Status: Hiatus! But comment anyway (:
Postcards from Seoul
The Sixth Postcard
Please don’t call my name please don’t call my name please don’t call my name
”Bae Rina, since you’re new why don’t you tell us what this book is about?” the teacher sends me a polite smile covered in venom and its so quiet I can hear my cells dividing. It’s been a week since I started and I have no idea how I’ll survive the next few months. It’s like hell on earth for those who do not have an IQ of over 200 or those who doesn’t speak the language that well. I’m a resident in loser town for sure.
“Uhm,” I swallow the lump in my throat and try to remember which book out of the 16 I should’ve read and understood for today “The mastering of lyrical dance?” I have no idea why I can hear low giggles around the classroom.
“No, Bae Rina-sshi, that’s not it” the teacher sighs and asks one of the smarter students to answer it. She does, and it’s one of the books I still haven’t gotten.
After 4 more hours of torture, it’s lunch break. It used to be my favourite time of the day but after a few of my classmates had seen who I usually was with during these breaks I started to dislike it. Dongho who had been appointed the most popular one in the group by the others clearly had a lot of fans at our school. He had a lot more older fans than younger ones (which he liked because he loved older girls) and most of them were from my building.
“Noona!” I feel someone gluing themselves to my upper torso, like a monkey.
“Dongho, please don’t do that, you’re too heavy and you’re not like this so stop it”
“But the other girls like it, Rina, c’mon don’t be a party killer!”
I swear there are hisses around and how he manages to turn that into something
positive is beyond me.
“Get girls on your own, I’m not putting my life on the line for you” I pry him off but nudge him playfully and smile “Unless you have my lunch?”
Alexander always made a scene out of making lunch for “his two favourite kids” - now all of us went to school so I don’t know why he only bothered making lunch for two. Dongho gave me an apologetic glance “Uhm, I forgot. Eli is bringing it over later”
Knowing Eli he’d dump it and hope I starve to death.
As if he’d read my mind Eli appeared behind me and cleared his throat.
As I turned around it took every ounce of self control I had to keep my jaw dropping.
His hair was gelled up as it usually was, but this time his bangs covered most of his face. He was in his school uniform which was not as stylish as Donghos but it suited him in a too appealing way. Dongho nudged me grinning, and I shook my head. What was I on?
“Here’s your lunch, kid,” he threw the biggest box towards the grinning idiot beside me and shoved mine into my face “Won’t be a next time.” I shrugged him off and went to find a table to eat. As usual, no one offered me a seat. I was the freaky outcast. I might look like I was local, but I sure as hell wasn’t.
To my surprise three girls made their way to my table, but didn’t sit down. Instead they all turned their trays upside-down so that all of the leftovers of both food and drink fell down on me. They laughed in unison before the tallest of the three said so that everyone within a three feet radius could hear; “You whore! First Dongho and now Eli!? How dare you? You scum, outsider! You’re nothing more than rotten food!”
Before I’m even able to think of a response tears are starting to form in my eyes. I can handle being spat on, threw around in the dirt and whatnot. But when he is around? I’d rather die.
The anger and the pain from the words eventually get to me and tears are streaming down my face. Still without having uttered a word, I simply stand up, brush off whatever I can see throughout my foggy eyes and make a run for it. I run until it feels like I’ll vomit and my legs as if they’ll break any minute. They do, and I stumble out in the streets. I brace myself for the cold concrete as legs give in but instead I hit
something much softer.
“Yah! Watch were you’re going!” the harsh tone makes the tears run faster – and as I manage to get back on my feet I bow several times while repeatingly saying I’m sorry. It’s not until I feel strong arms wrapped around me that I lift my head to see who it is.
Alexander smiles down at me and hugs me even tighter “Dongho called me and I rushed here as soon as I heard. Lets go get you cleaned up, then I’m taking you out for dinner. No buts-“ he pauses when he sees my protesting glance “If this happens again I don’t care what happens to my reputation, I’m going after them”
He holds me the whole way home, in public, and doesn’t loosen the grip once.
