To You ? KTH

September 11
Monday
Year 1

I step into the meeting room for the club, tensing up when I see there are lots of people already in the meeting room working.

Luckily, everyone is busy talking with one another as they grab childrens' books from the stack at the center of their table.

Am I late? The heat rushes to my face.

Beomgyu stands at the center table. "You made it," his smile matching the softness in his voice.

I give a small wave.

He walks over to a laptop on the table, opening the spreadsheet. "You can add your name in here, and then you can join my table. We're writing messages on the books that we're going to send out to Mirae Elementary."

Mirae Elementary? That's where I went!

"T-thank you..." I tuck my hair behind my ear as I bend down to type my name to the attendance log. My name is now one amongst many. I've gotten used to being around Taehyung and everyone that I've forgotten the nerves of meeting new people.

At least I know Beomgyu.

Beomgyu tilts his head to read my full name. His eyebrows furrow for a moment before catching my attention with his smile and leads the way over to the table, holding out my seat for me. He introduces me to everyone at his table and I try to say my name without the air cutting out of my breath. I was too nervous to memorize their names or look them in the eyes.

Grabbing a book, I open it up and try to focus on catching up to the others who already have a small stack of books near them.

Peeking over at Beomgyu's, I notice that he's drawn cute little characters in his like a comic book.

Without looking my way or stopping his drawing, he says, "I'll become famous in the classroom. All the kids will try to find the book with my character. He'll do something different every week."

Tilting my head, I see that he's drawn a cute little creature, building a little campfire and setting up a tent.

"In the last box, I'll have him fishing for the moon and stars."

"C-cute."

He turns my way for the first time since drawing.

Did I say it out loud? My cheeks burn. I can't help but like cute things.

"O-oh," He laughs, his shoulders falling. "The character?"

I slowly nod my head.

He hums quietly. "What are you going to write in yours, Seolli?"

"U-um... I need to think about it ... some more." I whisper.

I grab a marker and open the book to write on the back of the front cover.

I decide to write what I would've loved to know when I was beginning to read.

Did you know?

That if you read lots and lots...

You'll have a bunch of friends by the time you're done reading?

Each character in a book becomes a special friend that you've made!

Closing the book, I smile to myself. Before I know it, I've written cheerful messages in several books, enjoying the thought of how happy a kid would be reading them.

Beomgyu thanks everyone and grabs the stack of books to place them in a storage bin scooted against the wall. I glance at the clock and see that our meeting is already over.

I look down at my phone, and for a moment, I expect a text message from Taehyung. The last time we spoke, he mentioned how he accidentally fell asleep in one of his classes.

A gentle tap on my shoulder makes me look to see Beomgyu holding out the marker he tapped my shoulder with. "You dropped it."

"S-sorry!" I reach for it, and a small wave of nostalgia faintly hits me. I stand up and help him organize the room, not minding when it's just the two of us.

"D-did you say we're going to give the books to Mirae elementary?"

He nods, picking up the laptop.

"I'm glad..."

"Did you... go to Mirae?"

I beam, nodding.

"Me too." He smiles.

I raise my eyebrows. "Y-you did?"

"... and Mirae High." He shifts his eyes.

Same as me!

He leans back against the table. "Do you... not remember me?"

I frantically search my mind. Was he in the same year?

He smiles, fixing the laptop into his backpack. "It's okay. I didn't remember until today. We... barely had any classes."

I nod, feeling bad that I couldn't remember much. "S-sorry... I kept to myself a lot."

Tilting his head, he asks, "Did you? I thought you had a lot of friends."

I blush. "Just o-one."

He studies me, slipping his backpack onto his shoulders. "Maybe I'm remembering it wrong..."

I duck my head down and follow him out to the door. There's a question that surfaces to my mind and I debate whether I should ask him. 

As he starts to say goodbye, I build the courage.

"Beomgyu, do you... do you remember Eunha?"

His hand freezes in the air. "Are you looking for her?"

My heart drums fast against my chest. I swallow the lump in my throat and nod.

"Would you like me to help find her?"