Disrupted Thoughts

Neo could not have a good sleep throughout the night with the thoughts of Irianda eating deep into his conscious– not to even talk of the loneliness he saw in those chestnut eyes. He had kept himself up; tossing and turning on the bed like there were thorns on it. At a point in time, he felt like he was even about going crazy. For no reason, she had suddenly made him abrupt– huff and snivel.

And the former couldn't wrap his mind on any explanations to it. He didn't even realize how long he had been repeating his actions on the bed but as the luminescent glow of the sun began to peek through the glass window; he spontaneously jolted– sitting upright as a sigh of exhaustion escaped his lips in the process.

"This is getting on my nerves!" He said in a near scream; briskly rubbing his hair as he allowed his gaze to travel to the window. Intuitively, he paused with his hand hanged mid-air; the fact of daybreak– clear before his eyes. He had not been able to catch a single sleep and there was no doubt about it.

"Aiish jinjja? [seriously?]" He grumbled, scaling off the bed.

The clock seated on his study table stated 6:40 am on catching a glance of it and from his timetable, he had barely about 30mins to prepare and set off for school least, he stand the chance of being late for Mrs. Kim's English class. Without waiting for another second, he rushed off to the washroom and soon sauntered out; hurrying to his wardrobe.

Within the next minute, he was all dressed up in his grey trousers and a long-sleeved collared white shirt; coupled with a tie and a statement jacket– his bangs slightly covering his face. He shuffled over to his study table, took his bag, and threw it over his shoulders. Scanning the room for the last time just to avoid the possibility of forgetting something; he scampered into the corridor– heading down the stairs to the main hall.

His mother was the first to spot him from the dining table as he glided down the last stair. A smile intuitively crept her face with the hope of having him join them for breakfast.

"Neo.." She muttered which had Yeop followed the direction of her gaze to the stairway to see the former heading towards them or rather, the door. " Have some breakfast before leaving." Ye Rim hastily added, mirroring her great concern through her eyes.

Just at his mother's words, he plugged in his earphones; threw Yeop an accusing look before dangling out of the door. It was clear he was giving them a cold shoulder and not even pretending to be civil about it. Ye Rim was left staring at the door with unshed tears shimmering in her eyes as she watched it slowly closed up.

Hwang In Yeop instinctively allowed his gaze travel back to the former– noticing her mood, he gently laid his hand on the back of hers; which at the moment was on the table and kneaded with some sense of reassurance.

"He's going to come around soon." He muttered with Ye Rim's best interest at heart; wishing Neo would be more open-minded to see his mother's plight as well. To see what his actions were also doing to her. He had earlier on thought his meeting with him was going to make some difference but then everything turned for the worse. "Just give him some time." He added, of which he intuitively patted her hand for some seconds and tilted his head in a manner that urged her to continue with her meals.

Yeop could see from all indications that Ye Rim had lost appetite and had no interest to go on with the meals but he wasn't just going to accept a 'no' for an answer. With his persistence, the latter continued her meals with some sense of hesitation. She could feel her unshed tears locked in her throat as she tried hard to swallow on it.

******

Just as Neo had anticipated, the class had already started when he got to the school. Hurrying through the corridors to the hallways; he scampered off to his classroom which was the last on the right among the lined classrooms. With a quick peek through the window, he spotted Mrs. Kim's back turned to the class- writing something on the board.

"This's my chance." He grumbled mentally to himself as he tried to curtail the speed of his breath.

As sneakily as possible, he ducked through the back door to his seat– making sure not to get caught. Just on settling in, Shin deftly turned to him. " What kept you?" He whispered, balancing his gaze between the board and Neo.

" I overslept." He answered, hanging the bag around his chair.

"You?" Shin snapped in with a scoff as he dropped a book on Neo's desk. "Is this the joke of the century?" He teased; not buying the slept in the story.

"Whatever." The former whispered as he took the book. "You better pay attention now before we get caught." He added; tilting his head towards the board. Shin's lips intuitively curved into a teasing smile while he allowed his gaze to travel back to the board.

At that moment, Neo noticed Irianda's absence for the first as his eyes fell on the empty seat opposite him. His brows spontaneously furrowed in confusion; swiftly lurking around if she had in any way changed her sitting position but to his surprise, she was no way to be seen.

"Hey," He whispered behind Shin as he ducked over with his shoulders hunched. The latter slightly glanced over his shoulders with an expectant gaze and ears on edge– following the former's call. "Have you caught sight of Irianda anywhere?" Neo went on to ask.

Shin instinctively shook his head then turned his concentration back to the board; not in any way interested in the reason behind that question.

"This is weird." He grumbled to himself; confused. "What's with her? Why would she miss school on her second day?"