When We're Together [양정완]

27.

As the second and third year students of Byeoran High School made their way to the buses, Yang Jungwon spotted a familiar face in the crowd. His favorite face, Chae Aera's.

The boy had already loaded his luggage and ran over to help the girl with her own suitcase. Only, when he got there, he saw none other than Baek Junhyun already aiding her. Jungwon stood in the mass of students, hidden from the view of the pair.

The male watched as Junhyun smiled at the girl and said something that made her laugh. He was annoyed, but at least Aera seemed to be in a good mood despite what she had messaged him earlier that morning.

The boy turned away to walk towards his bus when he heard a voice call for him. "Jungwon!" He turned to see Hwang Minhye, standing behind him. He smiled at her and she smiled back excitedly. "What room are you?" she questioned the boy while rocking back and forth on her heels.

"601, you?" The boy confusedly blinked as the girl let out a small gasp and covered her mouth. "Really? I'm 603!" The girl clapped in excitement and opened her mouth to say something else, but another girl, probably her friend, tapped her on the shoulder, notifying her it was time to load into the bus.

She waved goodbye to the male before she turned and jogged towards her bus. He was about to do the same, but he was once again stopped by a voice calling him. "Hey, Yang Jungwon!"

The boy turned to see a smiley Chae Aera skipping towards him. He bit the inside of his lip to prevent himself from grinning at her as she approached excitedly. "Aren't you excited? Isn't this exciting? Wow... I'm so excited," the girl continued rambling as the male failed to keep a straight face.

He reached down and patted the girl's head, startling her a bit before she quickly smacked his hand away. Her lips parted, about to protest his actions, when he spoke first, "You never told me what room number you are."

"What if I don't want to tell you?" she teased as she crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. "Fine by me," the male said as he grinned and turned to leave for the third time.

Suddenly, the boy felt a tug on his sleeve pulling him backwards. "Tsk- fine. I'm 602, what about you?"

The boy took a moment to process what he had just heard. He raised his eyebrows as he responded, still surprised. "Really? I'm 601."

The pair stared at each other in silence before Aera broke eye contact and shifted her gaze to the floor. The next thing she knew, she had instinctively smacked the male on his arm, trying to break the awkward silence.

The boy looked at her as he confusedly rubbed the part of his arm she had hit and watched as the girl hurried away, flustered, to her friends.

He was about to call after her, but he felt a tap on his shoulder and heard a male voice. "We're loading the bus."

The male turned to Kim Sunoo, who was scrolling on his phone while informing him of the bus status, and followed him away. The two made it to the bus, but it was already almost full. The only seats vacant were the one beside Sunghoon and the two seats in front of those.

Sunoo quickly snatched up the seat beside Sunghoon and Jungwon shrugged, making his way to the other open seat. As the male scrolled on him phone, waiting for the bus to begin moving, he felt somebody nudge him.

The boy looked up to see Chae Aera pointing at the open seat beside him. "Is anyone sitting here?"

He looked at her with a blank expression for a moment before he shook his head. The boy watched as she sat beside him and began scrolling on her phone.

Finally after an eternity, the bus finally jolted, and began moving forwards. Chae Aera sighed, not excited for the hour long bus ride ahead.