Chapter 4:

"Samaritan's Gift"

The oval field is no one's cup of tea during Valentine’s Day, however, the subject called Physical Education can’t recognize the exquisiteness of February 14. Mina and her bestfriends Jihyo, the president of the music club, Pinky, the ads model, Lisa, the cutie photographer, and Momo, the cheerleader hottie are stuck there, waiting for their other classmates, to finish their volleyball game. Thanks to the tactician sets of the Japanese beauty queen, they crushed their opponents in three sets so they have the leeway to enjoy the bleacher and of course, accepting the gifts of their admirers who don’t mind their not so romantic outfit, a tracksuit.  

“What’s wrong?” Jihyo noticed her silence. Even though Mina is normally the quiet one among the pack, the former could easily tell if her plastered lips mean something else.

“Yes Minari, what’s wrong? Your face is yelling condolence of Valentine’s Day. Don’t you like your gifts?” Lisa gambles her flimsy assumption. The cutepie who is absorbed taking pictures of them.

“If you don’t want them, don’t worry, My humble heart is open for your donations.” Another lame joke from Pinky who’s busy munching a bar of imported chocolate. She bargained a gag with a serious face, it’s kinda weird, but the gang is used to it.

“Checkmate! Look, your stuffed toys are so cute! If you don’t want them, I’m accepting donations too kekeke….”

“Yo Blank Peach, that’s my line! No Xerox!”

“Gosh! I used fax, Ms. Color!”

“Should I laugh now or I’ll make you both bald?” Their leader Jihyo, wore her referee clothes and sarcasm again, if no one disrupts the banter, you need a century for them to conclude it and the others are not interested to wait forever, more on the part of their Thomas looking friend. Mina just shakes her head, the love-hate relationship between Momo and Pinky escaped the prison again. And as expected, it’s too childish to even call an argument.

“But really Mina, what’s bothering you?”

Him… my baby who smells like a baby. Where is he? If the gang can only see her pouting mind, she could have earned a thousand smacks from the pack. It was below the belt cringy line and not so like her. Nobody knows that she’s a hopeless romantic when it comes to her My Classic.

“It’s nothing Jihyo, just some headache.” She massages her temple to complete the act.

“Migraine again?”, “Did you take your med?”, “Do you have it with you?” The other three spoke at the same time, although they love to impeach each other’s foolishness, they’re as caring as Jihyo.

“I’m fine, it’s just a slight headache, maybe it’s the climate.”

“Thank God.” They sighed in unison.

Mianhae...

“Well, Summer is just around the corner, the weather is truly something today. It’s really hot!” Momo concurred, fanning herself in the iest way, and did some light stretch showing her remarkable abs making those boys in the vicinity salivating. Pinky automatically rolled her eyes. 

She’s at it again, poor boys tsk tsk tsk.

“You’re such a tease Blank Peach, you’re creating a mess out of those boys.”

“What? I’m not doing anything.”

“Excuse me with the excuse. I’m not buying it!”

“Admit it Ms. Color, you’re just jealous of my hotness.”

“Where? Where is it?!” Pinky searched her body contemptuously.

“Speaking of HOT, here comes the guy with a hot philosophy in life.” Lisa cut into their silly conversation, mocking the approaching person. She’s not a fan of nerdy folk like the mentioned.

Seeing him walking straight in her direction with a white rose on his hand fumes Mina’s cheeks with the heatwave. Her defensive mind urged her to cool down her excitement with the cold water, but the thirst remover liquid is nowhere near her. She found the most obvious alternative, that is, pretending not to care even if her once diesel bloodstream accelerated into full throttle with her heart screaming a demand to whoever deity is available in heaven.

No one else deserves that rose, but me. It has to be mine. Please…please… She shouted in serene.

On cue, Chaeyoung handed her the desired thing but…

“My friend can’t find his courage to give it to you personally, so he asked me to do it on behalf of him.” He said in a poker face.

Those words killed the last drop of optimism that her heart can discern. Some fluids hidden beneath her brittle eyes almost exposed her tragic sentiment.

My Classic, you are so cruel….

She wished her silent tears blend in the dust at this very moment. For she knew, the license of betrayal is not hers to claim. Receiving nothing from him on this special day is a complaint belong to the passing wind. Chaeyoung is not her boyfriend, she’s not even a friend to his list,

a classmate… that all she is to him….  

The reality is brutish for her fragile heart, but it was a clarification, she had to acknowledge wholeheartedly.

My Classic, why giving me a sweet gesture when it tastes bitter in the end? You are forcing me to declare a giggle in my eyes when my heart is begging for tears.

“Ok.” She said, too forced. And she avoided intertwining their gaze.

It was the escape route she mastered, to control the eruption of her brokenness. Mina knew those doleful eyes of him was a Kryptonite written in her weakness book. Meeting them right now will crumble the container that secludes her countless pain, revealing the tears she had to conserve for many years. Why are you crying? There’s no way she can find a good excuse to answer their questions. She had to shut her mournful liquids in front of everyone. Sadly, that gesture painted a wrong impression on Chaeyoung’s understanding.

Of course, she’s not interested...

“I’ll go ahead then… bye…“ His first step is heavy with hesitation, hoping that Mina would at least consume a bit of her time to encounter his brown eyes before he goes, but she didn’t.

“I will… go… now...” He repeated in a tone that held cracks and emphasis. Assuming that the stunning lady in front of him didn’t hear his first adieu yet the result remained the same. She did not toss even a subtle twitch to send him off. He walked away and turned his back, completely dejected while leaving the place. If he only knew, the Japanese girl behind follows every footstep he made with her lonely gaze.

My Classic, why did you alter the red color of my Valentine’s day into black?

Mina dips her head, betting all her fortune to control her tears from falling aggressively. She’s not planning to expose her favorite secret, her affection towards a certain bookish guy.

“Duh! Whoever is that friend of h