“Ugh!! This year couldn’t have gotten any worse!” I growled as I stormed out of the campus building, Yoseob following behind. “I thought this was college. Shouldn’t we have been past group projects?” I rambled on. “And since we are doing a partner project shouldn’t we be able to choose our own partners? We are all adults now.”

“Youngjae.” Yoseob whimpered. “Why are you still going on about this? The project was assigned to us two weeks ago.” He said. I didn’t respond.

The elder sighed catching on. “You haven’t even started, haven’t you?” He questioned.

“How can you have expected me to work with him?! He’s an idiot. He’s a slacker, he doesn’t care. So, it wouldn’t have made a difference whether we started or not.” I defended.

Yoseob sighed, “Youngjae, I know you’re upset that you’re partnered with Daehyun, but this is a major grade and it’s due by the end of this week. Don’t let your emotions prevent you from passing.”

I let out a long sigh, “I know. We’re meeting up today, but I’m probably just going to end up doing the entire thing myself. So it doesn’t matter.”

Yoseob opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by someone suddenly hugging him from behind, causing him to yelp.

“Yah!” He spat when he saw that it was Junhyung. The elder smiled crookedly. “Don’t do that, you scared me.” Yoseob scolded, pouting slightly.

Junhyung placed a kiss on his boyfriend’s cheek before walking beside him, taking his hand. “Should we go and work on our project now?” Junhyung questioned.

I rolled my eyes.

The eldest member noticed this, a crooked smile remaining plastered on his face. “Oh, sorry Youngjae. I didn’t know you were there.”

“Yah! You don’t have to rub it in that you two got each other as partners for the assignment, while I’m stuck with a miscreant.” I sneered, only to earn an amused chuckle from the other.

“Youngjae I’m sure it won’t be that bad. The sooner you finish the project, the sooner it will be done and over with.” Yoseob tried. I only sighed, “I already started some research for the project. I’m just going to head to my room and see if I can do some more before meeting up with him.” I said.

Yoseob gave me a small smile and patted my shoulder. “Don’t work too hard, and try not to over think it.”

I only nodded, not really taking his words into consideration.

Yoseob opened his mouth to say one more thing, but Junhyung cut him off. “Alright, by Youngjae.” He said, already pulling his boyfriend away from me. I rolled my eyes shaking my head slightly. “They’re annoying.” I muttered to myself before turning towards the dormitories.

I walked for a good ten minutes before I finally reached my dorm suite on the top floor of the dormitory. I honestly didn’t like the fact that my room was on the top floor, because of safety hazards. How am I going to escape a fire or a severe storm without risking any injuries? A room on the first floor would be much safer. But I’m not going to complain I do have my own room and bathroom with a little kitchenette area with a microwave and stove countertop.

I dropped my book bag next to my bed and sat down in the chair in front of my desk. “Let’s see if I can add some notes here.” I pulled out my laptop and searched for the document I previously worked on.

I furrowed my brow after a few minutes of searching. “I thought I saved it in this folder. I know I did.”

I decided to browse through all of my documents a little annoyed at the fact that it wasn’t where it was supposed to be.

However, I couldn’t locate the document.

“What the heck??” I scrolled through my folders again, a tinge of panic itching at me.

“Where is it?” I checked again.

Double checked.

I even checked my email but nothing was saved there either.

I groaned after 15 minutes of searching with no success. “Don’t tell me it didn’t save.” I dropped my head on the desk, ignoring the pain that spread through my nerves. “Of course this would happen.”

The work I had done actually took me a couple of hours and it was only just a small portion of the project. And now I only have a few days to complete it. I groaned again in anguish at the reality. “Why meee?”

Just then my phone vibrated, indicating that I had received a text message.

Still groaning, I reached for my phone, never moving my head from on top the desk. I looked at the device and saw that I had a text from an unknown number.

‘Where do you want to meet up?’

I furrowed my brow slightly.

‘Who is this?’ I responded.

