7 New Discovery

Do you ever feel a wave of relief wash over you once the bell rings? I always get this feeling, but this time, it's more apparent than ever. I still can't believe that class finally ended, it honestly seemed like we were going to be stuck in there for longer. Right now, I just feel like going home, especially with all that's happened today.

Considering the circumstances between Seoyun and Wonjun, it made it far more stressful to be there than it needed to be. Adding on the fact that we were collaboratively working on a research paper made it all the more of a headache.

Don't get me wrong, I adore working with Dahyeong; her existence prevented me from passing out when working. It's just that playing middleman of two feuding sides is irritating, to say the least. You can say I'm overreacting if you want, but I'll have you know that my life is usually far more calm and collected.

I sling my bag over my shoulder and stand up to get out of my chair, waving to Seoyun and Dahyeong that I was going to be taking my leave now. I see Dahyeong turn from Seoyun, who was packing her things, and nod to me.

"Seoyun and I are going to get drinks from the vending machine then head to the bus stop."

"Alright then, I'm going to go to my locker now." I reply.

"Ah, see you!" Dahyeong calls out to me.

I skip over to the door, pushing my way through it. Yeah, today was far too draining for me, but of course, all days of school are draining.

I stop in my tracks, tilting my head and pulling my hair back with my free hand while examining the hall. The hall was filled with high schoolers carrying backpacks and binders bustling about, eager to get back home. They didn't seem to care whether they collided into each other, focusing only on getting out of the building.

I start walking, slowly speeding up my pace and maintaining the skip in my step all the way to my locker. I spot my locker down the secluded hall and begin to dash over to it.

After punching in the code, I swing my locker open to grab my lunchbox, some notes from class and all my textbooks. Just when I thought it couldn't get anymore tiring, for some reason, all classes had to assign homework at the same time, forcing me not only to do the homework, but carry it with me all the way back home.

"It's a little crowded with all these new people at our locker space, huh?"

I periodically turn to my right and spot no Jun. Confused for a bit, I pivot on the balls of my feet opposite to the right. My face lights up when I see Yuna.

"Yeah, no kidding." I respond, playfully rolling my eyes. Yuna looks up from her locker and smiles at me for a bit before darting her eyes back down.

"Do you know the names of any of them yet?"

"I mean, I know this guy." I lift my hand, pointing it to Jun's locker.

"Look at you! Making more friends!" Yuna pokes at my shoulder while laughing. I soon join in laughing with her as well.

"I know I have practically no friends, aside from you, Seoyun and Dahyeong." I say in between laughs. "There's no need to rub it in!"

Yuna begins to do a pretend salute.

"I gotcha." She finished off the salute by flicking her hand away from her forehead before picking up her bag. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"You know it!" I call out to her, imitating her salute. I see a smile make its way onto her face while she turns the corner of the hall.

I feel relieved knowing that it wasn't Jun who initially tried to talk to me. Yuna is right though - I don't have a lot of friends. Maybe it's not such a bad thing to try and talk to Jun more.

I proceed to stuff the remaining things into my pastel pink canvas bag and close my locker shut. With that, I run down the halls to a side exit of the school. I've always preferred to take the side exit as it's far less crowded than the main entrance.

Once the exit is in my sight, I reach for the doors and open them, looking both directions before taking the usual route to the bus stop. Just as soon as I start to quicken my speed, I receive a message from the group chat with Dahyeong and Seoyun.

Seoyun: You're still meeting up with us at the bus stop, right?

Minji: Yep, wouldn't exactly have a trip back home if I didn't

Seoyun: Alright then. We're coming soon, I think we told you of how we wanted to stop at the vending machine to get some drinks already.

Dahyeong: We had a little trouble though

Seoyun: Yeah, we'll tell you the story once we meet up at the stop

Minji: Better be worth the wait

Dahyeong: You'll just have to wait and see. I mean hear

I snort to myself, my expression soon turning to a grin. Of course, new friends are always nice, it's just hard to imagine anyone even coming close to Seoyun and Dahyeong.

I look back up from my phone, seeing the corner I had to turn was up ahead. I hastily shove my phone into my coat pocket before making my way to the intersection. I was already on the right corner, meaning that I could turn right without waiting for any cars, which is a plus.

I've always had a strong hate for finding myself in a situation where I need to get to the corner opposite of where I'm standing, forcing me to cross two crosswalks. Really, who'd want to wait that long in the frigid cold or scalding heat? Surely not me.

Soon after turning, I catch a glimpse of the bus stop. A few other people were standing and waiting by it already so I shuffle awkwardly to the stop, trying not to make eye contact with any of them.

