Korea's Ass

‘And you’re gonna be happy.’

‘When winter passes, spring always comes.’

Those two sentences crossed Sooyeong's mind countless times over ever since she picked up the fresh sticky notes from her locker that morning.

Unsurprisingly, it was the same old soft pink colour, just like the rest of the notes and yet again, it both had a differing font style but she was still convinced it was from the same individual.

As chemistry class dragged on with Jiwon, the chemistry teacher, highlighting the important aspects on an upcoming titration experiment, Sooyeong stared at the sticky notes in a lost, endless daze.

They were placed somewhere in the middle of her journal pages and the cover blocked any view of it from Taehyung.

All she wanted to do was make sense of it. To analyse the meaning behind them and why the individual specifically chose those words but simultaneously she wanted to know who was the poet behind those notes.

With a single conscious head movement she looked over in Eunwoo's direction. He sat casually beside Dansae seemingly unbothered by the boys' frequent question-throwing at Jiwon. But that didn’t come as a surprise to Sooyeong. Eunwoo has always had a lot of patience and a high tolerance level. Hence, for that reason she still had her doubts about him.

To be able to post all of those notes over a period of days while not being able to get clear feedback from the receiver, for each of them, would take a ton of patience and tolerance. Since it did seem daunting mostly because the mystery sender would have to stay cloaked in mystery, per say, especially if they have some type of goal in mind for their big reveal.

From Eunwoo, her gaze transitioned over Taehyung’s slouching body. Although she stared at him, she tried not to make it obvious since she was right next him and didn’t want to be caught low-key gawking at his mere existence.

Today, his mood seemed off to her, like he was angry about something and she couldn’t pinpoint why but despite his off-mood he still brought her snacks. And an awful lot too which she then had to share with her closest friends because Mandu cheeks was not on her bucket list.

Internally, she wondered about what could have set his mood off in the first place but in the end she didn’t pester him about it because she wanted to respect his privacy and feelings.

So instead, throughout the day she tried to cheer him up and although she did make him smile and laugh a few times by being quirky like he usually was, it still felt different to her. It was like an underlying hurt was present within his soul and it pained her.

With a sigh, she looked down at both the sticky notes but instantly a smile took over her features and she pulled them loose from her journal. Soon enough her arm stretched over to Taehyung’s open notebook, where he had been taking down notes and she pasted them straight on to the page.

“Someone pasted these in my locker probably yesterday and today.” She declared but he looked surprised at the sudden sight of it and internally he felt a heart attack coming along. “The words behind it means a lot to me and I think it can help you as well...”

His body relaxed ever so slightly but he stayed silent as he watched her soft features fill with a tiny burst of passion.

“Like this one says,” she leaned closer to him and pointed at one of the notes before she softly spoke. “When winter passes, spring always comes. So, whatever’s put you in a bad mood or is worrying you, it’ll get better. There’s always hope. You showed me that.”

His heart rapidly pounded in his chest and he felt overly nervous at the situation she unexpectedly put him in. Whereas, she only looked up at him with a reassuring smile.

“And the other one personally to me means that once Spring does come and that winter ends. All of the bad will gradually fade away and happiness will be found again. But off-topic and more importantly, if you need someone to rant to, I’m here because as my parasite I’m your host and unlike any other common parasitism, we have mutualism, right?” her voice had a reassuring tone and at her words he cracked a little boxy smile in her direction.

“My not so grumpy seatmate…” She laughed then gently pinched his soft cheek to which he chuckled softly.

‘For you I could pretend I was happy even when I’m sad.’

Those thoughts were masked by that soft chuckle of his. Even though he showed her a smile he was still totally worried for her and her well-being.

When he declared to himself that her life was a mess, he wasn’t wrong. But, after speaking to Hoseok yesterday he realised just how much more bitter life was for her than he thought he actually knew.

Because of that, he wanted to do something for her. To ease her pain and stress. He wanted to say something to her. He wanted to believe the words she tried reassuring him with and he wanted to reiterate those words back at her but alas, he couldn’t because whatever she was going through was so much bigger than just being able to say: eventually everything will be okay.

He stared at her smile and his mind only boggled at the thought of how she still remained so happy and full of smiles despite the trauma of her life but that was when he suddenly remembered an anime character with a very sad backstory.

