Cotton Candy

Cotton Candy

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“Hello, class. Today I’ll introduce you to a new student”, The teacher announced. “Please introduce yourself.” 

“Hello, my name is Kwak Jiseok. Nice to meet you!” He bowed to show respect. 

“HAHAHAHAHAHA! WHAT KIND OF NAME IS THAT?!”

“SERIOUSLY?! “KWAK”? ARE YOU A DUCK?!”

“QUACK! QUACK!” 

A bunch of students started making fun of his surname. He looked down in shame.

“Hey! Stop it! That’s not nice! Don’t treat him like that!” I stood back for him. 

“Hey, hey. Calm down you all”, the teacher stopped us. “You can sit there behind Jiah.” 

He came towards me to sit on the empty desk behind me. “Thank you.” He said in tiny and gave a small bow while taking his place. “You’re welcome!” I beamed and return the bow to him. 

“Okay everyone, let’s start our lesson,” the teacher began. “Open your textbooks on page 36.”

“Uh sir, I don’t have a textbook yet,” Jiseok said. 

“Oh, right. You’re new. Then…how about you look at Jiah’s book? Is it okay with you, Jiah?”

“Ah, of course sir.” 

“Good. Then go ahead.” 

He nodded as a response. Jiseok dragged his chair to my desk and I welcomed him with a bright smile. 

I let him look at my book during the lesson.

Jiseok seemed all tensed up so tried to comfort him a bit. “Tell me if you need help with anything. Okay?” 

“Yes. Thank you.” 

I smiled. 

After the lesson finished, it was break time. I stood in line to get my lunch, when I was done I looked for a spot for me to have lunch. I spotted Jiseok having lunch on his own so I decided to join him. 

“Hello there. You’re Jiseok, right? I saw you in class today.” 

“Ah, yes”, he lowered his head feeling embarrassed about the events that happened earlier. 

“I still didn’t introduce myself, did I? Well, my name is Lim Jiah. It’s nice to meet you!” I introduced myself.

“Yes. Nice meeting you too.” 

“Why so formal? Don’t be a stranger! We’re all friends.” 

“Ah, yes”, he said unsure.

“Well I’m sorry about earlier. I apologize on behalf of my classmates. They’re always judging new students. Trust me I know how that feels. They did that to me when I was new too. But don’t worry! I got your back now!”

“Okay!” He seemed to have trust in me.

From that day on we started hanging out together and we eventually became friends. Honestly, I really loved hanging out with Jiseok, he made my days better and I wasn’t feeling lonely anymore.

I was hanging out alone before he came here. So, I just wanted to make him comfortable and happy. Because I can relate to the things that happened to him. We had lots in common. 

One morning, I was sitting on the school’s bench and I was scrolling through my instagram page  until I suddenly saw this post which was captioned: 

I clicked on the account that posted the picture, the name was “Gaon” and I saw something shocking! The person in the photos looked so familiar…Is this, by any chance, Jiseok? I covered my mouth in shock. 

No, no, no. No way! I slapped my cheeks refusing to believe this. Besides, his hair is dyed like cotton candy, Jiseok’s hair is black. It just might be his lookalike. 

I looked at the other photos too, for more evidence. No way!!!! It is him!!! I found a picture of him with black hair and he looks exactly the same. 

But what I don’t understand is how come his hair is black if this post is 18h ago? There’s no way a person one bleach their hair in a day-

“What’re you looking at?” Jiseok surprised me.

“Ah, n-nothing!” I hid my phone immediately. “Let’s head inside, class is about to start soon.” I ran and he followed. 

Phew, that was a close call. There’s no way I could ask Jiseok about this, it’s his privacy. Besides, I should keep it a secret. That’s what best friends are for. I took a deep breath and decided to focus on class. 

When it was break time, I sat on the table where we usually sit and waited for Jiseok. 

“Jiseok, over here!” I called him and he smiled back. 

“Huh? You’re not eating?” He asked considerately. 

