Chapter 30 (Part 4)

Strawberries&Cigarettes
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I realized I made a vocabulary mistake :(

In Korea, we only attend school for three years unlike America so I got the senior, junior all mixed up I am really sorry about the error.

I edited every chapter so before this chapter, Joohyun will be called 'the junior' and Seulgi 'the freshman'. 

I apologize again for my mistakes.

If there are any errors you found or feedbacks, let me know :)

 

 

Long nights, daydreams

 

Joohyun was glad her homeroom teacher didn't ask her to visit their school to tell the third-grade students how college life was.

 

She could have made the students want to leave this country.

 

Of course, everything was new. But sometimes not in a good way.

When she first met the freshmen in her major, it was okay. More than she thought anyway.

She drank all kinds of combinations of soju, beer, and various beverages.

And she realized she hardly ever got drunk.

(‘Should I feel relieved about that?' Seulgi had said when Joohyun called during her retreat.)

To ease the awkward atmosphere, she participated in all games except 'Truth Or Dare'. But she often got called by the sophomores to ask her if she had a boyfriend, and she always said yes. So they would let her go with a tinge of regret in their face.

Joohyun was determined to set up a whole barricade so that no one would ever attempt to get closer than she allowed. Not a chance.

After a few weeks of drinking and adjusting her class, midterm came.

Joohyun swore she studied much more than she did in her high school junior year.

While preparing for her first midterms, she became so frustrated she hurled her chair and desk, making Wendy stay trapped in her room, shaking with fear.

But still, she managed to keep their long-distance relationship stable.

And Joohyun never felt more proud.

Now she was a sophomore college student and Seulgi was finally, a junior in high school.

Of course, fights were inevitable.

Joohyun would often forget to call the younger, throwing herself to her bed and immediately falling asleep in exhaustion.

Seulgi had been so upset she was on the verge of tears when Joohyun finally called. ('Are you sick of me?' The younger would ask through sobs making Joohyun regret in heartache.)

So they agreed to text each other beforehand if they were too tired.

And if one of them breaks it, the one has to do anything for the other until satisfied.

Needless to say, Joohyun had to go through that A LOT.

Seulgi was still struggling with expressing how she felt.

There will be always be a short pause on the line whenever the younger got upset and hang up before Joohyun could figure out what was wrong.

They had a huge fight because of it and Joohyun ended up crying in her room, with Wendy trapped in her room AGAIN.

"It seemed too childish to say I was upset by something so.. trivial." Seulgi explained, cuddling with her in Joohyun's bed.(Seulgi had come all the way to Seoul immediately after Joohyun sobbed and hung up.)

But Seulgi promised she will try, and she was still working on it.

Since the weekends were their only free time, Seulgi had to get a new part-time job. So she was now working at a convenience store where she could text her and even call her if there weren't any customers in the store.

Now there was only one problem left.

 

"This is a place for books, not a place you give your number."

Joohyun scoffed at the man who was holding out a small paper with his number scribbled on it.

"Please, just take it and I'll leave you alone." He begged persistently.

Joohyun had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes and shout at him to piss off.

She had applied for the library part-time job since she liked quiet places and she could read anything she wanted, and most of all, for her girlfriend.

But apparently, people liked to bother her a lot.

"Did you have a nice day?" Another man came up, smoothing his hair. But Joohyun paid no attention and returned the book he handed to her.

"Have a nice day."

She should have worn the ring.

Joohyun planned to give the ring at their first anniversary but failed because she had not enough money.

She could have bought something else but the ring that caught her eye was so perfect she lost the will to buy any other ring.

So she was waiting for their second anniversary, the rings were already bought thanks to her library work. But she wanted to wear it after she gave another one to Seulgi.

Joohyun knew the younger would be very upset because the younger made her promise not to do any part-time work because of her.

'Studying is stressful enough for you.' Seulgi had said, recalling her memory of Joohyun telling she broke her chair because she hurled it. 'So leave it to me.'.

But still, this was the least thing Joohyun could do for her.

"That's a good book."

Joohyun almost let out a frustrated groan. She was sure she was going to be fired if this continued on.

"Yes, I'm a big fan of romance novels," Joohyun replied sarcastically, not looking up from her book. She heard a low chuckle and turned around in annoyance.

opened but no words came out, too stunned by the person in front of her, who was smiling his most charming smile.

"Bogum.."

Bogum shrugged. "I guess some things never change."

 

"How have you been?"

Joohyun didn't know why she ended up in a cafe near the library with Bogum in front of her, sipping his coffee and asking how she had been.

The boy insisted he wanted to have a chat with her so he waited for her shift to end and they ended up in the cafe. Joohyun hoped he was just being polite.

"Um.. Good. You?" Joohyun found this situation very uncomfortable but still, she felt guilty whenever she thought about Bogum. So the last thing she could do was ignore him.

"Good. I was here to visit my friend. Didn't know I would run into you."

Joohyun frowned. "You were meeting your friend at the library?"

"Actually. I wanted to see how different the library is at Seoul University." Bogum grinned. "And I guess I was lucky to bump into you."

"Okay.." Joohyun shifted, feeling more uncomfortable.

"Relax, Joohyun." Bogum chuckled. "I moved on. I even have a girlfriend now, actually."

