3 – Episode 3
“Phew.. good, six days left.”
Seok-ho was full of energy since this morning.
“Are you still thinking about that spring day event?”
“Get lost, I’m not talking to you.”
My friend Hyunsik surprisingly got a girlfriend. We didn’t even know
“Hey, why are you like that? I’ll help you too”
“Really?”
“If my girlfriend allows it”
“…”
I think I crossed the line with this one. This is torture
Seokho, who was hurt by my words, walked away with a sullen face and Hyunsik came to my seat and talked to me.
“Are you really going to confess to the queen?”
He asked me with a pure or maybe hopeful tone. I shook my head at his vague question.
“I’m just.. going to let her go”
“..Well, if you change your mind, let me know. I’ll help you. My girlfriend is in Yoonseo’s class, you know”
“What? Is your girlfriend’s name..”
“Huh? Suzy, why do you ask?”
“Oh.. no, never mind. Thanks anyway”
I thought it was Park Seohyun, but it wasn’t
Anyway, I thought the days would be gloomy for me and spring-like for others as I endured the boring class.
“Break time!! Looking for snack bar party!”
The energetic popular kid shouted and Seokho ran out screaming. I quietly left the class too.
“What are you doing? Are you going too?”
I was caught by Seokho on the way.
“Bathroom”
“Ah.. I’ll go to the bathroom. Do you want to buy something?”
“No, thanks.”
“Okay.”
Seokho went to the cafeteria with his friends and I headed to Seoah’s class.
Even though it was break time, there weren’t many people in the hallway.
I sneaked along the hallway like a thief and went to the locker area in front of Seoah’s class.
I don’t know about other schools, but our school has lockers outside. Maybe that’s why some guys open other people’s lockers, but they just do it as a prank.. Putting something secretly is for someone you like..
[Please don’t put letters or weird things in my locker]
“…”
It stings a lot. And when I opened it, there were a lot of letters, snacks, and chocolates.
I quickly put mine in and pretended not to notice.
Then I ran to my class. My heart was beating fast, was it because I was nervous? Or was it because I ran.
“I’m going.”
“Hey, you’re leaving really fast these days.”
“Yeah, just because.”
I left the class without knowing if Seoah read the letter.
Then I saw Seoah from afar.
She was looking around and glancing at each class.
Was she looking for a friend? I thought, but it didn’t seem like it since she was going to every class.
She passed through our class and went to the last class, then went down the stairs with a look of losing the world.
“What’s going on?”
From Noble mtl dot com
I felt that question and tried to go home, but…
Will I ever see her again? I’m too scared to go see her even once during break time
Thinking that, I tried to follow Seo-ah.
“Hey, look at this. It’s the trash that was in Yoon Seo-ah’s locker.”
“Pfft, really? That’s awesome. Who threw it away?”
“It seems like the queen herself did it.”
“Kukuku, that’s a reward.”
I stopped in my tracks when I heard that.
“..Let’s go home”
I left my lonely feelings behind and went home.
The next morning, I shook off my sad feelings from yesterday and headed to school.
“Uh.. so do you want to watch a movie with me tomorrow?”
“Uh..uh! I do too”
“That Mijeong.. you and him..”
“Sorry.. I have plans”
There were a lot of guys asking for dates today, so I asked Seok-ho, who claimed to be a dating expert, and he explained for 10 minutes.
According to Seok-ho, this is the beginning. Tomorrow is the weekend, so either date for the sake of the crush or make some time to meet and confess your feelings.
He said today was the important last Friday and he was nervous too, so I asked him if he had talked to the person he liked.
“…Not yet”
That shy guy really
But that doesn’t mean I’m relaxed either. I gave up from the start because there was no possibility for me anyway.
“Sigh…”
I spent the day without focusing on the class, wondering if he would accept me if I confessed or if I should just stay still.
Now it’s become a daily routine to visit Seo-a’s class and sometimes go to her neighborhood when the weather is nice on my way home.
Maybe I could meet Seo-a there.
I hope for that, but I think of the impossible encounter as I walk
“…Don’t”
I turned my eyes to the sound that came from afar and saw a girl in a school uniform surrounded by several men.
