-Chapter Seventeen-

Unrequited

They say that you will never know whom to fall in love with or when are you in love. When you are with someone you thought you don’t feel anything. You thought you were happy because he was fun to be with, then without realizing you were actually falling for him.

The program finally started with short speech from the school director and soon everyone was dancing. Jiyong was sitting on his seat not bothering to stand up though he was being asked to dance by girls for the nth time. The same applied for Bom as she was sitting beside him staring on the dance floor. Jiyong was tapping his fingers on the table to the beat of the music playing as she watched his fingers moved up and down on the table then she will steal small glimpses of him in the corner of her eyes.

‘Aren’t you bored?’ Bom asked finally breaking her silence as Jiyong looked at her. He shook his head with a smile. ‘I’m enjoying the music,’ he smiled. ‘Are you here just for that?’ she asked as he shrugged. ‘Maybe,’ he chuckled. ‘Idiot,’ she mumbled.

‘How about you old hag, why reject those who were asking you, they will only do that once in a life time,’ he laughed as she rolled her eyes. ‘It’s none of your business,’ she hissed at him. He laughed picking up the small cupcake on her plate eating it. ‘Yah!’ she exclaimed. ‘Why not get your own cupcake?!’ she asked. ‘What’s your use?’ he smiled smugly at her making her grimace.

‘So you went here just to sit?’ Jiyong asked as Bom stared at him. ‘I went here to study,’ she smiled sarcastically at him receiving a sarcastic laugh from him. ‘You’re wasting the night, besides you really look beautiful,’ Jiyong said as he grabbed the glass of water and drank it. Bom stared at him in disbelief as blood soon raced in her cheeks.

‘But still you’re an old hag for me,’ he laughed as Bom grimaced and whacked him quickly on his head. ‘I pity your future boyfriend if someone will commit that grave mistake of courting you, you Amazon old hag,’ he said as he rubbed his head. ‘Whatever,’ Bom rolled her eyes. Then there was silence between them as they both stared at the dance floor with him still tapping his fingers on the table and with her heart still pounding inside her chest.

‘Hey do you know something about the ‘red strings of fate’?’ he asked drifting his attention on her as Bom stared at him for seconds. ‘Why?’ she asked. ‘I just want to know,’ he shrugged. ‘Well it’s a myth,’ Bom said as Jiyong nodded. ‘It is said that when people are born a red string is attached to their small finger that was connected to the one destined to them,’

‘Ohh, now I see,’ he mumbled as he smiled. ‘Thanks,’ he said as Bom just stared at him as he was staring at the table smiling widely. And that was the only time she noticed how he looked so beautiful smiling that way, like he was the happiest person alive.

‘Hey,’ Bom called as Jiyong turned his head to her with a questioning look. Bom stared at him for a moment. She opened for seconds then clamped it together heaving a sigh. ‘You’re weird old hag,’ Jiyong chuckled as Bom glared at him. She then drifted her eyes somewhere faking a cough.

‘You want to dance?’ she asked as she turned redder than red, her hands were quivering and heart was pounding against her chest. She doesn’t even know where did she was able to get the courage to ask him that. Jiyong stared at her for a moment blinking. He then smiled as he pinched her cheek lightly making her turned to him.

‘Sorry,’ he mumbled with a smile. ‘I reserved all my dances from first to last and all in between for my special someone,’ he answered as his eyes drifted away from her. He was looking somewhere as he let out a chuckle and pushed himself to stand. ‘You should dance with others, not me,’ he mumbled looking at her with a smile as she was just looking at him.

She honestly wanted to curse him or look away from him but at that moment the only thing she could do was silently look at him as he was slowly breaking her heart.

He soon then walked away hands on his pockets as she followed him with her gaze. He soon started to disappear in the dancing crowd as she pushed herself to stand and followed him.

She opened the huge window of the dark room letting the wind in together with the faint music coming from the school’s gymnasium. She sat down at the window frame heaving a sigh of exhaustion as she drifted her eyes on the sky looking at the full moon shining above. She stared at it and soon she drifted her eyes close feeling the breeze as it gently kiss her skin.

‘I know you’ll be here,’ she heard him chuckle as she snapped her eyes open drifting her attention to him only to see him leaning on the door frame, arms crossing over his chest and smile on his lips. She stared at him for seconds. She stared at how his clothes complimented him and how his blonde hair suited him and made him look more handsome.

Jiyong slowly walked his way towards her sitting beside her. ‘I thought you will not attend the ball?’ she asked softly as their eyes met. He chuckled. ‘I’ll never miss a day to see you especially tonight that you looked more beautiful,’ he answered running the back of his fingers to the contour of her face. She just stared at him in silence as they were soon consumed by silence.

She turned her head away from him, pushing herself to stand up as she walked slowly away from him. ‘Let’s get back there,’ she said as Jiyong stood and stopped her holding her wrist and pulling her to him as her body pressed against his. She slowly levelled her gaze with him as their eyes met. She can feel the wind against her skin and his warm breath against her lips. They were close, so close that she can feel his soul breathing against her.

He smiled. ‘I missed you,’ he mumbled as her grip of his clothes tightened as his arms wrapped on her waist pulled her closer to him, pressing her more against his body. She closed her eyes as she let out a small sigh. She gently pushed him away. ‘Let’s just go back there,’ she whispered weakly as she turned her back away from him.

He wrapped his arms over her waist burying his face on her shoulder. ‘Don’t move, just for seconds don’t move,’ he whispered as she froze that instance. Jiyong pulled himself away from her as he fetched something on the pocket of his coat. He then slowly brought it to her neck carefully clamping it together. Dara soon felt the weight of the necklace he gently locked on her neck as her eyes drifted on it. It was a silver wing necklace glinting against the moonlight.

Jiyong wrapped his arms on her pressing his body against her back. ‘Happy birthday,’ he whispered. As Dara’s eyes widened as her brain quickly remembered the day. She honestly forgot that today was her birthday. She turned to him slowly meeting his eyes. ‘How…’ she trailed off still looking at him. ‘Did you know?’ she asked as Jiyong let out a chuckle leaning his forehead on hers.

‘I just know,’ he answered with a smug smile on his lips when in reality he saw it on the huge calendar of events inside the faculty room. Jiyong then laced his fingers with him wrapping his other arm on her waist as he pulled him. As soon as Dara realized what he was trying to do she tried to pull herself away from his hold.

‘I…’ she whispered shaking her head slowly. ‘Don’t dance,’ she said biting her lips. ‘I can’t dance,’ she mumbled shyly as Jiyong laughed softly making her glare at him. ‘Cute,’ he whispered as Dara tried to push him away with him tightening his hold on her. ‘I don’t dance too… I never dance,’ he breathed out in honesty as the lady looked at him.

‘I don’t attend our school dances ever,’ he laughed. ‘I find it nonsense,’ he added as Dara stared him. ‘Then why did you attend today?’ she asked as he smiled. He then leaned his forehead on hers as he felt her warm breath against his skin. ‘I thought events like this are pretty useless, I mean you’ll waste all your night dancing. It’s just useless and nonsense right? Until today…’ he trailed off.

‘I finally realized its worth. This is not just an event in which you will enjoy. This is an event that was made for the purpose of dancing wi