You're All I Need - Nishimura Riki

Chapter 2

The math class with Mr. Kang seems to last longer than usual. I look at the clock and see that there are still 15 minutes left in this class.

"Here is your homework for today," Mr. Kang says as he brings around a paper. Our homework has 30 problems, which isn't too bad considering we usually have at least 50. "Please use the rest of the class to do your homework," Mr. Kang says and sits down at his desk while everyone starts the work.

Most of the students, instead of doing the work, start to talk to the people closest to them but I choose to stay quiet so I can focus.

"Hey Hana, do you want to go to the cafe after school today? They have a new drink that I want to try with you," Sunoo turns around and says.

"I'll have to ask my parents. And I can only go if I get all this homework finished," I say and he nods and turns back around.

I'm actually hoping that I can go. I don't get to go out of my house too often. My parents aren't really strict, but they are really protective. They don't want me to go out too much in case something bad were to happen. Sometimes I wish I had parents like Sunoo and Ari because they have way more freedom than I do.

The bell rings and everyone starts packing their stuff up and walking out of the classroom.

My next class is History, so I have to go to the other side of the school. I start walking until I hear someone say something to me.

"Excuse me, Hana. Could you help me with something?" A boy behind me says. I know who it is immediately because he's speaking Japanese.

I turn around and see Ni-ki standing there.

"Sure, what do you need help with?" I say politely.

"I don't know where my other classes are..." he says nervously and holds his schedule out for me to look at.

I grab the paper and look at it. He has all the same classes that I do except for the last class of the day. He has Art and I have Gym.

"You have all the same classes as me except for our last class, you have art and I have gym. Just stay with me and I'll show you around," I explain in Japanese to him.

He smiles and it occured to me that this is the first time I've gotten a good look at his face. He has a really cute smile, one that can make me smile along with him. For some reason, I want to get to know him more. But I suddenly realize that this can never happen. My parents made me a no-dating rule until I turn 18, meaning I have 2 more years until I can date anyone.

"Thank you so much," he says in Korean.

As we walk to our history class, I decide to ask him some questions to make the silence between us less awkward.

"How much Korean can you speak?" I ask him.

"A decent amount, but I have trouble understanding a lot of big vocabulary. I'll try to use as much Korean as I can so I can improve," he says.

"I'll help you, if you'd like that. I don't mind. We'll be seeing each other a lot anyway. So... what made you move here?" I ask.

He hesitates a little when I ask him this. "Uh... my mom just wanted a chance of scenery..."

I get the hint that he doesn't really want to talk about it, so I nod and shortly after, we arrive at the history class. "Here it is," I say and we walk in.

Our history teacher, Mr. Lee, sees Ni-ki walk in and calls him up. I go sit in my seat before class starts. They talk for about a minute before Ni-ki turns around and comes to sit by me again.

"I told him that you speak Japanese so he allowed me to sit here," Ni-ki says. I nod.

"Okay, so today, we will be starting to talk about the Korean culture. Many of you are probably thinking that this will be boring because you live here and experience it daily, but it won't be about the overall culture, it's more focused on the culture and traditions you have in your homes. Here is a rubric for the project and you are going to work with a partner for it. I will let you choose your partners this time," Mr. Lee explains and passes out a paper to us. The paper has everything we have to include in our project and even an example of a good presentation.

Mr. Lee says, "Use the rest of the class to choose your partners and get started on your projects."

As expected, everyone chooses their friends to be their partners. Sunoo and Ari look back at me and assume I'll partner up with Ni-ki, so they end up partnering up together and leave me to be with Ni-ki. Maybe this won't be so bad...

"So... do you want to work together?" Ni-ki asks me.

"Sure," I say. We talk about our project for the rest of the class and the bell rings, signaling it's time for lunch.

"We can talk about the project more this afternoon if you'd like," Ni-ki tells me.

"I'll have to ask my parents to make sure we aren't busy this afternoon..." I say. "Can I have your phone number so I can text you if I'm available?" I ask him.

"Yes, here you go," he says and hands me his phone so I can enter his number in mine.

"Thank you. Do you want to come to lunch with me and my friends?" I try to be as nice as I can because I remember how it was when I first moved to Seoul and the only people who would talk to me were Ari and Sunoo. I want to make sure Ni-ki feels welcomed. Plus, there seems to be something pulling me towards him. Something is making me want to talk to him more.

"Sure," he says and we walk out of the classroom. I head to my locker first to drop off my books and then go to the cafeteria.

As soon as we arrive at the cafeteria, we go to the corner table where Ari, Sunoo, and Jungwon are.

"Hey Hana!" Jungwon shouts. "Who's this? Your boyfriend?" Jungwon says and smirks at me.

"No, I don't have a boyfriend, Jungwon. This is Ni-ki. It's his first day here. He transferred from Japan," I tell him.

"Oh, okay. I was thinking you finally got your first boyfriend..." Jungwon teases me. I roll my eyes and sit down next to Sunoo and Ni-ki sits by me.

Jungwon is the last member of our friend group, not including my older brother, Jay. Jay has already graduated, so we don't see him during the day anymore.

"So, mysterious boy from Japan, tell me about yourself," Jungwon says to Ni-ki.

Ni-ki doesn't reply. Instead, he turns to me and asks me in Japanese, "Is he just asking for me to introduce myself?"

I reply, "Yeah. Just give him a basic introduction and description of yourself." He nods showing he understood and turns back to Jungwon on the other side of him.

"I'm Ni-ki. I have two sisters and I don't speak very good Korean," he says and rubs the back of his neck with his hand.

"Is Ni-ki your real name?" Sunoo asks curiously.

"Uh... no, but that's what everyone calls me. Not even my family really call me by my real name." They look at him confused, but don't pry for any more answers.

They ask Ni-ki a few more questions and then go back to their typical conversations. They talk about what they're going to do after school and various games and stuff. Basically just anything that's on their minds at the moment.

I wait for the lunch bell to ring so we can go ahead and go to our next class. I'm anxious to get home today and ask my parents if I can meet up with Ni-ki to do my project. I've never felt something like this before with a boy, and I don't know if I like it or hate it.

(A/N : Sorry if this is not that good, I'm trying my best. Please tell me what you think in the comments! I'm really enjoying doing this!)