The Gimbap Project

Chapter 9 Tissue Packet

A knot of worry tightened in Hyun Woo's stomach as he sprinted across the schoolyard, his frantic eyes scanning the familiar faces and paths. He had just received news from Kim Pil-sook – Hae-in had never shown up to class. But that can't be right, for he had seen her clearly that morning, walking across the schoolyard after her driver dropped her off.

A silent curse slipped through his clenched teeth.

Has something terrible happened to her?

Did her bullies get to her?

His frantic search took him on a whirlwind tour of the school. He checked the library where she usually studied, to her usual classroom which was glaringly empty, to the gymnasium. But Hae-in was nowhere to be found.

Another fifteen minutes crawled by, and Hyun Woo was about to lose his mind when a flash of movement under the bleachers caught his eye. There, huddled beneath the deserted bleachers, knees pulled tight to her chest, was the unmistakable figure of Hong Hae-in.

Relief washed over him, so potent it threatened to buckle his knees. But it was quickly replaced by a surge of concern.

"Hong Hae-in ssi!" Hyun Woo roared.

Deep in his emotions, he barely registered the startled flinch his sudden appearance caused.

He marched towards her, concern hardening his voice. "What are you doing here?" The words tumbled out, laced with the panic gnawing at him. "Do you have any idea how worried I-"

The words died on his tongue as his eyes locked on hers. Her quivering lips, the glistening tear tracks carving paths down her flushed cheeks – it all stopped him cold. The harshness in his voice melted away, replaced by a gentle concern.

"Hey," he began softly, kneeling beside her. "What happened?... Are you crying?"

There was a small sniffle...

...followed by another one.

Hae-in tried to mask it as she pressed her lips together in a futile attempt to hold back the tears.

Oh, she was definitely crying alright. Hyun Woo wasn't even sure why he asked her that. The tears rolling down her cheeks said it all.

"Ani," she mumbled, trying to brush him off. "Something got in my eyes."

He wasn't fooled.

He sat beside her, mirroring her posture by pulling his knees to his chest. "You're crying," he stated calmly, searching her face for clues. "What's wrong?"

He might appear calm and composed, but his heart was pounding frantically against his ribs. This was uncharted territory for him. He had seen her frustrated, determined, even angry, but never like this – so vulnerable, so openly broken it twisted something deep within him.

And this time, he didn't know what to do.

An ache resonated in his chest, a strange echo of the pain he felt when he caught her tear-filled eyes on the day she dropped her MP3.

She's a beautiful crier. Truly.

Jamkkanman, Baek Hyun Woo, now's not the time! Do something!

Snapping back to reality, Hyun Woo jerked slightly before he fumbled for words, anything to offer comfort in this situation.

But Hae-in simply shook her head. "Don't look at me," she mumbled, burying her face further in her knees.

Hyun Woo looked at her dumbly for he hadn't processed her words. He merely reacted to the sound of her voice.

"I said don't look at me..."