Words, death
It was summer Episode 2. Rejection
—
I searched for ‘July 6th’ on Naver without any worries.
"What? It doesn't seem like anything special. Park Jimin, too. If you look closely, his pranks are a bit too much."
Stop.
‘Wait a minute, what is this?’
I quickly stopped scrolling down and clicked on the text in confusion.
September 17th, Confession Day? 100 Days to Christmas!
September 17th is Confession Day? So today is also Confession Day or something?
...I checked the date calculator and it says if we start dating on September 17th, Christmas will be 100 days. That's right. Exactly 100 days. Why? What? Wait, then what's July 6th?
I was putting in random dates with a heavy heart, and then I remembered what I had said about birthdays earlier, so I put it in. First, I put in my birthday, and it was already over 100 days ago.
“It’s better if Park Jimin’s birthday doesn’t come like this…”
After muttering like that, I tried adding Park Jimin's birthday this time.
… Damn, why is it 100 days? Seriously? Does he like me? As a romantic interest? No, maybe it's just my imagination. Yeah, I guess so.
I tried so hard to fold the fancy clothes that were my thoughts about Park Jimin, put them away on a corner shelf, as unnoticeable as possible, and headed to the academy.
—
9:30 PM.
- Okay, that's all for today's class! Everyone worked hard, and don't forget that you're soon going to be in your third year of high school, so go home and study!
- Oh teacher~ Today is Friday ㅠㅠ
- That's right, teacher. Can't we play today?
- I know you all said you'd only play on Fridays last week and ruined it all. Not many people actually did their homework on the weekend.
- Oh my gosh, this is too much ㅠㅠㅠ
- What are you doing, go quickly!
- Hmph~ Yes~
A sudden thought occurred to me as I was finishing class. Park Jimin.
"No, I'm really screwed!! I might be drinking kimchi stew, but still! Once you see it, you'll never forget it!"
With that thought in mind, I trudged out of the academy, and I saw Park Jimin waiting for me on the sidewalk across from me. Park Jimin smiled brightly at me and greeted me, and I instinctively followed suit.
"Yeah, since it's come to this, I should just be completely honest and reject her immediately if she confesses to me. But, if I do that, things might get awkward…"
“Hey, Kim Yeo-ju. Kim Yeo-ju? What are you thinking about?”
"Oh, surprise! When did you come? Call my name! Phew... Calm down, calm down..."
“Ah… It’s nothing. Let’s go quickly.”
“Really? Your face is a bit red for something so trivial~”
“Oh, it’s really nothing! So, what day is it today?”
"What, you didn't look it up? This is too much, really~"
“Oh, I didn’t look it up. What should I do?”
At that moment, the footsteps following me, the silhouette following me, suddenly stopped. Thinking they'd follow anyway, I walked a few more steps, but when I heard no footsteps behind me, I turned around. "What? What is it?" I thought, turning around.
“…Kim Yeo-ju, I like you.”
Behind Park Jimin, a starless sky loomed, and amidst it all, the full moon shone brightly. The setting was perfect. Even Park Jimin's brightly smiling face, which seemed even brighter today, seemed ready to burst into tears at any moment.
"I don't really know when I started liking her. It was just like the moon rising, which I took for granted. It was just the natural course of events."
"Come on, I have to refuse. If I hesitate, Park Jimin will be hurt more. But my mouth wouldn't open. And finally,
“…I’m really sorry, Park Jimin. I… I don’t even like you, and I really have no intention of dating. More importantly, you’re popular with other kids, and I’m far behind you.”
I rejected that child. That child whose smile was brighter than the moon, and I couldn't help but smile along with her.
“I’m so lacking compared to you that I don’t think I could date you even if I wanted to.”
Oh, really.
I had a gut feeling that after this incident, we wouldn't be as close as we used to be.
…if I get a confession again or something, except for dating.
There was only silence. The surroundings were as quiet as if the volume on my cell phone had been turned to zero, and no one was passing by, as if all the alarms had been turned off. The kids from my academy must have already gone home.
And breaking this silence, Park Jimin's mouth moved.