One Day, Long Ago Chapter 18

Song For This Chapter// Smother by Daughter (Joy’s POV)

“I want all that is not mine. I want him but we’re not right. I’m sorry if I smothered you.” – Smother by Daughter

Joy’s POV

“Why isn’t he here yet? You said that he was coming!” I was sitting on the cushioned mat in the restaurant next to Wendy, who was stuffing her face with grilled pork. As of now I was sitting anxiously in the middle of a restaurant at a table with everyone from the Sociology department to celebrate the start of the semester. Tonight was filled with my seniors becoming drunk and forcing us juniors to consume disgusting concoctions of beer and any food item they could find. Like right now for example. In Ho poured soju into my mouth as I took a bite of a charred pork slice. I gagged, spitting it out into a napkin and sitting back down. I internally groaned, waiting for his arrival.

“Oh! Tae Kwang ah, you’re here!” I looked up at the mention of Gong Tae Kwang. He was popular in our department amongst the girls for his comely looks, athleticism, and his genial mannerism. Of course I was just one of the many girls that admired him. Rumor was that he was also the son of a wealthy household. He also apparently graduated from SeKang High, an esteemed private academy in Gangnam.

“Hey. What’s up, guys?” He smirked, sitting down in between In Ho and Kang Joon. Just like any other day, he looked dashing as always.

“Hey, wipe your drool.” Wendy wiped my mouth with a napkin, nagging me in a motherly fashion. “Aigoo. What are you going to do, Joy? Are you just going to keep admiring him from afar? Just confess and see how it goes.”

“Maybe later.” I responded to her, taking a sip of the beer can. I was staring at him when he looked back at me. I flashed a smile, yet he turned away without returning one. From his facial expressions he seemed aloof, but of course that was merely own assumption, so I brushed it aside.

The new semester at university began and I would always see him walking out of a lecture with his friends when I was going into one.  It continued like that for a while until I made up my mind of confessing to him. That day I took extra time in preparing my outfit and makeup in order to look my best.

Luckily my timing was perfect, for he was alone outside the Sociology Department on his phone when I finished up my lecture. I leaned over his shoulder in order to get his attention. Tae Kwang turned his head to the side to see me.

“Oh! Joy! Hi…” He took a step back, appearing startled. Let’s see how this goes.

“Tae Kwang sunbae, I have something I need to tell you.”

“Okay. What is it?” He sent me a reassuring smile that calmed my nerves.

“I like you. How about going on a date with me?”

“Sure.”

From that day onward Tae Kwang Oppa and I became the couple of our department and the envious stares from the fellow senior girls only made me want to flaunt our relationship even more.

Tae Kwang wasn’t very affectionate most of the time, which came as a shock to me when he rarely returned my affection. However he had the alluring tendency to make me fall for him harder every time he warmheartedly did something for me. Whether it was abruptly surprising me with a soft kiss or my hair. Romantically he was aloof from time to time, yet he was jovial and exuberant in attitude. He was constantly cracking up at his own jokes or causing me to laugh with him.

“Do you not like me?” I asked him out of the blue, taking him off guard with the sudden question. We just came back from our day out and I noticed throughout the entire day that he was constantly abnegating his own preferences for mine. He let me decide every single course of the date, including the restaurants.

“Oh no. I swear it is not like that.”

“Then why did you keep letting me make all the decisions regarding our date today?”

“Oh, well that’s because I wanted you to enjoy the date. Did I come off disinterested? Oh god, I’m sorry about that. That was not my intention.”

“Oh okay.” I said with a smile creeping up onto my lips, realizing that he was doing that for me. The next couple of weeks Tae Kwang indulged me by sending flowers to me on campus and capturing the attention of our fellow department students with his loving actions toward me.

One time I was sleeping over when all of a sudden he placed his hand on the pillow next to my head and leaned in, causing my cheeks to redden. Despite me being the one to physically be affectionate towards him, moments of a ual innuendo took me off guard. Chaste kisses were fine, but heated ones made me nervous. It was wholly due to my lack of experience of course.

“You okay with this?” He asked in a gruff voice,