February 14. Almost the entire female (and some of the male) population of Seoul Arts High School came to school an hour and a half earlier than usual, huge eco bags of ribbons and various decorations in tow. It was like a coordinated effort to prettify the school and make it look a lot more romantic. Some girls were hanging ribbons all around the corridors, others were sticking paper hearts to the walls. A group of girls were inflating heart-shaped balloons, who passed the balloons to a second group who tied strings on them, who passed them on to a third group who tied these balloons all around school. The entire time, all of them had happy and excited faces on them. By the time the teachers stepped in the building, the decorating had already gotten so much that they couldn’t do anything about it anymore. They ended up just letting them be.

You must be thinking that they’re doing all of this to celebrate Valentine’s Day, the magical day wherein girls gave sweets and treats and confessions of love towards the ones who captured their hearts, right?

 

WRONG.

 

Almost the entire female population of Seoul Arts High School were spending all this time and effort for one person and one person only: their Valentine boy.

Jung Jaehyun.

The most popular male student in Seoul Arts High School. Senior. President of the Student Council. Captain of the Basketball Team. Main vocal of the school’s boyband Four Seasons. There were even rumors floating around that he was signed under a huge entertainment agency and was gonna debut after graduation. Above all, he was tall and handsome, like a regal prince, like he was character written by a romance novelist that came to life.

Almost the entire female population of Seoul Arts High School gladly set Valentine’s Day aside to celebrate the birthday of this perfect human being.

What’s Valentine’s Day? It just happened to be a day that coincided with Jung Jaehyun’s birthday.

Screw the boys who wanted to get their candies and chocolates; they’d have to wait until tomorrow.

Today is Jung Jaehyun’s day!

Besides, this would be the last time they would be able to do this, with Jung Jaehyun graduating by the end of this school year. Putting in their everything in making this day the most special for him was only a matter of course.

As the time ticked nearer to the start of the school day, the rest of the school’s population started filing into the school grounds. Upon seeing the decorations, some guys frowned in dismay while some sighed in resignation. In case anyone had their hopes up that the decorations would be for Valentine’s Day, the huge “HAPPY BIRTHDAY VALENTINE BOY JUNG JAEHYUN” was enough to crush their remaining hopes.

 

Anyone who observed the school grounds as the Seoul Arts High School students started arriving for class would notice the sudden anomaly: if all the girls had already come in early to decorate the school, why is there a female student amongst the sea of boys entering the school?

Well, when I said “almost the entire female population” went to school early, what I really meant was all the female students of Seoul Arts High School… but one.

With her hair down and covering her face, hands holding tightly onto her backpack straps, and feet taking small, hurried steps towards her locker, Choi Jiyoon was Seoul Arts High School’s anomaly.

Regardless of whether they had boyfriends, were single, or swinged any other way in partner preferences, every girl in the school fawned over Jung Jaehyun. Everyone… except Choi Jiyoon.

While all the girls (and some of the guys) cheered loudly for Jung Jaehyun, sent him love letters almost every week, said hi to him in the corridors, and peeked inside his classroom to catch a glimpse whenever they passed by on accident (or on purpose), Choi Jiyoon simply didn’t do any of those things, keeping to herself the entire three years of high school.

Which was strange, because she was the only student in the school who went to middle school with Jung Jaehyun, which meant that in the school, she knew him the longest.

Why didn’t she like him?!

Was she crazy???

Despite the students giving her the nickname “Anomaly” and making fun of her… well, everything, she continued to stay the way she is, seemingly not bothering about Jung Jaehyun.

Choi Jiyoon made her way to her classroom after getting her things from her locker. As she sat down in her assigned seat, one of the girls giggling happily with the rest of the girls in the class came up to her, “Good morning, Jiyoon!”

Choi Jiyoon looked up at the girl and smiled, greeting her with a soft voice, “Good morning, Gaeul. You’re here early.”

“Of course, I’d be here early,” Gaeul said, sitting on the chair in front of Jiyoon’s desk, “I helped with tying the balloons around school!” She then put her arms on Jiyoon’s desk and leaned in closer to the girl, before whispering, “Are you gonna do it?”

Gaeul watched her friend’s cheeks flush a deep shade of pink as she looked down at her desk. “I brought it,” Choi Jiyoon whispered, “but I don’t know if it’s possible.”

“What? Why?!” Gaeul’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You already put in effort; don’t waste it now!”

“Everyone’s eyes will be on him today, anyway,” Choi Jiyoon softly mumbled, her face carrying sadness.

