Under The Surface Ch05
Yeeun’s alarm rang twice before she reached a sleepy hand toward the clock and turned it off. She groaned, muffling the sound with her pillow. Oh, how she hated the morning. Turning a groggy eye toward Sunye’s bed, she saw that it was empty, and that Sunye was sitting in a chair by the window, head lowered.
"Sunye?” She called.
Sunye jumped, obviously surprised. “Wha-huh? Oh, good morning Yeeun!” She got up. “I’ve made breakfast already. It’s in the kitchen.”
“What were you doing just now?”
“I was praying for us today, except I fell asleep I guess,” she said sheepishly. “Anyways, rise and shine! Or else we’ll be late for school.”
Yeeun jumped up. “Oh right! School!” She hurried over to the dresser, opening up the door on her side. Sunye’s side was neat, her clothes organized by tops and bottoms and colors. Yeeun’s side was pretty much a pile. She grabbed the clothes from the top of it.
Sunye raised an eyebrow at her selection. “You wore that shirt yesterday, Yeeun. And you’re holding two shirts by the way. You might wanna get yourself some pants.” Yeeun looked down at what she was holding and laughed. She threw back the shirt she wore yesterday and picked up a pair of jeans. Sunye sighed and took the shirt that Yeeun had just thrown back. “This goes in the wash, smart one.” Yeeun nodded at her and proceeded to change out of her pajamas and into her clothes.
Ten minutes later, Sunye was pedaling hard toward school while Yeeun sat in the back, holding onto Sunye with one hand and shoving her egg sandwich into her mouth with the other. “You’re such a pig,” Sunye called back to her.
Yeeun grinned. “Shut it, Sunye! Your hair’s blowing into my face. I can’t eat anyways.”
Sunye laughed. They were nearing the school. Yeeun could see the roof over the small hill in front of the school. Sunye slowed the bike in the parking lot and hopped off. Yeeun followed, putting the last of her sandwich in her mouth. They trailed along with the other students, heading toward the front entrance, where there was some sort of crowd forming. Sunye pushed her way through curiously, and Yeeun followed as the crowd parted in her wake, grasping onto the strap of her backpack. Suddenly, Sunye came to a halt, and turned to Yeeun, gesturing for her to go back.
Yeeun wanted to see what it was for herself, so she ignored Sunye, and, letting go of her backpack, pushed to the front of the crowd. It was Chansung. She glanced back at Sunye, who was waving her back frantically. It was then that Yeeun noticed that ninety percent of the crowd was girls. She began to back out, but then Chansung turned around and noticed her. He walked over, and all eyes followed him to Yeeun. He gave her a smile and pulled her out of the suffocating crowd. She was a senior, in her last year of high school, but that didn’t stop some of the girls in the crowd from shooting her death glares.
“Yeeun!” Chansung said with a dazzling grin. There was some muttering around the crowd, and Sunye emerged and took hold of Yeeun’s other arm.
“What are you doing Chansung?” She hissed, almost inaudibly.
Chansung shrugged and frowned at her. “I just wanted to check how Yeeun was doing.” He turned his attention to Yeeun. “You okay?”
Yeeun looked down at the ground so she wouldn’t have to see the expressions of the people watching, trying to make herself invisible. Except that had never worked. She nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.” In a lower whisper, she said, “Why are you here? All these people probably hate me.”
Chansung laughed, throwing his head back. “Don’t worry about it.” With a wave, he strode through the crowd, people standing back to let him through, mouths open with awe. Anyone else might’ve thought he was a god the way students were acting around him.
Yeeun took the chance to get into the building, Sunye following right behind her, talking away.
“Didn’t I tell you not to go? I knew that was going to happen.” Yeeun smiled but didn’t respond.
Heads turned as the two of them walked down the hall. After all, they were among the prettiest girls in school, and everyone was even more jealous after the little episode with Chansung. After a few minutes, Yoobin, the third girl of their group and also a senior, joined them. She leaned in toward the two of them as they walked down the hall. “Was that your boyfriend, Yeeun?” Yeeun looked to see if she was joking, but she looked serious. She laughed, shaking her head.
“But he might be soon,” Sunye added.
“Zee-oh-em-gee!” Yoobin exclaimed, using her latest favorite phrase. “That’d be so cool!” She patted the side of her own cheek in excitement. Sunye sent her a look that plainly said that she was weirded out by Yoobin’s behavior.
Yeeun sighed. “It’s not going to happen. I think he thinks of me more of like…a daughter, you know?”
