Two Years Later

 

 

 

That was the first thing that attacked Sehun’s ear when he picked up the phone. Catching some of Seyeon’s excited chatter through the phone, his girlfriend sitting in front of him smiled as she sipped her coffee, and he gave her an apologetic look. She waved him off with her hand, telling him to go on ahead with his call.

 

“Wait, wait, slow down. One at a time, Seyeon,” cut in Sehun through his sister’s endless rambling. “So you got accepted to where?”

 

Dayoung nudged him with her foot under the table, a disapproving look on her face. Yonsei University. She mouthed to him from across the table.

 

Seyeon didn’t seem to hear him as she kept talking on and on about something he couldn’t comprehend. Sehun sighed and waited for a pause in her speech.

 

“Did you tell Mom and Dad?” he quickly asked when she took a breath in the midst of her talking.

 

 

“Yeah. Congratulations, little sis,” he looked up to see Dayoung eyeing him to say something more, “And… good job. I knew you could do it.” She smiled approvingly.

 

 

Surprised, he asked, “How did you know?”

 

He could practically hear her eyes rolling through the phone. “Because you never say stuff like that if Dayoung unni isn’t telling you to. Can you pass the phone to her? I want to tell her, too.”

 

Letting out a huff of amusement, he gave the phone to his girlfriend sitting in front of him and stared at her talking happily with his sister. After a genuine congratulations from Dayoung, Sehun took his phone back and said his goodbye before hanging up.

 

“Wow, Seyeon must’ve studied really hard to get into Yonsei,” commented Dayoung as she picked up her pencil to start again on her paper.

 

Sehun shrugged and leaned back in his chair. “I guess. The squirt was always the smarter one out of the two of us from birth anyway. Yonsei should be glad to have such a genius on their campus.”

 

“See, why can’t you say that directly to her? Such a typical older brother, too embarrassed to admit his true thoughts.” Dayoung clucked her tongue at him as she kept her eyes on her work.

 

“Hey, Seyeon gets told that every day by our parents. If I joined in that list, she would have the biggest ego ever; I’m actually doing her a favor,” refuted Sehun, crossing his arms.

 

She shook her head at his reasoning but didn’t reply as she focused on her schoolwork. Bored, Sehun put his elbows on the table and put his chin in his hands to stare at Dayoung. When she looked up, he asked, “Can’t you do that later? I want to go somewhere with you.”

 

“This is due on Monday, and I need to get it finished before then. We can go later, okay?” She patted his cheek with her hand apologetically and went back to writing in her notebook. “You can leave if you want; I’ll call you when I get home.”

 

Sehun frowned and continued staring at her, but she didn’t look up after that. Letting out a breath, he picked up one of her pens and twirled it between his fingers. When he got bored of that, he took off the cap and scribbled on the edge of her notebook.

 

 

Pausing in her work, she wrote back “no” next to it without looking at him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sehun placed the pen back in her pencil pouch and slumped back in his chair. He had wanted to take Dayoung to a restaurant he had found with his friends a few days ago. It had her favorite dish, and he knew she would love it. Besides, it seemed like she was getting too stressed these days from college stuff and her part-time job, and he had wanted to get her to relax for a bit with him.

 

He stayed silent in his spot, doing random stuff on his phone, when Dayoung lifted her head to stretch her neck. “I’m going to go to the restroom for a bit, okay?” She walked off, and that was when an idea popped into Sehun’s head.

 

She would probably get mad at him, but it would be worth it.

 

When Dayoung came back to their table, all of her stuff was tucked neatly into her bag with Sehun sitting nonchalantly in his seat, a mischievous glint in his eyes giving him away.

 

She narrowed her eyes and sat down. “What are you doing, Oh Sehun?”

 

Her boyfriend stood up and took her bag with him. “You need to relax, and I’m not going to give this back until you do.” He walked off before she could retaliate, and she hurried after him.

 

~~

 

“Jongdae!” Seyeon waved at her boyfriend, the acceptance letter in her hand going crazy in the wind.

 

He guessed it before she got a chance to tell him. “You got accepted?!” he yelled as he came running towards her.

 

She nodded frantically with a huge smile on her face, and he picked her up in his arms when he reached her.

 

“Congratulations!” He twirled her around in the air, and Seyeon laughed in delight, not caring that several people were staring at them weirdly.

