Diaries of a Distance

Chapter 6

Am going to be just fine.

Am going to be alright.

Am going to escape from punishment.

Am NOT going to be sent back to Australia.

AM GOING TO BE IN BIG F*CKN SHIT!

Nooooo... I can't believe I skipped class. I mean back in Australia I wouldn't really care, but Korea. It's so much harder to escape since I can't say much with my language skills. And if they don't understand they're going to send me back to Australia. My whole purpose of coming to Korea is to find out about my parents and their culture, and I still haven't done that! All that time back in Australia not letting the so many people who wanted to become my close friend into my world because of my computer which linked me to Korea would be wasted!

Christ. I skipped class because of Park Jae Wook.

I hurried to the classroom door and straight away Tae Hee came to me.

"You can't enter the classroom yet", she said passing me a note, "The teacher wants to see you."

Tae Hee wore a worried and curious look at the same time. I smiled warmly hoping to make her feel more at ease, but I don't think it worked.

I turned my back on the warmer atmospheric classroom which I would much prefer and made my way to the staffroom. As soon as I knocked on the door all the teachers looked up from their work at me and one nodded his head to the direction of Mr. Yoo, Seoul High's English teacher.

I made my way there dreading what would happen.

"You asked for me sir?"

He put his pen down and swung his chair so he was facing me directly.

"You are an exchange student but that doesn't mean that because you can speak English you are allowed to skip my class."

"I'm sorry sir-"

"Don't speak in English. You need to practise your Korean."

Out of pure anxiousness I had blurted out some English.

"Now what is your reason?" he went on.

My brain was working mad. Then it clicked into me.

"Sir, it's- it's- it's kind of personal..." I mumbled.

"How personal? Tell me now!" he demanded.

"Well... girls."

"Girls? Girls what? Get straight to the point!"

I lowered my voice to a whisper, "That time of the month."

Mr. Yoo immediately sat back in his chair. "Oh..."

I smiled sheepishly.

"Well next time make sure you inform someone before you go off to the bathroom. We won't tolerate every time, but because you're an exchange student I'll let you off this time only. Am I understood?" he said with a stern expression.

"Yes sir!"

"Go back to class."

---

I know I am so lucky to have escaped that. A tiny lie wouldn't hurt. Stupid Park Jae Wook.

Lost in thoughts, I bumped into someone on the way back to class. I looked up at my victim. It was a junior guy with long-ish hair I didn't recognise. I muttered a sorry and was about to pass him and his friend when he grabbed my arm back.

"Hey. She's that pretty and dumb one with the accent right?" he asked his friend.

A bunch of other girls and guys walked out from a nearby classroom and joined them.

"Yeah that's her", the friend replied checking me over.

People around me started muttering.

"I heard she came from the countryside that's why her Korean is so bad."

"Maybe she never went to school before."

"I heard she was so dumb that she repeated the last year of middle school twice before she made it to high school..."

That was the last straw.

turned around to the short junior girl who last spoke and said to her agreeingly, "About my accent, I can fix it. Pity about that face though. Plastic surgery?"

People started laughing. Her face was distortedly taken aback and made her look like she really did need plastic surgery. I swept around to the junior guy I first bumped and he stopped laughing. He was taller than me, but I didn't feel intimidated by it one bit.

"Good boy. You recognised me with your ears and eyes. Now try using your brain to figure what I'll do next?"

I leaned in closer to him. He started thinking. Hard. I don't ever remember anyone being that dumb as a junior.

I stomped on his feet. Hard. Harder than however much he was thinking.

"Yah!" His friend yelled.

He took a step forward and someone stepped in front of me.

"O-oh... Jae Wook..." The friend stammered.

"Han Kwang Ho. Wanting something?"

"Yes. Me." I stepped in front of Jae Wook. "I promise the only one who'd hurt you right now is me."

"Really now?" Han Kwang Ho said.

"Really."

The cleaner walked by carrying a long wooden pole with both hands.

"Are you throwing that sir?" I asked.

He nodded and I snapped it in half with my hand. "YAARGH!"

The cleaner held a piece in each hand and stared wildly at it then at me. The Han Kwang Ho's eyeballs nearly popped out of his socket and his whole crew quickly withdrew, speeding off.

Park Jae Wook was staring speechlessly.

Shin Dong Wook was staring spastically.

Lee Ki Tae was staring weirdly.

Eun Won and Sang Woo were gripping onto each other's arm tightly; eyes shut.

Park Jae Wook clapped and nodded his head. "Wow."

I massaged my hand.

"Aren't you supposed to scream for help and let Jae Wook do all the protecting? Then when he's done with the dude you'll hug him and yell 'oppa!'?" Ki Tae squealed.

I shrugged and happened to catch Jae Wook's eye. He was looking at me all funny.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like that."

He tilted his head a fraction and grinned charmingly. He's so handsome...

I shivered at his freakiness, turned around and walked away.

I heard the guys all laugh and when I looked over my shoulder, they were walking away in the opposite direction. Jae Wook quickly glanced over his shoulder at me and caught me staring again. He smiled and disappeared around the corner.