Time to walk down memory lane
When I showed no intention of letting go of his hand, the man crouched down in front of me. Then, he stared up at me. I met his gaze quietly, and a strange feeling came over me. It wasn't the usual excitement or pounding. It was a kind of confusion that made my stomach churn.
“What is your name?”
“Kim Yeo-ju…”
Hearing Jeon Jungkook's name, I told him mine. That's how we learned each other's names. Honestly, I know that knowing names is useless. Still, I asked him his name, hoping for a glimmer of hope.
If this man's name was Lee Joon instead of Jeon Jungkook... The very thought itself is a bad thing. But I want to see Jeon Jungkook, not Lee Joon. I want to see a face that resembles Lee Joon.
“How old are you?”
“Nineteen.”
“We’re the same age, aren’t we?”
My eyes widened at his words, "We're the same age." No matter how much I thought about it, Jeon Jungkook looked so much like Lee Joon. That made me even more determined to keep him. If I couldn't see Lee Joon, I felt like I could breathe only by seeing Jeon Jungkook.
“Jeon Jungkook! All the pictures are out-!”
Jeon Jungkook's friends emerged from the photo studio with Min Yoongi. Hearing his name being called, Jeon Jungkook stood up, and I let go of his hand.
“I’m going to go now.“It was nice to meet you.”
The moment has come when I must part ways with him. If I let go of this man, Jeon Jungkook, I don't know when or how I'll ever see him again. No, maybe I won't be able to see him at all. It might have been different if we'd never met in the first place, but once I've met him, I can't live without forgetting that face.
It didn't have to be Lee Joon. I'd be happy with just someone who looked like him. As long as I wasn't tired and could breathe, anything was fine. I got up from the bench and took the man's hand once more.
“Excuse me, could you please give me your phone number?”
“Give me your phone.”
“My phone is in the locker room… Please write it here.”
It was my mistake to leave my phone in the locker room, determined to just take pictures on the last day. I pulled the pen out of my pocket and handed it to the man, along with my left arm, to get his number.
The man who took the pen from me, his lips raised, wrote his number on my left arm. The way the pen moved gently against my skin, as if drawing a picture, was ticklish.
“Can I contact you…?”
“I gave it to you to do it?”
“I’ll definitely contact you!”
I smiled brightly, filled with the hope of seeing a face that resembled Lee Joon again, and with a tingling sensation. My eyes, red from crying so much, stung. I was so happy I didn't even care.
We waved goodbye to each other, excited that we'd have so much to talk about next time we met.
My last part-time job of the summer break finally came to an end, and I quickly went to the locker room to find my phone. I opened it and immediately saved the number of the man who had been sitting on my left arm. Only then did I change into my uniform. I hung it up neatly, packed my bags, and stepped outside to find Min Yoongi, dressed in all black.
“Have you been waiting long?”
“No, I just got out too.”
“Ah, I’m tired…”
Min Yoongi has been my close friend since middle school. He's the only person I can confide in. That's Min Yoongi. He knows everything about me and Lee Joon. Perhaps that's why he's always so affectionate, but when it comes to Lee Joon, he becomes cold.
“They really do look alike.”
“Huh? Ah…”
“But that’s it. What did you do to forget him?”
“……”
“I can’t stand to see you suffer again.”
It was a rather firm tone. It felt like a warning, telling me not to even think about getting involved with that man. Min Yoongi is the one who cares about me more than anyone else. Perhaps it's inevitable. After all, he's the only one who witnessed everything from Lee Joon's departure to what was left behind.
But what should I do? Yoongi, I still miss Jun.
