Unexpected Circumstances | Min Yoongi

III

Yoongi

I picked at the corner of my notebook as I waited for first period to start. Today was Thursday. The weekend was only 48 hours away and I could not wait. School was such a nuisance. My eyes flashed up to the clock at the front of the classroom: seven. . .fifteen?

"Hey!" Hoseok suddenly appeared, slapping me on the back and interrupting my squinting episode. He sauntered on behind me to pass through the desks and then took his seat on the left of me.

Three more minutes until class starts, I finally finished the math in my head.

"Hey," I replied back. I turned to face him at once and already earned myself a goofy, heart-shaped smile. "What?" I questioned.

"I see you're here bright and early. Any reason why?" he asked.

"No," I told him. "I just happened to come before you today." He nodded and then peered at the clock like I just had. I furrowed my brow, suspicion settling into me upon my own realization. "Actually, you're kind of late today. What happened?"

"Ha!" he started off with a chuckle. "You wouldn't believe me."

"Try me."

"Alright," he granted, head tilting at the challenge. "So get this: you remember Sanghee noona?"

"Pigtails?" I asked, recalling the terrible nickname, Piggy, we'd once given her.

"Uh—yeah," he said, regretfully.

It was years ago when it happened—maybe in the middle of elementary school. The name was only meant to tease the fact that she'd consistently worn pigtails to every single gym class, but, somewhere along the line, she'd gotten the idea that we were calling her fat. It was a huge and unfortunate misunderstanding. Hoseok actually really liked her. And you know how guys are. We like to tease the girls we have crushes on. They don't seem to get that, though. Or like it very much.

Either way.

We got into big trouble with the school for it, and, much worse, with our moms. After apologizing to her profusely, though, and after Hoseok brought her many, many flowers on both of our behalves (but mostly his,) she forgave us. In the end, it turned out alright, because her and Hoseok actually became friends for awhile. Up until now, though, I was always under the impression that it didn't last very long. I'd never found out the reason why.

"So I was standing at my locker," he went on, "you know, just grabbing my stuff, when suddenly she comes up behind me and taps me on the shoulder. I turn around and she just starts up this huge conversation—one that I didn't really catch the point of— but she was, like, stuttering over everything she said, and it made me really suspicious. Sure enough, her tangent comes to a close. . .and then she asks me to the dance!"

My jaw dropped and my head came forward in disbelief. "Seriously?"

"Yeah! Out of nowhere!"

"I thought you stopped being friends a long time ago?"

"Me too!" he exclaimed. "But I guess not."

"Huh," I wondered. "That's kind of weird that she asked you, but I guess it doesn't really matter. Did you say yes?"

"Yeah. Honestly, I felt like I had to. But, you know, it beats having to ask someone else out."
I laughed quietly at his viewpoint. "I bet it does. But even if you didn't want to go with her, you couldn't turn anyone down anyway."

"Yeah," he agreed.

"Do you actually want to go with her?"

"I mean, sure. I didn't really plan on asking anyone else. So it's fine with me. And I'm not dreading it either. I think I am going to start talking to her more—again, you know? Just so that it's not awkward when we get to prom and there's nothing for us to talk about."