TRWBU Extra [END]

PR by neji

Whether it was a graduation or an entrance ceremony, Taewan always felt that events like these were boring. The teacher who came on stage began to talk about how important the first year was for high school students. About how amazing it was for them to have been accepted into this school. He continued to talk at length.

Standing at the back of the line, Taewan raised his head and looked up at the sky. The blue sky was blinding.

If it had rained, they would have at least been able to sit inside.

Thinking about this and that, Taewan casually turned his head. Three lines away, a girl stopped in her tracks. It looked like she had just arrived judging from the backpack hung on her shoulders. So there are kids that are tardy to the entrance ceremony.

The girl’s long, straight hair was tied back into a tidy ponytail. Her light brown hair stood out to him. And then her pale skin.

As if she’d noticed his gaze, the girl turned her head. Their eyes met. In that short moment, Taewan had only one thought.

She’s pretty.

Although it was a bit awkward to have been caught staring, Taewan looked forward as if it didn’t bother him. The girl stared at him for a little longer before turning her head back to the front as well.

Although Taewan’s eyes were still on the stage in front of him, his attention was still on the girl. He didn’t know why, but he felt that the entrance ceremony was a little less boring now.

* * *

“It’s Na HaYeon. Na HaYeon.”

“Wow, she’s really tall.”

Only a few days had passed since the entrance ceremony. Taewan learned that the girl from the entrance ceremony was called ‘Na HaYeon’. She was in another classroom, and he didn’t have a chance to ask her for her name, but the fact that the other male students knew her name meant that she was quite popular with them.

HaYeon had pale skin, a pretty face, and a slender body. And she also had a mysterious aura that didn’t seem to suit kids their age, which only served to excite the boys even more. However, the male students didn’t approach her too freely. 

“How should I put this? Na HaYeon seems a bit difficult.”

The student who had the strongest interest in HaYeon murmured this. When the other boys heard him, they all nodded their heads.

As mysterious as she was, she was also hard to approach. With the exception of a few kids, HaYeon kept her distance from everyone. If someone asked her something, she’d answer, but she was never the first one to speak up.

Half of the boys who had taken an interest in her had already given up getting close to her.

“I wonder what kind of guy Na HaYeon will date. Just how high of a standard does she have?”

Jichul, one of Taewan’s friends, suddenly blurted out his question as they were eating lunch together. Jichul was like the other male students in that he had taken an interest in HaYeon.

“I’m sure she’ll date someone handsome. Pretty girls tend to date handsome guys.”

Sitting across from them, Siho answered nonchalantly.

“Right? How nice. The guy who dates Na HaYeon would be so lucky. Kang Taewan, if it’s you, I think you’d be able to date Na HaYeon. Are you interested in her?”

Jichul stared at Taewan as he asked.

“Just eat your food.”

Taewan answered indifferently, causing Jichul to shake his head.

“Jeez, you’re so unromantic. What’s the point of being so popular with the girls? You can’t even take advantage of it. If I were you, I would have been dating the prettiest girl in our school by now. If that’s how you’re going to use your handsome face, just give it to me! And give me some of your height while you’re at it! Damn it, it’s such a waste.”

Jichul huffed as he complained.

“But isn’t Na HaYeon too tall?”

When Siho spoke up, Taewan and Jichul’s eyes turned to him.

“You know, she’s too tall for a girl. I heard she’s over 170 cm. Think about it. What if she wears high heels? She’ll be taller than most guys. Do you think anyone will approach her? They’d be too scared. And she doesn’t even act cute… She doesn’t talk much, so it doesn’t look like she’s any fun. She’s really not my style.”

Siho shook his head.

“I’m sure you’re the only one who feels that way.”

Taewan blurted out.

“What?”

Siho stared at Taewan as he asked back.

“If you have time to complain about a girl’s height, why don’t you focus on worrying about your own? And I’m sure you’re not Na HaYeon’s style either.”

