Nathan
By the time the final bell rings, I'm already out of focus, out of place.
Anna hasn't been seen since she left the classroom after the test. And Aria is sitting on her bench, reading a novel. Sam seems to drift away into his dreams beside me. His head is rested onto his arms on the desk.
All was the same until the bell rang. And now everyone jostles out of the classroom.
I sling my bag over my shoulder and step into the corridor. Ariana comes out of the classroom next. And nearly bumps into me again—nearly—and freezes when she realizes how close she is.
"Oh sorry!" she says quickly, then smiles like she's embarrassed by her own clumsiness.
It's an honest smile. The kind people don't practice.
"You're fine," I tell her. "You always are." The words slip out of my mouth before I think about them.
She blinks, clearly caught off guard.
"Oh," she says. "Thanks."
I can see her cheeks tint pink. I pretend not to notice. But I do anyway.
We start walking together toward the stairs. Then she glances over her shoulder when we're in the grounds. I don't need to ask who she's looking for. Anna. I also wonder where she is.
I turn my head back only to see Kye Yon heading to the basketball pitch in his usual jersey. There's a ball in his right hand. The memory of him and Anna cursing each other in the classroom flashes before my eyes.
I sigh, "Can't understand what type of war with Kye Yon caused Anna to stay out of the borderline."
Aria looks at me. We stand at the end of the grounds, waiting for Anna.
"You know," Ariana says slowly, "Anna and…. Him" She gestures vaguely toward the place Kye Yon was standing a minute ago. "They're intense."
"That's one word for it," I reply and smile despite myself.
She hesitates. "Did something happen between them? Like—before?" Then adds hastily, "You know Anna never tells me about the matter."
I also think I won't tell her. I consider lying to her that I don't know about that thing . But I don't.
"Things happened," I say instead. "Things adults never explain to kids. And kids grow up carrying questions they were never meant to answer."
She nods like she understands more than she lets on. We stare at the school building. Warm rays of the setting sun have cascaded its white colour into some old castle-like picturesque. It's a rare aesthetic.
The glimpse of Anna is seen a minute later. I guess she was in the library or some of the labs… her interests are very difficult to guess though.
She waves at us and smiles. A contrast to the behavior she shows toward others. And it puts a smile onto my face too. My eyes darted to Aria just in time to witness the slight fade of her own smile. And I don't know why it makes me stare at her face for longer than necessary.
She looks at me and says, "Both of your friendship… it looks so.. special."
"Yeah," I reply. "She's like a family member to me."
She nods her head slowly and a new one of her warm smiles appears on her face.
Beautiful
"Ah you waited for me!" Anna says to us.
"We were thinking not to." I reply with a grin.
"We probably should've done that.' Aria says and both of them laugh.
As we head for the gates, my phone buzzes with a message. Not only mine, three of our phones buzz at the same time.
"Whoa!" Aria exclaims, "At the same time!" And she checks her phone to see it.
"Who's birthday is it?" I ask them as I look into the message. It's an invitation. "And why the hell am I invited?"
"Diana's birthday." Anna says. "I'm not going." And she puts her phone back into her backpack. Totally unaffected by the invitation.
"What am I supposed to do?" I ask both of them.
"Don't go." "Let's go!"
Anna and Aria speak at the same time. Each one is opposite to the other. I laugh.
"Well, we'll discuss it later." And we continue our walk.
###
Kye Yon
"I'm not going."
I gave my answer to the man sitting across from me. His hair is neatly gelled, eyes have the sharpness of a blade and lips pressed together to suppress the anger he's holding toward me. The slight lines of wrinkles on his forehead are the signs of how ruthless of a businessman he is. And this man, I call, my father.
"Father, did I hear your grandson wrong?" He asks the old man sitting leisurely on the sofa. He casts a lazy glance at us and chuckles while releasing the smoke of his favorite Italian cigar. And yes, this old man is my grandfather.
One would say, he acts like a 25 year old guy who's in his prime. But I'd rather say he thinks he is a 25 year old guy. Cladded in those expensive suits and sitting in that posture, he thinks Michaelangelo would come begging for his time to sculpt him.
"Tsk. In Beom, give him some time. He'll agree later."
"No way, gramps! I'm not gonna agree later!" I backfire on him.
"You brat! You dare speak back to your elders!" Father glares at me.
"Sorry. But I don't want to go." And I get up.
He massages his forehead with his palm. "Like mother, like son."
"In Beom, enough!" Gramps snaps at him.
My footsteps falter at father's words but I don't give him the satisfaction of it and storm up the staircase, into my room.
***
My existence feels like a burden to me. It's not just about being an heir of a milestone industry in the country. I just feel like I'm living a life which is mostly hidden from me. Like it's built on lies and secrets.
I pull out the drawer at the bottom of my armoire. There lies a framed photograph. I hold it out. It's my parent's wedding photo. 'Parents' is a luxury to say… It's only my father. And the woman beside him who's supposed to be my mother.. her face has been erased in this picture. Not only in this picture, but Song In Beom has erased her from his entire life. It's the only remnant of her that I could save.
Haa
I sigh and sit down on the carpet, leaning against the armoire.
I was only three when she passed. Her face is no longer so vivid in my memories but I wish to see her face again. Father hates her for god knows why.
Click
The door to my room opens.
"Knock before you come, gramps." I drawl out in a tired way.
"Shut up you brat!" He snaps and sits on my bed. "Your father is worried about you!"
"I'm touched."
He sighs. "You know how big this social event is? The Imperial family of…"
"The Imperial family of Japan is attending the ridiculous birthday ball. I know." I cut him off.
"So? You're going?"
"I'm not in the slightest interested in running around greeting everyone 'your highness' , 'your majesty', 'my lord', 'my…."
"The Norris family is also invited."
"...."
He corks up a brow at me. "Now you won't say no anymore right?"
I seemed to have momentarily lost my vocals at the sudden mention of the Norris family. But I regained my composure at his expression.
"So-so what if they're coming? It has nothing to do with me about who comes and who does not!"
"Is that so? Your ears are turning red boy." Even at this age, his eyes are full of mischief as he teases me.
"My ears are always this color!"
"Ho-hohoho!" He breaks into laughter. "Oh I wonder what Darek Norris's daughter would say seeing you like this! You two look really good together!"
"Gramps! Your 'those' wishes are never gonna come true!"
He continues laughing. I sigh.