Chapter 40 – Are We Friends?

Jungyeon had been awfully silent since her confrontation with Nayeon.
She had learned a lot more about that girl and about herself. But she also needed to know more.

Did Nayeon bake the problematic cookies?
What was Youngjae offering her?
Did Nayeon had something against Jihyo?

Should she tell what she knew to Sungjoon???

She lay pondering, her face on her desk as she peered over at Sungjoon’s empty desk.

He did not come to school today.

While I did not need to be hospitalized, the cookies still made me feel like .
I rolled in my bed, grimacing in pain. I had gone to the bathroom five times in the past few hours already.
On a better note, Jihyo regained consciousness and Momo was to be discharged tomorrow.

Speaking of which, a message popped up on my phone.
From Jihyo.

“Can you fill in for me?”

Bambam was not listening to Ok seonseng’s English lecture at all.
How did he forget his promise to Lisa?

It was years ago but still.
He was disappointed in himself.
He wondered how disappointed Lisa was in him.
She probably came to South Korea to find him because of that.
Because she was tired of waiting.

And here he was chasing after other girls like Sorn-noona.
Maybe his intensive studying of Korean back when he wanted to go to South Korea and his years here had made him think he only saw Lisa as a friend.

But the past few weeks had reminded him it was never the case.

“Friend - one attached to another by affection or esteem,” Ok Seonseng noted, writing the definition of the board, “Someone you like hanging out with.”

“We were always more than friends,” Bambam muttered under his breath, “Even before I made the promise.”

I arrived at the kindergarten two hours later, and found myself welcomed by a smiling lady.
She looked motherly but not that old. She introduced herself as Sunye.

“I used to go to Jinyoung High School too!” she began.

“Really?!”

“Yes, like almost ten years ago, I was the student president,” she added, trying not to sound too boastful.
But she was definitely proud of her achievements back in the day.

“You…look young,” I quickly noted, earning some laughs from her.

“Ah, Sungjoon-shi, you are a sweet talker,” she responded, moving away from the small talk, “So I assume you are the person making up for Jihyo who has fallen ill?”

“Yes,” I replied, “I did not know she volunteered to help teach workshops in kindergartens after school!”

“Well, there is more about her you need to learn then,” Sunye pointed out, “She wants to be a teacher.”

“It…suits her,” I smiled, imagining Jihyo taking on a class full of kids or even unruly teenagers with her infectious grin.

“Less talking right now though,” Sunye said, “Would you mind teaching the kids something today? Jihyo was going to teach them how to sing.”

I coughed. Singing was not my forte and Sunye seemed to notice my discomfort.

“Is there something you are confident in?”

I scratched my head and recalled what I do in my spare time or when I am bothered.

“Writing.”

Jungyeon was making drinks in her part-time job at the café when she saw Nayeon enter the place with a group of girls.
The two of them quickly looked away from each other as if they were strangers.

A girl in the group ordered some drinks and Jungyeon told them to wait and she will bring the orders around.

“So, I heard you will likely be joining us soon…” this girl in red noted, “in the top tier universities.”

“Yes, I am thinking of either Seoul National University, Yonsei or Korea U,” Nayeon responded, as Jungyeon made a face behind the counter at her stock overachiever speech.

“Good, I am sure your chances will increase once you get the role of senior adviser on the next student committee…” this girl in green said.

Jungyeon’s ears perched up at this comment.
Was this what Youngjae promised Nayeon for helping him?

“It depends if he still wins,” Nayeon replied, trying to tone down the conversation and possibly to make sure Jungyeon would not hear more, “If not then I guess I just need to keep my grades up.”

“Uhuh,” this girl in yellow replied, “If your grades in the college entrance exam were as good as your usual ones, you would be in Seoul National University already. Too bad you got a stomachache during the actual exams…”

“Thanks to Park Jihyo,” the girl in red piped up, surprising Jungyeon.

Sunye flipped through my notebook of “Thoughts and Quotes” as I helped tidy up after the workshop where I taught kids to write their diaries.

“There’s a lot of random stuff in here,” she said as she closed the book, “But you write well.”

“Thank you,” I replied, scratching my head, unsure how to respond.

“Your writing flows well and engages the reader,” she continued, “You have a gift.”

“It’s not that great.”

“It will be great once you put more work into it,” she noted as she returned my notebook to me, “Have you thought of pursuing it in university?”

“I…don’t know,” I grumbled, and noticed her judging eyes, “I know applications are soon but I have not decided yet…”

“A busy senior who still bothered to come and help someone fill in an extra-curricular activity,” Sunye pointed out, “You must care about Jihyo quite a bit.”

My face colored, unsure of what to say. Why was I here again? Why did I come?

“And she must think highly of you too, asking you to fill in for her,” Sunye added, “She never asked anyone to fill in for her before, even when she sprained her ankle last year.”

I kind of felt like I knew where the conversation was going and hurriedly began to pack.
But Sunye seemed to notice this too and quickly threw a question at me.

“Is she more than a friend to you?”

I grimaced and finally uttered, “…yeah.”

“So, you like like her?”

I swallowed hard, “I don’t know.”