Yonghwa takes out his phone to search the net. He plans to treat Seo Hyun and her friends to a movie. He’s currently browsing the newly released movies when somebody places a cake on top of his desk. He looks up and sees Bae Suzy.

                    “Jung Yonghwa, I want you to be my boyfriend.” Suzy declares with confidence.

What the…..?

He stands up and says.

            “Follow me.”

           “I’m not seeing us that way. I’m sorry but I have to say no.” he bows at her a bit before going.

On his way to the classroom, Yonghwa meets the school’s guidance counselor Yoo Jaesuk.

                   “Yonghwa, have you seen Lee Kwangsoo?” he asks him.

                   “Mr. Lee? The Math teacher?”

                   “Yes.”

                   “I saw him a while ago hanging out with Mr. HaHa.” He answers.

            “That guy, really……..After he promised that he’d lend me a hand….HaHa has probably recruited that newbie to work for him…that small kid’s dirty schemes....” Jaesuk utters to himself and turns back to Yonghwa. “Are you free?”

                   “Ah…yes. It’s break time…”

Jaesuk wraps his arm around his shoulder.

                   “Come and help with something. I will treat you lunch..” he says.

                   “What kind of help?” he asks.

                   “You’ll see once we get there.”

Jaesuk brings him to the school’s function area. The school festival ended not long ago and there are still things to clean up.

Not long after, the new Math teacher Kwangsoo and Philosophy teacher Haha passes by the function hall where Yonghwa and Jaesuk are cleaning. HaHa and Jaesuk had their funny bickering while Jaesuk confronts Kwangsoo for boycotting him and choosing Haha.

The four of them worked together in a funny atmosphere so Yonghwa forgot about time. He eventually missed eating lunch with Seo Hyun.

________________________________________________________________

Yonghwa and Kwangsoo dine at the cafeteria. Jaesuk had to finish his meal early because some freshmen got into a fight and he needs to deal with them while Haha has a class.

The school nurse Song Ji Hyo sees them. She points out their table to her company, school guard Gary. Carrying their treys of foods, they sit with them.

Ji Hyo and Gary share their food with each other. Seeing how these two take care of one another, Yonghwa wonders if nurse Ji Hyo and Gary are really an item.

            “Eyyy….how could you two do that in front of two single men like us?!” Kwansoo exclaims to them.

               “You’re there? We didn’t notice….” Gary replies jokingly.

            “Don’t you think you’re being too much? I’m losing my appetite just by seeing you with those lovey-dovey acts….” Kwangsoo says back.

            “Why do you keep on complaining? Get used to it because we’re going to be like this forever!” Gary says.

Yonghwa and Ji Hyo laughs. Using hand gestures, he asks Ji Hyo if she and Gary are really a couple but she just smile. He didn’t try to press it further. They just eat.

            “Hm!” Ji Hyo exclaims after a few minutes. “Congratulations Yonghwa sshi!”

The three of them eye her.

            “You’re now dating Bae Suzy, right?”

            “Ah…yes, I remember I heard some kids earlier talking about Suzy’s confession. They’re not keeping it low…” Gary adds.

            “Wait, you’re going out with Bae Suzy?!” Kwangsoo asks him.

            “He is…that leaves you Lee Kwangsoo the only loveless person in this table right now.” Ji Hyo teases Kwangsoo.

            “Huh? What? N-no!” Yonghwa says.

            “How about the new student, aren’t you close with her?” Gary asks.

            “Seo Hyun, right? Yeah…..that girl is pretty too.” Ji Hyo says.

            “I didn’t imagine that you’re a womanizer…..” Kwangsoo says in a funny tone.

            “It’s just all a misunderstanding….Suzy and I, we’re not dating.” He clarifies.

________________________________________________________________

If the teachers heard about it, then it is a bigger deal. Yonghwa talked to one of his male classmates and he said that Bae Suzy told the class that they are now dating. He must do something right away before the situation spins out of control. After class, he waits for Bae Suzy at the school gate. When he sees her, he tells her that they need to talk and grabs her by the arm.

He brings her to the nearest café.

            “I’m really flattered by your confession.” He starts while staring at the cup of tea in front of him. “I know that it’s not easy for you to set your pride aside and confess and all I could say about that is thank you.” He stares at her face. “But I won’t change my decision…..I can’t accept your feelings. I can’t look at you the way you want me to.”

            “Is it because of that woman?” Suzy asks.

They both know that it’s Seo Hyun she’s talking about. Yonghwa sighs.

            “Yes.” He admits. “I like her that’s why….Please stop telling people that we’re dating…You’ll just get caught up with a lie if you continue that.”

He sees her clenching her fist tightly.

            “I’m sorry.” He says.

Suzy slaps him in the face.

            “Who do you think you are? You really think that a woman as good as me will be pathetic just because of you? You should get your head straight…..There’s a lot of guys out there who’d die just to be noticed by me.” She stands and leaves.

Yonghwa knows that it’s Suzy’s way of saving her pride. He didn’t want to hurt her but he just want to be honest.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

He arrives home and sees a box in front of his house. Once inside, he opens the box and smile over the cute cake. He reads the words again written on the sticky note. ‘Happy Birthday’.

He goes to the shopping center to get some tickets to the amusement park for tomorrow. He wants to treat Seo Hyun, Ji Ah, and Yumi as his birthday blowout. He’s walking towards the bus stop to go home when he sees Seo Hyun from a distance. He’s about to call out her name when he suddenly notices that she’s not alone. She climbs up the bus and Lee Won Geun waves at her with a smile.

________________________________________________________________

            “We are going to ditch class? You mean…for real?” asks Seo Hyun whose still couldn’t believe what she just heard.

             “Yeah. It’s healthy to ditch class every now and then.” He answers in a determine tone.

