want to help," he said with the biggest smile. They both look stare at each other.

her eyes hold the galaxy, filled with stars.

his smile makes me melt and his adorable dimples.

They stay like that for a couple minutes just admiring each other. Until the principal's chuckle breaks their stares, "Okay guys, you both can stare at each other later," she reaches something in her desk and hands it to Hwayoung, "This is the study guide, I expect both of you to get along nicely."

"Jungwon, be nice to her, okay? and Hwayoung, do let me know if my son is acting out" we both nod our heads and she excuses us to study in the library. They both walk quietly, feeling really awkward. Hwayoung forgot how to be social after her family's death and Jungwon was always quiet around other students. 

They picked a spot in the corner of the library and take their seats across from each other. No one talking, just sharing glances and looking away to hide the embarrassment they felt.