“Isn’t she from our school?”
I went closer to where the sound came from. It seemed like the girl was scared..
“No, just play with us once?”
“Yeah, it’ll be fun”
“Get lost, you bastards, I don’t want to see your faces”
The girl student, who I thought would be scared, surprisingly had a temper. Just like Seo-a.. Wait, isn’t that Seo-a?
As I thought that and got closer, I saw Seo-a surrounded by the guys.
“Ah, you have a temper, but if you just go..”
Slap
“Get off me, don’t touch me, I have a boyfriend”
She has a boyfriend..? No, if it’s Seo-a, she must be lying. She said she never dated anyone other than me.
“f*ckers, really!!”
As the guy raised his hand, I ran at him.
“Hey, you bastard!!!”
Thud bang
“Ughh!?”
I tackled him with all my weight. His fist looked like it wouldn’t do anything, so I used my whole body to hit him.
“Uh?! Hey, are you okay?!”
As the other guys worried about the fallen guy, I grabbed Seo-a’s hand and ran.
“Come on, follow me before those guys catch up”
“Hey..hey, you f*cking b*tch!!!”
I remembered that Seo-a hated being touched by other people
I was at a loss for words because it was Seo-a, whom I could never meet in high school.
Should I ask if she’s okay or.. who she likes? No, that would be even weirder..
“Uh.. I’ll go then”
I wondered what to say to her, but that was how I felt when she liked me.
“Ah..”
She seemed to say something, but I couldn’t hear it. Maybe she and I were meant to be together later.
“Hey! I’m grateful, but..”
But then she grabbed me
“Let me buy you a meal.. I’m sorry and thankful”
I nodded without thinking and followed her.
Seo-a and I were married. Of course, that was either a dream or a future story, but my feelings for her were not simple.
“Here it is”
“Huh..”
A shabby corner of the market with a rice soup restaurant. Come to think of it, Seo-a sometimes wanted to eat rice soup and we looked for rice soup places together.
“Let’s go in”
She held my hand when she grabbed me, but now she couldn’t. We weren’t lovers, so of course we didn’t.
Somehow I was sad. No, quite sad.
“Grandma, I’m here”
Seo-a greeted the grandmother warmly, as if she had been to the rice soup restaurant dozens of times.
“Oh, my puppy is here. Oh, you brought a man today?”
“Ah..no. He’s just a friend who helped me out and I wanted to repay him by bringing him here.”
Seo-ah explained about me and let them know that our relationship was temporary and one-sided.
“Really? This granny thinks you two look good together.”
“Ah, never mind that. Just give us what we always eat.”
“Alright, alright. But since you came here to repay him today, I have to roll up my sleeves and make it with extra care. Honey!!!”
The grandmother rolled up her wrists and called the grandfather. And then she just ordered him around and didn’t seem to do anything herself.. What’s going on?
“Pfft.. You’re still the same. Ah, this is the place I used to come often.”
She said that and told me about various places in the restaurant.
As I listened to her words, I felt the same emotion as when I dated her in the past and listened to her words.
The restaurant was quiet and we were the only ones there, but I could tell that many people had come and gone over time.
“The price is.. 3000 won? That’s very cheap.”
“Yeah, the price is cheap but it’s very delicious. I told them to raise the price several times, but sigh.. They always listen to other things, but why don’t they listen to this?”
She said that and complained while enjoying the conversation.
“Ah.. Sorry, this is not a fun topic.”
She stopped talking, thinking of my mood, but
“No, I find it interesting. It’s the first time I’ve talked to you like this. Anything you say would be fun.”
I wanted to hear her story again, so I couldn’t just eat rice soup without saying anything. I said I wanted to hear more.
“..Really? hehehe, then..”
I hadn’t heard her voice for a long time, so it felt like lying on a cozy bed with a softness and a friendly and warm rice soup smell added to it. I felt like I was drawing memories of her for the first time in a long time.
“Here, two rice soups~ By the way, how can our puppy talk so well? He’s just perfect with his face too. hehehe.”
Grandfather came out and praised Seo-a once before going in.
“Thank you, Grandfather!”
Seo-a was sincerely happy and ate rice soup with me.