The Closest Stranger

“Jeung-ah Jeung-ah!” I looked up to see who was calling my name, and I grinned when I saw my best friend running across the lawn towards me. “Yah oppa! What’s up?”

“Are you SilverWing89?” Chanyeol asked me breathlessly.

“Am I… what?” I shot him a puzzled glance. “Is you’re screen name SilverWing89?” Chanyeol clarified. I pondered on his words for a moment, but then it finally hit me. “Ohh, you’re talking about the secret pen pals we got assigned in August, right?” He nodded enthusiastically. “Deh! I’m trying to figure out who my partner is. I had it narrowed down to you, Kris-hyung, Suho-hyung, and that cute girl who sits at the front of the class. Based on your reaction, I know it’s not you, and earlier I asked Kris and Suho-hyungs, but they just shrugged and walked off!” Chanyeol pouted and I laughed. “Of course they can’t tell you! The purpose of this whole assignment is to have someone you can confide in without you knowing each other!”

“But we’ve been working on this assignment for three months now! I really want to know who my pen pal is! But you’ll tell me, right Jeung-ah?” Chanyeol asked me. He batted his eyes showed me his puppy dog face. I looked at him and clucked my tongue. “Fine, I’ll tell you.” Chanyeol’s eyes brightened. “Really?” I nodded. I looked side to side before I motioned for him to come closer. “Okay, I’m going to tell you… that I’m not your pen pal.” “Yah!” Chanyeol yelled at me. I got up and ran as Chanyeol chased me. He caught up with me in no time and grabbed my waist to keep me from moving. I squealed with laughter until I heard someone call our names. We stopped wrestling to see who there. My breath caught in my throat when I saw Baekhyun, Sehun and Luhan walked over towards us. I have had a secret crush on Baekhyun for the past three years, but I’ve never confessed because we had always been close, and I don’t want to ruin our friendship. “Yo wassup?” Chanyeol asked as the three guys approached us. “Minseok-hyung, Jongin and the rest of us are heading out to eat some pizza. Are you coming?” Luhan called. Chanyeol looked to me and I nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah we’re coming!” he yelled back. Then turning to me, he said, “Let’s go!” We began to head towards them when my phone chimed. I stopped and pulled out my phone. “Oppa, go ahead with the others! I’ll catch up in a little bit!” Chanyeol glanced at my phone and then winked at me. “Ahh, I see, have fun with your pen pal!” he called over his shoulder. Chanyeol jogged towards the rest of the boys and waved back at me before the four went to meet up with the rest of the group. It was kind of weird, I guess. I was the only girl in their group, and I used to be bullied a lot when I was little because of that, but the guys would always have my back and protect me. To be specific, it was Baekhyun who protected me. I opened my message from my pen pal and I grinned.

blackshadow48 : Annyeong!! How was your day today? Make sure you eat something! ^^

Corresponding with my pen pal was my favorite part of the day. Our teachers’ plan for this assignment was for us to have an anonymous friend with who we could confide in with. We are supposed to keep in contact with each other throughout the year, but by the end of the year, we don’t reveal ourselves to

each other in order to maintain privacy, so since we’ll never find out who each other is, I told him things I haven’t even told Chanyeol before. It’s kind of ironic, right? The person who knows the most about me is a stranger.

Me: Annyeong!! It was great! I hope yours was too! ^^

blackshadow48: It was, but I’m STARVING!!

Me: Then you should go eat!! Mehrong

blackshadow48: Yes mama I will ^^

I chuckled as I pocketed my phone and began to walk out of the courtyard, when I noticed someone hovering by the entrance. “Yah Jeung-ah, can I talk to you for a moment?” Baekhyun asked me. My heart skipped a beat and I nodded. “Yeah! What’s up oppa?”

Baekhyun began to walk out of the courtyard and towards the restaurant, and I quickly fell in step beside him. We walked in silence for a moment, but then he spoke up. “So… have you been talking to your pen pal?”

“Deh, you?” “Mhm… How is he?”

“Great. Yours?”

“She’s great.”

“Great.”

Silence. We just continued to walk without a single word but for some reason, the air was filled with awkward tension instead of the usual comfortable one.

“Yah, Jeung-ah? Can I ask you something?”

“Of course!”

Baekhyun hesitated, but then he continued to speak, “What would you do if you liked someone?”

I stopped walking and felt my mouth drop open. He noticed I wasn’t walking next to him anymore and he turned to look at me quizzically. I recovered and rushed back to his side. “I would be completely honest and tell them how I feel,” I said, internally wincing when my voice cracked a bit with nervousness. “Why? Is there someone you like?” Baekhyun nodded solemnly at me, and I internally squealed. I had been dreaming of Baekhyun asking me out forever.