Taewan pushed his milk toward Siho before getting up.

“Hey, Kang Taewan! How can you say that? You son of a bitch, seriously?! Just because you’re tall!”

Siho grumbled behind him, but Taewan paid it no attention. He took his tray back to the collection counter and looked to the side.

HaYeon was holding a clean tray and standing there. Taewan assessed her height with his eyes. It looked like the crown of her head would reach his nose.

She was tall for a girl, but it didn’t look bad at all.

Taewan lowered his eyes and saw that she was staring at him. She had light brown eyes. They were speaking to him.

If you’re done, can you move?

Taewan stepped back without realizing it. He watched HaYeon place her tray on the collection counter before turning around.

* * *

In his first year of high school, HaYeon was just a girl that Taewan would watch from afar.

He’d see her by chance when he looked out the window and saw her playing volleyball for gym class with her sleeves rolled up. Sometimes he’d brush past her in the hallways.

While his eyes were always drawn to her, he’d never actually spoken to her. If he wanted to, he could have, but he didn’t think there was any need to go that far. He felt that it was enough to just watch her from a distance.

Because he was afraid that if he crossed the line, he’d want more.

He wasn’t in a situation where he could want a person.

But she became his deskmate in their second year. It was because she was so tall. After they became deskmates, he came to learn a lot about her.

HaYeon smelled nice. She usually came to school early, and the pens in her pencil case were always organized and tidy.

And she must like banana milk because she was always drinking it. After she finished a carton of banana milk, she’d always smell sweet.

He liked it. Even if he didn’t try to remember it, anything pertaining to Na HaYeon was stamped into his brain. Whenever he laid in bed to sleep, he’d always see her face on the ceiling. Even though they never spoke to each other, just sitting next to her made him think about her.

And by chance, Taewan opened a magazine to study the material and saw HaYeon. At first, he thought it was merely a model who looked like her. Her face was very small as she stood in the midst of a group of models.

But this is Na HaYeon.

At some point, he came to a realization. He had to pay very close attention to make sure, but there was no doubt. It was her.

He gazed at the picture for a long time. All he could see was the model who looked like HaYeon.

This was the first time he thought a female model wasn’t just pretty but very cool as well.

After that, Taewan discovered more of HaYeon’s pictures in magazines. He found himself buying the magazines with her in it. He didn’t even buy his own magazines because he thought it was a waste of money.

His interest in HaYeon began to grow. However, he didn’t show it. He didn’t have the luxury to do so. He was already overwhelmed with school and working as a model to cover his grandmother’s hospital bills.

He needed to work hard to pay for his grandmother’s hospital bills and pay off her debt. The money they received from the government wasn’t enough to cover their cost of living.

So you can’t get distracted. Focus.

He grit his teeth.

Just keep it like this. Watching her from afar is enough.

That’s what he vowed to himself. However, not long after that, it wasn’t enough.

He found HaYeon sitting by herself at the playground. Seeing her like this made her look so lonely. He was shocked to hear himself asking HaYeon to buy him a meal.

He thought she’d just ignore him and leave, but HaYeon obediently followed him. He didn’t know where he should take a girl to eat, so he ended up going to the snack bar.

HaYeon put down her fork, saying that it hadn’t been long since she’d last eaten. Thinking he should buy her something else next time, Taewan lowered his head to eat his ddukbokki.

And HaYeon saw the worn hem of his uniform. He didn’t care if others saw it, but he suddenly felt embarrassed. HaYeon’s face told him that she had already caught on.

“When I become an adult, I’m going to live well.”

He regretted saying it as soon as he blurted it out. He shouldn’t have said anything.

“Yeah, I think you will.”

As he was regretting his outburst, HaYeon said something completely unexpected. Taewan froze for a moment before slowly raising his head.

Her calm eyes seemed so certain. She wasn’t cheering him on. She truly believed it.

