It Began With a Text

Lost

     In the crowded school hallways, Han gave up and put his phone away.

     Almost a day had passed and Minnie still hadn't accepted his Message invite. Han had hoped that maybe he could get Minnie to talk to him. But it was clearly too soon for that. Han had a suspicion that Minho had gone to talk to Minnie. Han hoped that he out of all people might be able to fix things.

     The group chat was not in the best state. After Minnie's sudden departure, nobody had known what to say so everyone had simply logged off for the day. 

     That sucked. The group chat was one of the few places where Han really felt himself these days. That circus was like home, Han never could have predicted he'd find himself saying something like that about a texting chat. Well, he was certainly going to have some interesting Text Friend results at the end.

     Maybe it was about time to reveal his real name...

     No, Han Jisung was in the past. That name would stay with the people he left behind, back with the old him. Now, moving back to Korea, his new identity was the only thing that was letting him move forward.

     He finally saw a group of boys. A smile came on his face.

     Well, if the group chat was in a bad state now, he might as well go have some fun with his in-person friends, right?

     "Hey guys!" Han was definitely getting more confident by the day.

     But something was different. None of his friends noticed and turned around to greet him. There were no smiles, not even those rehearsed ones.

     Maybe they hadn't heard him. Han walked straight to the group. "I said, hey guys!"

     This time, they noticed. But their smiles were different. More uncomfortable, more... fake.

     "Hey, J.One. What's up?"

     And far less enthusiasm. Han felt an uneasy feeling in his stomach, but he shook it away. "Nothing much. What's up for today?"

     "Just the PC café." Nobody bothered to elaborate.

     There was no invitation for Han to join. Was it implied? Han decided to assume the best. "Sounds great! I've been playing more Among Us lately but I still haven't lost my edge in those games."

     More looks at each other. Han got instant flashbacks to the mall incident. Oh no...

     "Sorry, J.One. No room again. Maybe another time?"

     Han felt different this time. Normally, he would accept it without further questions. If he felt let down by the excuses, he would ignore them. Anything to maintain his image.  But... those excuses were happening far too often. Han's Among Us experience was telling him something important.

     Something was sus.

     "But..." All the boys turned around when Han interjected. They definitely weren't used to Han arguing against their excuses.

     "You don't take a ride to the café. You walk there," Han said.

     His friends looked shocked. They looked at each other again. They seemed to be having a conversation with their eyes.

     Han's uneasiness grew as he saw them nodding at each other, as if coming to a decision. One of the boys, clearly elected as the spokesperson, spoke up.

     "J.One, you really haven't gotten the hint yet, have you?"

     Han's confused expression must have said it all. The boy continued.

     "We're not interested in having you tag along. We don't want you to hang out with us. We put up with it at first but honestly, it's getting annoying."

     "Wait... what?" Han really couldn't believe what he was hearing.

     His friends smirked. "We only felt sorry for you because you were wandering around like a lost puppy when you first transferred here. Which, to be honest, is kind of pathetic considering how you literally lived here. Like, why would you move and come back in the first place?"

     Han felt his heart beating out of his chest at those words.

     I know why I moved back.

     NO, I can't think about that.

     Don't remind me of that...

     PLEASE...

     His "friends" were clearly amused by how speechless they had rendered Han.

     "You decide to go under a new name and insist everyone call you it for no reason. Then you stick to us like glue, even though we gave you all the signs that we're not interested. Clearly we have to spell it out for you."

     "Plus, it's not like you try. You're laughing at your phone every time you sit with us during lunch. You're texting other people most of the time. So quit following us, go find some other unlucky people."

     Then, without a parting word, they all turned around and walked out the door.

     Leaving Han alone, unable to get the last word in. He watched as his only chance at a new normal life slipped away.

     This couldn't be happening, no, this couldn't be real. Han could feel the world spinning around him and he felt like he would fall at any moment.

     Soon, the spinning stopped. And the world simply sunk into the depths of despair.