Sincerely Yours, Hansol

Bonds

The rest of the period was spent on doing our work. Or at least attempting to, it was hard to focus since Hansol and I were getting to know each other better. The rest of the class chatted away as well, while my teacher quietly zoned out deeply focused on her computer.
"So you just moved here right? Where did you come from?" I asked.
"South Korea, actually. I'm originally from New York but I moved back to Seoul when I was five." Hansol replied.
"What made you come back? There's really nothing interesting here. Korea sounds a lot better than America."
Hansol laughed before responding. "I came back for school, I was going to stay in Korea for university but my parents thought it would be better if I came back here to work on my English. I'm a little rusty. Besides, maybe it was good to come back here." He looked at me with a smile before looking back down at his textbook.
I pushed a piece of hair back behind my ear to see the paper better, but it was a lost cause. My focus left a while ago. "America isn't as great as you make it out to be. I'd much rather live somewhere else."
"Maybe I could take you to Korea someday."
"Maybe you could." I simply said with a half smile.
• • •
Another twenty minutes went by of mindless note taking and friendly conversation before the final bell of the day eventually rang. The school day was finally over and it was time to head home. I packed my textbook and notebook into my bag and lugged it over my shoulder with a groan.
"It's only the beginning of the year and my backpack already weighs twice as much as I do." I said while groaning again.
"I could carry it for you." Hansol said while easily slinging his own backpack over his shoulder.
"Thanks but I think I can handle it. I have to get used to it anyways. It's not even that far to the parking lot-" I was cut off when I felt a weight lifted off my shoulder. My backpack slipped off of my arm and found a new place on Hansol's. "No, Hansol. I'm carrying my own stuff." I tried to take my bag back but to no avail.
"No, it's fine. A gentleman always carries a woman's bag." Hansol easily held both heavy backpacks over his shoulders, while I could barely carry my own.
"I insist-"
"No I insist. Come on half of the class has already left." And with that, he turned on his heel and headed for the direction of the door leaving me to stand there and process what had just happened.
Not long after I caught up with him did we arrive at the parking lot. The late summer sun beat down on the asphalt giving off a strong aura of heat. Black clothing might not have been the best idea.
"My car is all the way at the end, unfortunately. I got to school late as you could tell from this morning."
"What a coincidence my car is parked in the back as well." Hansol said with another goofy smile.
I closed my eyes slightly to try to make out my car among the many parked in the lot.  "There," I said pointed to my small, red car. "it's the one next to the tricked out black car." I tried to make it obvious which car I was talking about, without thinking I brought up the same car I was thinking about this morning.
Hansol laughed a little before replying. "You mean my car?" He said.
"That's your car?" We finally arrived at my parking spot and I gawked at the sleek black car next to mine, which was apparently Hansol's.
"Yeah pretty cool right? I just got a new paint job the other day." He said beaming.
"Uh, are you rich or something? Because if you are I want to say that you're a really great person and you seem really nice."
Again, Hansol laughed. "Well I wouldn't say I'm poor." Hansol then pulled out something from his pocket which I realized were his keys. He unlocked the door and dipped inside to drop off his own backpack before returning mine. "Piece of cake." He simply said.
I took my backpack from his hand and unlocked my own car. I dumped my backpack into the passenger seat and put my key into the ignition so I wouldn't lose them. I glanced back at Hansol's car and realized that the weird pendant was still dangling from the rear view mirror. "If you don't mind me asking, what does that symbol mean?" I asked pointing at the pendant. It was hard to distinguish the oddly shaped symbol but it seemed to be in the form of a triangle.
"Oh," Hansol said with a more serious tone. "that's just something with lost memories. I just carry it around because it reminds me of my time in Korea." Hansol had a melancholic look just then. His eyes seemed to be filled with sadness, yet he smiled as if nothing was bothering him. I didn't want to push my luck since it was quite possible I'd push him over the edge. "Hey do you think I could borrow your notes really quick? I want to make sure I answered the question right." He then said.
"Sure, but I'm no expert either. I just write down stuff I found in the textbook." I walked over to my car and opened it again to reach my backpack. I pulled out my biology folder and combed through my work papers. When I finally reached the sheet from today I walked around my car to Hansol's. "Here, the answers are at the bottom."
