young hearts | jww

05

05

I jolted awake, the blaring sound of my alarm pulling me from a deep sleep. I could faintly hear my mom’s voice downstairs.

“Y/n, it’s nearly 7!”

I groggily reached over and checked the time on my phone—7:02 AM. Panic shot through me, and I scrambled out of bed.

“One twenty…” I muttered to myself, still not fully awake.

I grabbed my towel from the chair and bolted for the bathroom, trying to shake off the fogginess in my mind. It was Monday—the first day back after spring break. I hadn’t caught up on rest as much as I wanted, but now wasn’t the time to think about that. I needed to hurry.

As I showered, my thoughts drifted to Soyeon. I hadn’t seen her in weeks, and I felt an overwhelming sense of worry knotting in my stomach. Soyeon wasn’t like the other kids. She wasn’t really Mr. and Mrs. Song’s daughter—not by blood anyway. She was adopted, and sometimes I wondered if that made her feel out of place. But there were other things, too. The bruises. The ones she always hid with oversized sweaters, even when it was too hot for them. Every time I saw her like that, I felt helpless, unsure of how to help her.

After a quick shower, I hurried downstairs. I told my mom I’d eat at school, grabbed my bag, and left the house.

When I arrived at Soyeon’s house, I hesitated for a moment before ringing the doorbell. It was strange that she hadn’t texted me back. I rang the bell once, twice—then five times.

“Come on, Soyeon,” I whispered to myself.

But then I heard a voice behind me.

“Y/n.”

I turned around, startled to see Wonwoo in his school uniform.

“They moved out,” he said, his tone casual. “Soyeon and her family moved two years ago.”

My mouth fell open, but no words came out.

“Didn’t she tell you?” Wonwoo asked, raising an eyebrow. I just shook my head, feeling a sudden rush of confusion and guilt. Why didn’t she tell me?

“Never mind,” he said quickly. “Let’s go.”

He reached over and grabbed my wrist, pulling me toward the waiting shed. My heart skipped a beat. My face turned bright red, and for a moment, everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. But as we sat down, he let go of my wrist like it was no big deal. I quickly tried to ignore the heat creeping up my cheeks.

We waited in silence for a few moments, the warm spring air brushing against my face. Then the bus arrived. Wonwoo stood up and, without saying much, pulled me gently by the strap of my backpack and guided me to an empty seat beside him.

It felt comfortable sitting next to him—like I belonged there, even though everything else felt like a blur.

As we got on the bus, I felt eyes on us. I could hear whispers from the other students.

“Is that Wonwoo’s girlfriend?”

“They look cute, not gonna lie.”

I glanced at Wonwoo, who was trying not to smile too widely. It was cute how he was trying to act nonchalant, but I could tell he was a little embarrassed by the attention. I smiled to myself.

Before we reached the classroom, we stopped by the office to pick up our schedules. Once we were at the door of the classroom, Wonwoo waved and said, “I’ll pick you up at lunch.”

I stood frozen for a moment in the doorway, trying to process what he’d said. He was picking me up at lunch? My mind raced with thoughts I couldn’t quite catch. But before I could fully react, two girls approached me.

“Seon-ok here,” one of them said with a smile. “Hi! I’m Hyeji. And you are?”

The other girl stepped forward. “I’m Seon-ok. Nice to meet you!”

They both had warm smiles, and I hesitated for a moment before reaching out to shake their hands.

“I’m Y/n,” I said. “Nice to meet you too.”

Inside the classroom, the teacher called on me, and I stood up, feeling a little awkward. The other students were looking at me curiously as I cleared my throat.

“Hi, everyone,” I began, forcing a smile. “My name is Y/n. I just moved back from Canada.”

There was a slight pause as the students whispered among themselves, clearly intrigued.

“I was born here, in this town,” I continued, “but my family decided to send me to Canada when I was younger. I came back six years later, so... yeah, it’s been a while.”

A couple of students exchanged looks, and I could feel their eyes on me. But there was something oddly comforting about it, like they were all trying to figure me out just as much as I was trying to figure them out.

“Nice to meet you all,” I added, sitting back down in my seat.

As I sat, I could hear some of the students murmuring softly to each other.

“Wow, Canada?” one of the girls said to her friend. “That’s so cool.”

“Yeah, she must have some crazy stories.”

I smiled faintly to myself, feeling a little more at ease. Maybe today wouldn’t be so bad after all.

The girls approached me one again and seemed friendly enough, and after the first class, they invited me to eat with them. But I remembered what Wonwoo had said, and my stomach fluttered at the thought of seeing him. I smiled politely and declined, telling them that a friend was waiting for me. They seemed to believe me and left, leaving me alone in the classroom, my stomach growling from hunger.

Minutes ticked by.

Two minutes...

Five minutes...

Ten minutes...

I couldn’t stand it anymore. I grabbed my bag and made my way to the cafeteria, frustration bubbling inside me. I was annoyed at myself for waiting so long for nothing, annoyed that I had no idea what was going on.

But then a thought crossed my mind.

Why am I getting mad?

Is it because he made me wait, or because I actually wanted to see him?

The thought made my heart race, and I pushed open the cafeteria doors, trying to ignore the strange feeling in my chest. Wonwoo was so weird.

revised 2024.