The Reason? - Yoon Jeonghan

Chapter 31

"Désolé, je parle tellement de langues ces jours-ci que je m'y perds facilement." She sat down on the chair outside, watching the sun brighten the cityscape in front of her. "Et je suis désolé de ne pas t'avoir contacté, mais ces derniers mois ça a été très chargé. J'étais au Japon il y a seulement quelques jours pour le concert des gars." ("Sorry, I've been speaking so many languages lately that I get lost so easily." "And I'm sorry for not contacting you, these last months have been so busy. I was in Japan only days ago for the boy's concert.")

"Quel concert?" Had Ophely not told her friend who she was staying with? She Thought she had. ("What concert?")

"Du groupe de Jeonghan." She looked at her black screen for a second, "Je te l'avais pas dis?" ("Of Jeonghan's group." "Had I not told you?")

That was how Flora, a kpop fan, had found out that the Jeonghan she had interacted with around four months ago had actually been a part of her favourite group, Seventeen. The Jeonghan from Korea that had taken over her friend's body had been none other than Seventeen's pretty face angel Jeonghan. Ophely had laughed at that, happy to be able to talk freely with her best friend, whom she knew wouldn't divulge such information to the media. Her safety was as important as the rest of the boys. Flora would have never outed Ophely even if she wasn't her friend, but the fact that if something happened to either of them the other would feel it from time to time.

"Je veux juste que tu sois heureuse là-bas. Tu me manques." She told her friend calmly, her too sitting by her window watching the city (though much smaller than Seoul) outside of her window. "Je te souhaite que le meilleur pour ton Bac et ta rentrée scolaire en Corée." The two girls smiled at their phones, happy to talk after the busy previous weeks. ("I want you to be happy over there. I miss you." "I wish you the best for your Baccalaureate.")

"Moi aussi. Tu me manques. Et révise bien pour ton Bac." Ophely couldn't keep the little tear from leaving her eye, she really was going to miss her best friend while in her new school. (Me too. I've missed you. And revise well for your Baccalaureate.")

"Bisous."

"Bisous."

Ophely hung up finally. Her toes were starting to get cold with only a pair of socks and slippers to cover them.

She felt weird. Like Flora was already part of her past, yet that link was still very strong. Like Seventeen were her confort now. Or maybe it was just the fact that they were inside and warm, and that if she stayed with them she would too be warm and cosy. And that to talk with Flora she had to go outside for privacy and to not wake the boys up, thus her being cold. Maybe that was what was making her brain run around in her head.

Ophely stood up, shook her body to wake it up and walked back inside, to find a few more members awake by now.

"Good morning everyone." And she got to work, closing her laptop because she wasn't going to go back to working that morning, and it wasn't going to be morning for much longer. She made her way to the kitchen and started taking out bowls and ingredients, intending to make a good warm meal for the boys knowing that they were tired.

-

"Do you ever miss your friends from before?" Ophely asked Jeonghan as they walked along the Han river that afternoon.

"The ones from high school?"

"Yeah, those you had before you moved to become an idol." They continued walking for a few minutes silently as he pondered over the question. It had been a few years since he had asked himself those questions.

"Sometimes. I want to meet up with them, but because we haven't talked in a while I don't think I trust them that much anymore." He readjusted his cap as they crossed paths with a couple walking the other way. "I did wish at the start for our friendship to keep going as it was. But friendships, like any relationship, need to be taken care of regularly. And I would often not keep contact for days on end. I don't think we were ready for that, and I believe that our friendship has dwindled down to a good memory." He smiled below his mask, but as Ophely looked at him she could see his raised cheekbones to his eyes. "They have an important place in my heart. But I know that we wouldn't know what to talk about if we were to meet right now."

"That was strangely poetic."

"Thanks." The two stopped and looked over the river. March looked good on the path they were on. Small flowers started to bloom as new leaves brightened the landscape up. "But no friendships are the same. And I know that your friend cares for you very much. You have been communicating regularly with her. So I can only believe the best."

Ophely only hummed in response and started walking again, the slight breeze hitting her visible face.

"Though something that I learned from friends and family, is that your closest friends are often the ones you make as an adult. When you are grown and know yourself and what you need."

It had been Jeonghan's idea to take Ophely on a walk, he could see how stressed she was. Focused on her schoolwork, then completely on making a meal for everyone. Not even touching her sketchbook, which had been sitting at her desk the entire day, open and with a pencil right next to it. Yet she did nothing but busy her hands elsewhere. Jeonghan had seen that, and took her out. She needed to take a breather.

At the start she had kept quiet and to herself. And then she started talking, asking questions about him and Korea. About life and about her surroundings. And now were her worries for the coming days. Going back to school. Going to a new school. Being the new kid in her last year of high school. It wasn't something very pleasant. But she knew that if it didn't go very well, then she only had a year of that.

"I'm scared." She finally muttered as they sat on a bench with her knees up to her chest. Jeonghan took his hand out of his jacket and rubbed her back comfortably. "Scared to be bad, since I have never been in this system. And I have to pass the exams at the end of the year too. As well as my French ones in June."

"Don't worry too much. The start of the year is never too hard, and never compare yourself to the other students who will go to after-school classes, just enjoy yourself around people your age." He said comfortably. "And if you don't like it you could always stop going to school after passing your French exam."

"And what if I fail that exam?"

"You won't." She glanced at him beside her with glassy eyes. "Because you are intelligent and you never give up. And I know that it will be alright at the korean high school, you have this about yourself that you find the positive in everything. And if things become hard you can always come to the boys and I to talk." She stayed quiet beside the man, still curled up on herself and watching the river flow on the other side of the barrier.

She managed to smile through her quiet tears. Hoping that he could see it between her falling hair and hat covering her face.

As if nothing had happened, Ophely dried her tears and stood up, stretched her aching limbs and smiled brightly towards Jeonghan, pulling him up from the bench so they could continue walking along the path they had chosen.

"Thank you." She said before pulling him into a tight hug. She squeezed his waist tightly, pressing herself to his chest. Grateful for his help in the previous months. He hugged her back, a bit surprised by her sudden affection, but glad that she was more and more comfortable with him.

Pulling out she beamed at him and started walking back towards their home.