Chapter Sixteen - Polaroid Memories
Remember Me
Another two weeks passed by and you found the month of July drawing to a close, meaning that your final year at Seoul University was fast approaching.
“I can’t find my stupid black portfolio book!” You yell out to no one in particular. You had already received your schedule through your email about a week ago and school was starting in a week. You were trying to gather all of your supplies and whatever else you needed to go back to school. However, you seemed to be having trouble finding your portfolio and you had turned your bedroom upside down searching for it.
Being preoccupied with your search, you didn’t hear the door open. Doojoon was about to yell out “I’M BACK!” in a loud voice, but stopped himself when he saw you frantically running around your room. Grinning evilly, he walked over to the door and crept up behind you as you put your hands on your hip, your face contorted because you were frustrated. Snaking his arms around your waist, he gripped on to you tightly and he breathed into your ear.
“Hello my pretty…” He said in a low, menacing voice. You immediately stiffen and gasped, thinking someone had broken in.
“W-Who are you?” You whisper. Doojoon chuckled and gripped on tighter.
“I’m your worst nightmare!” He had practically yelled the last part and began tickling your sides in the process. Taken by surprise, you squirmed, trying to get out of his grasp but he was too strong. You laughed until tears streamed from your eyes.
“S-STOP, YAH T-THAT TICKLES – HEEHEEHEE!” But Doojoon only tickled you more, laughing along with you. After what seemed an eternity, he finally stopped and you fell limply into his arms, panting hard from all the laughing.
“A simple ‘hi’ would’ve worked you know.” Doojoon grinned down at you and helped you to your feet.
“Now that’s not fun is it? So what’s with the messy room and the angry face?” You sighed and massaged your temples, closing your eyes in the process. Doojoon frowned and gently took your wrists in his hands.
“Did I come at a bad time?” He asked, with no trace of the playful tone he had only a moment ago. You look up into his eyes and feel yourself melt a little bit inside. The frustration you had felt searching for your portfolio had suddenly disappeared and your irritation had been replaced with slight guilt.
“No…” You mumbled but he didn’t seem convinced. Doojoon frowned, letting go of your wrists and crossed his arms.
“Okay, what’s wrong?”
“It’s fine Doojoon, really…” You said, sounding a little exasperated. Doojoon sensed this and didn’t push it any further, but stayed in his spot on your bed. It was then that you noticed something black and glossy sticking out from underneath Doojoon. Squinting your eyes, you take a step closer to Doojoon who flinched at your gaze.
“What’s with the eyes? Is there something on my face?” He asked.
“Hey Doojoon, do you mind just scooting over a little?” He shifted a little uncertainly, but your black portfolio had finally been found and you eagerly snatched it and hugged it to your chest. Unbeknownst to you, Doojoon was eyeing you with a mix of worry and disbelief.
“I finally found you my baby…” You say as you happily the binding. Doojoon stood up and placed a hand on your shoulder.
“Uh, Gi? Are you SURE you’re completely okay, did you knock your head on something?” As he began to feel for bumps on your head, you ducked and smacked his shoulder with the portfolio.
“For your information, I’m preparing myself for my return to the hell hole – ah, I mean school.” You strode past him and placed the portfolio into your white tote bag, which was filled with notebooks, a textbook, and a pencil case.
“Oh come on babe, you’re graduating this year! You should live it up!” Doojoon said, plopping back down on your bed. Sighing, you plop down beside him and scratch the back of your head.
“The fact that I’m graduating this year is stressing me out.” Doojoon wrapped a strong arm around your shoulders and pulled you slightly so that your head fell on his broad chest.
“You’re just psyching yourself out – there’s still technically a month left before the school year starts, so why not just relax?” The idea of pushing everything from your mind seemed like a very inviting idea, not having to worry about the coming deadlines, strict professors, and long nights with no sleep. Just hanging around, lazing about with Doojoon, only having to worry about going to work and then coming back home, living life peacefully.
And then you thought about how much you loved design, and how much effort you’ve put into the last three years of your university career. True, the work was gruelling but you managed to get through with it, telling yourself that that’s what you wanted to do with the rest of your life, not working in some office, cooped up all day staring at a computer screen for six hours. You looked up at Doojoon and smiled at him.
“You’re right, I should relax, but I need to get everything prepared anyway. I don’t want to go through all of that last minute rushes. It’s my last year, and I should start off well, don’t you think?” At this, Doojoon pecked your nose and gave you a small squeeze.
