After the class ends, we immediately get out of the school and go to the gift shop. Jaemin and I walk side by side and chit-chat on the way. I might look normal but in fact, my heart beats like crazy everytime he's around me. I'm used to this feeling anyways that's why I look calm. Suddenly, the wind blows and my hair gets quite messy. I raise my hand to fix my hair but it's grabbed... By Jaemin...
Why did he do that?
"Did you write on your hand, Eun?" He turns my hand around to see my palm, full of pen marks.
"Oh, I didn't. My pen ink kept leaking and I had no tissues so I used my hand to wipe it. Luckily, it didn't leak too much." I reply and smile awkwardly.
"You should've used your notebook paper, silly. Pen ink isn't good for skin. I kept telling you many times, why don't you remember?" Jaemin sighs and grabs a piece of wet wipe from his bag. He starts wiping my hand gently.
How am I going to survive? My heart beats too fast and I start panicking. I keep breathing heavily and place my other hand on my chest to calm myself down. Great, Jaemin will think I'm weird again.
Fortunately, Jaemin only focuses on wiping my hand. He keeps wiping it until all the marks are gone.
"Done! Clean and clear." Jaemin exclaims and puts my hand down gently.
"Thank you, Jaemin-ah." I quickly remove my hand from my chest as soon as I hear his voice and thank him.
"No problem. Next time, use your notebook paper or ask me for tissues. You know I always have them." Jaemin smiles and takes out tissues from his bag to show me.
"I will." I smile and give him an okay sign.
We keep talking until we arrive at the gift shop a few moments later. I'm in awe because the shop is full of beautiful and cute stuff. I can see that some of them are in pink, which is my favorite color. I look around and the owner greets us.
"Good afternoon, Jaemin. And who is this young and beautiful lady? Your girlfriend?" The owner giggles.
We look at each other, dumbfounded. I look at him as a sign so that he could say something about this.
"Oh, hi auntie. Actually, she's Daeun, my bestfriend." Jaemin awkwardly laughs and introduces me to the owner.
"Hello. My name is Daeun. Glad to meet you, auntie. I really love your shop." I bow to greet and tell her how much I love her shop.
"Thank you. How sweet of you. Feel free to look around. I have special discounts for both of you." She smiles and gestures both of us to look around the shop.
"Thank you, auntie." Jaemin smiles happily and bows.
As we look around, I notice that we're quite far away from the owner.
"Jaemin, how does she know you?" I whisper.
"I'm a regular here, Daeun. That's why." He chuckles.
"Ohh..." I nod.
We keep looking around for quite some time when Jaemin suddenly stops and looks at something.
"Did something catch your eyes?" I ask as his eyes are set on a red object.
"Chaerin really loves necklaces and red is her favorite color. This necklace is definitely her type." Jaemin's eyes light up as he picks up a silver necklace with a red and heart-shaped pendant.
As he picks the necklace up, one of the shop assistants comes.
"You definitely have good eyes. This necklace just arrived yesterday with only 10 sets. It's made from 85% silver with the red ruby, shaped into a heart. It's really popular among young ladies." The shop assistant explains throughly."
Jaemin sighs in relief as the shop assistant didn't ask who he's buying the necklace for.
"Oh thank you. By the way, how much is it?" Jaemin nods and asks the shop assistant.
"It's quite expensive but it's really worth the price. It's 150$." The shop assistant replies.
I gasp after hearing the price. I'm worried if Jaemin has enough money to buy it.
"But no worry. My boss told me that you're a regular here, so this will be discounted. She told us to give you 40% discount on every item. So the necklace is 90$ for you." She smiles.
I feel quite relieved but I'm still worried.
"Jaemin, do you have enough money?" I whisper to him with concern.
"I do. Don't worry." Jaemin nods.
"I'll take this. Please wrap it nicely for me. Wrap it in red." Jaemin hands over the necklace to the shop assistant.
"Got it. We charge 50 cents for wrapping the gift. Please wait a bit. It will be ready in no time." The shop assistant nods to his request.
"Jaemin, wait a bit. I'm gonna buy something too." I tap Jaemin's shoulder and tell him.
"Oh sure. Take your time." Jaemin nods.
After telling Jaemin, I roam around the shop attentively to buy my gift. Actually, it's not for myself but for... Jaemin... I want to prepare his gift in advance for his birthday. Maybe I won't be able to give this to him but I hope I can...
Something caught my eyes. A white stacking bracelet with heart-shaped silver pendant. Jaemin's favorite color is white and he likes simplicity. Just perfect.
"Hello. May I ask how much is this bracelet?" I call out a shop assistant next to me and ask.
"Hello, miss. This bracelet is very popular among boys. As you can see, the pendant is made from silver and you can engrave your name or any signs on it, free of charge. It's 150$ but 90$ for you as a discount from our boss." The shop assistant explains.
"Ah, I see. I'll take this. Please engrave "NJM" on it and put two small hearts next to it. If possible, please color the first heart in white and the second heart in pink." I hand over the bracelet to her.
"Okay, miss. Please wait for 10 minutes. Do you want it to be wrapped?" She nods and asks.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Please wrap it nice but simple. Put in a white gift box and golden ribbon. Thank you." I order.
"Yes, miss. We charge extra 50 cents for gift wrapping." She replies.
"I got it. Thank you." I nod and smile.
As I'm about to go back to Jaemin, I see him roaming around the shop. He seems to enjoy looking around so I don't want to bother him. I smile from the distance and wait for my gift.
I get my gift after a few minutes. I take the gift and go to the cashier. Jaemin happens to be there as well.
"Yah, what did you buy? For who?" Jaemin looks at my gift and asks.
"Oh, a bracelet for my crush." I shrug my shoulders.
"Aigoo, Eunnie has a crush. Who is it?" Jaemin coos and giggles.
It's none other than you, idiot...
"I'll tell you when the time is right." I smile.
"Okay, I'll wait." Jaemin's laughs.
"Your gifts are ready. 181$ dollars in total." The cashier suddenly speaks up.
"Oh, sure." We both nod and take out our money to pay for the gifts.
"Thank you. Please come again." The cashier bows with a smile.
We nod and smile as replies to the cashier. Jaemin's house is quite far from me, but not too far. They're on the same way as well. We walk and talk as usual about stuff. Without knowing, we reach Jaemin's house first.
"You're home, Jaemin. Goodbye and have a great day. Take care." I wave goodbye to Jaemin.
"Yoo too, Daeun. Be careful. Take care too." Jaemin waves goodbye to me as well and goes in.
Again I'm lonely, I have to walk home alone. But as long as he's happy, I'm happy.
About 10 minutes later, I arrive at my house. I greet my parents, go up to my room and put the gift box in my drawer.
Jaemin, I hope this gift can reach you... Because you're so close, yet so far...
The fourth chapter is here. It's quite long and a bit messy. Enjoy... 💕