On the first day of class I Jeon jungkook was one of the last to arrive, coming in just a few seconds before the bell rang, and I took a seat in the back of the room. Miss yoona had her back turned to the class, So she brings up the Christmas play ( popular play, performed in the local playhouse, features seniors from the high school )and tells everyone that Park Chaeyoung is going to be the angel that year.
Now Park chaeyoung was a nice girl. She really was. Busan was small enough that it had only one elementary school, so we'd been in the same classes our entire lives,
and I'd be lying if I said I never talked to her. Once, in second grade, she'd sat in the seat right next to me for the whole year, and we'd even had a few conversations, but it
didn't mean that I spent a lot of time hanging out with her in my spare time, even back then. Who I saw in school was one thing; who I saw after school was something completely different, and chaeyoung had never been on my social calendar. It's not that she was unattractive-don't get me wrong.
She wasn't hideous or anything like that. Fortunately she'd taken after her mother, who, based on the pictures I'd seen, wasn't half-bad, especially considering who she ended up marrying. But chaeyoung wasn't exactly what I considered
attractive, either. Despite the fact that she was thin, with honey blond hair and soft brown eyes, most of the time she looked sort of . . . plain,
But it wasn't just the way chaeyoung looked that made her
different; it was also the way she acted. Chaeyoung didn't spend any time hanging out at Dinner or going to slumber parties with other girls, and I knew for a fact that she'd
never had a boyfriend her entire life. Her father Mason would probably have had a heart attack if she had. But even if by some odd turn of events Mason had allowed it, it still wouldn't have mattered. I swear, that girl never said a bad thing about anything or anyone, even to those of us who weren't that nice to her. She would hum to herself as she walked down the
street, she would wave to strangers driving by in their cars. Sometimes ladies would come running out of their house if they saw her walking by, offering her pumpkin bread if they'd been baking all day. It seemed as if every adult in town adored her. "She's such a nice young lady,"
But my friends and I didn't quite see it that way. In our minds, one park chaeyoung was plenty. I was thinking about all this while chaeyoung stood in front of us on the first day of drama class, and I admit that I wasn't much interested in seeing her. But strangely, when she turned to face us, I kind of got a shock, like I was sitting on a loose wire or something. She wore a plain skirt with a white blouse under the same brown cardigan sweater I'd seen a million times, but there were two new bumps on her chest that the sweater couldn't hide that I swore hadn't been there just three months earlier. She'd never worn makeup and she still didn't, and for the first time she looked-well, almost pretty. Of course, I dismissed that thought right away, but as she looked around the room, she stopped and smiled right at me, obviously glad to see that I was in the class.
I was voted student body president with a fairly large majority of the vote. I had no idea what trouble it would eventually lead me to.
When I was a junior I went steady with a girl named Mina. She was my first real girlfriend, though it lasted for only a few months. Just before school let out for the summer, she dumped me for a guy named suho who worked as a mechanic in his father's garage. His primary attribute, as far as I could tell, was that he had a really nice car. He always wore a white T-shirt with a pack of Camels folded into the sleeve, and he'd lean against the hood of his Thunderbird, looking back and forth, saying things like "Hey, baby" whenever a girl walked by. He was a real winner, if you know what I mean.
The homecoming dance was coming up, and because of the whole mina situation, I still didn't have a date. Everyone on the student council had to attend-it was
mandatory. I had to help decorate the gym and clean up the next day-and besides, it was usually a pretty good time. I called a couple of girls I knew, but they already had dates, so I called a few more. They had dates, too.
My mom knew what I was going through, and she finally came into my room and sat on the bed beside me.
"If you can't get a date, I'll be happy to go with you," she said.
"Thanks, Mom," I said dejectedly.
When she left the room, I felt even worse than I had before. Even my mom didn't think I could find somebody.
So there I was, flipping through the pages in the junior class section, when I saw Park chaeyoung's picture. I paused for just a second, then turned the page, cursing myself for even thinking about it. I spent the next hour searching for
anyone halfway decent looking, but I slowly came to the realization that there wasn't anyone left. In time I finally turned back to her picture and looked again. She wasn't bad
looking, I told myself, and she's really sweet. She'd probably say yes, I thought. . . . I closed the yearbook. Park chaeyoung? Mason'sdaughter? No way. Absolutely not. My friends would roast me alive.But compared with dating your mother, it's not bad right......
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I started to stumble along even faster, and pretty soon I reached chaeyoung's street. By then I was sweating all over-my shirt was soaked right through-and I was still wheezing something fierce. Well, I reached her front door, took a
second to catch my breath, and finally knocked. it was chaeyoung, and for the first time in my life I saw what she'd look like if she
were an ordinary person. She was wearing jeans and a red blouse, and though her hair was still pulled up into a bun, she looked more casual than she usually did. I realized she
could actually be cute if she gave herself the opportunity.
"Jungkook," she said as she held open the door, "this is a surprise!"
Chaeyoung was always glad to see everyone, including me, though I think my appearance startled her.
She looked down and sort of shuffled her feet for a moment. "Well, I'd invite you in, but my father isn't home, and he doesn't allow boys in the house while he's not
around."
"Oh," I said dejectedly, "that's okay. We can talk out here, I guess
"It's a beautiful day," I said, stalling.
"Yes, it is."
"Warm, too."
"That's because you're in the sun."
I looked around, feeling the pressure building. "Why, I'll bet there's not a single cloud in the whole sky."
This time chaeyoung didn't respond, and we sat in silence for a few moments.
"Jungkook," she finally said, "you didn't come here to talk about the weather, did you?"
"Not really."
"Then why are you here?"
The moment of truth had arrived, and I cleared my throat.
"Well . . . I wanted to know if you were going to the homecoming dance."
"Oh," she said. Her tone made it seem as if she were unaware that such a thing existed. I fidgeted in my seat and waited for her answer.
"I really hadn't planned on going," she finally said.
"But if someone asked you to go, you might?"It took a moment for her to answer.
"I'm not sure," she said, thinking carefully. "I suppose I might go, if I got the chance. I've never been to a
homecoming dance before."
"They're fun," I said quickly. "Not too much fun, but fun." Especially when compared to my other options, I didn't add.
She smiled at my turn of phrase. "I'd have to talk to my father, of course, but if he said it was okay, then I guess I could."
"Well, would you like to go to the dance with me?"
I could tell she was surprised.
Instead of answering right away, though, chaeyoung glanced away for a long moment. I got a sinking feeling in my stomach because I assumed she was going to say no.
"I'd love to," she finally said, "on one condition."
I steadied myself, hoping it wasn't something too awful.
"Yes?"
"You have to promise that you won't fall in love with me...."
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