Adrian Santos never considered himself privileged. He never considered himself unprivileged, either. He was simply.. There. Nothing special. Nothing to pay attention to, nothing to hate, nothing to love. He spoke to no one, he knew no one. And he didn't want to. He was content with being just there. A filler. Someone that whatever god there is created just because they wanted to. Adrian was okay with being cold and emotionless. He didn't care about people, or knowing them, or loving them.
That is, until Seung came along.
Seung Chai. Tenth grader at Rosemont High School. Dark hair, brown eyes, naturally rosy cheeks. Soft-spoken, doesn't like getting in trouble, or starting fights, or doing anything except being nice.
Adrian didn't know why he was taking notes on this boy. He wasn't anything special. He wasn't anything to pay attention to, nothing to hate, nothing to love.
Just like he was.
Perhaps this was what drew Adrian to Seung in the first place. They were both fillers. They were the same, but so different. Where Adrian always went one way, Seung always went the other. Whenever Adrian had to talk to someone, he was cold, blunt, and sarcastic. Whenever Seung spoke to anyone, it was with a kind tone. He found the best in everyone. Even Adrian. Cold, emotionless, dull Adrian Santos from two dull parents with dull lives and dull occupations.
The first time Seung talked to Adrian, just like many other events in his life, it was nothing special.
"Do you have a pencil I can borrow?"
An everyday, ordinary statement.
The next time, it was just as bland.
"Here's your pencil back. Thanks!"
Seung had smiled brightly. Adrian saw this smile as clear as day. He found himself wanting to see more of it, and was confused. What was he feeling? Whatever it was, it burned deep in the pits of his st omach. It was all he could think about, day and night, no matter what. What. Was. He. Feeling?
To solve a problem, start at the roots.
In an attempt to find out this strange feeling, he made an effort to communicate with Seung more. At first, it was hardly anything. Little waves or 'good morning's in the halls, small acknowledgements of the other's existence. Minor things like that. Their relationship bloomed over possibly the most cliche thing in existence- a class project.
Adrian remembers the day as clear as if it was only a few hours ago. Their English teacher, Mrs. De Leon for future reference, had stood at the front of the class like she would on any other day, and assigned the class's final project for Night by Elie Wiesel. Everyone was to pair up and create a poem based on another character's point of view, then present it in front of the class.
Everyone dispersed, immediately looking towards their best friend or significant other or sibling to work with. A chorus of "Do you want to be my partner?" was repeated around the room. Adrian sat in his desk, not moving. This project would go like any other. Everyone would pair up, he'd be left the only one without a partner, Mrs. De Leon would realize yet again that there's an odd number of students, and he'd get to work alone. It was a routine they had going. That's why when he heard the soft thud of a body sitting down in the chair in front of him, it's fair to say he was confused, at best.
Seung sat in the chair of the desk in front of Adrian, facing the back of the chair. His feet hooked around the back legs.
That can't be comfortable, Adrian had thought.
"Partners?" Seung asked in his soft voice.
Adrian shrugged, appearing nonchalant. "Sure. Which character should we do the poem on?"
"Well, I want to leave it up to you, but if you really want a suggestion from me, I think Juliek would be interesting," Seung said.
"Then let's write a poem on the violin dude," Adrian responded, sitting up in his chair.
"Great!" Seung looked excited.
In the end, they ended up getting the best grade in the class. To this day, Adrian still has the poem in his notebook.
Tune after tune
Song after song
All this beautiful music
Though I can't play along.
Shot at like dogs
Burned like a pest
Work hard through the day
God I just want to rest
We keep moving, keep changing
And my "extension" is brought along
Oh, I'd love, oh, I wish
Just to play a single song
But if I do, I'll be killed
If I do, I'll be broken
Though my thoughts can't escape
Through mere words that are spoken
Then, finally, a chance!
Right here where they lay
I can once more let out
What I've been forbidden to play!
And, now I've been killed,
But I played and I fought
And I finally lost
To the death the Germans brought.
They ended up getting a standing ovation from the class. Turns out they aren't too bad at putting feeling into their words.
After the project, Seung and Adrian's interactions evolved. They talked more during class. Seung borrowed pencils a lot more often. He always returned them, which Adrian found weird. No one returned the pencils they borrowed. It's science. Adrian found himself smiling more in Seung's presence.
Here's the thing about happiness. If you, like Adrian, do not experience it often, or even at all, once you do, it becomes addictive. You find yourself wanting more, so you latch onto the thing that caused it in the first place. In a way, happiness is the worst kind of drug.
The higher you climb, the farther you fall.
Adrian wanted to spend more time with Seung. He would have said then that he needed to. And so, in typical human fashion, he did... Nothing.
He did absolutely nothing but wait.
Eventually, though, his patience did wear off.
Since Seung was still the new kid at school, he didn't really have many friends. He sat alone at lunch. Coincidentally, Adrian did, too.
Similarly to that one day in English class, Adrian was confused when he heard the thud of someone sitting across from him. However, his confusion became joy when he looked up to see Seung sitting directly in front of him. Not that he'd ever admit that.
Seung smiled his bright, could-probably-light-up-a-continent smile. "You look like you need some company."
Usually, Adrian would have told whoever it was to piss off. Go find someone else to bother, he's busy.
This time, he didn't.
"Uh.. Alright. Hi," he had said awkwardly.
Seung laughed. "You're not very social, are you?"
"Do I look social to you?"
"You look like you could be," the other boy shrugged.
Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Do I now?" he had said, a joking tone in his voice.
"Yeah! You know, minus the dark, brooding emo vibe you've got going," Seung teased.
"Oh, shut up," Adrian found himself.. Laughing?
This was strange.
Who said strange wasn't a good thing?
YOU ARE READING
seung.
Horror" it's all fun and games 'til somebody falls in love. " Adrian Santos was emotionless. He didn't care that he was emotionless. He couldn't care. All of that changed when he met Seung Chai, a boy in his grade at school. Unintentionally, Seung would t...
