— lee hyunjae, 2019, january 1
i waited under the old oak tree silently. i prayed that she'd come and give me a second chance. i decided that i'd stand here for two whole hours and wait for her to come. even if she doesn't, i told her in the letter that she was worth the risk.
i waited.
and i waited.
and i waited.
at 6:59, one minute before i officially waited for 2 hours, i was beginning to lose hope.
i cried.
and i cried.
and i cried.
until..
※
— na chaehee, 2019, january 1
mom told me that,
sometimes in life,
you find a special friend.
someone that change your life,
just by being part of it.
someone who makes you laugh,
until you can't stop.
someone who makes you believe,
that there is really good in the world, somewhere.
someone who convinces you,
that there is an unlocked door,
just waiting for you to open it.
well,
i'm heading to open mine now.
" ch-chaehee..? " hyunjae stammers as beads of tears slithered endlessly down his soft cheeks. " a-are you o-okay..?".
i hug him tighter and i soon begin to cry too. he pecks me lightly on my lips before going for a deep, long kiss.
i save this moment and made the most of it. we pulled away and gazed into each other's orbs. his eyes were deep, and i finally knew the language behind them— the story they were trying to tell. the one elementary na charhee could NEVER read.
" you read it, didn't you? " he asks. " the letter...,". i nod silently.
" yours really made me tear," he comments before crying again, making me guilty yet again. all the way from my house to here took an hour and a half to get to by bus, but i decided to run.
running was the option i chose because i was desperate to meet him. and by running, i guess it kinda showed my sincerity.
and that journey made me feel extremely guilty for what i wrote.
" i'm so sorry, hyunjae, i never knew how bad your life was... that woman sucks, by the way," i say as he chuckles, me noting that the woman that has " taken care " of him wasn't not even his real mother.
" yeah..," he says and smiles sadly. " i just reported her. i think she's gonna get taken away now."
we fell silent, still stacked up on top of each other. it didn't take long for me to realise how awkward it was then in that position. i got off of him, blushing profusely.
" s-s-sorry i'll-,".
he grabbed my hand and pulled me back into his chest. " don't. stay like this for a while, please?".
" alright," i reply softly, as he leans towards me, pressing his lips against mine yet again.
we now lay down on the grass patch, side by side, hands intertwined as we stare at the endless sky. we were in deep thought, relieving back reminiscence from the past up till now. thinking back at all the letters and how it all started...
" we used to do stuff here, huh? " i say, pointing to the school.
" yeah," he chuckles " you'd prod me with crayons to get my attention. my attention to tell me to shut up and stop lying."
we laugh. i turn to my side to face him, as he does the same. i smile, placing a hand on his cheek as i embraced it gently. hyunjae bit his cheek, holding my hand as i continued to embrace him.
" oi," i call. " iron man."
he flushes red in embarrassment as i chuckle. he sat up, looking away, a hand over his mouth to cover the redness that was forming on his cheeks.
" stop that...," he mumbles, flustered. i laugh some more. i was enjoying every bit of this.
" so, you were iron man all this while? my hero? the boy who stole my first kiss? " i giggled, and hyunjae cleared his throat. " w-well... i guess so."
i smile before faking a scoff. he turns around to face me. " why did you scoff all of a sudden? ".
i crossed my arms and frowned. " you never told me."
" told you what? ".
" that you were my first and last."
" i'm lactose intolerant, chaehee," he smiles goofily. " but i would drink milk from you. if it was from y-,".
" aight shut the fuck up," i retort, and he roars in laughter. i smile to myself before he pulled me into his arms again, looking at each other with deep admiration.
" i used to think you were a big fat liar and nothing more than that," i admit.
" and i thought you were some pussy who was too quick to judge," he confesses.
" we were both mistaken, weren't we? " we giggle. it's because we both knew it was true.
i heave a sigh of relief ." it's so cliche.. how it all started with a lie for me to love you and monitor your weird ass."
" stalker."
" shut up."
" i love you too, crayon girl."
" i love you more, iron man."
" please shut the fuck up with that nickname."
" don't wanna."
" whatever, kiss me."
— end.