School Building

"Hyun-gi, for the last time, this is not a dangerous machine!"

Morning came faster than I expected. I thought I would wait long enough for another whimsical dream to surf my mind, but before I knew it, the sun rose up to stink my eyes. That was when reality struck me. That was when I realized that I was going to school for the first time that day.

"Kim Hyun-Gi, it's okay to have butterflies in your stomach. It happens to everyone going to school for the first time." James said

"I don't eat butterflies!" I exclaimed, beaming my eyes at him

"It's a figure of speech. Now get in the car." He said, pushing me into the machine he called the car.

I wasn't ready for school. I thought I was, but I was lying to myself. The thought of meeting people from outside the forest made me nauseous. I have never been outside the forest. I didn't know what was out there, nor what to expect. The world is a big place, too big for a fragile girl like me. I could break easily just by being exposed to the uneasiness and corruption of society.

After many attempts, James finally got me into his car. I felt squashed inside.

"I don't like this." I complained, pouting my mouth

"You'll get use to it. Don't worry." He said, smiling a smile so sweet, that it could give anyone cavities. I somehow felt comforted by this.

James pushed the car keys into the key hole and turned it, and with a horrifying roar, the car started shaking.

"Why is this machine roaring at us?!" I cried, holding onto my seat

"It's just the car's engine. It needs to make that sound in order for the car to start."

"Is there anything that is not terrifying about this machine?"

"It's not as bad as you think. You'll enjoy the drive, I promise. Do you trust me on that?"

I shook my head no.

"Great! Let's get going then. Oh, one more thing."

James reached his hand over the other side of my seat, grabbed the seat belt and buckled it up in its place over my waist. I couldn't help but smell the lovely rosy smell on his neck. He was so close I had a chance to smell the muskiness of his perfume. The smell was strong like his masculinity, and spicy like his fearlessness.

I couldn't help but look away in embarrassment. I looked at the rear mirror and found myself blushing. I closed my eyes for a few seconds to let my inappropriate thoughts flush away. I needed to stay focused on the important things, and one of them was learning how to get used to that car.

"You ready?" James asked

"I-i think so." I said, my voice shaking a bit

"We'll stop by the mall and shop for new clothes and a suitcase for you, then we'll head to your new school."

"Okay." I nodded my head

I closed my eyes tightly as the car began to move. I bit my lips to avoid my scream from escaping. I had bothered James enough for one day, I didn't want to be a burden. The ride was bumpy as we drove over the uneven ground of the forest. I focused on controlling my breathing.

"Relax, Kim Hyun-Gi," I told myself in my mind, "It will all be okay. It's just a car. It's just a car. It's just a car. It's just a car. It's just a---"

I opened my eyes as I felt James' hand touch mine. He held my hand and intertwined his fingers with my fingers. I felt a sudden rush through my veins. I wasn't sure if it was the fear I've always had for men, or if it was something totally different. Something that could be put in words. As we drove out of the forest, all my worries had disappeared. It was as if James destroyed all those worries using an imaginary sword. I don't know why he did it, but I didn't intend on asking. The moment was too lovely to be disturbed.

The road was brighter outside the forest. It made me realize how dark the forest really was. How the evilness of people had dimmed the natural beauty of it. The sunlight that shone through my window felt warm on my skin. I leaned against the door and relaxed, James still holding my hand.

"Your smile..." James said

"Hm?"

"I've never seen you smile like that."

I raised my eyebrow, "I mean, anyone can smile right? It's no big deal."

"True." He said, "But, your smile. It's...beautiful, unlike any other person's smile. You should express that more."

I had no words to say. All I could do was stare at James, and wonder what was really on his mind. I couldn't help but want to be repelled by that immense atmosphere between the both of us. It just didn't make sense. A 16 year old girl and a middle-aged man. How would that turn out? It felt so wrong in so many ways, plus, we only met a few days ago. I had to make it stop.

