episode_0057

Since the day I unexpectedly heard Jung Hyun’s true feelings, my body kept reacting strangely whenever I hung out with him.

I found myself averting my gaze when our eyes met.

As we got closer, my heart would race, and I’d feel breathless.

When he left me to play with others, a deep sense of regret would wash over me.

Things I hadn’t felt just a few days ago.

Could there be something wrong with my body?

Suddenly anxious, I cautiously posted a question online.

“[My heart races and I feel hot whenever I’m with a friend.] Could it be some kind of illness?”

Author: Private.

After posting, I took a break watching an animation, awaiting the response.

There, a rather shocking reply awaited me.

It seems like arrhythmia. Since you also have a fever, please go to the hospital for tests.

“Arrhythmia? What kind of illness is this?”

Just hearing the name seemed dangerous, so I hurriedly rushed to the living room to inform my mom.

“Mom! I think I have arrhythmia!”

“…What?”

Mom made a puzzled expression upon hearing the term arrhythmia.

How shocked must she have been to react like that?

Feeling my heart sink, I hesitantly explained the situation to her.

And after hearing everything…

“Sigh…! Hahaha…!”

“Mom?”

“Sorry, hehe… It’s just too cute, I couldn’t help it.”

Mom burst into laughter, rolling on the sofa.

…Why is she laughing? Is it not a serious illness?

With a puzzled look, I tilted my head, and Mom, after a long time, patted my head and smiled.

“Hey, Hye Eun, it’s not arrhythmia, it’s because of love.”

“L-Love…?”

“Yes, love. It seems to me that you like that boy, Jung Hyun, right?”

“What?”

No way!

What’s good about that annoying and irritating guy!

Mom really doesn’t know anything about me; she asked for no reason, huh?

Frustrated as usual, I went into my room, slammed the door shut.

However…

“…Is it really love?”

Lying on the bed, pondering deeply, Mom’s words seemed to ring true.

Clichés that appear so frequently in romance comics or animations.

Comparing my experiences with those clichés, I realized that the inexplicable emotions I was feeling could indeed be ‘love.’

“Is it really…?”

But realizing something and accepting it are two different things.

Despite denying it till the end, insisting it was just friendship, I couldn’t shake off the feeling.

From the moment I accepted it, the excitement and love that rapidly grew within me.

I wanted to confess right away, but that wasn’t easy.

He was the only one I could call a friend at the time.

I didn’t want to risk confessing and facing rejection, potentially ending our current relationship.

As long as Jung Hyun saw me as a friend, confessing might not lead to a favorable outcome.

First Section:

Slowly but surely, I began to change my appearance, as there was a need to alter the way that guy perceived me.

It felt like I really put in a tremendous amount of effort.

I earnestly pleaded with my mom to start one-on-one personal training and even tried skincare routines I had never done before.

I read books to find out how I could appear more feminine and showcase my charm.

Was it all thanks to this relentless effort?

By the end of the summer vacation in my third year of middle school, a lot had indeed changed.

…Despite my somewhat improved appearance, my inner self remained restless.

There was only one semester left ahead of me.

I had to succeed in confessing my feelings within that time frame.

‘Oh? You look so pretty now. What’s gotten into our tomboy for her to change like this? Do you have a crush?’

‘…I really don’t like it.’

‘What?’

‘No, it’s nothing. Let’s just go to the cafeteria today. They have salad with braised cutlassfish.’

‘Ugh, you’re such a food police. But what should we eat? Instant noodles? Hamburgers?’

‘Take your time to decide. We still have plenty of time until lunch.’

Despite the changes in my appearance, Junghyun still saw me only as a friend.

His nonchalant attitude towards me didn’t sit well with me at all.

How hard did I have to try for him to see me as more than just a friend?

‘If I play a mischievous prank, will he see me differently?’

The so-called fox act I saw on the internet.

It didn’t align with my personality, so I usually avoided it, but at that moment, I was feeling less reserved.

When the opportunity presented itself, I cautiously attempted a playful prank.

