Wednesday

Jieun crouched, both her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

“Yah, you’re already tired?”

Shouted Inna who was running towards the opponent’s goal. Jieun can’t believe that her bestfriend just got engaged a few days ago. Everything around her seemed to sort themselves out, yet here she is, trying to make sense of her life’s recent events, at the same time trying to run away from analyzing it all.

She wanted to know what it all means, but she’s also scared of being crushed by reality. Her mind immediately went back to the look on those pair of eyes which conveyed a lot of things to her in such a short span of time. Jieun slapped her cheeks lightly, trying not to go back to that moment. She already spent too much time overthinking and it didn’t do her any good.

“Yeah…just let me catch my breath.”

“You’re such a weakling. Serves you right because you don’t sleep enough.” Inna nagged. “Go sit over there.”

Jieun side eyed her friend playfully before resting on one of the benches. When they were fetching their stuff before going home, she thought it would be great to talk to Inna about the things that were bothering her.

“Inna, do you have plans with Dongwook after this?”

“No, I’m going straight home. I need to do some chores.”

“Let’s have lunch at home?”  With home, she meant her parent’s house. She suddenly craved not only her mom’s homecooked food, but also being surrounded by people she treasures the most.

Inna turned to look at her, sensing that she means more than lunch, then nodded.

When they arrived at Jieun’s house, the smell of cooking stew assaulted their senses.

“Omo, my stomach just growled. Did you hear it?” Inna remarked with a laugh.

“Yes because I’m not deaf.” Jieun replied, laughing at the hungry look on Inna’s face.

Inna and Jieun enjoyed lunch with the Mina and Jinwoo. As usual, Mina nagged Jieun about being too busy and looking so skinny, which Jinwoo, her appa, tried to stop, thinking that Jieun wouldn’t want to visit them even more because of it. It’s always this cycle when she comes home to spend time with them. Usually she finds it endearing but annoying. Today, it it’s different. Her mother’s fussing made her feel cared for, and it made her feel the warmth she needed.

“Eomma, thank you for the delicious lunch.” Jieun said as she wrapped her arms around her mother from behind.

Mina was busy putting dishes in the kitchen sink to notice, and it startled her.

“Aigoo…if it’s so delicious you should eat properly. Hanteo told me you’re too busy these days.”

“Mianheyo. I promise I’ll take a break soon.”

“Jieun-ah, if you’re tired, just rest, okay? You can come home and I’ll take care of you.”

Jieun could see that her mother is worried. She rarely shows this much affection and Mina can probably tell that something is bothering her. The Lee household is like this, they skirt around the edges until the other person is ready to talk about what’s bothering them. It’s like being trained to read people, and Jieun felt grateful that her mother didn’t force her to spill what it is she’s worried about, because honestly, she wouldn’t know where to start.

She hugged Mina tightly one more time, whispering to her ear, “I will, eomma. I’m just glad I have you and appa to come home to.”

When she drew herself away from the hug, she could see Mina dabbing the sides of her eyes secretly. Her mother might act tough most of the time, but she’s a softie when it comes to her.

After helping out with the dishes, Jieun found Inna resting inside her old bedroom.

“So, ready to tell me what this is all about?” Inna immediately asked before she could even sit on her old bed.

“Inna. I’m so confused.”

“Spill it. I’m here to listen.”

Jieun released a deep sigh before telling Inna about  Si Eon’s party up to the unexpected happenings from the photoshoot four days ago.

“It took you four days to tell me that?” Inna said incredulously.

“Mianhe. I just wanted to try and sort it out by myself. I can’t wrap my head around it and I just needed your thoughts. Why do you think Jihoon oppa is doing this? I mean, just the fact that he chose our song – it’s like our secret song – is confusing enough. Then that outburst a few days ago. It’s driving me crazy. It makes me feel like he’s not telling me something.”

Inna crossed her arms over her chest, in deep thought.

“Don’t tell me you’re hoping again.” Inna caught a look on her face that confirmed her suspicion. “Aish, what do I have to do to get some sense into you, Jieun? Even if his actions tell us that there might be something there, it doesn’t change the fact that he’s in a relationship.”

Inna’s words felt like cold water hitting her face.

“I know….but…”

“But what? I knew you weren’t really over him. That Junghoon episode is you trying to find ways to divert those feelings.”

Jieun couldn’t find the words to say, so she just buried her face into her palms. She could feel Inna moving closer, a few moments later, a pair of arms hugged her tightly.

“Sorry. I know you’re struggling. But you know me, Jieun. I won’t be that friend who will let you do dumb stuff.”

“I know. But, Inna, what if I just ask him and end this once and for all?”

“Ask him what?”

“Ask him why he did those things. Why he was so angry it looked like he could kill Junghoon with his bare hands.”

“Jieun, maybe he was just looking out for you. After all, he told you he still wants the two of you to be friends, right?”

“But you didn’t see him, Inna. I’ve never seen him so angry. Not even when we fought or when he broke up with Taehee. It was different. What’s so wrong about asking him plainly?”

Inna sighed. “There’s nothing wrong with it. But the thing is, will you be able to handle it if he says that he has no feelings for you? I don’t want you to get crushed, Jieun. I can tell just by looking at you that you’re still head over heels for him. You can’t tell me otherwise.”

She didn’t dare refute what Inna said because she’s right. Immediately after their encounter four days ago, all she cared about was what Jihoon’s actions meant, instead of Junghoon’s issue with Hayi. That said a lot.

“I guess I have no choice but to face the facts, if that’s the case.”

“Did you even talk to