I pulled my hand out of his grip and looked the other way, not willing to know what look he had on his face. I couldn't do it. There couldn't be more than a friendship between James and I. In fact, we weren't even friends. We just agreed to not to hate each other. I would go to school, and he would carry on with his hunting life. End of the story.

The rest trip remained silent. I looked out the window and stared at the picturesque scenery of the city buildings in a distant. The city looked small from far, but I bet it was 100 times bigger once we were inside it.

"We're almost there." James said after a long time

"Mhm hm."

We were closer to the city, and we started seeing other cars on the road. I looked at the people in their cars with curiosity. Some cars had families, and others only had one person inside. As the numbers of cars began to increase, our car began to slow down behind the other cars.

"What happened?" I asked, searching through the window to see what was happening

"Traffic." James sighed in annoyance, "It's always like this in the city."

"Why is it so noisy here?"

"It's the city. It's always this noisy." James said, tapping at the stirring wheel, which was adding to the background noise. The honking of the cars and the aggressive yelling of people was hurting my ears. I sat back in my seat as my head started spinning with all the commotion taking place. I wished I was at the forest that moment, where it was peaceful with only the birds singing with harmony.

"Use these. They're called 'headphones'." James stuck his hand under his chair and pulled out his headphones

"A cellular device for your head?" I asked

James laughed at the joke I unintentionally made.

"Try them on and you'll see."

With that said, I took the headphones with both my hands.

"How do I put them on?"

"Over your head and onto both your ears." He said

I did as instructed and put the headphones over my head. To my surprise, they worked like a charm. James clicked his fingers at me to test if I could hear him, but from my perspective it just looked like he was rubbing his fingers together.

I sat back in my seat and enjoyed the view from the window. It looked so much like a movie with some of the men coming out of their cars and walking to other people's cars to beat them up for not cooperating in the traffic. I always knew men were the strangest human beings that have ever existed.

-------

A few hours had passed and we were finally out of the messy traffic. We drove around the city, passing many beautiful places. There were people who danced on the streets, people who handed out business pamphlets, and food stalls. I wanted to buy all the food at the food stalls, but James told me that there wouldn't be enough time.

From what I could tell, it seemed like we were going to a place on the other side of the city because we were now passing only a few buildings. James slowed the car down by the time I was about to fall asleep. I looked up and found that we were in front of a large, rusty gate. The grey brick walls had brown fungi growing all over, meaning that it was built decades ago. My eyes nearly popped out when I gazed upon the building behind the gate.

It was the largest building I had ever seen. I thought the buildings we passed in the city were the biggest ones in the world, but those thoughts had slipped out of my mind.

"This building is massive!" I gasped

"Yup. This is your new school."

"Wait, what!?" I exclaimed

The opening of the gates suddenly caught us off guard. The scratching noise the gates made on the ground was very loud and excessively annoying. James and I looked at each other at the same time, signaling the mutual nervousness among us. But without hesitation, James drove in the drive-way and parked next to another car in front of the building. I found it strange that it was the only car there.

"I thought we were going shopping before coming here, James." I said, folding my arms angrily

"I know, but the traffic took too much of our time, so I decided that it'd be best to drop you off first and then I go to the mall, buy the clothes and come back here again."

"But..." I started getting nervous again. I wasn't ready yet. I only planned on getting ready after the shopping, but my limited time unexpectedly shortened. What if something bad was going to happen? What if I were to fail my first class? What if my classmates got a wrong impression of me? What on earth was there to expect?

"Hyun-gi, look at me." James said

I turned and looked at him straight in the eyes. I had never met anyone with such amazing forest green eyes. I wished the clouds weren't covering the sun, for those eyes would have glistened so nicely.

"Everything is going to be okay. It's just school, nothing bad is going to happen. All your classmates will be girls, so that makes things even easier for you. Okay?"

"Um...o-okay. I can do this."

I was lying. I was prepared to die in my own shame!

