Distant Sky

3

Strange Encounter
 

Joohyun was trying to run away from a pretty wierd situation. She was literally about to start running when she gets roughly grabbed by her hand from behind and spun around. It takes her a moment to regain her footing and she looks up feeling dizzy.

As she looks up at his face, she is once again struck by his beauty. He looked more like a model than a high school student. "Who are you?" he asks, breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath. She was close enough to feel his breath on her face. She took a step back trying to create a little distance between them. Which wasn't much since he was still holding her hand. His deep brown eyes look at her intensely, frowning, trying to read her. She can feel her heartbeat speeding up. What does he want from her!? Why does he want to know who she is? Is he going to make a complaint about her or something? For what? She did nothing wrong!

"I asked your name." He says, a little louder this time. "Um, it's J-Joohyun." Damn it! Why did she just tell him her name!? He is a stranger for god's sake!Ok, calm down Joohyun, he can't do anything to you. She frowns. Can he? He was still looking at her closely. His grip on her hand, tight. She felt uncomfortable under his piercing gaze. "L-look, I-" "Why didn't you stop?" he cuts her off. "Um, w-well I-" "Why did you run away?" Why does he keep cutting her off! Joohyun just stands there, mute, she didn't know how to answer that.

Then all of a sudden, he smirks. "She was right" he says, looking amused. "Huh?" Joohyun looks at him confused. "You really do look like a doll" he says with a grin. No! He was there! He saw the whole thing! Joohyun feels her cheeks burning. She feels like she could die from embarrassment. She opens her mouth but nothing comes out. He still had that mocking grin on his face. Or was she being too suspicious? No, he was definitely mocking her, she was sure! She wanted to say something that would wipe that grin off his face, but she couldn't think of anything.

Before the situation could get any more awkward for her, there was a loud noise of a horn from outside. The bus! No! She was late! "I need to catch the bus" she says and tries to move away when she realises he was still holding onto her hand. She tries to pull away but he tightens his grip. "Let go!" she yells, jerking her hand away and he finally lets go. She quickly walks away. As she was rounding the corner, she looks back. He was still standing there, looking at her walk away, but he was no longer smiling. The frown was back on his face and he looked deep in thought.

Joohyun hurried outside and was barely able to catch the bus. On the ride home, she couldn't help but think about what happened. Who was that guy? she wonders. Since he knew about that little incident, he must be in her class. It seems like she somehow missed seeing him in the class earlier. To be honest she wasn't really paying attention. Back in class, she could feel some stares on her and didn't really want to catch any unwanted attention. So she kept her gaze forward and didn't look around much. And that time when Nayeon was shouting, she was too embarrassed to look at whoever was in the class.

Joohyun gets down at her stop and starts walking. Aunt Taehee showed the her way the day before and she was glad it wasn't that far. She reaches home soon enough and as soon as she steps foot inside, she is greeted by an excited Aunt Taehee, covered in paint. Looks like her aunt started working on another painting. "Joohyun, you're back! Did you have any trouble getting home?" "No, it wasn't that hard" "Good, good. Now go ahead and freshen up. I can't wait to hear about your day!" It seemed like her aunt was more excited about her first day than she was.

Later over dinner, Joohyun shares details about her day with Aunt Taehee. She talks about how she met Seulgi and Wendy. She talks about her classmate Nayeon, about her schedule and classes. The one thing that she doesn't talk about, is the strange encounter with that mysterious guy.

That night, as Joohyun lies in her bed, she thinks back on her day. About how she took the initiative for once and approached someone first. And how that lead to her getting to know Seulgi and Wendy. It was still too early to judge their character but something tells her, they can be trusted. That they won't turn their back on her like someone once did. Someone she put her trust in and thought was her friend. Someone who betrayed her trust and turned against her. After that incident, she was never able to trust anyone enough to be friends. She hoped one day she can move on from what happened. That she can finally heal and be brave enough to open herself to friendships once again. Who knows, maybe Seulgi and Wendy might become her first true friends one day.

As closes her eyes to sleep, that encounter with the strange guy comes back to her mind. She wasn't sure what to think of him. The unusual circumstances under which they met didn't help either. To be honest, she was scared of him a little. He seemed too intense and unpredictable. There was also the fact that he was mocking her back then. She definitely wasn't happy about that. Infact, it annoyed her how easily he was able to get under her skin. The only thing she was sure about was that he looked too good to be true. Maybe he isn't real. Maybe I imagined the whole thing, is the last thought in her head as she finally falls asleep.