Only two seconds later my phone vibrated again.

‘Daehyun.’

I let out another exaggerated groan sitting back up.

‘How did you get my number?’ I replied.

My phone vibrated again before I could even put it down.

‘Your friend.’ Was his response.

I frowned. Yoseob wouldn’t do that. Unless…

‘Why?’ I texted back.

It was a few minutes before he responded.

‘I don’t remember his name. I think it started with a J?’

My frown deepened. My grip on the phone tightened. I’m going to kill Junhyung and Yoseob! Yoseob probably knew about this and didn’t tell me.

I sighed. There was no point. They’d just end happily together and completely miss the point.

My phone vibrated again.

‘Should we meet at the library?’ He suggested.

‘No, I don’t want to be seen in public with you.’ Was my brash answer.

‘Are you suggesting your place? ;)’

I rolled my eyes, seeing as though he completely dismissed what could have been taken as an insult. ‘No.’

As much as I would prefer my place, I don’t want him to know where my dorm is. ‘My dorm is a mess.’

‘Nice Lie.’ He responded.

I only scoffed. Why is he responding so quickly anyway? He’s not even giving it a minute.

‘Fine, what about my place?’ He suggested.

I bit my bottom lip unsure about the idea. Was going to his place really a good idea? I did kind of set myself up for this.

‘Fine. I’ll be there in 15.’ I quickly texted back.

‘Okay, I’ll send you my address. See you soon :)’

I ignored the message and shoved my phone in my pocket before standing up.

I shut down my laptop, closed it, and slipped it into my laptop bag. Then I went into my bathroom to wash my face and reapply deodorant, refreshing myself up a little and slightly fixed my hair. Once I was done I grabbed my laptop bag and backpack and headed out the door.

I placed the address he sent me into my mobile GPS and followed the directions.

 

Surprisingly his place wasn’t that far from the university, so it wasn’t too long of a walk. I turns out that he lived on the first floor of an apartment complex down the street from the school.

I stood at the door inhaling and exhaling deeply, contemplating on whether or not I should enter or cancel last minute. I could feel my heart pounding, my nerves creeping up the back of my spine. “Maybe I should just cancel.” I said almost convinced. However, before I could do anything the door swung open.

I froze wide-eyed.

“I was wondering when you’d get here.” He smiled.

I quickly straightened up. Just finish the project and you can leave.

He opened the door wider, allowing me inside. I muttered a thank you as he closed the door behind me.

“Should I give you a tour?” He asked. I frowned at this. “No. Let’s just get started on the project.” I said, getting straight to business. “Ayiyi captain. We can work in the living room.” He said, leading the way.

The apartment was kind of impressive. It was neat and there was a lot more furniture than I had expected, it actually looked like a home. “Do you room with somebody here?” I asked. “Nope. I live here all by myself.” Daehyun smiled, plopping down on the couch. Rich bastard, I concluded, sitting down on the other couch.

“Do you want to work on the floor? It’ll probably be roomier and easier to maneuver.” He suggested. “No. I don’t like putting my laptop on the floor, it’ll ruin the battery.” I shot down without much thought. I took out my device and placed it on the glass coffee table that sat in the center of the room. “Ah~, I forgot about how critical you are.” He chuckled some more.

I bit the inside of my cheek, forcing myself not to blush. Just avoid any conversation not related to the project, then you’re good, I assured myself.

I was honestly starting to regret agreeing to come here, or meeting altogether. I could already feel myself beginning to unravel.

Get yourself together Jae. You’ve moved on remember?

 

We sat there in silence as we waited for my computer to turn on. I kept my eyes focused on the device, not wanting to open him to conversation. “Isn’t it crazy how we were paired as partners for this project?” but that didn’t stop him. “After all these years.” He chuckled.

It’s crazier that we even have the same class, I thought to myself.

“I don’t think it was by coincidence…I think it was fate.” He smiled at me, resting his chin on his fist.

I unconsciously rolled my eyes before I could stop myself.

