Reserved [Book V]

Sense

Eyes that make out black and white,
Mouth that utter words of spite,
Nose that smells the river air,
Ears that hear bleats of despair.
And oh, I wonder, oddest of all,
despite you being icy and walled,
your hands possess the warmest touch
and I find myself being lured so much.

Senses (2016) by Jang Ah-reum

She had read her own poem for about twenty times now, but Areum still stood in front of the bulletin alone. Perhaps she was used to seeing Kyungsoo there to read her work and give her a review, used to finding someone she could run to, used to the idea that they were friends.

Was he still offended from what happened after gym class? That wasn't her fault. None of it ever was. She didn't even like being hauled away and now that she had a taste of Zitao's training, she didn't want to be near the boy. If that was the reason for Kyungsoo not showing up, then Areum might as well be disappointed every Tuesday.

She waited. It was more than twenty minutes at least, right after she thanked Luna and came out of the office. Her feet were almost as tired as her spirit and Areum wanted to leave and go home, but she told herself to wait for five minutes more.

After five minutes, the thought repeated. Just wait five minutes more.

Reality only snapped in her head when the office opened and revealed Luna, surprised to see her still rooted to her spot.

"I'm having lunch out. Want to come with me?" The older girl asked with a smile. "There's this great place a few streets away and their braised beef bowl is amazing. Some of the org rookies will join us."

"I'll pass for now." Areum answered; an attempt to sound lively but miserably failing. "I'm just about to go home. Enjoy your meal."

Other than the fact that Areum treated Luna as a superior in the club, she wouldn't be comfortable explaining whatever she was feeling. Thankfully, the older wasn't the kind of person to push. She simply nodded and shrugged. "Maybe next time. See you around, Areum."

"Eat well."

Another round of dreadful five minutes and Areum's fire was finally distinguished by Kyungsoo's absence. It was hard to admit, yes, much as it was a tiny prick in her chest. It was bad to assume that the boy fixed his every Tuesday noon after classes meeting her, but wasn't it logical to think that way? After all, it was Kyungsoo who voluntarily went there and enjoyed her poetry, and Areum didn't take part with taking him there and forcing him to read.

She went downstairs, slowly, looking at the steps in all cautiousness. Areum couldn't trust her own eyes and when she heard a low 'watch it' from beside her, she didn't trust her ears.

She hated it. She hated how much effort it took for her sight to make out boys clad in warm sweaters, but it took her hearing half a second to recognize the voice of the boy who was a dreadful pain to her life. Areum could never mistake Huang Zi-tao's demanding tone for anybody else's because his words were always an aching shock down her spine.

Only as they reached the bottom of the stairs did Areum stop and faced the tall guy, expression looking blank as ever. She wanted him to go away, leave her alone for the sake of her sanity. But somehow even with irritation building up inside, her core was still the same, and she wasn't the explosive type of person.

Zitao stood like a statue and Areum stared at his eyes, attempting to find frustration despite the blur. She figured that if she succeeded on finding it, then they would have something in common and something to agree on, thus the boy staying away on school days at least.