Jae Ham
"My life is over." After moaning the words, I let myself fall face-flat onto my pillow.
It is Friday evening, and as I shift my head to one side, I can see the crescent moon glowing brilliantly, several specks of white dust scattered across a black sky.
"It is not," says Penelope with an eye-roll, sauntering around my bedroom, picking up random objects and placing them down again.
"Let's see what you've got here," Res muses wonderingly, on his knees as he gropes under my bed, humming to himself. He sits up on the floor and lifts a piece of fabric. "Dude, how long has this been here?" He wrinkles his nose, his expression one of distaste.
"I don't know," I groan into my pillow. "Two.. three days?"
"Enough with the stalling," says Penn with a stern frown. She sits on one edge of my bed, her weight causing one part of the mattress to dip a little. "Tell us what's wrong."
"The one person I like after two years of single life, and she's not interested in dating or starting a relationship." Saying it out loud makes me feel bluer. Shutting my eyes, I sink my cheek deeper into the pillow. I'll just sleep my misery away.
I can hear Res and Penn muttering to each other, but I can't comprehend what they're saying until they clear their throats and enunciate.
Res asks me, "Did she directly say that she doesn't want to entertain anyone romantically?"
Opening my eyes, I try to recall my conversation with Sage yesterday. "Yes," I respond in a grave tone.
Penn goes 'hmm' before saying resolutely, "Then you should respect her decision."
"So that's it?" Res sounds crestfallen. "It's over before it even begins?"
"Well, what do you expect? When someone says no, you should respect his or her decision. Everyone should learn the concept of boundaries. It's incredibly unattractive to chase someone who doesn't want to be pursued. It's also a waste of time and effort."
"That's true," Res agrees carefully. "But you have to understand, some people don't mean what they say. For example, if you were pissed off with your lover, would you want her to run after you, even if you told her to leave you alone?"
For a moment, Penn is unable to reply. "Okay fine," she says eventually. "But I'm telling you, it's still unappealing to try and wear a person down until they say yes when they've already made it clear they're uninterested. Whether it's the guy chasing the girl or the girl chasing the guy endlessly, it's not cute, no matter how many shows and books use that crappy cliche."
"What's wrong with cliches?" Res argues fervently. "So maybe they're a bit overused, overrated, but you have to be in love to empathize with those characters. Corny and cheesy are just other words that mean romantic."
"Why do I even bother giving sane advice when you neanderthals are just going to ignore it?" Penn complains in exasperation.
"I'm here for positivity," says Res proudly. "You're here for negativity. Wasn't that obvious the minute we stepped into Jae's room?"
"So what are you gonna do?" they chorus, and I can sense their heavy stares on me.
"Give up," I murmur into my pillow.
"What? No!" Res slaps his forehead in frustration. "You're not the type to quit easily and you know it."
"It's the practical choice," says Penelope, tossing her wavy ginger locks over her shoulder.
