♥ Day Four ♥

It was a restless night. Soeun had been starting to have these restless nights and getting the bracelet didn’t help either. It had been after school and she knew that Jaerim always tried to get home as early as he could, so even if she had tried to find him to confirm her suspicions, he would have already been long gone.

Opening her eyes, blinking them furiously to rid herself of sleep, she turned to her bedside table and found that the previous afternoon had not been a dream, it was reality. The light that had managed to squeeze itself through the blinds was being reflected in the crystal rose. Soeun touched the bracelet and sat up. She was awake twenty minutes earlier than usual and she knew why. She would have to talk to Jaerim about it today.

It was the usual morning routine, and although it had been happening for the past three days, Soeun was still not accustomed to Jaemyung picking her up every morning, and that day had been no exception. He waited for her by the front steps and greeted her with a kiss on the cheek before opening the door into the backseat of his parents’ car. She greeted his father brightly and scooted closer to the door, leaning her head against the window. It wasn’t until Jaemyung held her hand that she decided to look at him.

“Anything wrong? You’ve got wrinkles on your forehead.” Jaemyung traced the creases that he was talking about and trailed his finger down Soeun’s nose.

“Nothing’s up. Just…tired…”

“Okay. Well, I’m kinda glad that you were up early today since my friends decided to call a dance practice in the auditorium this morning. It’ll only be lights up on stage so you could probably get some sleep before school starts. Is that alright with you?”

Soeun nodded then turned to face out the window again but Jaemyung squeezed her hand. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

Soeun stole a tentative look at the rearview mirror watching for any signs of Jaemyung’s father listening to their conversation, but he seemed to be focused on driving and the Bluetooth receiver in his ear probably meant he was taking a call. She looked towards Jaemyung and saw that he seemed to be serious, but there was something else she could sense. “I…uhhh…” She stammered and she thought she couldn’t look anymore foolish.

He silenced her with another kiss on the cheek. “It’s okay. You don’t have to answer me now. But, you know, hopefully you give me an answer before term ends.”

Soeun blinked a few times trying to process what he said, and also her feelings at his proposal, her feelings about him, and her feelings about the guy that gave her a bracelet that was currently weighing down heavily in her pocket. He seemed to back off for a little bit and also proceeded to get out his phone, texting someone. His hand didn’t let go of hers though.

She followed him into the auditorium, where his friends gave them both a little wave from the stage and he left her in one of the back rows, where it was darker. He made his way over to his friends and didn’t look back. Soeun debated whether she should get some sleep, not noticing that someone was already sitting a few seats away from her. Removing the bracelet from her pocket, she decided, instead, to go over in her head how she would approach Jaerim about the subject. Just like in her bedroom, the crystal rose managed to catch some of the light.

“That’s a nice bracelet.”

The voice that interrupted her internal monologue started her to the point where she dropped the bracelet. Thankfully, the floor around the auditorium seats was carpeted and it was a soft blow.

“Who are you?”

Although she couldn’t see very well, she felt that he moved closer.

“You don’t recognise me, Soeun-ah?”

Soeun swallowed hard. He moved to the seat right next to hers.

“I see that you got my present for you…”

Keep your cool Soeun! It’s just a guy. Besides, you wanted to talk to him about the braclet. This is your chance.

“So, it was for me…” The words slipped out of in a surprised tone. Soeun chastised herself for not saying something sassier as a retort.

“Who else would it be for?”

“I don’t know. You have your posse of girlfriends don’t you?”

Good job, Soeun. That didn’t show your interest too much. Pretty smooth.

“Like I said to you before, I don’t have a posse of girlfriends. I prefer to be committed to only one girl.”

Is he saying what I think he is saying? Don’t assume Soeun. Assumptions just lead you to mistakes and regrets.

“What are you saying?”

Even though it was dark, they knew that they were looking into each other’s eyes. She could feel it. She knew what his stare felt like. She knew how Jaerim’s looks at her made her feel.

“It means…”

Soeun turned her head to the stage when she heard some loud claps. Practice had ended and Jaemyung would come and get her soon. She decided she would feign sleep just to avoid questions. She just needed to think. When she turned to her left, Jaerim had disappeared, and she didn’t know if that made her feel relieved or not, so she closed her eyes.

“Hey, sleepyhead…”

She was awoken from her fake sleep by a gentle tap on her shoulders. Jaemyung took Soeun’s hand and led her out of the auditorium to take her to class. Feeling like something was missing, she checked her pockets.

The bracelet…