”Bae Rina, since you’re new why don’t you tell us what this book is about?” the teacher sends me a polite smile covered in venom and its so quiet I can hear my cells dividing. It’s been a week since I started and I have no idea how I’ll survive the next few months. It’s like hell on earth for those who do not have an IQ of over 200 or those who doesn’t speak the language that well. I’m a resident in loser town for sure.
“Uhm,” I swallow the lump in my throat and try to remember which book out of the 16 I should’ve read and understood for today “The mastering of lyrical dance?” I have no idea why I can hear low giggles around the classroom.
“No, Bae Rina-sshi, that’s not it” the teacher sighs and asks one of the smarter students to answer it. She does, and it’s one of the books I still haven’t gotten.
After 4 more hours of torture, it’s lunch break. It used to be my favourite time of the day but after a few of my classmates had seen who I usually was with during these breaks I started to dislike it. Dongho who had been appointed the most popular one in the group by the others clearly had a lot of fans at our school. He had a lot more older fans than younger ones (which he liked because he loved older girls) and most of them were from my building.
“Noona!” I feel someone gluing themselves to my upper torso, like a monkey.
“Dongho, please don’t do that, you’re too heavy and you’re not like this so stop it”
“But the other girls like it, Rina, c’mon don’t be a party killer!”
I swear there are hisses around and how he manages to turn that into something
positive is beyond me.
“Get girls on your own, I’m not putting my life on the line for you” I pry him off but nudge him playfully and smile “Unless you have my lunch?”
Alexander always made a scene out of making lunch for “his two favourite kids” - now all of us went to school so I don’t know why he only bothered making lunch for two. Dongho gave me an apologetic glance “Uhm, I forgot. Eli is bringing it over later”
Knowing Eli he’d dump it and hope I starve to death.
As if he’d read my mind Eli appeared behind me and cleared his throat.
As I turned around it took every ounce of self control I had to keep my jaw dropping.
His hair was gelled up as it usually was, but this time his bangs covered most of his face. He was in his school uniform which was not as stylish as Donghos but it suited him in a too appealing way. Dongho nudged me grinning, and I shook my head. What was I on?
“Here’s your lunch, kid,” he threw the biggest box towards the grinning idiot beside me and shoved mine into my face “Won’t be a next time.” I shrugged him off and went to find a table to eat. As usual, no one offered me a seat. I was the freaky outcast. I might look like I was local, but I sure as hell wasn’t.
To my surprise three girls made their way to my table, but didn’t sit down. Instead they all turned their trays upside-down so that all of the leftovers of both food and drink fell down on me. They laughed in unison before the tallest of the three said so that everyone within a three feet radius could hear; “You whore! First Dongho and now Eli!? How dare you? You scum, outsider! You’re nothing more than rotten food!”
Before I’m even able to think of a response tears are starting to form in my eyes. I can handle being spat on, threw around in the dirt and whatnot. But when he is around? I’d rather die.
The anger and the pain from the words eventually get to me and tears are streaming down my face. Still without having uttered a word, I simply stand up, brush off whatever I can see throughout my foggy eyes and make a run for it. I run until it feels like I’ll vomit and my legs as if they’ll break any minute. They do, and I stumble out in the streets. I brace myself for the cold concrete as legs give in but instead I hit
something much softer.
“Yah! Watch were you’re going!” the harsh tone makes the tears run faster – and as I manage to get back on my feet I bow several times while repeatingly saying I’m sorry. It’s not until I feel strong arms wrapped around me that I lift my head to see who it is.
Alexander smiles down at me and hugs me even tighter “Dongho called me and I rushed here as soon as I heard. Lets go get you cleaned up, then I’m taking you out for dinner. No buts-“ he pauses when he sees my protesting glance “If this happens again I don’t care what happens to my reputation, I’m going after them”
He holds me the whole way home, in public, and doesn’t loosen the grip once.
♠ ♠ ♠
Showing affection in publish (holding hands, kissing etc.) is frowned upon in South-Korea.