April

Working part-time in a convenience store isn’t uncommon for high school students, and I happen to be one of those 4.6 percent. My aunt, Soo Hee, owns the store, and we manage it together—she works during the day, and I cover the night shift.

One night, as my shift was nearing its end, I noticed it was raining heavily outside. I sighed, realizing I had forgotten my umbrella. Hoping the rain would let up, I decided to wait a bit. To pass the time, I grabbed my book, the only thing keeping me company during these quiet hours.

It was eerily silent until someone suddenly slammed a box of Band-Aids onto the counter, startling me.

“What the—?” I looked up to see a tall, muscular guy standing there, ready to pay. He had an imposing presence—strong, athletic, with broad shoulders and muscular arms that suggested he spent a lot of time in the gym. But the helmet on his head struck me as odd. I shook my head and stood up immediately to do his billing. I hadn’t noticed him coming in, so I raised my head and told him the amount, but he seems to dont understand what i just said maybe because he becomes stoned somehow i don't know why. Again the helmet was weird! But his cloudy gray eyes really amused me.

He handed me a card, but I had to tell him we only accepted cash. After a brief pause, he fumbled for money, and I noticed his hands were shaking. Then I saw it—his hands were injured, and small drops of blood were falling from his jacket sleeves onto the counter.

“Hey...do you need help?” I asked, concerned.

He hesitated, then looked up at me, and I realized his eyes—cloudy gray—were all I could see through his helmet. A few more drops of blood fell, and I watched as he struggled to stop the bleeding. I offered him a first aid kit.

As I bandaged his arm, I noticed how tall he was, even while sitting.

“All done!” I said, standing up. He followed suit, putting his jacket back on and reaching for cash again.

“It’s fine, you can pay me next time,” I said, stopping him. "I have no idea what he's going through, but a little kindness never hurts. Plus, my aunt won’t miss one box of Band-Aids."

He gave a small bow, as is customary in Korea, and left. What an awkward meeting that was? I exhaled and went to sit down on my chair thinking, Although I’m half Korean and have lived here since I was 11, I’m still not entirely familiar with all the korean etiquettes. I wondered if he even understood my English. Just when I was thinking about my not so cool, poorly korean roots. Surprisingly, the rain had stopped, so I packed my things and headed home.

The next morning, I was trying to catch up on sleep when Ha Ri’s piercing voice interrupted me.

“April... have you decided which university you want to go to?”

I groaned but didn’t answer. She knocked on the desk repeatedly until I had no choice but to wake up.

“What?” I practically shouted.

She gave me a weird look and said, “Jeez, what’s your problem?”

“You! Obviously,” I snapped, and she gave me that triumphant look like she had won the "Annoy April" contest.

“Come on, you look like you need a recharge. Let’s go to the music room,” she said, grabbing my hand and dragging me upstairs, and I move along as the next class is surely going to be literature. Suddenly, we heard a commotion, and students were rushing towards the gym.

Curious, Ha Ri  stopped and asked a nerdy-looking boy what was going on.

“Seo Joon,” he said before running off.

“Park Seo Joon again?” I groaned.

“I bet it’s another fight over a girl,” Ha Ri muttered, rolling her eyes. We watched the fight from the stairwell, and I spotted the back of the guy Seo Joon was fighting with. Seo Joon seemed to be adding extra drama with all the shouting. In his usual style.

“Who’s that?” I asked, inquiring about the guy Seo Joon was fighting with. He doesn’t seem like an old student here, is he new? 

“I don’t know, but he’s hot,” Ha Ri replied, her voice dripping with infatuation.

I laughed. “Stop drooling over on every tall guy!”

Just then, the crowd fell silent as the guy delivered a knockout kick to Seo Joon. It was impressive—he was definitely a Taekwondo player. He didn't even use his hands and I can still see his posture calm even behind his back. Just as we were admiring his skills, the gym teacher stormed in and sent everyone away, except for the fighters. We all had to be dismissed from our classes and just when the literature lecture started getting interesting, I heard my dear old best friend calling me.

“I need to know who that guy was,” Ha Ri whispered during class later.

“Shut up,” I warned her.

She ignored me, her teeth clenched. “Either you help me skip literature class, or I won’t take the mock test with you.”

I rolled my eyes. “None of that benefits me, so no, I’m not skipping.”

“How can you be so heartless? Don’t you care if I fail?”

“I’ve had enough, Ria,” I said.

“Please, April... pretty please?” she begged, putting on her puppy eyes. I hate that face, Oh I want to punch that face. But what else can I do? She also helped me alot skipping those sword dance classes my aunt forced me into. 

“Your obsession with tall guys is going to get us in trouble,” I sighed. But in the name of childhood friendship, I agreed to go along with her.

As per Shin Ha Ri’s questionable information, the mysterious guy was being punished in the music room. We were heading there when the librarian stepped out of the library, and we hid immediately, bumping noses into each other.

“Ouch!” I said, and Ria shushed me.

Once the coast was clear, we snuck towards the music room at the end of the hallway. Ria laid out her ridiculous plan.

“Okay, I’ll go in and talk to him. You stay in the library and keep an eye out. Don’t get lost in those books!”

I wanted to slap her. “And Plan B?”

“Simple. I do the talking, you do the sweeping,” she grinned.

“Right. You have five minutes, or I’m leaving,” I warned.

“Fine!” she huffed. “Do I look good?”

“Yes, just don’t get pregnant,” I muttered.

She headed into the music room while I went into the library. Taking a stroll, browsing the shelves. The smell of books always relaxes me. I've been into books since childhood, guess i inherited the book worm gene from my father. He was a chemist. I recall looking at some science books. But, I have always been attracted to what is hidden, Mystery and dark fantasies. Romance, the characters and their dominance is what really excites me. Just when I thought of not being so obsessed with these dark things, I end up falling asleep fantasizing myself with one of the characters. It's the fastest escape. A particular book caught my attention. I pulled it down and read the first line.

“‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord,” I whispered. It was a biblical verse I suppose, but why is such a religious verse written in a literature book? 

“Do you like books?” A deep voice behind me made me almost jump. I turned around, and it felt like the air had left my body. It was him—the guy from the convenience store. I would have missed it if not for his eyes. Why was he here? Was he a student? And where was Ha Ri? I guess she is wrong about the music room, he was actually in the library. Damn!

Before I could gather my thoughts, he stepped closer and picked up the book I had dropped, placing it back on the shelf. He was about to say something when Ha Ri’s voice interrupted us. “April!”

She entered at the speed of light, and the first thing she looked, is Him and her mouth fell in shock to see him “FUCK!” quickly she dragged me away.

“The librarian’s coming!” she hissed.

“Crap,” I muttered, and we ran down the stairs. Just as we were about to escape, we heard a stern voice behind us.

“Miss Shin Ha Ri and Miss April,” the dreaded Professor Yuri said. “To the office, now.”

We flinched. shit , shit, shit.

“You’re doing the mopping,” I said as we trudged off, knowing exactly how this was going to end. Ha Ri looked devastated at the thought of cleaning the gym floor.