 

When he put her down, she threw her arms around his neck gleefully. “I can’t believe I got accepted! It feels like a dream!”

 

She let go of him to stare at the paper in her hands again. “Are you sure that that’s Yonsei University that’s printed here? I’m not hallucinating or anything?”

 

Jongdae laughed and ruffled her hair. “Yes, this is real, Seyeon. And I have my own good news too.”

 

She looked up at him and asked, “What?”

 

He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and held it out to her. Upon opening it up, she was shocked to see the exact same words printed on it as hers, except this one had the name ‘Kim Jongdae’ on it instead of ‘Oh Seyeon’.

 

“Are you serious?” She stared at him with wide eyes, and he nodded, unable to contain his grin.

 

Seyeon once again bear-hugged him and jumped up and down in excitement. “Are you really, really serious, Jongdae? We’re going to be attending the same college? Oh my- I can’t believe it!” She squealed and took both his hands to swing them around.

 

Jongdae laughed and let her go crazy. After two and a half years of keeping their secret relationship ongoing with no big crisis, they could finally come clean.

 

Though Sejong and Seungri High were still unchanged rivals, the mood between the students had started to shift in the last two years. It was no longer hatred with no reason; they were now more like competitors, not enemies. Both of the schools’ students proved to be each other’s pacemaker, which caused both facilities to flourish in their own way.

 

In the midst of this change, Jongdae and Seyeon had graduated with honors, and though no one knew it, were maybe the start of the two schools slowly coming to accept each other. The students certainly weren’t doing it with open arms, but at least they also weren’t coming at each other with pitchforks, and that itself was a big improvement.

 

Putting his arm around his girlfriend, the formerly ‘forbidden’ couple walked down the street together, talking excitedly about their shared future college.

 

~~

 

“Don’t cry, Yoorim. We’ll be able to see each other when I come out for breaks.”

 

“B-but, i-it’s going to b-be so h-h-hard for you,” Yoorim sniffled as she looked up into her boyfriend’s eyes.

 

Joonmyeon wiped her tears away, and she leaned into his gentle touch. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

 

She took a deep breath in order to get a control of herself and nodded. “Alright. S-sorry for crying.” She lowered her face to wipe off her wet cheeks and looked up with a small smile. “I’ll make sure to visit you whenever I can.”

 

“Don’t make too many boys fall in love with you while I’m gone, and make sure to tell everyone you’re married if anyone makes a move on you,” he said with a playful smile, and she hit his shoulder lightly in embarrassment.

 

The couple hugged one last time before Joonmyeon walked over to his parents to say his goodbye. Yoorim took another deep breath as she gazed at him bowing to his parents and hugging Jongin.

 

Three months after he graduated, his enlistment papers for the army had come out, and since his ankle was all healed by that time, there could be no time wasted in going. His smooth hair which Yoorim had loved so much was now cut short, but the fact that she wouldn’t be able to see him regularly for two years saddened her the most. She would have to go to college without him by her side, and he would have to win over the hardships of the army without her as well.

 

It was undoubtedly the longest time they would be apart after three years of staying by each other’s side, yet Yoorim believed they would stay faithful to each other through it all. And after those two long years, they could reunite with open arms and hearts. She smiled upon imagining that moment and decided to brave it out until then.

 

“I’ll see you when I come out for my first break!” The sound of Joonmyeon’s voice brought her back to reality, and she walked over to where he was standing with his family.

 

They all waved to him as he walked to the entrance, turning around several times to return their farewells. When he disappeared into the gate, the four people made their way down the street. Yoorim walked behind the family, already missing Joonmyeon.

 

Suddenly, something grabbed her hand, and upon looking beside her, Jongin was shyly smiling up at her.

 

“Noona, don’t worry. Hyung told me to take good care of you while he was gone,” the child said, his eyes sparkling.

 

Yoorim stopped to squat down and smiled back, patting his head gently. “Really? Then I have nothing to worry about if you’re with me, Jongin. Thank you.”

 

He broke out into a wide grin, and Yoorim squeezed his small hand in hers.

 

“Jongin! Yoorim!” The call of Jongin’s mother turned both their heads to see both adults waiting at the car that had brought them.

 

Yoorim quickly straightened up, and the two people ran over to them, their hands swinging in the air between them.

