Over The Seas [Kim Sunwoo The Boyz]

Chapter Fourty-Three

Only a week into school and my assignments are already piling up. Knowing I (mainly my parents) won't be able to handle a failing grade, I made a commitment to go to the library after school to catch up.

The school day ended so I walked with Sewoon to the front of the school gates.
"Hey, Sewoon. Do you want to help me catch up on work at the library?" I asked.
"Sorry, I actually have to work today." He replied apologetically.
"Again? How do you ever get your work done?"
"A magician never reveals his secrets."
"I guess I'll go alone..." I mumbled.
"Well, see you tomorrow." Sewoon said and we walked our separate ways.

Since it's slowly becoming spring, the sun has been out longer than usual and the weather is becoming slightly warmer.
I enter the library and find a seat towards the back, away from people and away from any distractions. I take out all of my papers and textbooks and begin working.

A few hours has passed and I've only gotten two assignments completed out of four. I look outside and I can see the sun is about to set. I look around and see that there are less people than when I first got here.
This is going to take me all night...
I lay my head down on the table, feeling frustrated and hopeless, when I feel my phone vibrate. I lift my head up and answer the phone without seeing who was calling.
"What it is?" I asked a little too harshly.
"Is this a bad timing?"
I heard the familiar voice and checked the name on the screen.
"Sunwoo?!"
"Yes?"
"I'm so sorry, I didn't see who called me. I didn't mean to be rude." I quickly apologized and told him my situation.
"Would you like me to come over and help you?" He suggested.
"Are you free right now?"
"Yeah, that's why I called you- to see if we could hang out."
"Right..." I said sheepishly.
"Have you eaten yet?"
With the right timing, my stomach rumbled.
"Not since lunch."
"I'll bring over some snacks for you then."

About 20 minutes later, I got a text from Sunwoo saying he was in the building and asking where I was. He hasn't been to the library in years so I had to go find him.
We walked to my table in the back and sat down next to each other.
"Have you been taking breaks? Drinking water? Getting up and walking around to get your blood flowing?" He frantically asked me questions.
"Yes, I've been doing all of that." I assured him in a calm voice.
He took out a two triangle kimpab and two small juices from his bag full of snacks and opened one for me.
Once we finished with the snacks, he offered to help me with my work.
"You're actually good at math?!" I asked, surprised.
"I'm decent, why are you so shocked?"
"I didn't know they actually taught you real stuff at your school." I replied.
He bursted out laughing. Thankfully no one was around to shush us.
"We still have to learn those things to graduate."
I smiled awkwardly. Sunwoo rubbed the top of my head affectionately.

With Sunwoo's help, I was able to finish all of my school work in half the time it would've taken me alone.
"How can I thank you?" I asked him.
Sunwoo thought about it for a second before giving me a response.
"You could teach me English!"
"Are you sure you don't want anything else?"
"Nope, I want you to teach me how to speak English." He said firmly.
"Okay, okay, I will some other day."
A huge smile appeared on his face.

We stayed to talk a bit about each other's day and anything special going on. We eventually made our way to the topic of our future.
"I honestly still don't know what I want to study." I begin to open up again about my struggles with my career.
"Have they not offered to help you more?" Sunwoo asked.
"Not really."
"Hmmm...why don't I help you then?"
"You'd do that?"
"Why not? I've had to go through the same process once before so I think I can help you come up with a few options." He said with confidence.
I nodded in approval.
"Let's start by naming jobs that fit into your interests and skills. How about a professional track runner." Sunwoo first suggested.
"Professional? I don't know, that doesn't sound fun."
"A soccer coach?"
"I don't want have to take care of a bunch of other people." I said honestly.
Sunwoo named out a few suggestions but none of them interested me.
"Y'know, I could go with Danny's idea." I jokingly commented.
Sunwoo's face became so serious I thought he was about to yell at me.
"It's worth a shot, no?" I added, hoping to add a bit of humor.
He was not amused. He shook his head in disappointment.
"Why not??" I asked teasingly.
"Being an idol is no joke. There's a lot more that goes into it than what the public sees." Sunwoo said with a serious tone; it kinda scared me.
"What is there for me to be afraid of?"
I could tell he only became annoyed at my persistence.
"It's something I really don't want you to go through."
"Is it that bad?"
"I love what I do, and only a few people in the industry can say that truthfully. The process can be very draining and stressful, and it only gets harder when you debut." He went on with all the bad things he's experienced throughout his career as an idol, hoping he'd get his point across as clearly as possible. "And don't get me started with how much harder it is for female idols."
"Don't worry," I chuckled. "I get what you're saying, I don't want to be an idol. You know I'm not a fan of it in any type of way. Plus, I think that my parents can only handle having one famous child."
"Good."
"But wouldn't it be easier for us to be together if I was a celebrity?" I genuinely asked.
He actually took a second to answer.
"It's depends, but it's not something I'd risk."
"What could possibly happen?"
"The same thing that would happen if someone finds out about us now. There would be angry fans, the media would post about it, your privacy would be gone."
"But wouldn't the consequences be less since I would have supportive fans and you'd have supportive fans?"
"Then you'd have double the hate from our unsupportive fans."
"I've actually already encountered an unsupportive fan of yours." I decided to tell him about the time the mean girl almost threatened me for having the same bias as her.
"Like I said, there's always going to be people against us, no matter which way we put it- that's why we have to be keep this a secret." It's nice to see how much he really cares about me. Even though I was only joking, he really doesn't want me to go through something we both know I wouldn't enjoy.

"So, what's something else you're interested in?" Sunwoo asked.
I lightbulb went off in my brain. "Maybe I could do something with photography?"
"Oh yeah, you mentioned you did a lot of photography back in the States. We're finally getting somewhere." He says with a smile.
"That actually reminds me of a poster I saw a few days ago at school about a photography competition."
"What did it say?" His eyes sparked with joy.
"It said that the school's photography club was holding a contest to see who could best capture a photo based on popular vote. There's a theme but they're announcing it next week."
"You should enter!" He yelled out excitedly.
"You really think I should?"
"Of course! This could be a good opportunity to see if this is something you'd want to do for a living."
"You're right, it won't hurt to try." I replied, feeling confident in myself.

We continued to talk about other things, but shortly after, it became really late and we both had to head home. The library was pretty far from my house so Sunwoo offered to take me home on the bus.
I put in my earbuds to listen to music on shuffle, and admire the city at night. As I look out the window, I remembered how I told Sunwoo that I'd let him make his move the next time we saw each other, but he hasn't done anything.
We don't have much time until we-
"Can I listen?" Sunwoo asked, interrupting my thoughts.
"Sure." I hand him an earbud. He plugs it in his ear and suddenly lays his head on my shoulder. 
I silently chuckle to myself.
Never mind.
The song ended and the next one came one. The familiar tune caught Sunwoo's attention. He fixed his posture and looked straight at me with a confused look.
"Is this 4EVER?"
"Maybe..." I responded, avoiding eye contact.
As the song continues, he became more sure that it is in fact one of The Boyz' songs. A pleased look covers his face, probably happy because I was listening to his music.
"What? It's a good song." I mumbled, a little embarrassed at the situation.
Sunwoo laughs excitedly. "Let me see what other songs you have."