Strawberry Milk

One

"Excuse me..." A male voice called out as he walked into the room cautiously. Sighting the top of the head of a student behind a bench, he called out with a softer voice as he neared her. "E-Excuse me?" He continued, hearing no response, gradually becoming a little agitated. "Hello? ...Umm, hellooo!?"

The boy was now standing behind the crouching girl, whose head remained downwards, eyes wandering around the floor of the home economics classroom in desperation. "Excuse me, but I'm talking to you," the boy snapped, his arms folded in front of his chest. But still the girl ignored him.

The slightly infuriated boy gazed to the ground beside his feet before recognising something strange. He glanced back at the girl before stepping away to pick up the object. It was a nude, curved rectangular shaped object with a short cable attached, with something like an earphone at the end of the cable. He returned to the girl and lowered himself once more, holding the device in front of the girl's eyes. For the first time, the boy saw the girl's face as she held her head up. Their eyes met and a relieved smile appeared on her face before gratefully accepting the hearing aid with both hands and adjusted it in her ear. She bowed, "Thank you, thank you so much. I thought I'd lost it."

The fact that her eyes looked like crystals rapidly ran across the boy's mind. He raised his brow. "Is that... a hearing aid?"

The girl's eyes shook, lowering her head and rubbing her hands nervously. "Uh... yes..."

"So... you couldn't hear me just now?"

"Ahh... Yeah... I couldn't, sorry. Did you need anything?"

"Oh, no. I was just looking for the filming club..."

"Oh, that's the class in front of this one, this class is for the baking club."

"Ahh, I see, I must've mistakened the room number." He reached for his nape, scratching it in embarrassment.

The girl paid the action no mind. "Well." The girl bowed again before heading for the doors, as if she was being chased to leave. "Thank you for finding this for me again."

The boy bowed back. "Ahh, but, uhh, I haven't seen you around, are you new here?"

The girl paused, turning back with an expression that looked rather cautious. "Y-Yeah, I'm a first year but I came late."

"Then I'm your senior, I'm a second year," he smiled, "You're that dea- I mean, what's your name?"

"Kim...Ari."

"I'm Jeon Jungkook," he replied, though not knowing what to say afterwards.

"Well then, senior Jeon, I'll see you around," Ari managed to say before leaving, blowing out a deep breath and smiling at the unusual and rare encounter.

Jungkook stood in the empty classroom, palming himself in the face for almost accidentally offending her, before shaping his hand into a fist below his nose as he muffled a chuckle at the girl calling him 'senior Jeon'. He then immediately reached his phone to text his friend Hyojong about the news.

. . .

Ari settled down on the usual park bench, opening up her plastic bag for her sandwich. Before she could take a bite, a carton of strawberry milk appeared in front of her eyes. With her hearing aids on, she could hear a voice. "You like strawberry, right?"

She turned around noticing Hyojong, a boy from her class with a cheeky smile. Without speaking a word, Ari watched as Hyojong invited himself beside her. "A lot of people like chocolate milk better, but I like strawberry. That's the same for you too, right?" He grinned.

It was true she liked strawberry, but this situation was still very much unclear to her.

Hyojong discerned Ari's bafflement seeing it was their first meeting, except for the occasional 'can I borrow your pencil?' 'sorry' 'thank you', etc. And so he began to explain carefully, "I-It's just... I always saw you sitting alone, in class and at lunch. You didn't have anyone to hang out with so... I just thought... I should be your friend."

He held up the milk again after her unintentional silent treatment, his lips pursing at the inability to read her blank expression. She was infamous for her inapproachable expression in class, and he too, was afraid. Her clear, distant eyes that never met anyone's properly, and her beauty simply made her the more unapproachable. So he assumed it must be the same this time too. "Here, here. Just drink it. I'll leave after you finish." He looked down in disappointment while offering her the carton again.

Ari stared at Hyojong in wonder, it was unusual to have someone talk to her. She was simply surprised someone like him, a loud, cheerful, popular boy, was actually talking to her, never mind offering her something. She had no intention to make him leave.

Ari slowly grabbed hold of the milk carton, unwrapping the straw stuck on the box and sticking it in, keeping a cautious eye on Hyojong as she considered what she may say to converse with him. She took a sip of the milk before speaking after deep thought in what she considers as friendly. "There's no need for someone like you to befriend me just because I seem pitiful."

She glanced over at him and saw his wide eyes in shock. "S-Sorry..." he apologised and looked down again.

Ari took another sip in confusion, realising perhaps she hadn't said the right things, even though she only meant well. After some more thought, she said, "But there's no damage if you really do want to befriend me." She looked at the carton of milk in her hands. "It will be nice to drink strawberry milk more often for free."

She glanced at him again and he had another look of surprise, before furrowing his brows. "So... you don't dislike me?"

Confused how he'd come to that assumption, she tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. "No, I have no any opinion of you so far."

Hyojong snickered, "I know what you mean, but that kinda sounds like you hate me."

"Oh." She looked down as she thought, before answering, "Then, well, my feelings for you are neutral."

Hyojong bent down and covered his face as he laughed, peeking at Ari's perplexed face. "You're actually just, not good with people, are you?"

Ari watched Hyojong's face as he giggled uncontrollably, repeating her words while doing so until his eyes had some tears coming out. She was somewhat relieved at this scene, and gave a small smile, simultaneously noticing an increase in her heartbeat.