“What? You don’t think so?” He questioned, noticing this.

I sighed, “It’s more like a curse.” I said, actually somewhat proud of my response.

Daehyun scoffed, unable to respond. I couldn’t help but let out a smile to myself, tying in my password to my computer.

I was doing my best to not think much about his words, but it was difficult. Who was he to bring up the past? ‘After all these years?’ I scoffed quietly to myself at the thought. The jerk. “Okay, let’s get started.” I said once my computer was set to go.

However, the idiot raised an eyebrow.

“You didn’t start the project yet?” he questioned curiously.

This time I looked at him, a frown on my face. “What? Did you expect me to have done all the work?” I retorted, not bothering to hide the hint of venom in my voice. But he wasn’t fazed by this and his stupid smile remained plastered on his face. “What do you take me for?” he only chuckled. “But no. I just figured that since you like to be ahead and on top of things that you might’ve already done something.” He explained.

I scoffed internally. “No. I didn’t. No this time at least.” I said, not wanting to explain my misfortune from earlier. He doesn’t need to know.

The elder raised a surprised eyebrow. I ignored his look and decided to get started on the project myself. His expression soon changed back to his idiotic smile. “So, that means we’re going to have to pull an all-nighter then, huh?” He said leaning forward in his seat.

“No. We still have 3 more days left.” I said, not bothering to stop what I was doing.

“Oh. So you’re going to be coming over the next 3 days also?” He questioned.

My eyes slightly twitched at his words. He sounded way too happy about that.

“Can you stop talking and get to work?” I finally said, getting irritated. I’ll just go home and do the rest on my own after this. Shoot, I’ll even give him credit for the work. Anything, as long as I don’t have to do this with him for another 3 days. “Not yet. Let’s go to the bar.” He suddenly suggested.

I sighed giving up at this point. “Why?”

“Because…since we are going to be up all night, we might as well get some drinks.” He explained.

I just looked at him. His logic didn’t make any sense. How is alcohol going to keep us up and focused on the project?

“Fine.” I said, already beginning to shut down my laptop. Maybe giving him what he wants will get him to stop trying to talk to me and get on with the project. And honestly, I could use a drink or even three, to help me survive the rest of the evening.

“Great!” he jumped from the couch. That was the first time I noticed that he was dressed fairly nice. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.

“I know a really nice bar not too far from here.” He said grabbing his keys and leather jacket.

 

-

 

As we walked down the sidewalk to the bar I made sure to walk slightly behind him and slowed down my pace every time he tried to walk next to me. Eventually he gave up trying to walk beside me and continued to try to spark conversation.

“I was surprised when I heard that you’re majoring in Accounting. I was sure that you’d major in something to do with art or design. You used to love to draw.” He smiled to himself. I frowned at this. Stop acting like you know me.

I was beginning to think that this was all planned. Him becoming my partner, my file being lost on my computer, and going to the bar, it was all planned; and I was just going along with it like a fool…like before. “People change.” I murmured, trying to keep my voice strong. I’m starting to really need that drink at this rate.

 

We arrived at the small pub a few minutes later. There weren’t a lot of people here considering that it was a Monday evening. However, I did notice that most of the people here were college students. What happened to not wanting to be seen with him Youngjae?

It wasn’t surprising that Daehyun knew some of the students there. I stole the opportunity while he was saying hi to them, and snuck to the bar without him.

I exhaled deeply once I made it to the bar. It took everything out of me holding back and ignoring him.

“Long day?” The bartender greeted. “Something like that.” I sighed. “I don’t know if I’ll last much longer.” I added subconsciously. The bartender nodded in understanding. “I didn’t even want to go out today, but here I am.” I said frustrated with myself.

The bartender saw through my frustration and gave me a small smile. “How about I give you a shot of tequila and then you can go. You shouldn’t force yourself to stay if you don’t want to be here right now.” She said.