It wasn’t that Choi Jiyoon didn’t like Jung Jaehyun. She liked him. A lot. Probably more than the rest of the female (and some of the male) population of Seoul Arts High School.

But that was precisely why she hasn’t done anything to express her feelings towards him.

“Come on, Jiyoon; we’re graduating soon. After that, you don’t know whether you’d meet him again. Just gather your courage and do it,” Gaeul encouraged the girl, equally empathizing for her friend, and frustrated at her lack of courage.

 

Soon enough, cheers and screams were heard from the corridors. Choi Jiyoon’s face flushed a shade pinker as she looked at the classroom door, and soon enough, Jung Jaehyun himself passed by the classroom to get to his room. Choi Jiyoon saw him accept the gifts being shoved at him as he slowly walked past the open door, taking a second to glance into their classroom. She saw how he was keeping his face as composed as possible, but noticed traces of fatigue and irritation in there as well.

Her heart ached in concern. Is he sick, or feeling unwell? Is he not liking all the attention? I wonder why he looked uneasy…

The corridors became noticeably calmer after Jung Jaehyun went inside his room. At least, the girls still had some of their sense in tact: they slowly trickled back to their classrooms to start their school day.

Once their homeroom teacher entered the room, Choi Jiyoon immediately got her notebook and pencil out, ready to start listening and taking notes of the lessons for the day.

As she listened to her teachers, she also thought about the gift sitting in her backpack: a teddy bear she had spent 2 months making from scratch, with a light green ribbon tied around its neck.

Her gift for Jung Jaehyun.

Would she gather enough courage to give it to him today? Will Jung Jaehyun at least accept her gift? Does he even know her?

He probably doesn’t remember, Choi Jiyoon quietly sighed as her thoughts shifted from the gift to the first and only time she and Jung Jaehyun had interacted.

 

 

Ring ring!

The bells signaling the end of classes rang loudly across the building of Seongdong Middle School. Chairs scratched the floors loudly as the energetic kids ran outside their classrooms, ready to either play with their friends or go home.

Choi Jiyoon, with her head down and hands gripping onto her backpack straps tightly, slowly walked out of her classroom and out the school building, ready to walk home and be in the company of her latest cross-stitching project.

As she reached the playground three blocks away from the school, she suddenly felt a great force tackle her from behind, forcing her out of her balance and sending her straight to the ground. Her hands were quick enough to make sure her face was unscathed, but she felt the impact of the fall on her knees, and whatever caused her fall also caused her to not breathe from the heaviness on her back.

“Oh no I’m so sorry!” The boy now lying down on top of her immediately apologized, scrambling to get off of her, offering his hand to help her up. “I was running at full speed and wasn’t looking.”

“I-it’s no problem,” Choi Jiyoon said, still looking down. She was about to take a step when she felt pain shoot up from her ankle. “Ow!”

The boy’s eyes widened in alarm as he looked at her, “What happened? Are you hurt?” He then took note of her hands full of scratches, both her knees bleeding, and her right foot slightly lifted up. “You’re hurt a lot! You need to go to the hospital!”

Choi Jiyoon shook her head, “There’s no need.”

The boy stood his ground, “No way! Come on.” He changed his backpack’s position so that the bag was on his front, and then he turned to bend in front of Choi Jiyoon, his back facing her. “Get on, I’ll take you to my uncle’s clinic; it’s not far from here.”

Choi Jiyoon’s eyes widened in surprise. “No no, I can walk.”

The boy stood up straight again, but only to grab onto the girl’s hands to get her in a piggy back riding position on his back. “You clearly can’t walk. Besides, it’s faster this way. You need to get this treated!”

Choi Jiyoon resignedly sighed and kept still, “Put me down if I’m heavy, okay?”

“Nonsense; my backpack is heavier than you!” the boy replied, and from his tone of voice, Choi Jiyoon knew he was smiling. Carrying her on his back, the boy started walking to his uncle’s clinic a few blocks away.

It was the first time she was interacting with a boy like this who wasn’t her relative: the boys from her elementary school didn’t really pay much attention to her, even when they were assigned together for projects. It felt new and… nice. She smiled to herself.

“Are you attending Seongdong Middle School, too?” The boy suddenly asked.

Choi Jiyoon nodded, “Yes, I’m in my first year.”

“So am I!” The boy smiled widely as he glanced back at her. “My name is Jung Jaehyun, and I’m in Class 1-2! What about you?”

She felt her cheeks heat up upon seeing his sparkling eyes and bright smile, “I-I’m Choi Jiyoon. I’m in Class 1-3.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Choi Jiyoon!”

