With Details

1

It's freezing cold. It felt like your skin would succumb to the dangerous chill and crack so easily under the lightest touch. Eugene huffed, then he puffed to keep some of his body warmth to himself and not the crook known as cold air. He blew aggressively into his gloved palm after pushing open the frigid entrance door. He paced down the hallway in his black hoodie that may have frozen to his school uniform underneath. But the point is… it's so darn cold!

Every single student that he passed had a hot espresso in their heat-comforted hands and maybe he regretted buying an Iced Americano that morning, just a little. He held his head low as the mighty cold left him weak and shivering. It was kind of stupid to not look where you're going so no wonder he bumped into someone.

Eugene stumbled back, his hands waved embarrassingly in an attempt of gripping onto something stable. His eyes widened as his hoodie flew from over his head, releasing his eyes to the freedom of sight. He saw a man, a very tall… handsome, gigantic man. Even though he was mid-fall, he had to question if that guy even belonged in high school, but he was also so handsome. He was like… kpop idols that solo the entire modeling industry, do you get that?

The long-limbed student reached out, wrapping his hand around Eugene's gyrating arm, yanking him back to his feet. "Are you okay?" He said with his thick eyebrows curling up in concern. Another thing Eugene noted, "His voice is deep as hell!"

"It's fine," Eugene said with his eyes shaped like saucers, "Sorry, I wasn't looking ahead of me." The mystery guy nodded with a kind laugh, "It's okay." Then he moved off, swerving around Eugene in the process. He was left stunned, mouth partially hanging as he watched the guy launch himself a meter with every step. Damn… what a tall guy…

It turned summer. Eugene had later discovered that the leggy guy he so humiliatingly bounced against was named Seung. At first, Seung was that irrelevant stranger Eugene's eye would ever so often notice. He'd occasionally congratulate him mentally on his lottery ticket-like height. He'd hum to himself a little pettily when they'd pass each other in the halls as Seung was a whole shoulder above him. There were times when he'd look up, then look even more up and "ah, there he was" when he stood relatively close.

More and more, he began to notice Seung. He wasn't a stalker or anything but he began to pick up on little things about Seung, like how he doesn't eat at the canteen or any at all. He also observed that he was fairly popular. He'd always be hanging out with a friend group but what was interesting was that it'd be a new group of people every time. It was like he was circulating around the school.

There was a point between last winter and this summer where Eugene had sat at the very top bench in the grandstand of the gym, gnawing the bottom of a pen as he came to the conclusion; he was fond of Seung. Then grew the shameless desire to be the guy's friend.

The truth was, Eugene basically knew the guy like the back of his hand, but for Seung… How do you word this nicely? He was like Pluto in the solar system. Irrelevant. Without a doubt, the little buck ups they shared was probably the first and last time Seung met Eugene as a student of Kiseung High. Though, the silly boy yearned for companionship.

He'd probably shimmy his deranged self up to Seung and say, "Hi! I watch you all the time. Let's be best friends forever." Eugene already knew deep within himself how much of a creep he’d sound. As a plan B, known as the ‘no police report’ plan, Eugene would smoothly approach him during the lunch hour, chatter a few words of nonsense then ask for the guy's number.

The problem with this plan, that even the ambitious boy couldn't even realize, was that people usually exchange numbers when they vibed.

It was the peak of lunch time. The idle students saw this as an escape from all their teachers yapping as they conversed so cluelessly themselves. The more sensible ones sat in groups or in solitary, fretting as they studied. The halls were busy but nowhere as packed as the cafeteria.