Yoobin thumped her on the back. “No, no, no, you’ve got to think of it in a different way Yeeun. Be optimistic about it!” She sighed. “Dang, if Nichkhun starts liking you next…wow…just dang.” She thought about it for a second, and then frowned. “Wait no, that’d be bad, cause then everyone would probably kill you, like for real. And then after we graduate, they’d send you hate letters and come burn down your house and stuff. Except you’d already be dead.”
Yeeun and Sunye exchanged looks. Yoobin was pretty much hopeless. They arrived at their lockers, where Sohee and Sunmi, the twins that made up the last of their group, were standing and having a heated argument. Sohee was making frantic movements with her hands, jumping up and down once in a while and Sunmi’s head was bobbing like crazy. It was normal for them though; they had at least one every other day.
“What’s up?” Yoobin asked, just as Sohee stuck out an angry finger at Sunmi and ended up poking Yoobin in the eye instead. She yelled and her hands immediately flew to her eye. “I am going to punish you two!”
Both of the girls stopped arguing and turned around, rolling their eyes. Yeeun put her hand to her mouth, trying to suppress her laughter.
“We’re-,” Sohee began.
“-not kids anymore,” finished Sunmi.
“Idiot!” Sohee said, turning toward Sunmi. She was older than Sunmi by two minutes and therefore felt that she had the authority. “We never were kids! Stop trying to finish my sentences! You always get them wrong.”
Sunmi pouted. “But we’re twins! And that’s what twins do!”
Sohee was about to respond, but Sunye stepped forward and ushered the two off to their first class together. Yeeun grinned and turned with Yoobin to go to their first class. But before she could take another step, she was intercepted by a boy.
Yeeun sighed. “Good morning Changmin,” she said, greeing him.
Changmin, towering over her, flashed her a grin. A few girls behind Yeeun at their lockers squealed. Yeeun rolled her eyes. He could go for them for all she cared. It wasn’t like she asked for this. She was about to give an excuse when Changmin, with a flourish, pulled out a small bouquet of lush red roses. Yeeun glanced sideways at Yoobin, who was snickering quietly. Having no other choice, Yeeun took the roses from a beaming Changmin.
“Why thank you, Changmin,” she said politely. “These will…look great in my room.”
Changmin tried to give her a hug, but Yeeun stepped delicately out of the way. Giving her presents was fine, but she wouldn’t allow physical contact if she could help it at all.
However, Changmin was not discouraged. “Anytime, Yeeun.” Yeeun nodded and stepped past him with Yoobin. “Saranghaeyo!” Changmin called down the hall after them. The sound echoed on the metal lockers and a few teachers stuck their heads out of their classroom doors.
Yoobin sighed. “Wow Yeeun, you’ve got so many lovers. You ought to choose one of them.”
Yeeun elbowed her. “What, are you jealous? You’ve got Seunghyun, don’t you? Or rather, TOP?” Yoobin and Seunghyun, or TOP, as he liked to be called, had been dating for a year and a half now. Any wishful thinkers pining after either of the pair had long given up by now.
“Naw, just saying.” She grinned. “How much you wanna bet Yunho will be coming ‘round that corner?” She pointed.
Yeeun shook her head. “He won’t-”
Yunho came flying around the corner. Yoobin let out a very unwomanly snort of laughter and elbowed Yeeun in the side harder than necessary. Yunho stopped in front of them, took one look at the flowers in Yeeun’s hands, and groaned.
“He got to you first?!” He shook his head, muttering to himself. “Ah, no matter.” He took a box out of his pocket and handed it to Yeeun with a deep and graceful bow. “For you.”
Yeeun took the box with a bow. The students in the nearest classroom were watching them. She wondered if there was anywhere she could go where she wouldn’t get all this unwanted attention.
Seeing this as a chance, Yunho asked, “Would you like to go to dinner with me today?”
Yeeun opened her mouth to say no, but Yoobin, who was standing behind her, kicked her foot. “Um, okay,” replied Yeeun, gritting her teeth, making a mental note to poke the living daylights out of Yoobin later.
“Awesome! I’ll come pick you up at your place at six okay?” If Yunho’s smile didn’t stop getting wider, Yeeun figured it might pop off his face in a few seconds. She waited to see, but surprisingly, it didn’t. She nodded her consent and Yunho ran off toward his classroom happily.
“Ooh,” said Yoobin from behind her. “So you’re picking Yunho?”
Yeeun remembered that she was planning to poke her, and began to do so, very vigorously in her stomach. Yoobin doubled over in laughter, dropping her bag on the floor. “No, I’m not,” Yeeun said. “I just had no other choice, thanks to you.” She stopped poking Yoobin, but Yoobin was still cracking up. Sighing, Yeeun picked Yoobin’s bag up from the floor and pushed it into her arms. “Let’s go, crackhead. We’ll be late for class.”