"Thank you." Hansol replied before comparing our answers. A puzzled look appeared on his face before he reached back down into his car to find something. He came back out with a pen and scribbled something on the paper. "I got the vocabulary wrong," he said laughing. "thank you again."
I took the paper back from his hand and stuffed it back into my bag. "No problem, I should probably get going I have to leave for work soon. My shift starts in around a half an hour. It was nice talking to you, Hansol." I said with a smile.
"The pleasure is all mine. Enjoy your shift." He responded before getting into his car and driving away with his hand out the window to say goodbye.
I sat back into my driving seat for a moment before closing the car door. I had totally forgotten I needed to stop at the library before my shift at work. I quickly combed through my backpack again and found the book I needed to return. My biology paper crumbled against multiple folders inside. Sighing, I took the paper out and smoothed it back down to look more professional.
I looked down at the paper and noticed something that wasn't there before. Written in thick black ink was a note.
555-0196 Text me, from Hansol.
I laughed to myself before carefully putting the paper back into my folder. "What a clever guy." I said before igniting the engine.
• • •
My work shift was abnormally fast, customers went in and out with ease and the tips were generously given. Although my shift was only three hours it went by faster than I thought it would. Content with my day, I happily pulled off my apron and hung it up on the hook designated for employees.
After saying goodbye to some of my coworkers I grabbed my keys once more and headed out the back door towards my car. I still had to stop by the library to drop off my book.
The sun was starting to set, and oranges and reds filled the sky to mix with the blues and grays from earlier in the day. Bird flew through the air in different directions and the soft sound of distant airplanes drifted through the air. As I drove to the front of the cafe, customers were laughing and my coworkers talked along with them. Everything was peaceful.
The trip to the library seemed the complete opposite of that. Rush hour was currently in full swing and hundreds of cars once again filled the freeway. Thankfully I didn't really have much homework for the night, since it was Thursday and I got most of the stuff I needed to get done in the beginning of the week. I finally arrived at the library and dropped the book off in one of the outdoor book returns.
"Thank god that's finally done, I usually return them late." I said to myself.
As I walked back towards my car I saw a familiar figure come across my vision. I quickly turned to face the direction of the figure and I realized it was actually Hansol.
He was wearing a black muscle shirt with dark navy shorts, he also seemed to be wearing earbuds in both ears. Thankfully he was didn't notice my presence, but it looked as though he was out jogging for the evening. Then, without warning, he began running down the block and disappeared from my vision.
"I wish I could do that." I thought out loud before returning again to my car. Once I sat down in my seat I contemplated what I should do with the rest of my night. My book bag seemed to have emitted a strong aura of curiosity inside me. The biology paper flooded my thoughts and without thinking I reached inside the front pocket of my bag and pulled out my phone.
I opened the contacts app and entered the phone number into a new contact and set Hansol's nickname to simply Han. Although I easily entered Hansol's number into my phone, I couldn't bring myself to open the messages app. The paper was still sitting in my lap and I stared at the ink handwriting.
Text me. It simply said.
But simple was the last thing I would call it. I let out a long groan and finally decided I would drive home before I did anything without thought.
The drive home was once again peaceful, and the sun finally set over the horizon, leaving only dark hours of red and purples. My parents should be home by now, making dinner for the night. My dad was unusually the cook of the house while my mom tended to most of the cleaning. I'd probably have a little while before the food was actually done to organize my thoughts.
I came home to both of my parents cars in the driveway and a scent of comfort food when I entered the house.
"Welcome home." My father said with the same kind smile.
"Dinner is almost ready, we'll call you down when it's ready." My mother said before pushing up her silver rimmed glasses against the bridge of her nose.
"Alright, thank you." I quickly said before climbing up the set of stairs in the middle of the hallway.
My bedroom was at the end of the hallway on the second floor, far away from parents room which was on the first floor. I set my backpack down on the white carpet before falling onto my bed face first. I breathed in deeply and flipped over on my back to stare at my bare ceiling.
I pulled my phone out from my jean pocket and opened it up to come face to face with the messages app again.
"I'm just going to do it." I muttered.
I quickly typed a message before hitting send.
Hey, it's Eileen. I assume you got that question right?