04 The Son Dongwoon That I Once Worshiped
All These Years2012; JUNG EUNJI
Son Dongwoon was the golden boy of Yeoju High School. He was one year older than I was. He got amazing grades, he was the captain of the basketball team and his unique good looks had girls fawning over him constantly.
Back then, I was one of those girls. But I wasn't just an admirer, I was practically obsessed over him.
2001
"He's coming he's coming he's coming he's coming!"
As soon as Eunji saw Dongwoon walking away, she started spazzing. She grabbed onto Woohyun's arm and was trying hard to breath properly.
"Ottokae? Do I look okay?" she asked.
"You look like a toad," Woohyun remarked.
Eunji shot daggers at him.
"Don't worry, Eunji, you look beautiful, as always," Hoya said.
Eunji smiled sweetly at Hoya. "Have I told you that you're my favourite best friend?" she said to Hoya, earning a scoff from Woohyun.
"Go confess to him, Eunji. You've been crushing on him for over a year now," Chorong encouraged.
After some mental preparation, Eunji decided to take Chorong's advice and go talk to Dongwoon.
Woohyun made a face when Eunji was gone. "What's so good about Son Dongwoon anyway?" he muttered under his breath. Sunggyu was the only one who heard him and he smiled knowingly.
Eunji came back a couple of minutes later.
"How did it go?" Dongwoo asked.
Sadness filled Eunji's eyes at first. But it was gone the next second and Eunji broke into a smile that reached her eyes. "KYAAAAA~ DONGWOON-OPPA SAID THAT HE WILL GO OUT WITH ME IF I CAN PROVE THAT I'M WORTH HIS TIME! ALL I HAVE TO DO IS COURT HIM FOR A MONTH AND HE'LL MAKE ME HIS GIRLFRIEND IF HE'S IMPRESSED. KYAAAA~"
Woohyun smacked Eunji on the head. "Yah! Does that even make sense? What kind of a bastard makes her a girl court him? That's ridiculous!"
Eunji scowled at him. "Don't you dare call Dongwoon-oppa that again."
"Bastard. Jackass. Douchebag. Jerkface," Woohyun daringly said.
Eunji's jaw dropped. "You did not just call him those things..."
"I'm just stating the truth. You can't deny that he's not all those things."
"NAM WOOHYUN!"
"WHAT?"
The both of them were having a death glare contest while the rest of Jjang Street Gang were too afraid to interfere.
At last, Eunji stood up and stormed off without saying another word. She was infuriated. How dare Woohyun call her Dongwoon-oppa those things?
☆
The next morning, Woohyun didn't go over to Eunji's house. They walked to school separately. Eunji had even taken the initiative to go to school half an hour earlier than usual just so she wouldn't have to cross paths with Woohyun.
On the way to class, Eunji bumped into Hoya. He didn't even recognise her at first, because of how different she looked.
This was how Eunji normally looked:
She tied her hair into pigtail braids, she would never be without the school blazer and her school skirt was longer than knee-length.
But this was how she looked on that day:
Her hair wasn't tied up; her loose brown locks cascaded down her shoulders and made her look more feminine than the people around her were used to seeing. She didn't wear a blazer over the white short-sleeved collared shirt, and her skirt was hemed so it only reached halfway down her thighs.
The reason for her change in appearance? Eunji heard that this was what Dongwoon liked in a girl. A bit of iness.
Hoya swallowed hard. "E-Eunji?"
Eunji greeted him with her usual bright smile. "Annyeong, Hoya!" she greeted him with the same enthusiasm as always.
Hoya returned her smile with a small one of his own. "Annyeong. Where's Woohyun?"
Eunji's smile turned upside down at the mention of Woohyun's name. "I'm sorry. I don't think I know anyone by that name," she replied.
"Eunji... Woohyun was just looking out for you. He doesn't want to see you get hurt, that's why he acted the way he did."
"Do you want to see me get hurt, Hoya?" Eunji asked unexpectedly.
"O-of course not!"
"But you didn't call Dongwoon-oppa nasty names like Woohyun did," Eunji pointed out.
"Eunji... Woohyun is just like that. He always speaks what's on his mind. I'm sure he was just worried about you."
"Next time, tell him to mind his own damn business,"
"See you later, Hoya."
Hoya sighed as he watched you walk away.
☆
"Dongwoon-oppa! Oppa!" Eunji called as she struggled to chase after Dongwoon. "Oppa, I made you sushi. Maybe you could have it for lunch," Eunji said as she handed over the lunchbox to Dongwoon.
Dongwoon stared at the lunchbox thoughtfully before taking it. He flashed Eunji his thousand-watt smiled and walked away, leaving her dumbfounded.
☆
"Have you done my homework?"
Eunji nodded. "Ne, oppa. I even did extra just in case."
Dongwoon grabbed his workbook from Eunji's hands and smiled that killer smile of his. "I won't forget your kindness, Eunji-ssi," he said.
Eunji was about to explode from happiness. When Dongwoon was out of sight, the squealing and spazzing began.
☆
Eunji was running along the hallway when she bumped into someone. She looked up and saw Sunggyu. "Ah, Sunggyu, mianhe."
Sunggyu gave her a kind smile and shook his head, as if to say it was okay. "Where are you rushing off to?" he asked.
A smile came upon Eunji's face. "I'm going to go meet Dongwoon-oppa. He says he needs help with something."
"Again?"
Eunji only nodded eagerly. "I have to go now. See you later, Sunggyu!"
Before Sunggyu could say anything else, Eunji was already gone.
☆
"We're seeing less and less of Eunji these days," Sungyeol said with a sigh.
The rest nodded in agreement.
"She doesn't even turn up for lunch anymore. She's always with that Son Dongwoon," Dongwoo added.
"I miss my Jung Eunji," Chorong expressed and rested her chin on the table.
Woohyun tried to distract himself while his friends were talking about Eunji. It has been over three weeks since his argument with Eunji and they haven't exchanged a single word ever since. Whenever Woohyun was invited over to Eunji's place for dinner (or vice versa) they would pretend the other didn't exist.
Truthfully, he was going to go crazy soon if this continued. He missed his best friend so much, he just wish she would give him the chance to tell her that. He wanted all this to stop as soon as possible. But every time they cross paths, Eunji would deliberately turn the other way.
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