“There’s someone I’ve liked for a really long time…” he began, and my heart skipped a beat.

“But the thing is, I think I might have a crush on someone else too.”

“It’s – wait… What!?”

“Yeah, I think I might have a crush on my pen pal.”

With those words, every bit of hope was crushed inside of me.

“Oh,” I said, trying to hide my disappointment.

“So Jeung-ah, what should I do? I’m torn between these two girls.” Baekhyun asked me eagerly.

“Forget them both and date me!” I screamed inside my head, but I managed to force out, “Why don’t you meet your pen pal?”

“What? Why?” Baekhyun asked confusedly. “Because, you don’t really know her. If you meet her, then you might love her more than you love the other. And if you do, you should go for her,” My voice came out a bit more strangled every time I said the word love.

“You think so?” Baekhyun glanced across the street where the pizza parlor was. I could see the other eleven guys horsing around inside while they waited for Baekhyun and me to come. “Maybe I should invite her to come eat with us!” I forced a small smile. “Yeah sure! I’d love to meet her, and I bet the guys will too!”

“Really? Thanks Jeung-ah! You’re the best!” He exclaimed as he hugged me tightly. When he pulled away, I watched him numbly as he took out his phone and began texting. “Neh, Jeung-ah, how does this sound? ‘If you haven’t eaten yet, would you like to come eat pizza with me? I would really like to meet you and I want to ask you something in person.’” Baekhyun asked. “Great.” It seemed to be the only word I could say.

Baekhyun grinned. “Okay, I’m sending it then!” He quickly hit the SEND button and raised his phone triumphantly in the air. Just then, my phone buzzed, and I turned away from Baekhyun and pulled out my phone. It was a message from my pen pal, and I immediately opened it; ready to pour all my heart and sadness on to him so he could comfort me, but when I read the message, I gasped. “What? Jeung-ah what’s wrong?” Baekhyun looked at me with worry and peered over my shoulder to read the message:

blackshadow48: “If you haven’t eaten yet, would you like to come eat pizza with me? I would really like to meet you and I want to ask you something in person.”

“Jeung-ah! You’re my pen pal?” Baekhyun asked incredulously. My heart plummeted and I wanted to cry. If I was his pen pal, then he wouldn’t have any interest in me anymore, so he’ll go back to the other girl. But then wouldn’t our relationship change? I’ve told him so many secrets! What should I do? “I guess I am.” Baekhyun paused and looked at me with shock and uncertainty. “Well since I am, I guess you can find that girl you’ve had a crush on for a while!” I tried to add cheerfully. “Just remember that we’re all her for you. Oppa Fighting!” I turned away from him once more and began to walk towards the restaurant, trying to figure out how I can prevent the others from seeing how close I was to crying when as soft as a whisper, I heard, “I don’t need to.” I stopped in my tracks. Did I really hear that or am I

imagining what I want to hear? “Did you say something?” I faced Baekhyun. He took two steps towards me and gently picked up my hands. “I said I don’t need to find her Jeung-ah. She’s standing right here,” Baekhyun said gently. My eyes widened and my vocal chords froze. Baekhyun smiled ruefully at my silence. “I guess I surprised you huh? I wanted to tell you the moment I fell in love with you three years ago, but I was afraid you didn’t like me back and that I’d ruin our friendship.” When I still didn’t say anything, his warm brown eyes softened with sadness. “But I guess I just did.”

“Aniyo!” My voice broke at my attempt to speak. But Baekhyun just smiled sadly again, and lifted his hand to wipe a tear that had managed to trickle down my cheek. “Then why are you crying?” Suddenly, my emotions seemed to flood and I began to cry uncontrollably. “I wanted to tell you so badly,” I sobbed. “I was afraid you wouldn’t like me back and that I would mess up what we have now.” Baekhyun framed my face with both his hands and gazed down on my face. “But I guess we don’t have to be afraid anymore,” he whispered. And with those words, he placed a soft kiss on my forehead. “Jeung-ah, will you be my girlfriend?” I nodded as more tears sprang into my eyes and I quickly wiped them away. Baekhyun’s face lit up and he smiled. “Perfect,” he said before he placed one more kiss on my lips. Then linking his hand into mine, we crossed the street and walked into the pizza place. Chanyeol immediately noticed our happy expressions and the fact that we were holding hands the moment we walked through the door. Grinning widely he exclaimed loud enough for all of Seoul to hear,

“It’s about time!”

Note: Baekhyun’s sms name is a reference to the song lyrics in Growl, and also in B2ST’s Shadow, because the lyrics are, “Give me the light, you were my sunrise.” Kind of appropriate, right?

Name: Elizabeth Huynh
Country: United States
Age: 16
Title of the oneshot: The Closest Stranger