Pleasant Imagines (Jinjoo)

Ignored

The door to the lecture hall creaks open and in sneaks a girl who was just a few minutes late. She slithers herself into her usual seat, right next to the white walls. Fortunately, the professor was too busy with attendance taking to notice.

"Ahn Yujin?" He looks up, seeing an arm shoot into the air.

"Here!" Yujin smiles, acting normal as if she were in her seat way before he walked in. "He should really get his hearing checked." She speaks through her teeth and pulls out her laptop.

Glancing next to her, she notices the same stare her dear friend always gives her. "Don't you think?" She asks for an opinion.

"You're going to get caught one day." Wonyoung nags softly, shaking her head in disappointment.

Yujin relaxes into the world's most uncomfortable plastic chair. "We're three-quarters into the year and he hasn't caught on. I wonder how he's still teaching. Just look at them dozing off."

Morning classes meant seeing more heads on the tiny revolving tables stuck to the individual chairs. Only psychopaths enjoy them.

"Why are you late anyway?"

"Uhh...traffic." Yujin smiles, pulling up her tutorials on her screen.

"You live in the dorm." Wonyoung didn't buy it. "That's five minutes away."

"I fell." The girl shows the tiny bruise on her knee under those ripped jeans.

"Just say you woke up late."

"I woke up late." Yujin gave up. "The roosters forgot to wake me up." She leans back, waiting for the man to start his lecture.

Wonyoung accepts that reason. "She'll kill you if she knows you're late again."

"Who?"

"Who else?" She saw Yujin turn to her, visibly not knowing who she was referring to. "Your girlfriend."

"My girlfriend—oh." She definitely didn't forget the days her girlfriend miraculously knew she was late for class. "Were you the one always telling her?"

"Yes. She has to know."

"And why?"

"Because."

"Because what?"

"Because she cares for you. And since she's not in this school, I become the one who cares for you in her place. You make my life so much more difficult." Wonyoung sighs, expecting a retort but nothing came. All she saw was Yujin keeping herself to the laptop.

She crosses her arms and slants her body towards Yujin. "What's this?" She gestures at the latter's posture. Slouched shoulders and focused gaze. Yujin being focused in class was like watching the snow fall on a beach.

"What?"

"What happened?" Wonyoung knew she was made out of glass. She could see right through her.

Yujin was about to say something but heard the high-pitched screech of the microphone. The man was starting the class. "I'll tell you later. It's a long story."

"You better not shove it under the rug."

...

When the lecture ends, Yujin shuts her laptop and puts her fingers over her eyes, rubbing them lightly. She particularly hates this professor's lectures since he always side-tracks and talks about his obsession with ducks. He teaches economics which is totally off-topic. 

"So, what is it?" Wonyoung would never let her off.

Yujin opens her eyes, hating the bright lights. "Give me a break."