It was late; a little too late, but that wasn’t his fault. It was the teacher who left without excusing him. He felt anger at how he was forgotten. The teacher said he had to use the bathroom, but when he didn’t return after thirty minutes everyone else in the classroom left. Han Shinwoo wanted to leave as well, but he couldn’t afford to be in any more trouble than he already was. It was two hours before someone came into the classroom and let him go.
The sun had already set, but just recently - the sky had that end of day scarlet color, the pink clouds reminding him of a certain sweet treat that he dare not name. He was hungry, and thinking of food was like torture. He really wanted to go to the chairman’s house with the rest of the gang, like they always do, and enjoy some of Seira’s cooking.
He was jealous of that little runt, Regis. It was well known that they were engaged, one of those arranged marriages that some of the old families still practice, even though the two involved have yet to prove this rumor right. It was evident that they cared for each other immensely - they were always together, always looking out for each other.
He groaned as his stomach rumbled loudly, reminding him that he hadn’t had anything to eat for almost six hours. He closed his eyes, trying to rid the thought of food from his mind. It worked for about two seconds before he imagined a plate full of beef, barbequed with sweet, tangy barbeque sauce. His mouth began dripping with drool as the imagined food began emitting a wonderful aroma.
He shook his head and opened his eyes. It was bad when imagined food started to physically smell good. It was then that he set eyes on a pair of uniquely red orbs. He jumped back, startled that he hadn’t been aware that he had walked until he was face to face with Seira.
She blinked at him, her head tilted slightly as if she was confused with what he was doing. She was still dressed in the school uniform. He realized that she was always wearing the school uniform, and it was almost as if she didn’t have anything else to wear.
Han placed his hand behind his head, rubbing the back of his neck. “Ah, sorry I almost walked into you,” he said, regaining his composure. He looked around. “Are you here alone?” Looking back at the girl, he noticed her naturally pale cheeks gain some color, though it could have been a trick of the lighting, or lack of lighting - it was getting darker by the minute.
Seira looked down, at it was then that he noticed she held a parcel wrapped in a cloth. She took two steps to lessen the gap between them and held out her hands, holding the box out to him. She refused to look at him, but he could see the color in her cheeks darkening. He hesitated, not quite understanding what was going on, but then he started to imagine that she might have food for him - that faint scent of barbeque teased his senses again, and he almost grabbed the parcel from her too quickly. He stopped himself, and gently took the parcel from her.
“It’s because you weren’t there for dinner,” she said. She looked up at him and gave him her small smile.
A surge of happiness flooded through him. He would never have thought anyone would wait for him for so long with food. He was ready to go home and have his mom make him something, but this felt better. He’d never have someone wait for him after school to give him a handmade lunch. It felt different than when she made him dinner on an almost every nightly basis.
He carefully untied the cloth, not wanting to look too desperate in front of her, despite how angry his stomach seemed with him taking his precious time, but when he finally opened the lid of the little box, his stomach managed a few flips at the sight of the tangy barbeque he smelled. He grabbed the first piece of meat and took a bite, not bothering with the fork Seira packed.
“Delicious, as always.” Han groaned as he took a third bite, then a fourth, finishing the first piece of meat.
Seira smiled and turned around, walking away from him. Han nearly choked on his third piece of meat trying to call out to her. He managed to muffle sounds at her, causing her to stop and look back at him, a worried expression on her normally expressionless features. He jogged to catch up to her, swallowing what was in his mouth.
“Where are you going?” he asked her.
“Walking you home.” She answered with a tone that sounded like she was only pointing out the obvious, though it wasn’t obvious to him.
“No, let me walk you home first. It’s dangerous at night for a girl to walk alone.”
Seira blinked at him, and he took it that she might have been somewhat offended by what he said. He put his hand behind his head and rubbed the back of his neck again.
“Besides, you know, the chairman’s house is closer. It’d only make sense that you went home first, right?” He smiled widely at her, hoping that she really wasn’t offended. He knew she was strong, but strong enough to take on a group of big guys by herself? It was widely known that groups of big guys purposefully seek him out to test their strength against his, though he’s never lost, but he’d hate it if one of those groups found her and picked on her instead. He doubted she could look after herself like that.
She shrugged and turned from him, continuing on her way.
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