“I-It’s nice to meet you too… Jung Jaehyun.”

 

 

He probably doesn’t remember… Choi Jiyoon sighed as she remembered the last six years like a highlight reel in her head. After getting patched up by Jung Jaehyun’s uncle, the two of them ate ice cream together before they went their separate ways, with her getting picked up by her parents and him going with his uncle.

Afterwards, as the days went by in middle school, Jung Jaehyun became more and more popular with his charismatic personality and multiple talents and skills, while Choi Jiyoon became more and more of a wallflower, barely getting noticed by anyone in their school. Of course, the two of them haven’t talked since. He would shine in the limelight while she silently rooted for him in the farthest sidelines.

She noticed her hidden feelings for Jung Jaehyun growing more and more in the years to come, but didn’t really have a word for it until their first year in high school, when Gaeul asked her if she’s ever fallen in love yet. Falling in love was a new concept to her, but she couldn’t help that the first and only person she associated with this concept was Jung Jaehyun.

Love. It was the feeling she silently planted and grew in her heart for Jung Jaehyun for six years. She didn’t know if there would be a day that she would tell him. Maybe these feelings will stay unspoken in her heart forever. She wouldn’t regret.

Choi Jiyoon was happily silently in love with Jung Jaehyun.

 

The bell finally rang, signaling lunch time had come. While her classmates filed out the classroom – half were already thinking about lunch in the cafeteria, while the other half was getting ready to get a glimpse at Jung Jaehyun – Choi Jiyoon remained in her seat, choosing to stay in the room for the whole hour.

“Aren’t you getting lunch?” Gaeul asked her.

Choi Jiyoon shook her head, “I brought lunch; I’ll stay here.”

“Alright. See you later, Jiyoon!” Gaeul joined the other girls in the class as they went out of the classroom to the cafeteria.

Seeing that she was all alone now, Choi Jiyoon slowly fixed her school things, then took her lunch out of her backpack’s front pocket and opened it, setting her utensils down beside it. She was about to lift her chopsticks when she heard footsteps hurriedly entering her classroom and shutting the door shut. She lifted her head in the direction of the door and her eyes widened in shock.

Jung Jaehyun was getting overwhelmed with the hundreds of girls (and a number of guys) sending gifts and love confessions his way. While his Four Seasons friends distracted the girls, he broke into a run and entered a random classroom that wasn’t his own. Panting, he looked around the classroom and then grew shocked when he saw that he wasn’t alone. His heart started beating fast, and it wasn’t from the running.

“Choi Jiyoon,” he called the girl sitting on the corner of the classroom.

The girl’s eyes grew even wider. He remembers me.

Jung Jaehyun smiled as he approached her, “Why are you alone here?”

Choi Jiyoon swallowed in nervousness, “I-I packed lunch today.”

“But you could’ve had lunch in the cafeteria,” Jung Jaehyun frowned. “Well,” he suddenly said, fixing his expression and smiling at her again, “I guess it’s a good thing to stay here; the cafeteria was getting too rowdy. What do you have for lunch?”

“I made some fish fillet and kimchi fried rice,” she answered in her soft voice.

“Do you think we could share? I haven’t had the chance to get some food.”

Choi Jiyoon let Jung Jaehyun use her spoon while she took her chopsticks. They spent the next few minutes in silence as they ate from her lunchbox.

 

“Why were you running?” Choi Jiyoon suddenly asked.

“Hm?” Jung Jaehyun looked up at her, smiling.

“You- You seemed to have been running when you entered the room,” Choi Jiyoon explained, her eyes feeling like they’re blinded by his beautiful smile.

“Ahh,” Jung Jaehyun put the spoon down, “If I tell you, will you promise to keep it a secret?”

Choi Jiyoon nodded.

Jung Jaehyun looked softly at her, “Don’t get me wrong: I’m really thankful that everyone in school likes me and supports the things I do. But sometimes it gets a bit too much, you know? I mean, they didn’t have to do all of this for me. I could’ve celebrated my birthday quietly. Plus,” he sighed, “the gifts and constant confessions left and right were getting overwhelming.”

Choi Jiyoon understood, but at the same time was surprised, “I thought you liked getting the gifts and confessions.”

“I appreciate them, but I really wouldn’t like it until I received it from the person I want to hear it from, you know?” Jung Jaehyun smiled, his eyes sparkling.

“Y-You already have someone you like?” Choi Jiyoon softly asked, her heart getting heavier from the sadness, tears threatening to form in her eyes.