He doesn’t do that either but seeing Seo Hyun feel uncomfortable of P. E., the idea suddenly pops in his head. He assists her in climbing over the wall.

            “Ready?” he asks.

She nods and he offers her his hand.

They’re now dating. He finally confessed to her that day on that Ferris wheel. He was so nervous but he decided to tell her about his feelings once and for all. That time, he felt like he won’t last another day pretending that he likes her just as a friend especially when he was very jealous. Lee Won Geun likes Seo Hyun too.

But his biggest fear didn’t happen because Seo Hyun admitted that she feels the same way about him as well. Although she’s a bit hesitant at first, everything turned out well because she accepted him in the end.

They eat patbingsu, play pool, and buy some couple items. Lastly, Yonghwa sees bicycles for rent at the park so he decided to rent two for them. Seo Hyun once doesn’t know how to bike so he wants to teach her. It was great and Seo Hyun learned quickly but unfortunately, she hurt her knee.

________________________________________________________________

            “If there’s a person introducing herself as a relative…it’s impossible. That person is absolutely an impostor.”

            “Elder, are you sure about this?” he asks.

            “Definitely! I can swear it to my late parents’ names!” her voice is filled with certainty. She gasps and covers . “Heavens! Could it be that such person is here?! What did she do to Lady Joohyun?!” she utters. There’s worry and panic in her expression.

Yonghwa swallows hard.

He shook his head. He should not let the old woman’s words earlier mess with his head.

            “It’s just a misunderstanding…..That elder was just confused.” He whispers to himself.

The elder’s words echoes in his head again.

            “If there’s a person introducing herself as a relative…it’s impossible. That person is absolutely an impostor.”

The truth is, he had never seen grandma Seo ever since Seo Hyun appeared in this neighborhood. The last time he had seen her was a few days before Seo Hyun transferred to their school. Moreover, Seo Hyun has this habit of looking cautiously whenever she’s coming in and out of that house as if she avoids people seeing her. He had thought that it’s a part of her weirdness.

What exactly is happening here?----his mind asks.

________________________________________________________________

            “Tell me that this is just a big joke. Tell me that you can’t possibly be grandma Seo because you’re Seo Hyun.” Yonghwa says. He made his last attempt to deny the reality.

She carefully shook her head.

            “Seo Hyun……..”he calls her name. His eyes are pleading.

            “It’s Seo Joohyun….” She says.

His eyes turn completely blank. His feet move.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Yonghwa lost track of time. He’s sitting on the floor…within the darkness of the house; the ray of sun is peeking through the spaces of the curtains covering the windows. He doesn’t know how much alcohol he drank. All he knows is that he needs alcohol in his system to keep his mind away from the absurdity of reality.

Seo Hyun told her something….something that he would never think of…not even in his wildest dream. He thinks that it’s impossible but there’s something inside him that believes it.

Suddenly he remembers all the weird things he noticed since Seo Hyun came in this neighborhood. She was very old fashion. Her speech, sense of fashion, choice of music and programs, and even point of views are ridiculously outdated. He kept wondering back then if she lives under a rock.

He recalls the moment when he brought her to the nearest clinic when she had a severe stomachache. She couldn’t believe when the doctor told them that she’s suffering from indigestion. She asked him repeatedly if that’s all. He even overheard her whisper to herself something like ‘The doctor couldn’t possibly detect the truth, right?’ in which he just brushed off thinking that she’s just mumbling nonsense.

He had seen those signs before…how could he just ignore them?

His phone rings. He just stares blankly at Seo Hyun’s name registered on the phone’s screen. It rings and rings until he gets tired of it and presses the answer button. He places it next to his ear but doesn’t utter a word.

            “Yong, it’s me.”

He cannot identify what kind of emotion he’s feeling right now. He just feels numb and drained.

            “It was not my intention to deceive you but things happened like this. I know that what I did to you is horrible….I blame myself for it too.” She says. “I’m sorry that I’m weak….I should have been stronger in rendering my feelings. A person like me is not worthy of your forgiveness….I don’t have much time with me therefore; it won’t be long before I leave this place……….You don’t have to worry…..once I leave, our memory and time together…I’ll bring them all with me. My face, my voice, even my name will be erased from your memory. It will be as easy as waking up from a blurry dream. I assure you that I’ll be gone without leaving a trace. Everything is going to be alright…..you just have to wait a bit.” He hears her breath in before continuing.  “From now on, you don’t have to feel burdened because of me…..Live well, Yong.” She’s obviously fighting her tears.

________________________________________________________________

He wakes up but how weird….it felt like Seo Hyun was just here.

Yonghwa swallows hard….He tears up for he misses her terribly.

He stands up and let the shower soak his thoughts. He shuts his eyes tightly and let the water run through him.

He change into new clothes and sits to his bed. All he could hear is the ticking sound made by his clock on top of the bedside table. The calendar next to it caught his attention….today’s date, the one with the big circle on it in particular. It’s Seo Hyun’s birthday. He actually planned beforehand to take her on a special date. He deeply sighs.

            “It will be as easy as waking up from a blurry dream. I assure you that I’ll be gone without leaving a trace.”

Her voice repeats in his head. She said that she’ll be gone…real soon. And when that happens, everything about her, everything they shared together, even her name will be erased from his memory….

It’s great then. You wouldn’t have to suffer from this pain—his mind says.

Let her go to spare yourself from that pain…..

He shakes his head.

            “No….I can’t…I don’t want to lose her….” He utters. He realizes that he’d rather be hurt if that’s the truth than to forget her. He doesn’t want to forget Seo Hyun.

He waste no time and rush to the door.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

[Author's Note]

And of course the next thing after he rush to that door is Seo Hyun's death from chap 20. What do you think of it? Comments please. ^-^