Years passed and she was now a senior in college.

She lived her college life to the fullest. Although she may not party as hard as her other friends, she knew how to have fun and maintain her position at school. If you were to ask her if she was popular, she would simply shake her head with a shy smile. Even though she has matured and became prettier after dieting, she wouldn’t be able to compare herself to the beauty of her friends. Whenever her friends talk about her popularity, she would simply disagree and change the topic. She had many guy friends but it was only because she was more approachable compared to her best friends (at least that’s what she thought).

“Jimin, I heard you rejected Youngjae last night?” the black long-haired heard a familiar voice talk to her. She looked up from her laptop, pausing from her essay writing.

“I didn’t reject him A yeon,” Jimin said and went back to working on her essay.

“Not from what I saw last night,” A yeon objected. “He came back to the karaoke room after walking you out with such a solemn face that I thought his dog died or something.”

Jimin rolled her eyes at how dramatic her best friend can be. “He didn’t confess to me so there was no rejection.”

“I’m sure he did but I bet you friendzoned him like every other guy that tries to court you,” A yeon frowned and took a sip from her strawberry smoothie. Jimin then closed her laptop, almost surprising the girl across from her.

“A yeon, you know I was never their type nor were they my type.”

“I know, I know,” her best friend groaned. “They will never meet the same standards as him right?”

“Yah-”

“Ok, ok, I’ll be quiet,” A yeon cut her off before Jimin can nag at her again. “But seriously Jimina, you are still young and should date as much as possible, you know? You never seem to have a relationship that lasts longer than two months.”

Jimin remained silent because what her friend said was true. Every relationship she had in college hardly lasted. She was always the one to initiate the break up too. Everyone would ask her why she broke up with so-and-so but all she could tell them was that she didn’t feel anything or in the end she didn’t fit him. Despite all the reasons or excuses as her friends would say, she knew there was one definite reason for all of this.

Park Jimin.

No, it was not her but the one and only knight in shining armor, who she lost at the end of her high school years.

Ever since that day, she’s been trying to be independent of him. By being independent, she consequently stopped talking to him. He didn’t text her either. As his presence in her life began to disappear, she began to notice how significant he was. All the guys she ever meet, her mind couldn’t help but compare them to the handsome male she knew so well.

When her boyfriend didn’t notice how her foot hurt from walking down the park in high heels, she thought:

He would’ve noticed from the beginning and carried her home. Maybe a little bit of scolding too.

When her boyfriend pushed her to see his parents even though she told him she wasn’t ready, she thought:

He would’ve smiled and understood.

Every action, everything that she noticed, Jamie couldn’t help but compare them to him.

“Why don’t you go see him again?” A yeon randomly suggested.

Jamie almost coughed out her hot cocoa. “W-What are you talking about?”

“Maybe this can help you move on or something,” her best friend explained her idea.

“A yeon, I told you so many times already. I. Don’t. Like. Him.”

This time, A yeon is the one to be frustrated. She rolls her eyes and crossed her arms. “No matter how many times you say he’s just an ideal type, we all know that isn’t true. If he wasn’t just your ideal type, you wouldn’t think about him all the time.”

Jimin felt her face flush and her grip tighten. “I don’t think about him all the time!”

A yeon gives a knowing face. “Sure, sure you don’t.”

“A-Anyways, I don’t know if he’s busy or not,” Jamie tried to reason, hoping this will get A yeon to stop talking about him.

“Aren’t you going back to your hometown during break?” the short haired girl asked, as if she didn’t seem to take the hint or chose to ignore it. “Wouldn’t that be a perfect time to contact him again?”

“He’s already graduated from university a few years ago so he’s probably working at a company somewhere else. What are the chances of him going back to our hometown during my break when everyone else is working still?”

“You don’t know if you don’t try~” A yeon sung with a grin on her cute face.

It was spring break now and Jamie just arrived back to her house in her hometown. Currently,  she was staring at her phone in her hand as her thumb hovered over the call button. Ten minutes probably passed since she’s been staring at her phone. With a stressful groan, she fell backwards and landed onto her bed.

How old is she to be acting like this?

