Today was the last day of their vacation. After breakfast, the family packed their belongings and left for home. During the 15 minutes in the car, both Nayeong and L.Joe was silent, both for different reasons. Nayeong was too shy to face L.Joe, and L.Joe felt rejected by Nayeong. The only sound that filled the van was Mr. and Mrs. Lee’s light conversations.

L.Joe looked at Nayeong. It was similar to the scene from the first day they went. She was starring outside the window at the trees, her window was open and her hair was flowing. Something was different though. When she noticed him, her expression changed. Her eyes were deep and serious. She called out his name but he cut her off and faced the other way.

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It was 2.00 at night. The van had arrived at their apartment building safe and sound. After getting their luggage and the sleeping Jun out, L.Joe took Nayeong to her door which was two doors to the right to his own. It was an awkward situation. Both were faced down, looking at the floor. Finally L.Joe broke the silence.

“Well, thanks for coming along.” He said, still looking at his feet.

Nayeong raised her head to look at L.Joe.

“L.Joe, listen. About the night before, I—”

“Bye.” He interrupted, then walked away.

He knew what she was going to say. He knew he was going to be turned down. He knew she was going to say that she has no deeper feelings for him than that of a best friend. It hurts. It hurts a lot. But he didn’t dare to show how much pain she’s given him, because his pain would cause hers.

L.Joe lay awake on his bed, though the lights in his room were already off. The scene where she pulled away kept playing in his head over and over again, stabbing him each time. Suddenly the phone rang.

“Hello?” he said picking it up.

“Yooo.. L.Joe? What’s up?” A familiar voice said on the other side.

L.Joe smiled. It was nice to hear Chunji’s laid back voice again. “Nothing much,” he answered.

“Have you confessed yet?” he asked, leaving L.Joe frozen.

“N-no.. I haven’t,” he answered in a quiet tone.

“Huh? Why?”

L.Joe was speechless. He didn’t know how to answer this question.

He didn’t know how to answer this question because he didn’t know the answer himself. Why hasn’t he confessed? He had avoided hearing her comment on the previous night, scared she might reject him. But it doesn’t matter anymore. He wanted to tell her how much he cares for her, even if she cares for him only as a friend. He wanted her to know his feelings, even if he might be rejected afterwards. Then Chunji’s voice snapped him back to reality.

“Hello?? Hello?? Ahh what’s wrong with the signal here?”

L.Joe held the phone to his ear. “Sorry man. Gotta go.”

“What?”

“I’m gonna go confess” he replied, smiling.