Naruto Uzumaki was his name.

Although Naruto was the kindest and happiest from the lot of students with a jovial personality similar to his own and Sooyeong’s, internally the boy was broken and was openly mistreated by many.

That made Taehyung realise that the most happiest of people could be the most broken and they were the ones who actually needed the attention even if they didn’t cry out for it. They needed to know that someone was there for them if they ever needed a shoulder to lean on but at the same time he doubted himself and wondered if just being there for Sooyeong was enough to give her the courage to overcome her massive struggles.

“Do you really think things could get better even if they’re seemingly intangible and an elusive situation?” he suddenly questioned.

“Yes,” her arms were placed over her desk and she hadn’t picked up on him knowing more than he let on. “With the hope that things could get better and the support of someone else with you, you can get through the tough times. Didn’t you teach me that?”

He frowned because that was the issue he was debating on just a second ago, “But I’m not just talking about support. What if that rough patch doesn’t just only require support and is something much more, which is much bigger than you and I. Then how would you get through that?”

She pursed her lips, “Something bigger than you and I?”

He stared at her and he felt the overwhelming urge to embrace her.

“I don’t really know…” She mumbled. “But I guess the kind of approach would depend on the situation so I don’t think there would be a fixed answer. Although most commonly, wishes, prayer and time are the most probable answers.”

“You really think doing nothing except waiting, wishing on the stars or other natural objects is going to help?”

“Natural objects?” she looked at him doe eyed but he nodded nonetheless. “Do you wish on dandelions too?”

“Too?” he cocked a brow with a little airy laugh. “And I may have a couple of times when I was little but now that I think about it some of those wishes did work out.”

“Oh,” she sounded elated and fiddled with her pencil. “I guess the meaning and purpose behind your name isn’t just to match it to a face.”

He looked at her with a single raised eyebrow which looked mighty hot in the eyes of Sooyeong, “Are you so deep into literature that you even know the meaning behind my name or was it purposely researched?”

“It’s mere coincidence.” She rolled her eyes and nudged his arm, “I just happened to research a list of baby boy names at a baby shower once.”

He snorted, “Isn’t that cut— wait...”

She looked at him quizzically.

“I just realised...” He deadpanned and leaned close to her which made her flush. “Is my name the reason why most things seem to work out for me, one way or the other?”

She stared at his double and monolid eyelids, “I don’t know you tell me.”

He spoke with a pout, “Because it literally means superior or big prosperity and all of your wishes will come true.”

“Taehyung ah, your name itself really is such a good luck charm plus it also means everything will be okay.” She softly smiled. When she thought he was her remedy, it wasn’t for no good reason. “I’m so jealous at least your name doesn’t mean swimming...”

After hearing her words he slowly retreated from her while trying to hide a laugh he’d been holding back then he casually slipped out his smartphone and Sooyeong got a glimpse of his phone case. She felt overly nervous at his reaction so she pinched his side and continued speaking, “But my name’s a portmanteau; a combination of my parents name.”

“Oh!” He gasped a little too loudly which caught the attention of a few students, who were subtly socialising just as they were. “That’s genius! Soohyun and Jaeyeong makes Sooyeong. Wahhhh.”

Sooyeong laughed at his reaction but not long after he suddenly smacked his smartphone over her desk which startled her just a bit.

“And your name doesn’t only mean swimming. It also means graceful petal, you weirdo.”

She pouted at his playful insult, “You’re the weirdo for searching it up like that… I even forgot it meant that as well. Maybe that’s an added reason as to why I appeal to Spring so much.”

“You like Spring?”

“Yes, it’s my favourite season actually.” She smiled then flipped his smartphone over to get a peek of his phone case.

“Then you must be looking forward to seeing the cherry blossoms?” he questioned with a sweet smile and rested his head on his desk.

She watched his perfect brown hair be subdued by gravity but all she did in response was obscure his hard stare with a ruffle to his already wayward bangs so he wouldn’t notice her saddened expression.

“I should be but I'm not so sure…”

• • •

During recess, Sooyeong visited Haeri; the kind nurse who had helped her on that dreadful Monday of which could have possibly been her very last day on Earth.