The girl's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah." Bogum put down his coffee and smiled. "I met her in general elective class. We've been going out for six months."

"Congratulations!" Joohyun almost laughed, feeling so relieved and happy at the same time. "What's it like?"

Bogum stirred his coffee, pondering what to say. "It's like... It's like you can't get enough of her."

Joohyun smiled, she never saw this side of the boy and she was very glad.

"And?"

"Whenever we hold hands and go have some coffee or have lunch, it doesn't seem such a big deal at first but even that becomes special."

Joohyun nodded in agreement. "Yeah.. That's true."

"And even though I see her every day, she looks beautiful in all kinds of ways. So I always get excited right before I meet her."

Joohyun nodded but couldn't help feel a little.. envious.

Sure, she understood exactly what Bogum meant.

She got jittery and excited whenever she got off the train and race to her girlfriend who gave her different kinds of flowers every time, or waiting for Seulgi in the train station with different kinds of foods Joohyun suspected she will like.

(She always had to wake up hours early for the food but still, it was worth it. With Seulgi wolfing down the food she brought and looking so happy with her cheeks puffed out. Such an endearing sight for her eyes to handle.)

And Joohyun found it entertaining Seulgi always tried to dress nicely and mature, making the older imagine how Seulgi would look in the future.

But as Bogum said, she couldn't get enough of her girlfriend.

Joohyun sometimes felt Seulgi's absence whenever she saw couples holding hands as they walked and having conversations while looking at each other as if they were in their own world.

To her, it felt like she was dating her phone.

Always waiting for it to vibrate and stupidly smiling over a text.

Bogum noticed the awkward silence and scratched his head. "I was blabbering too much, wasn't I?"

"No.. It's just.." Joohyun sighed. "I envy you two. Seeing each other every day and all."

"Let me guess." Bogum laid his chin on his palm. "Long distance relationship?"

The girl sighed and nodded. "It's been going on for a year and I'm absolutely not going to end it because of that but.."

"It's still hard, isn't it?" Bogum said when he noticed Joohyun struggling with words. Joohyun could only nod, feeling down in an instant.

"I always figured you had someone. Is it Seulgi's brother?"

Joohyun almost choked on her drink when her girlfriend's name popped up. "What?"

"That evening, when I took you out on a date, you seemed awfully concerned when Seulgi left," Bogum explained. "And the next day you turned me down. So I guessed it was because Seulgi was having a hard time dealing with your relationship with her brother."

"Oh.." Joohyun's mind was blank but what choice did she have? "That's right." She laughed awkwardly. "You.. are a good detective."

"He's a college student, right?"

"Yeah." Joohyun weakly nodded. "I have to wait another year until he graduate."

"Even one year can be a decade if you have to wait," Bogum said with a look of pity. "You miss him a lot, huh?"

"Everyday." Joohyun looked down at her strawberry shake. Which never tasted as good as Jennie's. "But I have no choice."

"How are you making this relationship work?" Bogum asked. He had heard a lot of stories about long-distance relationships that always ended terribly so he wanted to know.

"We visit each other every weekend," Joohyun said simply. "Calling and texting each other was never enough."

"But still, don't you or he get tired?"

Joohyun shook her head firmly. "Never of this. Of course, the train is my least favorite transportation now but I always get over it because I spend so much fun with Seulgi-" She stopped herself, cursing for getting carried away. "'s brother."

Bogum looked so impressed it made her feel self-conscious. "Wow. I don't think I can ever do that."

"I never thought I could either." But it's Seulgi of all people. Joohyun thought to herself and smiled.

"Aw, look at you all happy just by the thought of him."

"I guess he has that kind of effect on me." Joohyun agreed.

.

If someone asked two words that could describe herself, Joohyun would say stubborn&patient.

But there were moments that her stubbornness won over her patience.

And this was one of them.

Today was Friday and also, her school anniversary. But Seulgi doesn't know that.

So, Joohyun immediately p

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MeloMera
I don't have a twitter account anymore but thankfully I saw a pleasant surprise today when I went back to my account for the last time :)
Thank you @dinniebur for liking this fic so much! I'm very happy&grateful that you enjoyed it :) your reactions about each chapter made my day haha

Comments

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hollyhunterey
#1
One of the best.. Thank you very much 💕
Kylie_123 #2
Rereading !!! Kasi gusto ko kiligin ulit 💗💗💗
Jensoo4everlove #3
Chapter 59: I LOVED THIS SO SO MUCH 😭❤ And thankyou so so much Author for taking out time to write such a masterpiece!!! I really appreciate it!! But why can't I see the sequel? 🥺
sjaelister
#4
I just want to ask if this is the original version because I read this but it's the Ryeji version on wattpad huhuhu.
AnneTokki 34 streak #5
Chapter 59: 💓💓💓💛💛💛🫶
Revemid12
#6
Reading this masterpiece for the third time, is my comfort fic, let’s goo!
Oct_13_wen_03 26 streak #7
Chapter 49: reread❤❤
serenedipitea
#8
Chapter 20: this chapter made me cry. the angst!!!
Seul_rene14 #9
Chapter 59: Am I the only one who won't get to read the sequel?🥺😭
gcpt21 #10
Chapter 49: This fic is so beautiful thank you so much author ily