Ten minutes later, when they were settled in their desks and Yoobin had stopped laughing, Yeeun threw her head back, leaning back in her chair. What had she done to deserve all this?
"Sunye?” She called.
Sunye jumped, obviously surprised. “Wha-huh? Oh, good morning Yeeun!” She got up. “I’ve made breakfast already. It’s in the kitchen.”
“What were you doing just now?”
“I was praying for us today, except I fell asleep I guess,” she said sheepishly. “Anyways, rise and shine! Or else we’ll be late for school.”
Yeeun jumped up. “Oh right! School!” She hurried over to the dresser, opening up the door on her side. Sunye’s side was neat, her clothes organized by tops and bottoms and colors. Yeeun’s side was pretty much a pile. She grabbed the clothes from the top of it.
Sunye raised an eyebrow at her selection. “You wore that shirt yesterday, Yeeun. And you’re holding two shirts by the way. You might wanna get yourself some pants.” Yeeun looked down at what she was holding and laughed. She threw back the shirt she wore yesterday and picked up a pair of jeans. Sunye sighed and took the shirt that Yeeun had just thrown back. “This goes in the wash, smart one.” Yeeun nodded at her and proceeded to change out of her pajamas and into her clothes.
Ten minutes later, Sunye was pedaling hard toward school while Yeeun sat in the back, holding onto Sunye with one hand and shoving her egg sandwich into her mouth with the other. “You’re such a pig,” Sunye called back to her.
Yeeun grinned. “Shut it, Sunye! Your hair’s blowing into my face. I can’t eat anyways.”
Sunye laughed. They were nearing the school. Yeeun could see the roof over the small hill in front of the school. Sunye slowed the bike in the parking lot and hopped off. Yeeun followed, putting the last of her sandwich in her mouth. They trailed along with the other students, heading toward the front entrance, where there was some sort of crowd forming. Sunye pushed her way through curiously, and Yeeun followed as the crowd parted in her wake, grasping onto the strap of her backpack. Suddenly, Sunye came to a halt, and turned to Yeeun, gesturing for her to go back.
Yeeun wanted to see what it was for herself, so she ignored Sunye, and, letting go of her backpack, pushed to the front of the crowd. It was Chansung. She glanced back at Sunye, who was waving her back frantically. It was then that Yeeun noticed that ninety percent of the crowd was girls. She began to back out, but then Chansung turned around and noticed her. He walked over, and all eyes followed him to Yeeun. He gave her a smile and pulled her out of the suffocating crowd. She was a senior, in her last year of high school, but that didn’t stop some of the girls in the crowd from shooting her death glares.
“Yeeun!” Chansung said with a dazzling grin. There was some muttering around the crowd, and Sunye emerged and took hold of Yeeun’s other arm.
“What are you doing Chansung?” She hissed, almost inaudibly.
Chansung shrugged and frowned at her. “I just wanted to check how Yeeun was doing.” He turned his attention to Yeeun. “You okay?”
Yeeun looked down at the ground so she wouldn’t have to see the expressions of the people watching, trying to make herself invisible. Except that had never worked. She nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.” In a lower whisper, she said, “Why are you here? All these people probably hate me.”
Chansung laughed, throwing his head back. “Don’t worry about it.” With a wave, he strode through the crowd, people standing back to let him through, mouths open with awe. Anyone else might’ve thought he was a god the way students were acting around him.
Yeeun took the chance to get into the building, Sunye following right behind her, talking away.
“Didn’t I tell you not to go? I knew that was going to happen.” Yeeun smiled but didn’t respond.
Heads turned as the two of them walked down the hall. After all, they were among the prettiest girls in school, and everyone was even more jealous after the little episode with Chansung. After a few minutes, Yoobin, the third girl of their group and also a senior, joined them. She leaned in toward the two of them as they walked down the hall. “Was that your boyfriend, Yeeun?” Yeeun looked to see if she was joking, but she looked serious. She laughed, shaking her head.
“But he might be soon,” Sunye added.
“Zee-oh-em-gee!” Yoobin exclaimed, using her latest favorite phrase. “That’d be so cool!” She patted the side of her own cheek in excitement. Sunye sent her a look that plainly said that she was weirded out by Yoobin’s behavior.
Yeeun sighed. “It’s not going to happen. I think he thinks of me more of like…a daughter, you know?”
Yoobin thumped her on the back. “No, no, no, you’ve got to think of it in a different way Yeeun. Be optimistic about it!” She sighed. “Dang, if Nichkhun starts liking you next…wow…just dang.” She thought about it for a second, and then frowned. “Wait no, that’d be bad, cause then everyone would probably kill you, like for real. And then after we graduate, they’d send you hate letters and come burn down your house and stuff. Except you’d already be dead.”