She also didn’t share any of those gruelling details with her rather the premise of her visit aimed at gifting her a box of chocolatey delights and she apologised for not coming in earlier to thank her for helping her.

The elder women was taken aback at her gesture but concurrently she was still grateful for the thoughtfulness Sooyeong displayed. Haeri had also inquired about her recovery and offered her the option of reporting it but only if she felt comfortable to do so but ultimately Sooyeong declined the idea. Not wanting to put herself in a situation where she’d constantly have to look over her shoulder especially since one of those snakes lived with her.

After their chat, with a sweet farewell and one more thank you, among a ton of sincere thankfulness and gratitude toward Haeri, Sooyeong exited the infirmary and trudged toward the cafeteria to have lunch.

“Guess whose back.” Jungkook chirped before Sooyeong could plop onto the bench beside Taehyung. “You like to disappear the way Dumbledore does.”

She laughed, “Shush and did you guys enjoy Seokjin Oppa's food?”

“Is that even a question Soo ah?” Jimin announced with a smile. “And I made sure Kookoo didn’t eat your portion.”

“Yah, I may only come to school for the sole purpose of eating Seokjin hyung's food but I’ll never let noona starve.”

She chuckled at their silliness and turned to Taehyung, “And you Tae ah, did you have a taste of the finest cooking in the universe?”

“Hmm,” he looked up from his sketchbook with a warm smile. “Hyung’s a natural and I need to ask him to fatten up your cheeks in my stead.”

She pouted and leaned toward him, “Why are you such a dor— oh… that’s so cute.”

Her eyes landed on the open pages of his sketchbook and she noticed that he had drawn an oddly weird yet cute character. It had taken on a heart shaped head which was hypertrophied on the left arch and it wore a blue and yellow polka dot onesie.

Its features were more so on the cute side with its black dotted eyes, eyebrows slightly thick and yellow lips; which were beautifully full just like Taehyung’s. Just at the mere sight of the quirky character she completely fell in love with it.

“Really?” he asked and happiness filled his features.

She nodded with a soft smile.

“It’s for an assessment for art class.” He admitted and picked up a red colour pencil.

Her heart slightly ached at the colour he chose but despite that she watched him shade the hypertrophied heart ever so neatly with even strokes.

“Tell her the story behind it, hyung.”

“Aish,” Taehyung sheepishly looked away.

“There’s a story behind it?” she sounded surprised.

“Yeah, his name is Tata…” he shyly admitted then licked his lips. “He’s also from a faraway planet and his goal is to prove that love needs effort and that it should be taken seriously.”

“Oh,” Sooyeong looked surprised, completely astonished at Taehyung’s brain activity. “That’s so creative! And he’s basically like a symbol of love, hence the heart head?”

Taehyung pursed his lips with a subtle head nod, “That’s exactly it but the red itself also symbolises love.”

“Red symbolises love…” She repeated to herself then unconsciously ran her thumb over the scarring tissue on her wrist but her attention was diverted at the sound of Jimin’s voice.

“Tae ah's brain always amazes me.” He informed and did a little hand gesture near his own head. “Whoever dates him, I hope she can handle his quirks.”

Taehyung got flustered at his words because Jimin obviously meant Sooyeong since he already knew that he liked her, “Yah, Jiminie pabo! I feel sorry for your soulmate because for everytime she makes you laugh, she’d have to haul your thicc ass off the floor.”

Jungkook choked on his food whereas Sooyeong snorted and covered her mouth at his sudden outburst because he wasn’t wrong.

“At least you know whose the original Korea's ass.” Jimin angled his head and smirked back at Taehyung. “Unlike your slightly flatter ass…”

“Are you two seriously arguin—”

Jungkook's words were cut off when Taehyung abruptly got up, and Sooyeong stared at him completely startled. A second later, he did a complete one eighty so his back faced toward Jimin.

All three gazes were set on him, and probably a few others too, as they watched him ever so slightly hunch forward which propped out his butt then without hesitation he seductively slipped his large hands over them, as if to set emphasis on his indeed thicc ass.

Sooyeong went bright red and immediately turned to face a stoic Jimin and a bust Jungkook who clapped his hands together like a retarded seal.