Jung Jaehyun nodded, smiling.

Choi Jiyoon looked down, hiding her face. She was about to continue eating when she felt a hand lightly grab her chin, nudging her to look up. She looked at Jung Jaehyun’s soft, sparkling eyes.

“We went to the same middle school together. I like her so much I followed her all the way here,” Jung Jaehyun said softly, looking at her like she was the only girl in the world. Choi Jiyoon’s eyes widened, her heart beating fast and loud in her chest. “I always look for her and see her, even though she hides and doesn’t wanna be seen. I make sure to look into her classroom, to at least see her every morning before class starts and every afternoon before I go home.”

He then breathed in deeply, looking at her more seriously, “I didn’t have the courage to tell her all these years, but I’ve liked her ever since I carried her on my back on the way to my uncle’s clinic the first day of middle school. I wonder if she likes me too.”

“Y-You-”

The first bell – the bell signaling that the lunch break was going to end in 10 minutes – suddenly rang, ruining the magical moment. Choi Jiyoon became more conscious of where they were.

“Maybe I’ll get her answer later,” Jung Jaehyun smiled, standing up. “Thank you for the lunch and the ear, Choi Jiyoon.” He started to walk back out the classroom.

It was now or never.

“Jung Jaehyun.”

He turned around and saw that Choi Jiyoon had already stood up, walking towards him with a paper bag in her arms. Her eyes carrying a determination that he’s seeing from her for the first time.

“Thi- This is for you,” she gave the bag to him. “Happy birthday.”

Jung Jaehyun gently took it and smiled, both surprised and ecstatic. “Thank you.”

 

Jung Jaehyun went back to his classroom and set the gift he’d just received on the desk. He sat down and slowly opened the bag, taking out the contents.

“Who’s that from?” Doyoung asked as he sat down in front of him.

“It’s from her,” he smiled.

“Finally!” Doyoung beamed, “It’s about time! I’m happy for you, Jaehyun.”

“Thanks,” he softened as he touched the fluffy teddy bear with the light green ribbon around its neck. He looked back in the bag and noticed an envelope at the bottom of the bag. He immediately took it and opened it, reading the contents.

 

Dear Jaehyun-sshi,

You probably don’t remember me, but my name is Choi Jiyoon. I was the girl you bumped into that first day in middle school and carried to your uncle’s clinic.

I never got to thank you more properly for that, so thank you. My wounds and sprained ankle healed a lot quicker with your and your uncle’s help. As my thanks, I’ve been taking care of where I walk. I’ve also been cheering you on as you grew into the amazing you that you are now.

I also want to tell you that… I really like you. I’ve liked you ever since that day, but I never got the courage to tell you. So… I’m telling you through this letter and teddy bear. I made it myself. I hope you don’t find it too shabby.

Thank you for your bright smiles and your presence. I’m really happy that I got to spend both middle school and high school in the same schools as you. Wherever you decide to go in the future, know that I’ll always be cheering you on.

From Choi Jiyoon

 

The school bell finally rang, signaling the end of another school day. As students started filing out the classroom, Gaeul approached Choi Jiyoon as the girl packed her things. “That , you didn’t even get to give it to him! Oh well, maybe tomorrow!”

Choi Jiyoon simply smiled and started walking towards the door. Strangely, she saw that a crowd was forming outside her classroom. She went out, curious. Her eyes grew wide as she saw Jung Jaehyun standing outside her classroom, holding the teddy bear and letter she gave him.

“What’s going-” Gaeul stopped, and then gasped, seeing Jung Jaehyun holding the bear that Choi Jiyoon made with her heart. She watched her friend take one brave step towards the guy she’s liked all this time.

“Choi Jiyoon,” Jung Jaehyun called, his eyes sparkling, full of love.

“Jung Jaehyun…” Choi Jiyoon softly called back, her eyes already filling up with tears.

“I love you, Choi Jiyoon,” Jung Jaehyun said, earning gasps from all the students watching them, including the few nosy teachers. “Will you accept me and give me the honor of being your boyfriend?”

Tears fell from Choi Jiyoon’s eyes as she looked at the guy she’s loved all these years. She nodded, “I love you, Jung Jaehyun.”

The crowd cheered as Jung Jaehyun took Choi Jiyoon in his embrace.

 

Jung Jaehyun was Seoul Arts High School's Valentine Boy: the entire female (and some of the male) population of the school gave him their hearts and attention.

Choi Jiyoon was Seoul Arts High School's Anomaly: she was the only person whom Jung Jaehyun gave his heart and attention.

 

END

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