pick me. kim yohan

94 | narration

flashback

this may have happened a long time ago already, but this memory will always stay at the back of yohan and arin's mind. this is where everything started ㅡ their very first meeting.

they were both five years old that time, arin was early for the very first school day of her life, while yohan arrived just a minute before the bell.

all the seats are occupied that time, and the only vacant seat was beside a cute girl with a ribbon in her hair. it was automatically yohan's seat. maybe it's fate that their other classmates didnt sit there and yohan was forever thankful that they didnt sit in that seat that day.

and so, he sat beside her. not knowing that by her side is where he'll always want to be.

"psst."

arin was busy coloring the activity that is given to them when her seatmate called. she turned to him and for the first time, their eyes met.

he smiled, flashing his cute bunny teeth. "i forgot my crayons at home. can i borrow yours?"

always be nice, arin could hear her mom's voice in her mind. so instead of scolding this bunny-person fellow for not bringing his crayons at the first day of school, she smiled back and offered her crayons to him. "go ahead." she even said.

"thank you!" he said, smiling even brightly.

arin found his smile cute, and so, she found herself smiling as well as the both of them do the activity.

arin was at the playground later that day, she sitting at the swing and watching her classmates play and get dust all over their uniforms. she wanted to join them but she's too shy to approach and she's afraid she might stutter if she talks to them, so she just stayed in the swing.

but then someone approached her.

it's him. her seatmate. the bunny-person fellow.

"annyeong." he waved his hand to her as he sat in the swing next to her.

arin just smiled a little.

"here you go." he handed her a carton of chocolate milk.

"why?" she founds herself asking.

"that's my thank you gift to you for letting me borrow your crayons, eomma said that i should always be nice, and this is my way of being nice. please accept it."

how can she say no to him smiling like that? their moms even said the same thing. so she just ended up accepting it. and loving it as well.

"what's your name?" she asked him.

"i'm kim yohan." he smiled once more, "and i'm gonna be a great taekwondo player in the future!"

"you already have a dream. that's nice."

"well, it's not really my dream." he rubbed his neck, "you see, my grandfather was a great taekwondo player, my father was too, i should do the same, right?"

arin didnt answer. they're still just children, they shouldnt think about those things. bunny-person fellow, i mean yohan, shouldnt be thinking of that. he should do what he wants to do. not what others wants him to do.

"how about you?" yohan asked her instead. "what's your name?"

"park arin."

"pretty name. what do you want to be in the future?"

"i actually dont know yet. let's see," she placed a finger in her chin, "my mom is a doctor and my dad is... uh, i dont actually know what my dad do, he usually just sits around and travels with a car, but i dont know, i dont want to do what they do."