It's always so tense whenever you're in a crowd of people and not one person is talking, but I suppose that's just the reality of bus stops. I reach for my phone in my pocket and open the group chat, pretending like I had people to talk to.

Minji: Are you guys heading over yet? It's so awkward standing at the bus stop.

Dahyeong: I'mma need you to calm down for a bit. We've just started to head down there

Seoyun: We'll be there in 5 minutes

I look up from my phone and watch a bus come by. It's not our bus, it's 403. The bus that I take with Seoyun and Dahyeong is 408.

I close Kakao and look at the time on my phone. It read 4:32. I like calculating things as exact as possible and I take times too literally. When people say 'in 5 minutes' they really mean: it's not gonna be long, but it'll take a bit of time so I assume it's this obscure number. To me, however, who cares if you don't know? You should have said just that, but instead, you've doomed yourself by providing an exact time.

4:37 is when I expect them to arrive here and that's final.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Minji!" I spin around and see Dahyeong running to me with extended arms and Seoyun trying to chase the girl down. Dahyeong has always been a really fast runner - she's even made it onto the track team for this year. Seoyun and I can't exactly say the same, though we are proud of her.

I pull out my phone, glancing at the time. 4:37. Perfect!

"So you guys did actually come in 5 minutes!" I call out to them.

"We know it pisses you off; don't think about it too much." Seoyun says in between shallow, wheezing breaths.

I glance at Dahyeong, who remained unaffected, even though she ran faster than Seoyun. I turn, facing ahead until I recall something.

"Right, you guys need to tell me what happened at the vending machine."

Seoyun and Dahyeong both glance amongst themselves, expecting the other to start.

"Y'know, we can do this all day if y'all want." I say, folding my arms and smirking at them.

Seoyun finally rolls her eyes and begins to explain.

"Dahyeong wanted to get some apple juice from the vending machine, so we stopped to pull out some change. We put the coins in and selected the apple juice and we saw it fall down shortly after. For some reason, it got stuck on the way."

Dahyeong cuts in, "We started to shake the machine, but it was too heavy to make a harsh enough shake for it to fall. Listen, cause this is the weirdest part. Wonjun came by and pushed us out of the way without any words and got an apple juice from the vending machine as well. His apple juice knocked down the one that we got."

"He even gave us the apple juice he bought and just said "Minji's friends, right?" as he left." Seoyun paused for a bit. "So weird..." She muttered under her breath.

"Are you friends with him?" Dahyeong asks, looking at me confused.

"I only sat with him at lunch, so I'm not sure if that makes me friends with him already."

Seoyun stares at me with a bewildered expression.

"Why would he ask you?"

"I honestly have no clue." I admit.

Dahyeong grabs both Seoyun and I on the wrist and points to our bus heading our way.

"It's coming!" Dahyeong says in a singing voice.

I reach into my bag and pull out my T-money card and Dahyeong does the same.

"My card ran out earlier this morning." Seoyun sheepishly says.

"It's all good. I have enough to pay for two." I reassure.

Seoyun nods at me and puts her empty T-money card away. Dahyeong looks at me before opening her mouth:

"Where'd you get this design? It's so pretty!"

Dahyeong picks up my card and begins to inspect my card. It was of an ice cream cone over a pale blue background with sprinkles in the background so of course it was pretty. She pretends to rob it but I smack her on the shoulder.

"Ooookay, that's enough." I tell Dahyeong while laughing. "I got it at the convenience store by Seoyun's house. They had so many other cool designs there."

"We should check it out sometime. How about tomorrow?" Dahyeong pokes me.

"Alright. We can go somewhere after too." I say. "You down, Seoyun?"

"Sure. Why not?" She replies.

Seoyun, Dahyeong and I start boarding the bus. Dahyeong goes in first and Seoyun and I trail after her.

Dahyeong taps her card against the scanner and walks to the back of the bus.

"I'm paying for 2." I tell the driver.

He nods and points to the scanner. I tap my card against it once and wait for the signal from the driver to tap again. He fumbles around with his screen before telling me to tap again, which I do. I grab Seoyun's arm and pull her to the back with Dahyeong.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Next stop, XXXXX drive."

I snap my head in the direction of the automated voice and I proceed to stand up from my seat, heading for the exit. I wave back at Seoyun who still had two more stops to go; Dahyeong already left three stops ahead of me. The door opens and a line of people, including me, file out of the vehicle.

As I step out of the bus, I'm greeted by a warm gust of air that blows my hair into my face. I brush my hair behind my ears and head back home. The crisp winds of the morning turned to breezes of heat by the evening. It's actually a nice feeling, and one that I plan on cherishing for as long as this moment lasts.