Gold | Park Sunghoon

25

"Sunoo," he heard a small voice call him, accompanied by a small nudge on his side. He turned around to see Jangmi with her head lowered, awkward due to the fact that Heeseung was right there in front of her best friend.

"Jangmi—"

"Can we get to class, please?"

Since the day of the confession, she didn't want to be alone because she was scared of bumping into the older boy. It's not like she wanted to avoid him forever, because she knew that she won't be able to, she just wanted to calm herself down—which took way longer than she thought. She wanted to talk to him with a clear mind, not a heavy heart. 

"Of course," Sunoo replied to her. Her best friend took her hand and pulled her away from the older boy, who stood frozen in his place. When he was out of ear distance, Jangmi sighed.

"Did you guys fight?" she asked innocently. The idea of people fighting because of her bothered her a lot. She didn't want to cause a rift in between their friendship, and just hoped that things were not as bad as she thought. Her best friend shook his head at the girl and gave her a reassuring smile.

"We just talked, Jangmi. No need to worry."

---

Jangmi yawned as she picked up her duffel bag from the gym floor. It was currently eight in the evening, an hour earlier than their usual dismissal, yet none of them were complaining. Their coach decided to end training early because of how well they were doing: two completely perfect runs. She was happy, and the rest of the team was happy as well.

"But you can't just leave this Heeseung oppa hanging," Aera told her before taking a sip of water. With the events that happened earlier that day, Jangmi decided to tell her close friend and ask for advice—just in case she were to bump into the older boy again. They talked about it before training and continued their conversation with the other girl giving her opinion when training was over.

Both girls walked side-by-side as they headed out of the training area and into the lobby. The thoughts have been bothering Jangmi nonstop. "I want to explain to him, but I feel like I will just be too emotional..." she paused for a bit, making Aera look at her. "I just don't want to do it now."

"Okay, but when will you do it? I understand that you're not the confrontational type, but he's already reaching out to you. You can't just delay this any longer," Aera told her sternly, like a mother giving her daughter advice. Honestly, Jangmi knew her friend had a point. There was no point in pushing him away anymore when what they really needed to do was talk.

Their slow walk finally got them out the gym entrance to see a figure leaning on the nearest lamppost from the concrete stairs. Besides the dark blue sweater, black beanie, and the black pants, they couldn't make out the face—until the figure looked up from his cellphone.

"Heeseung oppa?"

Her voice came out softer and shakier than she intended. Although her heartbeat didn't quicken in fear, she gulped harshly. Aera noticed it and held onto her friend's shoulders to get her attention once more. "Remember what I told you, okay?" She gave a reassuring smile before bowing at the older boy before heading to the parking lot.

Jangmi walked closer to Heeseung and stopped when she got to a certain distance. As much as he felt sad at her reaction, he knew that he was the one to blame for it. He took a good look at her face and was speechless for a few seconds. It had been a few days since they were this close to one another, and she was still as beautiful as the last time he saw her. "Your brother allowed me to walk you home," he said softly before his gaze fell onto the concrete.

To know that she was the reason why he looked so upset bothered her. Even after everything that happened, she didn't want to make him sad. The confession replayed in her mind, and even if she shuddered at the thought of it, she knew that she still had to talk to Heeseung. And, plus, there was no better time than now since they were alone.