OUR HEARTBEAT [BEOMJUN] ✅

eighteen

“Have you seen Soobin?” I came to a breathless stop at Arin’s locker Monday morning. I’d run from my car to Soobin’s locker and now to hers in less than five minutes.

“What?” Arin asked, turning around with books in her arms.

“Soobin. Do you know where he’d be right now?”

“He’s not here today. Remember? Soccer tournament.”

“Oh. Right.” I let my anger melt away now that I knew I couldn’t confront him.

“Why are you looking for Soobin?”

“I want to talk to him about the marina incident.” I’d told Arin in hurried texts about what had happened over the weekend but didn’t tell her who I thought was responsible. Maybe because I wasn’t willing to commit to it until I confronted him. “When did he leave for the tournament?”

“Today. But wait, you think Soobin did that?”

“Yes.”

“It doesn’t sound like him.”

“He’s upping his game.”

“Huh. If it was him, I’ll find out.”

“Me too.”

She shut her locker. She was wearing an oversize gray hoodie I’d never seen on her before.

“Is that new?”

She smiled. “It’s Yeonjun’s.”

“Really?”

“He let me wear it Friday night after we left your house.”

“And you incorporated it into your wardrobe?” I didn’t know why this seemed to bother me.

“I’ll give it back to him. But this is Flirting 101: Let a boy see you wearing his clothes.”

“Because then he associates you with his possessions?”

She shook her head and shoved my arm. “No. Because he thinks you look cute with his stuff draped around you.” She motioned her thumb to the side. “Come on. Let’s get to class.”

I’d come early to confront Soobin, so we still had some time before the bell rang. “I’ll meet you there. I need to go to my locker.”

“I’ll come with you.”

We navigated the halls and came to a stop at my locker. I dug below a stack of papers and grabbed my history book.

“Who even needs books for class?” a voice behind me said.

I let out a small yelp and my history book fell to the floor with a slap.

Yeonjun smiled but then bit his lip, looking apologetic. “Sorry, I didn’t think talking in a loud hallway could scare someone.”

“She can be jumpy,” Arin said.

“Noted.”

Arin pulled at the sleeves of the hoodie she wore—Yeonjun’s hoodie—as if to draw attention to it. “What’s up with the golf club?” she asked him.

I hadn’t even noticed he was holding a golf club until she’d pointed it out. He moved it up onto his shoulder like a baseball bat.

“Do you golf?” Arin asked.

He took it off his shoulder and held it out as if evaluating it. “Yes and no.”

“How is that a real answer?” I asked.

“Well, I don’t golf, but I like to go to driving ranges sometimes. And Jake bet me that I couldn’t hit a golf ball through the goalposts from that big hill behind the stadium, so I did what had to be done.”