“Sure.” I said, giving her a grateful smile. “Can I have a small glass of orange juice too? I don’t really like the taste of alcohol.” I confessed, feeling slightly embarrassed even though it would just be one shot. “Of course. I’ll be right back.”

 

 

A few minutes later, the bartender returned with two glasses and a bottle in her hands.

“Thank you.” I thanked as she handed me the glass of orange juice. “My pleasure. It’s on the house.” She smiled pouring the alcohol into the shot glass before walking away.

I took the shot glass and gulped down the liquor. She was right. If I didn’t want to be here I shouldn’t force myself to. I should trust my gut.

I scrunched my nose at the taste of the alcohol that made contact with my taste buds and reached for the orange juice. I learned my lesson years ago…but why am I still falling into this trap again?

I sighed at the thought, putting my now empty glass back onto the bar counter. I stood up to get ready to leave when I felt a hand rest on my lower back.

“You started already?” it was Daehyun.

I sighed in irritation, why now? “No, I was just finishing.”

“I was looking for you. You disappeared.” He said, ignoring my statement. “Yeah, we must’ve gotten separated in the crowed.” I said sarcastically, despite the fact that there weren’t a lot of people here. The longer I spoke to him, the more frustrated I felt.

Youngjae why don’t you leave? Why are you still here talking to him?

“I have to go. We need to finish the project.” I finally said, though it wasn’t what I really wanted to say.

“But we said we were going to get a drink first.” He said, already sitting down. I bit my bottom lip, I never said that…but I did agree to it. Youngjae, you idiot.

“We have to finish the project. I’m not going to get a bad grade because of some drinks.” I insisted.

A smile crept on his face. “I finished the project.” He said.

I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously.

“I went ahead and finished the project on my own. I finished it so we can do this.” He explained.

I bit the inside of my cheek, he was telling the truth…I could tell. “You can even look over it to make sure I did everything right, when we get back to my apartment.” He urged.

I let out a heavy sigh, sitting back down. “Fine.” I gave up. I knew this was planned.

His face lit up. “Order whatever you want. It’s all on me.” He said.

I scoffed bitterly at this, but took him up on his offer.

 

This time a new bartender came up to us to take our order. I was actually hoping that we’d get the girl, but she was occupied with other customers.

“Hey, what can I get you two this evening?” He asked. Daehyun glanced at me, allowing me to order first. “I’ll take a bottle of gin. Oh…and a bottle of rum with that too.” I said, both surprising myself and Daehyun.

The bartender slowly nodded, “And you?” he turned to Daehyun.

“We’ll share the bottles, and I’ll take a few dinner rolls.” He said. The tender nodded and smiled, “Alright, I’ll be back with your drinks and rolls.” And with that he left.

“You know…I actually enjoyed the project.” Daehyun began, starting conversation for the nth time. “It was a lot of writing and research, but it was fun researching about the meaning behind different body languages.”

I didn’t respond, continuing to face forward, patting my fingers anxiously against the countertop trying to ignore his presence. “I guess it would have been nice to have known some of those things years ago…huh?” he said a little quieter.

I felt myself flinch at the reference. So he does remember. I bit the inside of my cheek hard, not wanting to think about it.

Thankfully, the bartender returned with our orders before Daehyun could continue on the subject.

I immediately went for the rum and poured myself a shot. Then I gulped down the drink not bothering to wait for the elder. I shivered at the bitter taste of the alcohol, but I poured myself a second shot anyway. If I was going to give in blindly again then I’d rather be unconscious of it…so I won’t have to remember and regret it again.

“Whoa~, shouldn’t you eat something first?” Daehyun said, after he witnessed my second shot. “I already did.” I lied, pouring myself some more.

The elder studied me curiously. “Are you a heavy drinker? I didn’t think you were. Actually, I didn’t think you drank at all.” He said flashing another smile. I gritted my teeth at this. Stop acting like you know me.