I think it involved leaning my head on his shoulder?

Looking back now, it was more innocent than mischievous, but it seemed quite provocative to Junghyun.

‘…!’

For the first time since we met, he showed a bashful reaction.

Poking his cheek with my index finger, I told him to focus on the class instead of falling asleep.

It was probably from that mischievous joke that his eyes opened.

I found his embarrassed response intriguing because he finally acknowledged my feelings.

And the fact that he briefly saw me as a woman made me very happy.

So, I continued to play mischievous pranks on Junghyun along with some suggestive remarks.

But these pranks didn’t last long.

One semester is a shorter time than you think.

As the end of the last semester in middle school approached swiftly,

On the way home after the vacation ceremony,

Just like usual, we started talking while walking home together.

Our conversations mainly revolved around memories of the past year and evaluations of each other.

Laughing and joking with sharp insults, we suddenly found ourselves at a crossroads where we had to part ways.

Unlike our usual farewells where we would just say goodbye and go our separate paths, this time we stopped briefly, exchanging parting words in a wistful atmosphere.

‘…It’s time to part ways now.’

‘Haha, yeah. It feels bittersweet. Ah, it’s hard to find another fun female friend like you.’

‘If we get assigned to the same school. Even better if we end up in the same class… that’d be great.’

‘I hope so too! I don’t want to lose my lunch buddy.’

With a bright smile and chattering away, Junghyun soon asked me a question with a voice tinged with regret.

‘Since graduation is coming up, it’s kind of… awkward to call it the last… but do you have anything to say? You still seem to have a lot left unsaid.’

‘…’

‘If you have something to say, let’s go to that tteokbokki place you like and talk there. I have some money today.’

Showing me a crumpled 3,000 won bill with a grin, Junghyun suggested, reading my expression and setting the stage, but I shook my head in refusal.

“After all, with that money, you can’t even eat to your heart’s content, right? Just go to the PC bang with the kids. I heard you got demoted yesterday.”

“…Rather than Schrödinger’s ranked game, it seems better to just use this money to have tteokbokki with you.”

“No words to say. Even if there were, I’ll save them for graduation day. I’ll take off now; I have a lot of academy homework piled up.”

“Sure, well… Without you, it’s like you’re not there. Take care, see you on graduation day.”

“Yeah, see you later.”

After bidding farewell, the lad dashed home like an arrow.

Watching him diminish into the distance, I let out a deep sigh along with a disappointed smile.

“…There’s still graduation left to come.”

Surely, courage will arise then.

How thankful I was for becoming friends with someone so flawed.

And to you, my dear friend, the courage to express what feelings I harbor.

“It might change depending on how school assignments are distributed.”

Hoping we get assigned to the same school.

I began the heavy journey homeward.

—–

“But we got assigned to the same school. As far as I remember, except for 1st grade, you and Junghyun were in the same class for 2nd and 3rd grade, right?”

“Yeah! Hehe, that’s why I couldn’t confess even on graduation day! If we had been assigned to different schools, I planned to tell him, but since we’re in the same school, the courage to speak disappeared.”

Perhaps due to too many words in a short time, Hyeun gulped water, cleared her throat, and continued her story.

“And then in 10th grade… um, unexpectedly visited and got banned from entering? But I distinctly remember marking my territory so others didn’t touch it.”

“…By that point, shouldn’t he have realized that I liked him? How did he not know?”

“Pfft! Jiwoo, that doesn’t sound like something you’d say.”

“What did I do?”

Shrugging, she flashed an enigmatic smile while taking another sip of water.

Despite pondering the meaning of her words just heard, it seemed like she was simply teasing.

Brushing off his comment lightly, I asked for the next part of the story.

“So, is this the end? There’s a setup but no resolution.”

“Anyway, I might not be Korean. We’ll talk more over food. I can’t talk anymore because I’m hungry.”

“Well… cutting it off here, darn it.”

The story cut off at an intriguing part.

Fortunately, the hamburger steak appeared before us shortly after.

And thus, the angel began telling the story again, filling our hungry stomachs.