When He Showed Up

Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

When we finally arrived in front of the chemistry classroom, Min Su turned towards me. "I'll be right here waiting for you, arrasso? [Ok]"

"Ok, ok!” I said, grinning.  “Now get to class before we both get in trouble!"

"Arrasso! See ya!"  

I waved goodbye, then turned toward the door, took in a deep breath, and knocked on the door. I waited a moment until the door opened.

"Come in," said the teacher in crude English.  "Gamsahabnida [Thank You]," I said in Korean. I stood in front of the entire class.  It was an incredibly odd feeling, with everyone staring at you like you were a criminal or something.

"Could you please introduce yourself to the class?" asked the professor, sounding bored. "Sure! My name is Jess, I'm 19, and I'm from America.  I hope we all do well this year, and I’m ready to work hard!”  After I finished, everyone started...clapping? It was very weird, considering all I did was introduce myself.

"Thank you Jess! Now, to find you a seat. Anybody have a empty seat next to them?" Just as he finished that sentence, a single hand shot up. I looked to find the face that was attached to the hand.And LOW AND BEHOLD! Who do I meet? "Ah! Mr. Jang! Jess, you may sit next to him." I smiled as respectfully as possible to the teacher, then turned and looked at Brie. Oh, joy.  Here's this jerk again...

I walked over to my seat, as all the girls gave me dirty looks, and I reluctantly sat down.   He smirked at me and asked, "What are you, stalking me?  Babe, face it, you can't ignore the chemistry between us."  I looked at him like he was a huge ball of slime (which, metaphorically speaking, was totally true). That loser thinks I LIKE him?   I looked away and rolled my eyes, trying to avoid his deep gaze.

He came close to my ear, whispering, "If you like me, all you have to do is take some action. Don’t worry, baby, I won't bite...unless you want me to, of course." He let out a soft groan at the end, and ooohh, that sent shivers down my spine. Good shivers.  GET A GRIP, GIRL.  He's just some stupid player, like Jake was. I pushed him off and gave him a death stare.

"What? Does every girl here seriously fall in love with you every time they look at you?  How pathetically naïve.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm trying to listen." I smiled an obviously fake smile, imagining a thousand ways to kill him with common classroom objects.  He looked dumbfounded, but laughed it off and listened to the teacher. Well, at least I was trying to listen! His cologne was intoxicating, and that bad-boy charisma...ERGG! Pay attention, Jess!

After the bell rang, I got up and started packing my things up.  Thank God that class is over.  I don't think I can stand one more minute.  I walked out of the classroom and looked for Min Su, until I saw her and some guy walking together.The guy was quite attractive, but I could tell he was a littleyoung for me. He had medium length brown hair and was wearing a humorous graphic tee with a blue jacket and skinny jeans. When Min Su got up to me, the guy said, "So, this is Jess! It's good to meet you!"  I looked at Min Su questioningly.

"Jess, this is Lee Tae Bing, but we all call him Tae" she explained.  "He's my best friend."  I noticed that she blushed slightly when she said his name.  I remembered being like that around Jake.  Ah, the bittersweet feeling of first love.  Emphasis on the bitter, in my case.

"It's nice to meet you, Tae!" I went to shake his hand, when I felt someone's hands quickly, yet sexily slide around my waist.  I was mortified, so I looked behind me, and gosh dang it! It's that Brie Jang again.  "AAHH! Brie! What are you doing?" I pushed his hands off and leaned defensively against the wall, while Min Su and Tae exploded in laughter. Geez, they really have no idea...

"Brie-hyung, what are you doing to this girl?" asked Tae, still grinning. "Just messing with her, is all.  Till we meet again, babe..." he said, cupping my face with his hand, then walked away.  UGGGHHH!   Tae, looking back at me, inquired, "Huh.  Are you two dating, or something?"  I whipped around, horrified by the very thought. "WHAT?!  I WOULDN'T DATE THAT GUY IF HE WAS THE LAST ONE ON EARTH!!!" I yelled in English so they knew I was serious! "Ok Jess! Calm down! I was just curious!" laughed Tae. "No, we're not! Thank God!" "Ok! Well, come on already. It's our break!"

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