Bubble Gum Kisses

Bloomed in a Garden of Loneliness

Jin lifted the book higher so that it hid the wide yawn that erupted from his mouth. He rubbed his heavy eyelids awake and tried to focus on the jumble of letters written on the board.

It was almost 2:30 AM when Byulyi and he went down their neighborhood hilltop last night—or rather, earlier this morning. Suffice to say, his eyelids were always one blink away from completely closing themselves to sleep.

Byulyi, ever the rebel, was sleeping on her desk on the furthermost desk in the back. It wasn't like their teachers could do anything to her.

More than anything he wanted to copy Byulyi and rest during their morning classes. But then that meant giving up on his goal of being number one.

Jin disguised another yawn as him ducking his head to take notes. Who said it was a good idea to start school early this morning? Better yet, whose brilliant idea was it to stay up until 3 in the morning?

He looked backwards to steal another glance at the sleeping girl behind the class. She told him to meet her by the bus stop closest to their neighborhood at 10 PM sharp or else she was going to leave without him.

And though Jin covered his mouth again for the hundredth time that morning, he couldn't deny the excitement that came with the curiosity of what they were going to do later.

«««-»»»

The sound of grit being crushed against rubber wheels dragged Jin away from his sleep but the sound of revving engine grabbed him by the throat and forced him awake. He stared with wide eyes as a sleek Benz slid in front of him. Through the lowered windows, he saw Byulyi sitting on the driver's seat.

He pointed a shocked finger at her. "Whose car is that?"

"Doesn't matter." She unlocked the door. "Get in."

Jin thanked his instincts to bring a jacket with him that night, the thick fabric shielding him from the chilling wind as they zoomed past streetlight after streetlight towards God knows where. It was already 12 AM and they had been driving for more than two hours. And because Jin had been running on only five hours of sleep since this morning, the warmth his jacket lent him was enough to lull him to sleep.

Not the first time since the day started, Jin's eyes closed as his head slowly lolled to the side.

"If you sleep on me I'll throw you out."

Jin forced his eyes to widen until he was sure they'd pop out of their sockets. He didn't doubt that there was some—if not the whole—truth behind her words. He pinched his wrist awake until his arms were red but the quick wind outside the window still forced his eyelids close.

He needed something to energize him quickly.

With barely opened eyes, he turned to Byulyi. "Does your car have an aux?" he mumbled, his voice low and barely audible.

Byulyi tore her eyes away from the road to glance at him for a second. She shoved her hand in the compartment between them and passed him the cord.

As the sounds of faint vrooming filled the silence between them, Byulyi's head snapped to look at his phone. For the first time since they've met, something akin to excitement glittered in her eyes. "You listen to Bangtan?"

Jin bopped his head slightly to the beat. "Who doesn't listen to Bangtan?"

"Almost everyone at school thinks they're overrated."