under your umbrella.

17

"im haerin."

upon the mention of my name for attendance check, i raise my hand as i shout, "here!"

"everyone's here. good." mr. jeong puts down his clipboard as he takes his seat on the bench, scanning all of the students' faces here. "so, why did you all sign up for this?"

a boy sitting right in front of me lifts his hand, "i'm interested in trying new things."

"good. that's the spirit. how about the rest?" his question is followed by silence after, signing none of the other 16 participants - including me - are willing to open their mouth.

should i say something? this is bringing the mood down.

come on, haerin! you can do this!

i raise my left arm and with a deep breath, i say my answer, "i like cycling."

"really? how often do you go on a ride?" the teacher's face lights up with full anticipation of my next statement. almost everyone who are sitting in front of me turns their body around, eyes on me as each of them have different facial expressions drawn on their face. there's excitement and anticipation present yet utter boredom and annoyance also exist.

nervousness crawling on my back, i gulp, "every weekend."

"you must be good. i'll look forward to be seeing what you have in store, haerin." the elder smiles as everyone turns their back against me and towards the teacher again.

right after, a guy sitting next to me raises his hand, gaining the teacher's attention and the others. my focus also shift on him as our eyes meet. as swift as the moment happens, i look away. good lord, how i do not wish to be looking into those eyes of his!

"yes, uh, wooseok?" the teacher asks, rechecking the list on his clipboard to make sure he said the right name.

wooseok drops his arm, "i cycle with haerin every week."

taken aback by the six words forming a sentence, my pupils dilate due to surprise. out of a sudden? really, kim wooseok?

"oh, you must also be good at it. where do you both usually go cycling?" mr. jeong asks.

"we have a lake near our houses and surrounding it lies the a trail for cycling. either that or we just cycle around the neighbourhood itself." he explains. wow, this is my first time hearing him speak up. not even in class he is showing this enthusiasm. 

the elder nods, "thank you for that info. would it be cool if the both of you show us where you live- you know, for practices and preparations?"

"sure, sir." a smile decorates that serious face of his. 

"before we start, i need to ask; which of you here does not own a bicycle?" 

my focus automatically shifts everywhere else. there are a few hands raised as mr. jeong reacts to their responses. seeing how incoherent the situation is to me, my focus shifts to wooseok as i catch him looking back at me at the same time. 

there hid nothing in those brown pupils, signing he's the normal wooseok that i know. his expression isn't much of a different as usual yet i sense this normality as something unsightly. what does he want? he can't just pretend what happened is excusable. stop it, kim wooseok!

stop making me feel as if i'm making a big deal out of it when you know damn well the amount of weight i bare in my heart is outstanding to your understandings.

"alright, everyone. now that i gained all the information needed, lend me your ears one last time before i call this meeting off." the teacher's voice cools down the crowd noises as he steals everyone's attention, including mine. "as you all are aware, we have two weeks to prepare each and every one of you here. i leave the practice on you for a while i come up with a schedule convenient for everyone. it will be posted on school's official website and make sure to make it your top priority until the competition day comes. is that clear for everyone?"