Mirage

02

"Haeun?" The homeroom teacher in charge squinted her eyes, carefully re-reading the name list given to her as she assigned the seats for her students. "Kim Haeun?"

She doubted her eyes after reading the name countless times, her head turned towards the few students lining up in front of the class waiting for their name to be called. 

Pushing her reading glasses up with her finger, she cleared her throat once when the smiling girl - Kim Haeun, slightly raised her hand, confirming her name.

It was really her.

Not only was the teacher shocked upon seeing the girl, but the whole class was, too. Kim Haeun, one of the model students, always resided in the first class ever since she started high school, surprisingly transferring into one of the bottom classes due to the bad grades on her last exam.

The whispers among the students did not even affect her. Instead, she patiently waited for the teacher to announce her designated seat.

"You can take the window seat," Mrs Hong announced, but Haeun seemed to have a different idea.

"I'm sorry teacher, but can I have the middle seat?" politely requesting, her eyes darted to the empty seat next to a sleepy boy who was lost in his own world. "I can't focus much next to the window."

Mrs Hong skimmed the classroom once again, somewhat feeling grateful for the request voiced. If she needed to thank someone for giving her a good start to the new year, it would be Haeun.

"Take the seat next to Sunwoo then," she jotted down some notes on her paper, the boy had now lost his drowsiness. "I'm expecting you to help Sunwoo with his study, okay Haeun?"

At that, Kim Haeun brightly agreed, skipping her way towards her new seatmate. Pulling the chair before plopping down and tossing her bag onto the floor, she giddily turned towards Sunwoo, excitement filling her eyes.

His side profile was insane, it almost made her wristwatch that showed her heart rate burn by the abnormal beat inside her chest.

"I'm Kim Haeun," she was all bright, nonetheless Sunwoo remained cranky, eyeing her weirdly with those big eyes.

"I'm Kim Sun-"

"Kim Sunwoo," she cut him off before he could finish, and the boy slightly flinched in his seat. "If you're wondering how I know your name, it's clearly on your name tag."

Genius people were weird - at least that was what Sunwoo thought without knowing anything else.

Had only he noticed how Haeun could not wipe those foolish smiles off her face as she glanced over him, had only he known that she had been keeping her eyes on him from the moment she stepped into this class, Sunwoo probably would have run away by now.

And the only excuse he had was the soccer practice.

He might not be the best student with a good record, but he indeed was athletic. The only thing he could do better, he thought.

However, unbeknownst to him, his only excuse was soon be invaded by none other than Kim Haeun.

"You are not serious!" The rooftop of the building echoed with the loud voice, its owner - a boy, sarcastically laughing at the news he heard from his friend. "Kim Sunwoo? Really?"

"Mhm," Haeun confirmed, legs crossed comfortably as she sat on the old chair which was still a question how it ended up being there. "I've made up my mind. I'm going for Sunwoo."

"I mean.... It's Kim Sunwoo we're talking about!" Eric frustrated, foot stomped harshly on the ground which probably shook up the whole building. "You know his reputation. The good record he has is that he's a soccer player! I went to the same middle school with him, trust me, he's not a good one."

Eric was panting as he finished, cupping his waist as he waited for his friend's response. But, Haeun just hummed, uninterested in the rambles her friend gave.

"I'm still going for him."

"What? Hey, you know that he's Jihoon's friend right? And you do know how problematic that boy is," Eric voiced out another point, but Haeun's reaction was still the same. "Do something Jia!"

The girl who was scrolling her phone from the start of the debate looked up, flickering her eyes from Eric to Haeun, shrugging uninterestedly.

"You know Haeun... Once she made up her mind, she wouldn't stop."

It somehow had lightened up Haeun's mood, her heart was full of having a supportive friend like Jia. Though they were not in the same class again this year - she left the two behind, she was grateful that one of them still had her back.

"Well, I think I have to go now," Haeun rose up, fixing her wrinkly uniform in the process. "I have to find Sunwoo."

Only the mere mention of the boy made Eric groan, his fists clenched tight beside his frame as his friend's figure slowly disappeared behind the door. Nonetheless, what had made him more furious was that the girls were ganging him up, and even Jia decided to go against him.

"Shouldn't we stop her?" the boy asked, tugging his hair from its roots aggressively. "You know this will not do her any good."

Jia once again sighed, eyes still darting on the door - the last spot she saw Haeun. Slowly she tore her gaze from the wooden thing, finding Eric's dark furious orbs.

"Don't you notice the watch around her wrist? Her heart beats rapidly just by mentioning Sunwoo's name," hearing that, Eric's muscles relaxed, he let go of the breath he did not know he held. "Let her be. It's her wish list."

The wish list.

Something that had abruptly come up in Haeun's mind as she started the new year, something that sounded ridiculous at first but as time passed by, her friends slowly opened up and respected her decision.

"I only hope that Sunwoo is not her choice, I don't want her to be hurt," Eric prayed diligently in his head, for Haeun was a precious friend.

However, unbeknownst to him, Haeun was too certain about her decision. Specifically, when she ran into Sunwoo in the hallway, the boy had just finished his soccer meeting.

He did nothing, only rummaging through his locker, probably picking up his book for the next class. But, only standing there was already enough to make Haeun's heart race.

"This is not good for my health," she placed a palm on her chest, slightly patting to calm the furious beating.

Clearly, she was hesitant to make a move but she also feared she would lose this opportunity if she did not start it now.

With anxiousness clouding over her, she dragged her feet forward, scooting closer to the cranky boy who'd slammed his locker hard.

"Kim Sunwoo," Haeun called, the said boy flinched by the sudden approach. 

With a stoic expression, Sunwoo pondered, his thick brows furrowed. 

"What?"

The cold tone in his voice caught Haeun off guard, her feet halted as she stood 1m across from him. Sunwoo leaned against his locker on his shoulder, crossing his arms.

It was intimidating for someone like Haeun to adapt, but it was not the time to feel that. She shrugged all the thought aside, looking straight into Sunwoo's orbs.

"Let's date."