Time to walk down memory lane
When Min Yoongi and I opened our classroom door, telling each other to go through the main gate and up the stairs, the entire class's eyes were on us. I looked at Min Yoongi, puzzled, but he shrugged, as if he didn't understand the reason for the stares.
“What, what’s going on in class?”
“That’s right. It’s like everyone was just waiting for us to come.”
Min Yoongi and I exchanged a few words and headed to our respective seats. As soon as I reached my seat, I put my bag down and glanced at the seat next to me. It had been empty for some time. Feeling a bit bitter, I sat down, and the kids in front of me, and even the ones at the far end, crowded around me.
I don't really know what's going on and why he's showing me this much interest. Last year, there was a time when I got a lot of attention because of something I did with Lee Jun. But things have been quiet since then... I'm not a very good person for attention, so honestly, I was a little nervous.
“Hey, maybe Lee Jun…”
“Hey, shut up. Why are you asking that kid about this?”
“Ooh, I have a question!”
My heart sank for a moment. I hated it when people kept mentioning Lee Joon. No, it was even unpleasant. Fortunately, Min Yoongi intervened and covered my mouth, but I avoided him and ran out of the classroom.
“Why Lee Jun all of a sudden…”
I walked slowly down the hallway, mumbling quietly. November, when Lee Jun's name would be mentioned most often, was still a long way off. I grimaced with a bad feeling.
“Hey… I just saw senior Lee Jun in the third-year teachers’ office…”
“What nonsense are you talking about? That can’t be true.”
“It was definitely senior Lee Jun, he was even wearing our school uniform!”
My breathing began to quicken. Lee Jun was in the teachers' office...? And he was wearing our school uniform? My heart began to pound, so I wrapped my right hand around my heart. Then I ran to the third-year teachers' office, where the kid had seen Lee Jun earlier. Even though I knew it wasn't Lee Jun.
“Haa, ha…”
After running out of breath and barely managing to exhale, I slowly opened the door to the teachers' office. Suddenly, I saw the back of a familiar man, and my hands began to tremble, just like they did last night.
The man who turned around at my sound was Lee Jun.
“Huh? That was an amusement park, right?”
No, it was the same man I'd met before, the man I wanted to believe was Lee Joon. The man who'd made me cry like crazy when I worked at the amusement park. Jeon Jungkook.
“Why are you…”
“I transferred schools today. I moved nearby last week.”
"ah…"
"Thank goodness. I was worried because I didn't know anyone. Please take care of me in the future."
He beamed at me. My heart pounded strangely. It ached, as if tears would well up again at any moment. I knew it couldn't be true, but I felt so pathetic, running out of breath, wondering if it was Lee Joon.
“Kim Yeo-ju, what are you doing here…”
It was Min Yoongi. He seemed to have come straight to me after cleaning up the class, which had become so awkward because of me. The eyes that had been focused on me at first naturally turned to him. Min Yoongi seemed quite surprised, to the point where he stopped talking mid-sentence.
Min Yoongi stared at him expressionlessly for a while before finally opening his mouth to greet him. He seemed just as flustered by the situation as we were.
“See you again.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“School uniforms… That’s why school was noisy.”
It seems I finally figured out why the school was in an uproar after seeing a man who resembled Lee Joon, wearing the same uniform as us. Well, I cried like that at first, thinking it was Lee Joon... but I wonder if it's different for other people. I finally understood why the school was in an uproar.
“Where is Class 1-3?”
“… We’re in the same class, so don’t talk. We go to class together.”
What a twist of fate. Jeon Jungkook was in our class. Ever since I met Jeon Jungkook, who resembles Lee Joon, not long ago, something feels off. We're in the same school, in the same class. As if Jeon Jungkook is trying to take Lee Joon's place? Strange thoughts filled my head.
So, Min Yoongi, Jeon Jungkook, and I walked quietly down the hallway, not saying a word. All the students in the hallway were looking at us—no, more precisely, at Jeon Jungkook, whispering, and I hated their attention. Then, as if sensing everyone's strange behavior, Jeon Jungkook looked at me and called my name.
“Lee Jun…”
"uh…?"
“Who is Lee Jun?”
My heart starts pounding, and my mind starts to spin. If Jeon Jungkook starts wondering about Lee Joon, everything will get weird. Someone who resembles me, and who is no longer there.
How and where should I begin to explain to Jeon Jungkook about Lee Joon? No, how could I even dare to tell him that I see Lee Joon in him in the first place?