 

I was starting to feel light-headed after taking my fifth shot. “Are you okay? You sure are drinking pretty fast.” Daehyun said now beginning to sound somewhat concerned. “I’m fine. Keep asking me questions. Ask all you want.” I forced a trembling smile, feeling myself loosen.

He didn’t seem to notice and nodded a smile on his face.

This disgusted me, making my stomach twist and churn. How can he smile so easily in front of my face like this? I hated this smile.

How could he be so happy in front of me? It felt like an insult. Was he mocking me? Why was he even doing this?

“So, how are you enjoying college?” He continued.

“It was good.” I murmured, not stopping to look back at him. My mind began to feel slightly fuzzy and my vision threatened to tremble. “That’s good. I’m glad to hear that.” He said sincerely.

I jerked my head back, taking the next shot roughly at his words. “Stop lying.” I finally said.

There was a slight pause.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. So don’t pretend like you didn’t. I just want you to stop lying. Stop talking to me as if you know me because you don’t.”

“Youngjae I-,” “Was this all planned huh? Did you speak with the professor to set this up? I knew it. That’s the only way right?” I went on feeling myself slipping.

“Youngjae…” He sighed.

I cringed. “Don’t say my name. We’re not friends…” I weakly slammed the small glass against the bar after taking my nth shot. “…stop acting like you know me. Stop pretending like you care. It only makes it worse.”

He only looked at me with an unreadable expression.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Is this what you wanted? Take me to a bar, get drunk and have me make a fool of myself? Or did you really think you can walk up and act as if nothing happened? Or…are you really wanting to know more about me and how I’ve been doing?” I turned back to the counter and poured myself another small glass.

“What do you want huh? Why…why are you even here? College was supposed to be my time to move on, to start over and get a hold of myself.” I lulled my head to the side, looking back at him. “Do you want to know why I’m not drawing? Because I quit drawing.”

“I stopped because I wanted to forget about you. You were the only person that supported my passion for art. My parents didn’t support it as a career and my grandparents only saw it as a measly hobby. You encouraged me to follow my passion. But you turned your back on me and I had to give it up because it hurt too much to continue…” I felt my eyes moisten at the thought.

“…I actually really liked you growing up. I liked you so much that I blamed myself for feeling the way I did. When we got to high school, it seemed like everything changed.”

“You ignored me, you lied to me, you picked on me. And each time I thought it was just my imagination despite the fact that it hurt. I cursed myself for being too sensitive and forced my best smile every time you said something me to me, convincing myself that it was a joke because everyone else was laughing too.”

“You got mad at me over the smallest things, but if somebody else were to do it you’d brush it off…but when it was me you were cruel. O was angry at myself for messing up.” A tear betrayed me, dropping onto my sleeve.

“I blamed myself because you were my closest friend and you would never do anything that cruel…because you weren’t like that. I was a fool because I liked you too…so I endured it for years…until I couldn’t endure it anymore. I didn’t want to live that way, and you weren’t you anymore.”

“You wouldn’t understand what I went through. There were days when I would just cry because I was so confused and hurt and angry at myself for being too sensitive. There were days at school when I just wanted to go home, so I could be alone. I liked you…and I wanted to tell you…but at the same time I felt like you already knew…” I paused, more tears streaming down my cheeks, the emotions all coming back to me.

“…I don’t know why but I finally confronted you about it all and how unfairly you treated me. But you got mad at me…and blamed me…” my voice trailed as I looked back down at the still full shot glass. “…I couldn’t live like that anymore. So I stepped away from you, hoping that you’d eventually come around and realize what I was telling you…but you never did.”

“I should’ve been happy. Happy that it was all finally over at no fault of my own. But I wasn’t. I was stuck wondering and hurting as to why and how easily you threw away our friendship without any effort. We were close friends…since childhood.”

I forced a crooked smile, “At least at this point I was no longer angry with myself, but now mad at you. But it still hurt.” I exhaled deeply, trying to keep what was left of me together.