“Not today, I have no appetite.” 

“Still, it’s not good for your health.” He pushed  his tray to me, gently. “Eat up”. 

I looked at him and pouted. He nodded as a signal. I slowly held the spoon and looked at him. Once again, he nodded. 

“Ahhh! No! I can’t do this! It’s your food!” I said with an ashamed expression. 

“We’re friends, aren’t we?” He asked, and I nodded.

“Then eat. I gave you permission to. So, don’t push yourself too hard. You’re doing okay.” 

“Why do you care whether I eat or not anyway?” I said with an exaggerated expression. 

“Because I’m your friend and I care about you.” He seemed sincere while saying that. 

I almost burst into tears but I held them inside. I nodded with a bittersweet smile. 

Then, I began eating. He was  looking at me with a motherly smile.

I felt shy because he just looked at me while I’m eating. “Th-that’s enough! I don’t want to eat more!” I’ve had enough and shoved the tray to him. 

“Okay, okay. I won’t look!” He chuckled. 

“I-It’s not because of that!” I yelled.

“Then?” He asked.

“Y-You eat too…” I pouted and looked down. 

“Ah, is that so? You’re very cute.” He petted my head and I slightly blushed at the affection. 

At P.E class we had to play Basketball. The boys were having a match. 

My attention was centred on Jiseok's performance. He was a pro player, and oh God…

His facial expressions and his charismatic eyes. The sweat dripping from the corner of his head and neck, he looked so unreal.

He seems so passionate about basketball and I enjoyed watching him play. He was so skilled. 

“Five minutes left for the match!” The coach yelled. 

Both teams were tied. But with a lightning move, Jiseok snatched the ball and overcame all the obstacles. He jumped so high that his shirt was lifted, with a strike he scored a point. My jaw dropped.

“Team red, wins!” The coach announced.

Everyone clapped and cheered, I jumped from my place and shouted my lungs out: “GOOD JOB, JISEOK! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!” 

He looked at me as if I stood out among all the audience. He smiled and raised his thumb up. 

My hands were clasped and I was overjoyed. 

Class ended and we went to the changing rooms to change out P.E clothes. I ran into Jiseok on my way. 

“Bro, you did a great job back there!” I exclaimed and hit his arm. 

“Haha. Thanks!” He rubbed his arm to relieve the pain. 

“I’m so excited for next week’s P.E class!” 

Everything seemed to be going well for both me and Jiseok. Until next week’s P.E class…

“Alright! As you all know basketball tournaments are coming, so we have to practice. Who’s interested in the tournament?” The coach asked.

Jiseok raised his hand up high. The coach didn’t hesitate to choose him because everyone knew he was the best player. In other words, our golden weapon. 

“You’ll be the leader of our team.” The coach said in a serious tone. 

“Yes, sir,” Jiseok replied formally. 

“Alright then, let’s play a practice match.” 

Everyone gathered around and formed two teams. “Game starts!” The coach threw the ball in the air. 

Jiseok jumped to reach but the competition was intense. The other team wanted to reach it first too, which caused a clash. 

Jiseok fell hard. Something black like a wig dropped from his head, revealing his split blue and pink hair. 

He wore a black wig, to cover up his Cotton Candy hair?!?!?!? 

Oh no!!!! I was scared of the aftermath. I knew about this all along, however I didn’t tell anyone. I didn’t want him to be exposed either. 

Everyone was looking with shock and disgust in their eyes, even the coach himself was. 

“Hey! Why did you dye your hair?! Only girls do that! And what’s with that color?! Are you a freaking soft boy?!”

“Right! What’s with that color!”

“That’s disgusting!” 

“Ewwwww!” 

“Guys! I was scrolling through my insta page and I found his account! It’s called “Gaon”. Also, He really is a soft boy!!!”

“Yikes! What the hell, man?!”

“Man? Can a soft boy like him be even called a man?!”

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!”

 Hurtful voices echoed like sharp needles, stabbing Jiseok. 

