Paperclips - YJH

Five

"Is this compulsory?" Kwon Soonyoung asks as he stares at his phone.

"Yes, Soonyoung. Do you not want the extra internal scores?" Jeonghan asks, speaking for everyone else.

"I don't mind failing the semester." Soonyoung says as he looks up from his phone. He looks at me for a split second before getting up and walking away.

"Ugh, now how do we make him do this with us?" Mijoo complained. We all stared at Jeonghan for an answer.

Jeonghan clears his throat. "I'll find some way," he sighs as he spins the pen in his hand.

"How? That guy doesn't seem very approachable to me." Mijoo commented.

Jeonghan sighs before grabbing his bag and getting up. "Alright guys, let's discuss the project later as a whole group. You guys can head out." He walks away.

I slowly get up, just like the others, and head towards my next class, bag in hand. On the way, I spot Soonyoung leaning against a wall, staring at his phone. I decide to approach him about the group project. Standing next to him, I clear my throat.
He looks up from his phone and at me. He raises his eyebrow, waiting for an answer.

"I'm here to talk about the project. You should," he cuts me off by waving his hands in front of me. "Sorry, I don't care enough." He says.

"So? Why did you take this course if you didn't care enough?" I say, mocking his tone. He stares at me as he puts his phone in his pocket before sighing, "Can't you guys just do it on your own?" He asked.

"Well, then it wouldn't be a group project." I reminded. He sighs once again before nodding my way. "Yeah, sure. I'll do it, but for the record, I want you to know that even if I don't do it, I won't fail." He walks away, hands in his pocket.

I shake my head and turn around, ready to head to my class, but a figure pops up in front of me. Flinching, I let out a slight yell.

"Woah woah, Chill," Jeonghan laughs while holding my shoulders, the corners of his eyes going up, making their own smile. He slowly retreats his hand back and says, "Thank you." He said. Why? Did he hear the conversation between me and Soonyoung?

"For...?" I asked a question, slightly confused but also getting a hint as to why. I just want to make sure, though. He laughs it off simply by waving his hands and walking away.
____

Classes are over for today. I stretch my arms as I get up from the long session. I grab my bag and check the time. It's almost 5 p.m., which means it's getting dark. I head out of the university and decide that I'll go to the convenience store to pick up some snacks. After walking for 10 minutes, I reach the nearest Seven Eleven and smile before entering the heaven of supplies.

I was going through each rack, trying to come up with a solid decision on what to get, as I heard some commotion up front. Curiously, I peek into my head and try to see what's going on. Unfortunately, all I can see are two figures, men. They were wearing masks and hoodies, so I couldn't see their faces. One guy looked like he just got slapped in the face, while the other guy looked at him with burning eyes. I move closer to the front so I can hear what's going on, as this situation is gathering a lot of attention anyway.

"DID YOU JUST HIT ME?" The guy who got hit yells while caressing his own cheek, which is red now. The redness of the cheek can be seen through the mask.

The other guy instantly grabs the guy by his shoulder and says something I can't hear, but he soon storms out of the store. The second guy looks around and asks for an ice pack before he storms out as well. I was just about to turn around when I noticed something on the floor—it was a mobile phone. I picked it up, and the phone was unlocked. My eyes widened when I realised this was Jeonghan's phone.

Before I could process what happened, I could feel my legs start working on their own as I rushed out of the store with the phone in hand. I looked around the busy evening city in hopes of finding Jeonghan. I looked at the walkways, parks, and even other convenience stores. He was nowhere to be found.

After a good 30 minutes of pointless searching, I sat down on a bench on the side to catch my breath. I had no idea why I was even running around looking for him, but I wanted to do it. Maybe I just wanted to know the drama from him. My thoughts were disturbed when I felt a hand on my shoulder from behind.

With wide eyes, I rapidly turned around and was shocked to see the person I was seeking standing there. He looked down at me, then at the phone I was holding. I'm holding his phone. He grabs it from me and asks, "Where did you find this?" before turning to face me once again.

"The store you were at just now. You left your phone there; somebody had to return it, you know." I shrug. I keep asking myself why I suddenly got very talkative, but it's good, I guess. Jeonghan sits next to me and takes off his hoodie. "Did you see it?"

"See what? The two guys fighting? Yes, I did." I reply, hoping to get some reaction from him. As soon as I said that, his shoulders slumped, and he looked at me. He stared into my eyes for a bit almost as if he was searching for some assurance. I tried to help him, "I'll listen."

He sighed and looked ahead, "He is my younger brother. He gets out of hand quite a lot, and it's very hard to have him at least listen to me. I didn't want to hit him like that, but he said something that triggered my temper. I don't know how to face him now." Jeonghan was playing with his fingers now.

I take a deep breath in and look at Jeonghan. "Maybe he feels sorry as well. Do you think so?"

"I doubt it." Jeonghan sighs before getting up and stretching his hand towards me. "Anyway, thank you for... this. Do you want to go have ramyeon together?" I almost choke on my saliva when I hear the offer, and he seems to know what's up as he quickly gives me a wink before pointing at a restaurant.
____

We are sitting in a snack bar, waiting for our ramen. Jeonghan said he'd pay, so I decided to fill my stomach tonight.

"So, what were you doing at the convenience store?" He asks me while his hands are trying to find a place to rest.

"I was doing the laundry." I said sarcastically and burst out laughing when I saw his whiny face. "I'm just kidding; I was there to shop. Obviously."

"Yeah, thank you, ma'am." He rolled his eyes in a playful way.

I was debating with myself as to whether I should bring it up or not, but I did anyway. "About your younger brother... Are you guys not on good terms?"

Jeonghan looked at me puzzled for a split second before gaining his composure and looking away. "We were never on good terms. At least he wasn't on good terms with me."

"Do you mind if I ask you why?" I cautiously asked him. He slowly nodded his head, almost as if he's wondering if it's okay to tell me about it.

Sensing his hesitation, I no longer wanted to invade his personal space and ask intrusive questions, "You don't have to."

"I was born out of wedlock."

I was taken aback by his answer. I quickly nodded and let him continue.

"I don't even remember my real mother. I grew up with my father's wife. They had a kid together when I was 3. My brother takes all the pride in being the actual, original son of the family. Which is probably why I lost my mind today when he talked about my biological mother being a whore." Jeonghan let out a sigh. After our noodles arrived, we ate together in silence, each taking our own time to digest our own thoughts.