Questions (Hyunghyuk)

Questions

My name's Yoo Kihyun.
I work as a kindergarten pedagogue and I'm trying to be an author too.
I'm 24 and I want to tell you a story about two guys I met while I was in highschool.
I only told my husband Hyunwoo about this yet but now I decided to tell everyone. The group of children I'm working with actually brought me to the idea of writing this story down as an inspiration for everyone.
So let's start:

In highschool I had this boy in my class who was considered to be really dumb. He would ask a lot of doubts and questions and mostly they were considered to be 'silly' and 'stupid'.
Even our teachers would taunt him but he would never stop asking.
The thing was: He was always top of the class examinations and no one could understand that.
He was accused to be cheating. After almost every test even the teacher said stuff about him not being that 'smart' in class and would ask him if he cheated.
But in the end nobody could prove that he was cheating even though every student and even almost every teacher believed he did.
I was pretty social awkward in school and very shy so I never really talked to him even though I always wanted to know his secret.
The thing was he was leaving school this year and I found enough courage to talk to him.

It was sunny when I found him sitting on one of the benches on our schoolyard. My bag was heavy because of all the books and my height wasn't helping support the weight either, so I probably looked really funny walking over to him.
But I didn't care in that moment.
I've decided it would be the easiest way to just go and talk to him. I mean, what could happen?
With the courage I had found I sat down next to him and let my bag fall to the ground. Who though it was  a good idea to make books that heavy again?
I smiled at him friendly, a thing about me that made people like me from the second they met me at least that's what my best friend Wonho said.
He grins back at me but continues writing on probably an English paper.
He seemed really friendly tho! His hair was dyed a vibrant red and he smiled a lot and I mean A LOT! I see him almost every day, in the hallways, in the schoolyard, in classes..., and everytime I saw him he smiled.
"Hi", I say, a dumb attempt to start a conversation.
"Hey", he answers cheerfully.
"I'm Minhyuk. We never really talked right?"
I nodded. My attempt to start this conversation worked!
"Kihyun", I interdruce myself to him.
"You still have one year to go, right?", he asks.
"Yeah yeah, this and next year then I'm out of this hell", I answered.
I didn't know that he knew something about me!
"We have some classes together, that's why I know", he explains himself.
"Yes, maths and P.E. You're leaving this year, aren't you?"
He nods and once again a smile spreads over his face.
"Yep, me and Hyungwon both leave. He's the quiet boy, he's also in our classes", he explains.
I knew Hyungwon too. He was the only one Minhyuk hang around with. They're best friends since forever and everyone knows that. They have all classes together and sit at a table alone. The teacher doesn't even try to pair them up with someone other.
"Yeah, I saw him around a few times", I say.
"Say, I actually wanted to ask you something for quiet a while."
Minhyuk looks at me confused but also curious.
"And that is what?", he asks.
"It's...I wanted to aks...", I was stuttering while I thought about the right words to say.
"About your doubts and questions in class and how your still top of the class examinations", I blurt out really fast.
Minhyuk laughs at me. First he only giggles a little but after like ten seconds he starts laughing like a really good comedian told one of his best jokes.
"Did I say something wrong?", I ask concerned.
"No, no!", Minhyuk says fastly.
"It's just that no one ever asked me about this without asking if I'm cheating", he explains.
"I never believed you were cheating. You don't seem like such a person."
He furrows his eyebrows and nods.
"Thank you", he says.
"I don't hear that often. Not even from my parents."
I lay my hand on his arm and smile. I felt bad for him. He was such a nice person and so many people misunderstood him.
"Will you tell me about your secret?", I ask carefully.
He nods and starts to talk after a while.
"Questions at the end, okay?"
I nod to encourage him to continue talking.
"So you know Hyungwon. He's shy and all and quiet but he actually has a real problem.
He is severely socially anxious and that's why he'd lag in studies because he can't bring himself to ask his doubts and questions in class. I came up with the idea and we kept this system since then.
Whenever he didn't really understand anything or if he had doubts in lectures he would write them down and I would ask them for him.
I never had to ask these questions but he has to but can't, so I decided to do it for him."
When he ended I didn't knew what to say. It changed the way I saw Minhyuk and Hyungwon.
I smiled at Minhyuk bridely and nodded as a sign that I understood.
"That's beautiful", I said.
"No, it's acting how more people should and something more people should understand", I corrected myself.
"Thank you", Minhyuk said.
"Do you want to know another secret?"
"I love secrets!"
"He's actually not just my friend", he says.
My eyes go wide.
"You're...?! That's so cute!"
He laughs a little bit and nods.
"I just love him", he says dreamy.
"Let's stay friends, Kihyun, you're a nice guy", he suggest and I held out my hand.
"Deal."

Today we're still friends and Hyungwon got a little better. He still has his anxiety but he now had more people by his side who help him in situations he wouldn't get through by himself.
Their story changed my way of seeing people.
It's changed me.
Touched me.
I can't describe it but this is something very important for me.
And it's important for me that through Minhyuk and Hyungwon and through their story I became a better person myself.
I looked at everyone different and saw behind their facade.
I hope you can do that too. Just think about everything you do.
Thing about your prejudices and if they even make sense.
Never even be just the tiniest bit prejudiced.
Be nice to everyone.
That's all I have to say.
Thank you!

"Kihyun! Come down, dinner is ready!", he hears his husband shout from downstairs.
"I'm coming! I was just finishing the story!"
Son Kihyun walks down the stairs slowly and makes his way into the kitchen where he is greeted by his husband, his kids and his best friends.
"Finally! We are hungry!", Minhyuk says loudly, or just normal he was never really quiet, and stuffs more French fries into his mouth.
"What are you writing about, Kihyun?", Hyungwon asks quietly like always and hands Kihyun the plate with the chicken.
"You", he answers, grinning.
"You and Minhyuk."
Minhyuk laughs and Hyungwon's eyes go wide.
"What exactly do you plan to tell the world about us, if you finally get to publish a book?", Minhyuk asks curios.
"The old highschool story."
Again Minhyuk laughs.
"What are you going to call the story?"
"Questions. I'm going to call it 'Questions'"