“Not so slightly flatter ass now, yah?”

“We don’t know them, let’s go Kook.” Sooyeong spoke, completely embarrassed.

“Just sit down hyung!” Jungkook hollered. “We all know you’re thicc.”

Taehyung rolled his eyes and slumped back in his seat but the smirk on his face clearly reflected how satisfied he was with silencing Jimin, who was now sending Jungkook daggers.

“I can’t believe I just witnessed that.” Sooyeong looked down at her ramyeon, still a little flustered but there were no lies in Taehyung’s words or actions; he was Korea’s original ass.

Taehyung chuckled then leaned over the table to stare at her, “Why don’t you give it a try. It felt good making Jimin lose whatever jams he thought he had there for a second.”

Her features filled with shock but he only smirked, “No, I’m not going to touch myself in public like that.”

“You can get someone else to do it for you.” Jimin was back to spirits and Sooyeong blinked in even more shock.

“Oxyhemoglobin, here we go again.” Jungkook cooed.

Taehyung laughed, glad that his two friends were playing along. Mostly because stuff like that never happened back at Dansae's table rather they were a little more serious than laid back.

“Are there any volunteers on Jimin’s hyungs offer?” Taehyung asked with crescent eyes.

“Yah!” She flushed and smacked his arm. “All three of you are shameless. I really can’t believe it and I feel sorry for your future wives because they’re going to be stuck with cracks forever.”

“Cracks that make them laugh.” Jungkook chimed with a smirk.

“Yeah, although girls like guys with abs they’d still prefer a guy who could make them laugh above anything else.” Jimin added nonchalantly.

“Yeah hyung but if they marry us they’d be getting the best of both worlds.” Jungkook smugly spoke and for a split second he lifted then dropped his untucked shirt which had briefly revealed a pack of solid abs.

Sooyeong only choked on air and flung her right hand next to her face to block any view of Jungkook, “Just wish on the stars that it doesn’t turn out to be fake love.” She added before completely facing Taehyung who seemed to be soaking up the information being dished out by the two.

“Yah, stop listening to them.” She whined while waving a hand in front of him and his daze broke. “Once you Jimin you can’t Jimout of the Kookoo-ness.”

Right after her words, Taehyung busted out laughing then leaned over the table with a hand over his eyes.

“That doesn’t even make sense.” Jungkook rolled his eyes while Jimin took a while longer to process her words.

“It does and you’re just jealous because I made a good pun out of you two pabo’s.” Sooyeong smirked.

“It makes all the sense, Jungkook.” Taehyung said through chuckles. “She’s really good at witty comebacks.”

Sooyeong smiled elatedly and snaked an arm over Taehyung’s shoulder, “At least there’s someone who understands me.”

“Yeah that’s only because you both share a single brain cell.” Jimin commented with a cocky smile. “And I swear, a blossoming relationship between a possible future writer and an artist will only lead to chaos.”

After his words something clicked in Sooyeong's brain and she faced Taehyung with her chin rested against his shoulder. That shift in position in turn caught his attention so he looked down at her.

“No,” Jungkook countered in the background, matter of factly. “It’ll only lead to a good Webtoon.”

Jimin suddenly awed and the two started brainstorming possible storylines but their talks were blurred out as the two stared at each other.

“I just remembered...” She spoke subtly. “I believe we had an accord for me to visit your art class, monsieur.”

He sent her a soft boxy smile, “And we still do, milady, but I promise I’ll take you there once I’m done with another project I’m working on.”

“I see someone's getting their inner Van Gogh on.” She chuckled softly and he dipped his head shyly. “And whenever suits you. There’s really no rush.”

A U T H O R ' S  N O T E

I honestly didn't know if I was going to update today because I feel like I need to sleep for 48hrs straight 😔 I had to re-do my entire research proposal in a single day because it wasn't specific enough. Ugh, I really hate research methodology 🙄 and if it was a person I would definitely pay to see Jeongguk round house kick it in the face. ✨

Anyways, Taehyung creating Tata to reflect on Sooyeong's thoughts back in the latter part of Chapter 3 has me shook
👁️👄👁️
Can we all have him for Valentine's Day? 👀

Author, Lu 💜