 

~~

 

“Where is he?” Hyejin tapped her finger against her phone in impatience. “Weird of Minseok to be late,” she mumbled to herself.

 

“Hyejin!” His voice sounded behind her, and she spun around to see an apologetic-looking Minseok jogging over to her.

 

He opened his mouth to say something else, but the rare sight of Hyejin in a dress caused him to hesitate. He came to a stop in front of her and looked her up and down. She stood embarrassed under his blunt gaze.

 

“Whoa, Jo Hyejin. Since when did you wear dresses?” he asked, a faint smile on his lips.

 

“And since when were you late to anything?” she retorted, fidgeting with her shoulder bag in order not to meet his eyes. “Come on, it's going to start soon.”

 

She started walking away, but he grabbed her arm to stop her. Gently pulling her back, he looked into her eyes and stated, “You look pretty.”

 

Flustered by his sudden compliment, she shook off his grip and stuttered, “I-I said we’re late. Come on.” She stepped around him and quickly walked off.

 

Minseok smiled to himself at her shyness and jogged after her to stop her again.

 

“Wh-what?” Hyejin asked, her tone coming of as annoyed so she could hide her embarrassment.

 

“The bus is that way,” he replied with an amused expression, his thumb pointing behind him.

 

“Oh. I knew that.” She mentally hit herself.

 

He smiled and took her hand. “I know. Let’s go.”

 

Hyejin nodded and ducked her head as he led them to the bus stop. She was glad he never too much about her mistakes.

 

They got off at their stop and walked inside a building where her cousin’s wedding would take place. People bustled here and there, and they walked over to where the bride was. Hyejin gasped in astonishment when she saw her cousin in her white wedding dress, and Minseok smiled, his eyes focusing more on her than the bride.

 

“Unni! You look so pretty!” Hyejin gushed over her cousin and was genuinely happy that she had finally found her match.

 

When she introduced Minseok to her cousin, the bride smiled knowingly and extended her gloved hand. “So you’re the boyfriend Hyejin always talks about. Nice to meet you.” Leaning toward him, she added, “By the way, she probably spent hours picking out her outfit; make sure to compliment her a lot.”

 

“Unni!” Hyejin exclaimed, scandalized that she would tell him that.

 

Minseok chuckled and nodded. “Nice to meet you, too. And I’ll make note of that, thank you.”

 

Hyejin covered her face in embarrassment.

 

As they came out of the bride’s room, he remarked, “Your cousin seems nice.”

 

“That traitor,” Hyejin grumbled to herself and replied in an audible voice, “Come on, let’s go say hi to the parents.”

 

After greeting all of the relatives, they were finally able to sit down at their designated table and rest a bit before the wedding started. Minseok stared at Hyejin taking a sip of her water and leaned forward, beckoning her close. Curious, she complied.

 

“You’re the prettiest girl here,” he whispered in her ear.

 

Hyejin immediately pulled back, her cheeks tinting pink. “You’re supposed to say that to the bride since it’s her wedding day.”

 

“It doesn’t affect me, though,” he replied, his tone serious in spite of his gentle smile, “You’ll always be the most beautiful to me.”

 

She blinked, unable to think of a proper response. Ever since they started going out a few months ago, Minseok had taken to making her speechless by telling her his honest feelings about her at random times, and Hyejin never knew how to respond. It made her embarrassed yet happy at the same time.

 

“So don’t take hours on picking out an outfit when we meet. You’re pretty whatever you wear.” A playful glint was in his eyes as he sat back in his chair.

 

“I don’t do that! She was over exaggerating!” defended Hyejin. She took back what she had thought about him not teasing her.

 

He laughed, and she glared at him. And it was times like these when they were back to how they were when they were just friends.

 

The wedding started a few minutes later and continued on smoothly. When it came time for the vows, Hyejin caught Minseok’s eye, and they both smiled at each other.

 

After his shocking confession two years ago, Minseok hadn’t stopped showing his genuine feelings to her, and Hyejin had made the hard decision to end their ten-year friendship by accepting it a year and a half later. Now, in their third month of being together, she didn’t know why she hadn’t accepted it earlier and also grateful that he had stuck by her.

 

She also didn’t know how she could’ve missed the right guy when he was right in front of her.

 

His hand found its way to hers, and Hyejin vowed to herself that she would someday tell him of all that was in her heart, like how he was doing right now.