“The only way I could get over it was through revenge. I felt that if I could show you I moved on, go to a good college, have the time of my life, and do well in school and get a good job, then I would be satisfied and that you’d regret the mistakes you did, and that I’d get my life again.”

“…but now that you’re here…I’m falling apart again.”

I reached for the glass, but Daehyun immediately caught my wrist, preventing me from doing so. “Stop. This isn’t what you want.” He said.

My hand trembled under his grip. “It is, so I can wake up tomorrow and forget about all this.”

“You know it doesn’t work that way.” He said, not letting go.

I gritted my teeth, “What do you know?!” I nearly spat.

He sighed, “I know, because you haven’t’ changed.”

I dropped my wrist, giving up. “What do you know?” I quivered weakly, my eyes burning. Why am I crying again? I need to angry at him. “Youngjae…I’m sorry.” He finally said.

“It’s too late to say sorry. I don’t even want an apology or else I won’t be able to get my revenge.” I nearly slurred.

Before anything else could be said my body suddenly gagged. I covered my mouth. Uh oh. “I have to go.” I quickly slid off the stool and stumbled towards the bathroom. The last thing I wanted was to puke in front of him.

I wobbled into the stall, making it just in time before my body let out everything. My throat burned as the acid forced itself up through it. Not much came out but clear fluids.

I groaned in pain as my body continued to throw up despite the lack of food in my system. Did I really drink that much? Or did my body not appreciate what I put into it? I never really drank before except for sips of wine…but that was rare.

I flushed the toilet and weakly made my way over to the sink. My knees and legs trembled. They felt unstable, as if they would give out at any time.

I pressed my palms against the sink for a more stable support.

I looked myself in the mirror. My eyes were heavy and my skin flushed and my cheeks stained with tears. “How embarrassing.” I murmured, wiping the stray tears from my face. “I just want to go home.”

I pushed off of the sink and turned my heavy body toward the door.

That was the last thing I remembered before everything went black.

 

-

 

 

I woke up to the sound of a digital alarm beeping obnoxiously in my ear. I groaned a little, not appreciating the interruption.

I sluggishly reached over and hit the alarm to silence it. It wasn’t until a few minutes later before I actually opened my eyes.

I blinked a little, trying to adjust my eyes. “Why do I feel so light headed?” I moaned, turning on my side.

I narrowed my eyes not recognizing the nightstand next to me, nor the window that was sitting across the room. Wait a second…

I quickly sat up my eyes dancing around the room, landing on the full sized bed that I was sitting on. I don’t have a full-sized bed. “This isn’t my room. Where the heck am-,”

My eyes suddenly widened in realization as the memory of last night hit me. I felt my face burn in embarrassment. “Please don’t tell me I am where I think I am.”

I looked over to my right and spotted a sticky note on the pillow next to the one I had used.

I hesitantly picked up the note and read it:

‘Morning! This is probably the last place you’d want to wake up to. You were in the bathroom for a while, so I decided to check and see if everything was alright. When I went to check, I saw you passed out on the restroom floor. I didn’t know where your dorm was, so I took you back here. I set an alarm for you to wake up to, so you wouldn’t be late to school. I left early, that way you wouldn’t be bothered by me.’

I turned the sticky note to the back, reading the rest.

‘I know that I did you wrong and I won’t apologize if that is what you want. I honestly hadn’t realized it until after I graduated high school and you were no longer there with me. I guess I had assumed you would always be there, which is why I was careless. But I want to make it up to you somehow. That’s part of why I transferred here. I want to repay you for what I did. You don’t have to forgive me, but I don’t want you to still feel hurt, so I’ll do whatever I can do to fix it.

~Daehyun

‘P.S. I left some clothes on the bed for you to borrow.’

 

I crumbled the piece of paper and threw it into the trash can by the nightstand.

I let out a long and brutal sigh before checking the time. It was already a few minutes past 8:15am. There was no way I could go back to my dorm and make it to class on time.