She once again held her phone in front of her face and took a deep breath before pressing down on the call button. Quickly, she placed the device against her ear and listened to it ring.

One ring, two rings, three rings.

She was starting to regret calling already.

Five rings, six rings.

He definitely wasn’t picking up. Did he switch numbers and didn’t tell her?

She listened to the call go directly to the voice message and she heard the familiar sweet sound of his voice. This was still his number; she sighed in relief. Then she heard the beep, indicating to her to start talking.

Her mind went blank and body froze. She felt more nervous than the time she presented her proposal to a panel of business professionals. She never thought this far. Her body pushed her up and she sat uprightly on her bed.

Damn you, A yeon.

“H-Hi Oppa, this is Jimin. I-It’s been awhile right? I just came back home for spring break and I was wondering… I-If you wanted to meet up? B-But o-of course that’s only if you are here, since I never found out where you ended up working… A-Anyways, call me back once you have the time. My number is still the same… Bye…”

She pressed the end call button and threw her phone onto her pillow. Her hands covered her face as she silently screamed in them. I should’ve never listened to what A yeon have said, she cursed herself. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t be feeling this humiliation. Just what was I thinking, expecting him to pick up during a work day? He’s probably not even here.

Jamie once again laid down on the bed and stared at the plain white ceiling above her. Her mind drew a long blank, unable to think about what she should do now. The awkward voicemail will obviously get to him sooner or later. She couldn’t help but regret how easily persuaded she was because of her friend’s words.

Ding.

She heard her phone ring while the bed sheets slightly vibrated due to the device. Her pupils enlarged as she stared at the activated device. There’s no way that’s him, she thought. She reached for the phone and gripped it in her slender fingers. Jamie closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself before taking a look at the notification on the phone.

From: Jimin Oppa

How’s tomorrow at 12PM at the usual cafe near your house.

It was him!

Jamie inwardly screamed as a smile grew onto her lips. She quickly calmed herself and responded back.

To: Jimin Oppa

Sounds good! I’ll see you there.

The female placed her phone on the nightstand located near her bed and skipped to her bathroom to get ready to sleep. Her body bubbled with excitement. She couldn’t wait to see her childhood friend. As she washed up, she tried to imagine how he looked like now. She couldn’t imagine anything changing from the always caring and handsome Oppa she knew. It has only been a few years since they’ve last seen each other, there couldn’t possibly be much of a difference anyways.

The once excited feeling she felt last night was now replaced with regret and nervousness. She had arrived a few minutes earlier than they planned and was sitting in one of the tables in front of the windows. Her hands fidgeted with the ends of her black skirt she wore. Occasionally, she used the reflection of her phone to check on her hair and makeup. Each action she did, her mind couldn’t help but kick herself. Not once has she been this nervous before meeting a male. She’s been set up on blind dates multiple times because of her friends and all of them known to be quite handsome and reputable among the campus. Yet, she is acting like a hot mess when it’s someone she’s known more than half of her life.

She took a glance at her phone once again. 12 o’clock.

Strange, she thought. Jimin’s personality was never one to be late to appointments. For as long as she known him, he was either always on time or a bit earlier. She looked outside of the cafe and tried to look for any males, who may be the man she is looking for.

Minutes passed and she didn’t see him yet.

She sighed. It was 12:10 already. She looked up his contact and debated whether or not to call him to check up on him. She put down her phone and shook her head. She wasn’t his girlfriend so she shouldn’t be so antsy. He’s just a friend, she repeated to herself. That’s right, just a friend.

“Oh, Jimina.”

She almost had a heart attack once she heard his voice. It’s been so long since she actually heard it in person. Her body automatically stood up from her seat and she turned around to come faced to face with the man, who she has been impatiently waiting for.

He changed. He was no longer the young boy she knew. He lost his baby fat so his facial features became sharper and more handsome. He matured and held an adult image. Underneath the sweater, she could tell he gained more muscle. As he stood in front of her, she realized how much taller he was compared to her.

His eyes didn’t change though.

The chocolate brown eyes that held the softest gaze whenever she looked at them.

“Long time no see,” the male said with a soft smile.

Her heart dropped.

She screwed up big time.