“You know I support you in whatever you do babe.” There it was again, that little flip-flop feeling in your stomach. You felt it whenever Doojoon would utter sweet things to you, or anything having to do with a long-term kind of relationship. You’ve always dismissed the feeling, but you realized that it had been happening more often, and you could never figure out why that was. To avoid the feeling from escalating, you gently pulled yourself out of Doojoon’s hold and stood up, curling your hair behind your ear.
“Um, so what brings you to my humble home?” You say – the feeling in your stomach still evident. Doojoon was slightly surprised at your actions but didn’t press you for it.
“I thought maybe you wanted to go out to eat or something – a new ramen place opened up about fifteen minutes from here.”
“Sounds good, let me just get ready – “
“Come on, you look fine!” You set your hands on your hips and raised an eyebrow.
“Doojoon, I’m in boxer shorts and a t-shirt.” Doojoon just shrugged and stood up, grabbing your wristlet.
“No matter, just wear a light sweater or something, you’re showing too much skin.” You couldn’t help but to smirk as you remembered the night at the club.
“You’re such a hypocrite, you know that?” You say as you grab a gray cardigan hanging from your doorknob.
Doojoon just gave you a peck on the cheek and walked you to the door.
Junhyung had been avoiding Miyoung ever since the night at the club. She had tried calling him the morning after, but he didn’t pick up. Her persistence didn’t wane until about a week ago. It seemed she had given up trying to call him, and resorted to anxious texts.
From: Miyoung
Hey, are you okay~?
From: Miyoung
I’m worried about you~ You haven’t answered in a week.
From: Miyoung
You know what, maybe this isn’t working out…
Closing his phone, he placed it roughly on his side table and he threw himself on to his bed. He hadn’t gone out since that night, only routinely leaving his apartment when he had to go grocery shopping or go to work. Otherwise, he would stay cooped up inside, practically waiting for time to go by. He wasn’t sure why, but he was still completely hung over Gi. The memory of his drunken self so close to her on the dance floor was enough to send a tingle down his spine.
It was probably a stupid move to make, especially when she didn’t remember anything. On top of that, she was already together with Doojoon, his best friend. I can’t believe I lost her completely, and to my hyung nonetheless. Is this karma? Junhyung turned over to his side and spotted a small, tattered shoebox peeking out from underneath his side table. Although he was feeling unbelievably lazy, he let his curiosity get the better of him and he lifted himself a bit and reached for the box.
Sitting up, he opened the lid of the box and softly gasped. Inside were a small Polaroid camera, three neat stacks of pictures, and a little leather-bound photo album. He gently took out one of the stacks of pictures and unwounded the rubber band that held it together. Placing the stack by his thigh, he looked through the little Polaroid pictures. It was then that a wave of emotion took over him and he found his breath becoming shallow as his eyes began to water. All the pictures were of him and a girl, and it seemed incredible to him that they had taken so many pictures of just the pair of them. There were some pictures where it seemed they were only in pyjamas, other pictures where they were dressed up to go somewhere, and even one picture where they seemed to be soaked from head to toe.
As he went through the pictures, he found their faces grow younger, the different hairstyles they sported. He made it to the last stack, and noticed that many of the pictures were of the two of them in high school uniforms. He smirked in spite of himself, looking at the two different crests and how they constantly had to sneak around with each other because they went to different academies.
As he was piling the pictures back into the box, there came a soft knock on the door. Surprised, Junhyung paused for a moment and stared at the door of his room. It seemed that he had paused for a second too long and the knock came again, this time a little louder and more urgent. Setting the box aside, he slowly got up and made his way to the front door and looked through the peep hole. He saw a man in sunglasses, wearing very casual business wear. There was something familiar about him but Junhyung couldn’t quite pinpoint it. Cautiously, he opened the door and the man smiled.
“Hello, Junhyung-ssi.”
“Hi sir, how can I help you?” The man continued smiling, giving Junhyung goosebumps.
“No Junhyung, how can I help you – don’t tell me you’ve forgotten who I am.” When Junhyung was about to retort, the man took off his glasses, the wide grin still etched upon his face. It seemed that the unveiling of the man’s identity deprived Junhyung of all speech, and the two stared at each other for what seemed to be an eternity.
“We need to have a talk, Junhyung. And I advise you to keep that temper of yours in check, otherwise – well, you know the consequences, don’t you?”
LOL Such a bad cliff hanger, but I had to end the chapter somewhere, and yes this does suggest that I have much more written. I actually went off writing yesterday and today, so I figured I should post at least a portion of it. I know I really at updating, but if you still follow this story, I'd like to thank you for sticking by it. This is like a half-filler chapter and half-progression chapter. Anyway, we're getting somewhere! Comments and feedback are love ♥
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