I groaned and kicked the blankets off me, throwing a small tantrum. I had no choice but to take him up on his offer, unless I wanted to go to school in dirty, stained clothes, and that was not going to happen.

 

To my surprise he left several notes with instructions. He even left a brand new, unused toothbrush for me to use.

I quickly brushed my teeth, changed my clothes, and ate the fruit that was left on the table for me. On my way out I spotted a thick stack of papers stapled together, packed neatly inside a cover slip. There was another note placed on top of it.

‘Here’s the project I finished. You can look over it if you want and change anything you don’t like.’

I picked up the packet of papers and shoved it into my backpack. I’m glad that I at least brought my backpack and laptop with me, so I at least have some supplies for school. With that I quickly left the apartment and headed straight to school.

 

 

Thankfully, I didn’t have any classes with him that day, so it wasn’t hard to avoid him. But I also avoided Yoseob, knowing that he would ask me how it went and I wasn’t in the mood to talk about it…or even think about it.

 

 

After my last class, I headed straight to my dorm, took a shower and changed into the comfort of my own clothes. Then I attempted to do my homework, but it was proving extremely difficult to focus. The memory of last night was all starting to hit me again, but even harder.

I dropped my forehead on the desk, groaning, my face heated from embarrassment. “Why did I think that was okay? Why did I think I’d be able to forget?”

After a few seconds, I quickly straightened up, taking a deep breath. “Well, you finally got everything off your chest and that’s all that matters.” I assured myself.

I looked at the thick packet of paper that laid on the corner of my desk. I let out a sigh, “I guess I should look over it.” I reluctantly reached for the packet and placed it in front of me. “Tree killer.” I muttered before turning the first page.

 

I ended up spending the rest of the afternoon reading over the project. It was actually really interesting. He really did do his research.

Every now and then I stopped to fact check him, just in case, and every time he was right. He went above and beyond. More than what I would’ve done.

“When did he have time to do all this?” I questioned, turning to the conclusion page.

 

‘In conclusion, it is essential to be able to read somebody’s body language. It reveals more than what the person them self is saying and more than how they’re acting. It reveals the truth of a person’s inner thoughts. Missing these key signs can cause one to miss the entire picture and the effects can be detrimental if one is not careful. Speaking is only one of four parts of the communication process. Engaging, Listening, and Seeing are all just as important. If you don’t use all four you can miss out on the message and not be able to embark on the true beauty of communication. Sometimes we don’t realize that we need all four elements to communicate properly, we just think that speaking and listening are the only things we need to do. But that’s not true. Sometimes we don’t even listen and just end up waiting our turn to speak. You need to engage first, so that your attention is on them. Then you See, observe their body language to see what the person really means. Then you speak last. Sometimes you don’t need to speak, but reflecting on what they’re lips and bodies are saying is all you need to do.’

 

I slowly closed the packet. Unsure of what to think, or of what to say. Everything in that conclusion was spot on…there’s no need to fact check. That’s just common sense…but then why isn’t it common?

I grabbed a notepad and immediately began writing in it. I made a promise to myself:

‘I’ll listen. I’ll see. I’ll read. But I may not speak. That doesn’t mean I’ll give in. I’m just doing it so I won’t miss anything. I’m doing this so I won’t be ignoring you. If I ignore you, then I’m doing no better than what you did to me. I’m not giving in and it doesn’t mean that I will give in. I’ll just be listening until you stop speaking.’

 

I guess, despite what happened in the last 24 hours, I’m lucky.

Not because he realized his mistake, but that I realized mine.

I shouldn’t hold in what I’m feeling, because when it comes time when I can’t hold it in…I end up hurting myself more.

I’m lucky because I was able to learn.

I tore the note out of the journal and stood up. I then carefully peeled off a piece of tape before taping the note on the wall above my desk.

“I’ll listen, but it doesn’t mean that I am giving in or will give in, but I will listen, so that I can move on.”

 

 

 

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A/N: Oh my gosh! Thanks again for reading. Let me know what you guys thought. :)