Jiseok got up and ran to the changing room, grabbing his wig along with him. 

“W-Wait!” I yelled. I got off the stairs and followed him to the changing room. 

I knocked on the door, which was open just in case he was changing. 

“Come in.” He said with a grumpy tone. 

“Uh-Uhm…” I was so nervous, I’ve never seen Jiseok like this. “I’m sorry”, I slumped.

“About?”

I avoided the answer and asked another question instead. “Are you okay?”

“UGHHHH! Are you crazy?! How could I be okay when my secret is exposed to the public and most importantly, you?! You’ll probably leave me now because I lied to you and kept this away from you. I’ve never wanted to show you this side of me because I didn’t want you to call me a liar….” 

Jiseok was having a breakdown and I rubbed his back in a comforting manner. He probably went through a lot in the past which led him to say these things.

“Don’t worry, Jiseok. I’m not surprised, I knew about this all along but didn’t like the idea of exposing you in the first place.”

“You did? How?” He looked up at me. 

“Duh, insta. Mr. Gaon.” I showed him my phone.

He gasped and covered his mouth. 

“P.S. I followed you and I’m looking forward to your debut. You’re a trainee, right?”

“Yes! Thank you so much for supporting me and keeping this a secret.” He shyly said. 

“My pleasure!” I beamed.

“Also, you’re not a liar. I understand you have your own reasons. Plus, I wouldn’t leave you. Why would I leave for such a dumb reason like that?” I laughed at that. 

“I wouldn’t leave you, even if the whole world was against you. You were the only person who felt like a friend to me.” 

He pleaded at me and I laughed at the expression.

“By the way, your hair is really cute. It looks so fluffy.” 

He touched his hair with the tip of his fingers. “Th-Thanks..” His cheeks turned light red. 

“C-Can I touch it?” 

He looked at me as if I’m asking him something inappropriate. 

“Bro, I'm not gonna kill you. Okay? -_-“

He was dumbfounded. “S-Sorry.” He smiled a nervous smile. 

“So, can I touch it or not. Huh? If not, it’s fine.” I was losing my patience.,

“Uhm, sure!” He rushed to answer. 

“Wow, it’s just amazing how you bleached it half pink and half blue.” I ran my fingers through his colored hair. 

“O-Okay, that’s enough!” He pulled away.

“Whoops! The sensation was probably too strong.” I smirked. 

The next day, I was sitting on one of the school benches, listening to my favourite song “Love Countdown”. I was vibing with it hard that I couldn’t notice what’s happening around me.

“Whatcha listening to?” Jiseok came to me, by surprise. He took one of my headphones and put it in his ear. I was startled. My heart pounded so fast and I froze at my place. He was so close to me. 

He sang: 

🎶 Tell me, do you wanna be my lover? 

 Are you ready to be mine? 더 서둘러도 돼 

My eyes, your eyes 

And tell it to me quick, don't lie. 

Baby, I just wanna be your lover

하나 둘 나의 마음 속 널 부르는 소리야

Right now 날 봐

Ten to the one, it's love countdown of your life 🎶 

He sang and I was amazed by his voice.

I interrupted him. “Wait-! Do you know Love Countdown?!” I was shocked that he knew the song.

“Haha. Of course I do! It’s my sunbaenim’s song.” 

“N-Nayeon is YOUR sunbaenim?!”

“Whoops..” 

“THAT’S SO COOL! IT MEANS THAT YOU ARE A TRAINEE UNDER JYP! WOW!” I squealed.

“Anyway- THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!” I exclaimed. 

“Haha, that was nothing. Really”, he said as if it’s a normal thing.

“I want you to promise me something.” I said.

“What is it?” 

“Promise me that you’ll let me be the first one to know about your debut.” I demanded.

“I promise. I want you to promise me something too.”

“What is it?”

“Promise me that you’ll stay my friend forever.”

“I promise.” I offered my pinky to him, he gave a bright smile and wrapped his pinky with mine. 

 

The end, love.