Yeeun and Sunye exchanged looks. Yoobin was pretty much hopeless. They arrived at their lockers, where Sohee and Sunmi, the twins that made up the last of their group, were standing and having a heated argument. Sohee was making frantic movements with her hands, jumping up and down once in a while and Sunmi’s head was bobbing like crazy. It was normal for them though; they had at least one every other day.
“What’s up?” Yoobin asked, just as Sohee stuck out an angry finger at Sunmi and ended up poking Yoobin in the eye instead. She yelled and her hands immediately flew to her eye. “I am going to punish you two!”
Both of the girls stopped arguing and turned around, rolling their eyes. Yeeun put her hand to her mouth, trying to suppress her laughter.
“We’re-,” Sohee began.
“-not kids anymore,” finished Sunmi.
“Idiot!” Sohee said, turning toward Sunmi. She was older than Sunmi by two minutes and therefore felt that she had the authority. “We never were kids! Stop trying to finish my sentences! You always get them wrong.”
Sunmi pouted. “But we’re twins! And that’s what twins do!”
Sohee was about to respond, but Sunye stepped forward and ushered the two off to their first class together. Yeeun grinned and turned with Yoobin to go to their first class. But before she could take another step, she was intercepted by a boy.
Yeeun sighed. “Good morning Changmin,” she said, greeing him.
Changmin, towering over her, flashed her a grin. A few girls behind Yeeun at their lockers squealed. Yeeun rolled her eyes. He could go for them for all she cared. It wasn’t like she asked for this. She was about to give an excuse when Changmin, with a flourish, pulled out a small bouquet of lush red roses. Yeeun glanced sideways at Yoobin, who was snickering quietly. Having no other choice, Yeeun took the roses from a beaming Changmin.
“Why thank you, Changmin,” she said politely. “These will…look great in my room.”
Changmin tried to give her a hug, but Yeeun stepped delicately out of the way. Giving her presents was fine, but she wouldn’t allow physical contact if she could help it at all.
However, Changmin was not discouraged. “Anytime, Yeeun.” Yeeun nodded and stepped past him with Yoobin. “Saranghaeyo!” Changmin called down the hall after them. The sound echoed on the metal lockers and a few teachers stuck their heads out of their classroom doors.
Yoobin sighed. “Wow Yeeun, you’ve got so many lovers. You ought to choose one of them.”
Yeeun elbowed her. “What, are you jealous? You’ve got Seunghyun, don’t you? Or rather, TOP?” Yoobin and Seunghyun, or TOP, as he liked to be called, had been dating for a year and a half now. Any wishful thinkers pining after either of the pair had long given up by now.
“Naw, just saying.” She grinned. “How much you wanna bet Yunho will be coming ‘round that corner?” She pointed.
Yeeun shook her head. “He won’t-”
Yunho came flying around the corner. Yoobin let out a very unwomanly snort of laughter and elbowed Yeeun in the side harder than necessary. Yunho stopped in front of them, took one look at the flowers in Yeeun’s hands, and groaned.
“He got to you first?!” He shook his head, muttering to himself. “Ah, no matter.” He took a box out of his pocket and handed it to Yeeun with a deep and graceful bow. “For you.”
Yeeun took the box with a bow. The students in the nearest classroom were watching them. She wondered if there was anywhere she could go where she wouldn’t get all this unwanted attention.
Seeing this as a chance, Yunho asked, “Would you like to go to dinner with me today?”
Yeeun opened her mouth to say no, but Yoobin, who was standing behind her, kicked her foot. “Um, okay,” replied Yeeun, gritting her teeth, making a mental note to poke the living daylights out of Yoobin later.
“Awesome! I’ll come pick you up at your place at six okay?” If Yunho’s smile didn’t stop getting wider, Yeeun figured it might pop off his face in a few seconds. She waited to see, but surprisingly, it didn’t. She nodded her consent and Yunho ran off toward his classroom happily.
“Ooh,” said Yoobin from behind her. “So you’re picking Yunho?”
Yeeun remembered that she was planning to poke her, and began to do so, very vigorously in her stomach. Yoobin doubled over in laughter, dropping her bag on the floor. “No, I’m not,” Yeeun said. “I just had no other choice, thanks to you.” She stopped poking Yoobin, but Yoobin was still cracking up. Sighing, Yeeun picked Yoobin’s bag up from the floor and pushed it into her arms. “Let’s go, crackhead. We’ll be late for class.”
Ten minutes later, when they were settled in their desks and Yoobin had stopped laughing, Yeeun threw her head back, leaning back in her chair. What had she done to deserve all this?