It was the first time someone had told him something like this. He suddenly felt like crying. The wall he had built around his heart suddenly collapsed.

From that moment on, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to treat HaYeon as a mere friend.

* * *

Taewan came to school much earlier than usual today. The cherry blossom branches stretched out towards the dark, dawn sky. 

When the wind blew, the petals rustled and floated to the ground. He stretched out his hand and tried to catch them, but they all evaded him. He brought his hands together and held them out.

Tap, tap.

Suddenly, the petals began to gather in his hands. He held out his hands in the place where the most petals fell.

“Let’s date.”

Yesterday morning, he ended up blurting out the words he had kept buried deep in his heart. He was shocked that the words had even left his mouth.

When he opened his eyes, small, pale hands were covering his eyes. Taewan immediately recognized what was happening.

HaYeon’s hand was blocking the sun from his eyes. Because she was afraid the sunlight would disturb his sleep. Suddenly, HaYeon furtively pulled her hand away. Their eyes met, and Taewan shockingly kissed her palm.

The hand that had covered his eyes just as his hand had covered hers. Her eyes that were glancing at him were so beautiful that he couldn’t help but kiss her hand. After a long while passed, he ended up confessing.

HaYeon must have been shocked because she didn’t talk to him for the rest of the day. Taewan couldn’t sleep last night. He realized that HaYeon could reject him.

Because she had such a cautious personality, she might reject him. Knowing her, he didn’t think she’d even be friends with him after this. Even if he was rejected, he wanted to do everything he could.

And tell her he liked her.

And catch the cherry blossom petals that had evaded her all spring.

As he was lost in thought, he gazed at the pile of cherry blossom petals in his hands. He cupped his hands into a ball so that they wouldn’t blow away.

He collected them for a long time. His dark surroundings began to grow bright. In the end, his hands were full of cherry blossom petals.

Just when his arms began to throb, he felt someone watching him from afar. When he turned his head, he saw HaYeon gazing back at him.

His arm suddenly didn’t hurt anymore. When HaYeon walked over and stood in front of him, his mouth began to move on its own.

“I thought about it, and I realized that I didn’t prepare any flowers for you yesterday.”

“……”

“Here, you like these.”

“……”

“And I’ll say this now before you misunderstand, but I didn’t pick these up from the ground. I caught each one as they fell.”

Every time a petal fell into his hand, his heart would race.

Happy, sad. Joy, pain.

Right now, his heart felt a bit sore.

“And I forgot to tell you this because I was so nervous yesterday.”

“……”

“I like you.”

As he said these words, a breeze blew around them. The petals that he had gathered in his hand began to fly around them. They fluttered in the air like butterflies and began to make their way towards HaYeon. Covered in pink, HaYeon gazed at Taewan.

Even though the sunlight would be blinding, he’d stubbornly keep his face to the windows as he slept at his desk.

I liked stealing glances at you until I fell asleep. If I saw you before my eyes closed, it felt like you were being branded into my eyelids. I liked that, so I was able to fall asleep facing the stinging sunlight.

“I like you, Na HaYeon.”

…I like you that much.

“I like you.”

…So much that I can only say these words.

Dyed in pink, HaYeon stared at him. A short moment passed, but it felt like hours to him.

After a while, a smile silently bloomed on her face like a cherry blossom.

“…Okay.”

Her voice was so soft that he could barely hear it. She gave him a slight nod. When he saw it, Taewan bit his lips.

Taewan walked over to her and tightly grasped her hand. HaYeon didn’t avoid him. Instead, she feebly held his hand as well. For a moment, he couldn’t see straight. All of his attention was on her hand holding his.

He felt as if he’d won the world.

“Next time, I’ll make sure you receive the cherry blossom petals.”

HaYeon responded with an ‘okay’.

As he walked into the school with her, Taewan began to think.

In the far-off future, when he proposed to her, he’d put the world’s prettiest and best ring inside the cherry blossom petals.

<Fin>