The Hardest Things to Say

Ch. 1 - Sunwoo

"Sunwoo, wake up!"

I sit up, rubbing my eyes as I glimpse my mother exiting my room. I look at the clock. 6:30 a.m. Time to get up for school.

I jump out of bed and open my closet; I pick out a plain, black, short-sleeved t-shirt with some blue jeans. Before stuffing my notebooks and textbooks in my bag, I look in the mirror to make sure my dark hair isn't sticking up, then head downstairs towards the smell of waffles. Mmm, my favorite.

I walk into the kitchen, a plate of waffles set on the dining room table. Setting my bag down, I sit in front of the waffles; I drown them in chocolate syrup before digging in.

As I'm eating, my mother enters the dining room. "Oh, you're finally up?" She says. "About time."

"Eomeoni! Give me a break," I say, fake-sniffling.

"Oh hush, child. Eat your food so you won't be late."

I pout as I shove the last few bites of my waffle into my mouth. I put my plate in the sink and then hoist my backpack onto my shoulders. "Bye Eomeoni!"

I slip on my shoes and make my way through the restaurant. When I was a child, life was harder and my parents didn't get much business; now our family restaurant is one of the most popular, high-quality, Korean cuisine restaurants in town.

As I walk to the door, one of our regular costumers enters. They greet me and I return the greeting, along with a slight bow. Without looking up, I pass them and walk out the door. After taking a few steps, I feel myself slamming into something.

I just ran into a boy.

The force of our collision knocks me over, the boy still standing. I look up; unlike my brown eyes, the boy has startling blue eyes and ink-black hair. He holds out his hand and I take it.

"Thanks," I say, my face flushing in embarrassment. "Sorry, I-I wasn't looking where I was going."

He smiles. "It's alright, no worries. Want to walk together? I'm assuming you are going to school...?" He asks, curiosity dancing in his eyes.

"Ah, yes, I am." I reply, relieved.

"Great! I figured you might because I've seen you around before. Let's go then!" He started walking and beckoned me to follow.

"Really? That's... interesting. I haven't noticed you before, but maybe we have a class together."

"Yeah, maybe." He furrows his brow in thought. "We'll see," he laughs.

The entire way to school, I couldn't help thinking that maybe I could be friends with this guy. He seems so happy and easygoing.

No. This probably won't work out; why would someone like him want to be friends with me? There's no reason why we should be. I should just give up now instead of wishing for something that won't happen.

My thoughts must have been reflecting on my face because the boy asks me, "Hey, are you alright? You look upset."

"Oh, do I? N-no, nothing's wrong." I smile, acting all bubbly. He doesn't pry.

After a few minutes we arrive at the school. We exchange goodbyes and go our separate ways; part of me is hoping that we have a class together. The other part of me knows that even if we do, what's the point? What am I going to do if we have a class in common? I've already tried abandoning the hope of friendship with this stranger, yet my heart is desperately grasping at hope.

I push it out of my mind, trying to focus on something else. And that something else is my bestie.

"Arya!" I yell, running to her. She's standing in front of our lockers, waiting for me.