GAUCHE, kageyama

二

chapter two!

GAUCHE

"Miss Lee, what's the answer to this question?"

The girl gulped nervously, eyes frantically starimg between the question and her English teacher, Ono-sensei. No, she wasn't nervous about the question, she was nervous about being asked in front of the whole class. And that never happened! It seemed like Mina was asked to step out of her boundaries, but it was a bit hard to when all of her classmates stared at her like she was a piece of meat.

"Miss Lee, your answer please?" The woman asked, partially in English as well.

Mina could hear how erratically her heart was thumping. With clammy palms, she hesitantly spoke out. "... The storm severely affected millions of people."

And she sat down, her cheeks heating up. While most of her classmates looked at her in awe whether it was due to her speaking or her English skills, Mina didn't really want to look at anyone due to embarrassment.

"That's right," Ono nodded and smiled in approval. "In this sentence, we use affectedㅡ"

The bob haired girl was too shy to look up, but glanced around the room anyway. Soon enough, Mina's eyes landed on a certain blonde haired male with headphones slung around his neck. If she could remember him properly, his name was Tsukishima. The boy looked cold and intimidating in her eyes due to the way he looked and towered over people.

Right, Ukai did coach him.

His height wasn't all that wasted since he's a part of the sports club. The way Tsukishima towered over everyone was a great asset to volleyball, especially when blocking. Mina was no expert in the field but only knew a few bits from gym class and watching the store with Ukai while he watched TV.

LUNCH SOON ARRIVED.

She opened the ready to eat lunchbox Ukai had handed her earlier this morningㅡ Chicken Katsu Rice. It definitely didn't steam out when she opened it, but the presentation was still delectable. Mina clapped her hands and mumbled before grabbing the chopsticks. Oh, if only she could've eaten her mother's own lunchbox.

The brunette anticipated the day she'll go home and eat a full homemade meal from her mother. A piece of Kimchi sounded just about rightㅡ

"Lee-chan!"

A pair of hands smacked right down on her table, surprising the brunette. She looked up and met an enthusiastic grey pair of eyes, gleaming in delight. Once Mina had settled from the shock she received, she finally leaned back and scanned the girl in front of her. Who was she again? She didn't think she'd met the enthusiastic girl let alone exchange names.

"E-Excuse me?"

Sporting a side ponytail, long and overly decorated nails, the latter grinned toothily. "Awe, even your accent's really adorable! I'm Toda Erika, a fellow third year senpai!"

A third year coming to the first year's wing? It must've been something big for her to come even though they weren't acquainted. Nervously, Mina licked her chapped lips when something caught her eye. Right on her shirt's breast pocket was a circular pin embroidered with a huge italic B and a crown right above it.

Wasn't thatㅡ

"Oh, you like my BigBang pin? Looks pretty good, doesn't it!" She proudly showcased the item by leaning closer, but the brunette simply leaned a bit further away with an awkward look. "I heard you were from Korea so I was seriously dying to meet such a cute kouhai!"

Oh, god. Mina dreaded to encounter something like this. Her culture was popular in many different ways and it was worldly recognized by everyoneㅡ be it the music or the dramas they produced, she wasn't too into the popular culture in her country. And a situation like this was the reason why she would prefer not to reveal herself.

She was lagging behind the current trends.

"Do you like them too, Lee-chan? What about the other groupsㅡ which ones do you listen to?"

"... Standing Egg." She replied after a few seconds, but this only earned a confused smile from the latter.

"Eh? Is that a rookie group? I've never heard of them before. Sounds pretty silly for a name, don'tcha think?" She laughed.

Mina forced a strained smile as she heard her senpai utter those words. She had never heard of them. Sure, she respected their own choices of musicㅡ everyone is diverse, but calling them silly ticked her a slight bit. The group itself wasn't sensational or trendy, but she liked how calm and soothing their songs were.

"Anyways, can I call you my little dongsaeng from now on? It seems a bit more cuter than just kouhai," Erika continued to babble on. "Actually, maybe you can call me unnie!"

Oh, lord.

Mina paled at her words before begrudgingly standing up. Who knows what more she could ask her to do other than those? She just needed to go somewhere and come back right before lunch ends. "Eh, where are you going, Lee-chan?"

And she sped off. Without another word, she passed the other students in a quick manner. This reminded her of the otaku gathering in the library nearby her apartment back in Seoul. Mostly teenagers and men occupied the whole ordeal and often brought their own fair share of something to show off. A guy had worn a shinigami outfit while walking down the street and her mother nearly had a heart attack.

Mina could hear Erika calling her down from behind, calling her dongsaeng and whatnot. A shiver ran down her spine and quickened her pace. Once she had gotten down the flight of stairs, she made a quick turn to the left when she bumped into someone's chest.

It didn't feel like a woman's so she immediately went and without a doubt identified it was a man.

Just her luck.