James and I got out the car and walked to the front door of the building. The door was made of old, dusty wood and had several cracks on it. I noticed a huge bug crawl out from one of the cracks near the doorknob.

"Eek!" I squeaked in fear, grabbing hold of James's arm.

James rang the doorbell and waited for someone to open. It wasn't long before the door finally opened with a cracking sound to it. Behind the door stood a young lady, a wide smile already plastered on her face as if she was expecting to see us.

"Mr. Bang?" she said, her voice sounding soft and sweet

"Yes, that's me. And I am here with my--um--niece, Kim Hyun-Gi."

"Ah yes, come in please."

She looked really beautiful, even the colour of her eyes sparkled like the refreshing ocean blue colour they were. She had a pixie haircut, which was dyed blonde, with a fringe that curled over her forehead .She also wore yellow and green shades of make-up with blood red lipstick nicely spread across her puffy lips. Her pink peplum dress was so tight it showed off all her curves.

I couldn't stop staring.

"Kim Hyun-gi." James tapped my shoulder, noticing how I couldn't let my eyes off the lady. I shook my head and brought myself back to reality.

"Y-yes?" I stuttered nervously

"You can go in first." He gestured me inside.

The lady closed the door behind us when we all got in. The building looked so much bigger on the inside. There were many fancy decorations, the doors were painted with bright colours and the stair cases had flowers laid on them.

I had never seen such a beautiful place like it. In fact, it was the very first place I had ever been to outside the forest.

"Welcome to Seoul's Special Boarding School for girls." The lady said, "I am Miss Chan, the teacher and headmistress of SSBS. I am pleased to have a new student in my school."

"This school is fancier than I expected it to be." James gazed at the building in awe

"That's why we are considered the finest. We tend to meet expectations far beyond of people's own. The education system is properly organized and the academic achievement of my students are top notch. You made the best decision sending your niece her, Mr. Bang."

Miss Chan said so many words I couldn't understand at all. The only part I understood about her was that she was stunning and she spoke as if she was the dictionary itself.

"That's great to hear." James responded, not seeming amused for some reason. He looked at Miss Chan with dull eyes, as if he already hated her at first sight. "Unfortunately due to the lack of time, I couldn't get Hyun-gi any new clothes and stationary. Would it be fine if I brought them tomorrow?"

"Oh, no need, Mr. Bang. We have everything she needs. We have clothes ready for her in her room and also a school bag with all her books and stationary inside. You don't have to worry about a single thing." Miss Chan widened her smiled, which annoyed James a lot.

I guessed she was too cheerful for him?

"Alright. I'll leave you to it then." James sighed, opening the door to leave.

"Wait, what?!" I exclaimed, stopping James from taking another step.

"Hey, it's okay. I'll come and check up on you every weekend. That's five days from now." He assured me

"But...but..."

"Um..." he scratched his head to think of something to say, "How about this: I will bring you some of the food I cook at home every single weekend I come. Deal?"

"Will it be more than you usually make for me?" I asked, grinning in a mischievous manner

"Sure it will."

"Then it's a deal!" We both shook hands and said goodbye.

After watching James drive away in his car, I closed the door and turned to Miss Chan. She didn't seem as bad as I imagined a teacher to be. Perhaps she could even teach me a thing or two about fashion.

She walked over to me, her hands behind her back.

"Are you ready to learn here?"

"Um...yes?" I answered, uncertain

She and I were nearly the same height, so her face was aligned with mine as she spoke."Look, Mr. Bang told me that you have never been to school before and I understand that it has been hard for you. But, we can make this work as a team. I am here to help, and so are your classmates. You are going to love it here, my dear. Agree?"

Her words sank in deeper than James' did. I actually felt so much better, especially since those words were coming from a female I could actually relate with. Maybe it wasn't going to be so bad after all.

"Okay." I answered, confidently

"Wonderful! Let us go meet your new classmates, shall we?"