chapter eight

- - - - - - - - - - - - ◊ - - - - - - - - - - - - 

I remembered the day.

January 23, 2009.

I walked into the school smelling bodily odors, cheap colognes and perfumes trying to fight off the stench, new textbooks, and hairspray being sprayed in every direction. I could hear girls gossiping about so-and-so getting back together, guys hooting over someone telling off another person, gum-smacking, footsteps approaching.

I turned and saw Yoon Young-hee. Everyone turned to see her.

Her dark, puffy eyes gazed back at me, and I was shocked to see her lip curl into a shy smile. I blinked and saw her eyes averted to the crowd before us, and her lips straightened.

I could feel her hand brush against mine. Her pinky curled around mine, and I my lips as I looked around to see that no one was paying any attention to our closeness.

Young-hee kept her eyes trained on the movement of the hoard, and she unhooked her pinky from mine and her eyes flickered back to mine. She gave me another shy smile before walking into the wave of people, but I still could feel her warm body bumping into mine.

I stood behind the crowd and held the folded note before my eyes.

To Kim Jong-dae.

Hearts decorated the bland loose-leaf paper, and stars circled around my name. I could hear my heart steadily beat throughout my body, and I smiled.

Dear Kim Jong-dae,

You’re probably wondering “why is this girl talking to me?” Honestly, I don’t know the answer to that question, but I do want to confess... you’re different. I watch you as you read your book outside. I watch you as you gaze at school garden. You’re cold, unsocial, and eccentric. I find you exotic, and I want to know more about you. Why? Why you may ask yourself. I ask myself the same question, but I have come to conclusion. I like you, Kim Jong-dae. You will most likely crumple this note and ruthlessly throw it in the trash bin with a simple flick of your wrist, but I wouldn’t mind because you had read this note and knew my intentions.

I like you.

I like you, Kim Jong-dae. The words repeated in my head throughout the lectures in my classroom. I couldn’t help myself but smile. Yoon Young-hee confessed that she liked me.

I rested my chin on the heel of my hand and stared at my teacher in the front of the room. My cheekbones ached from smiling, but I hadn’t cared in the world. I was exhilarated by Young-hee’s note.

I couldn’t wait until school ended. I ached to rush to her side and cup her face pulling her into a deep kiss. I wanted to show her that she wasn’t entrapped by an unrequited love.

The bell finally rang, and all of the students bustled out of the classroom chattering amongst each other. I stretched my arms and followed my classmates out with my book bag slung on my right shoulder. I skimmed the students in the hallways and I couldn’t see Young-hee’s dark hair anywhere.

I calmly walked out of the school and waited as all of my schoolmates poured out of the doors. I looked around, but Young-hee was nowhere to be found.

I gave up and walked through the school gates and heard a loud shriek followed by screams and a number of students sprinting to the site. I ran as fast as I could to the stop sign at the corner up the street and found two cars swerved off of the road.

I pushed past the crowd of students and saw a body lie in front of a silver car with a shattered windshield and blood splattered all over the hood.

A girl with a high ponytail ran out to the middle of the road, and she flipped the body over and chocked out a scream and sobbed loudly. I could feel my hands shaking hoping that the girl lying on the street wasn’t her.

I slid next to the girl in the ponytail and cupped Young-hee’s bloodied cheeks. Her eyes were shut tightly, and her breathing was ragged and uneven. She gasped for air and occasionally coughed, and I could feel tears stinging the corners of my eyes.

I gently tapped the girl with the ponytail, “Get her on my back. Now!” The student followed my directions, and hoisted Young-hee on my back, and I raced to the hospital.

As I ran, my vision blurred and I blinked back the tears trying to hold them in. It took approximately six minutes to reach the hospital since the school was around the corner from it.

I ran through the Emergency Room doors and was swarmed by doctors and nurses. They all grabbed for Young-hee’s frail body, peeling her off of my back.

They questioned for her guardian asking me if I was a friend or boyfriend of hers, but I couldn’t reply. Instead, I simply told them her name and left.

From that day on, I tried to forget about her.

The school recognized me as a true citizen, but I declined the recognition and didn’t attend the ceremony. I supposedly was to receive high consequences for not attending, but since I had saved a student’s life, the school decided I should have gone off without a warning.

One day, I decided to visit Young-hee while she lied in her bed in her coma. Her parents had left me in the room with her alone, and I reluctantly took the note out and laid it on the nightstand near the bed.

I sat beside her bed admiring how peaceful she looked although she had wires and IVs surrounding her body. Her face was covered with an oxygen mask, and yet she still looked happy.

Tears daringly fell from my cheeks, and I sniffed wiping the tears away with the back of my sleeve. I bit the inside of my cheek and walked out of the room without a word or even a glance back.

Dear Yoon Young-hee,

Keep on smiling. Although times will get tough, I believe you’ll live on. Forget me because I’m not worthy of your love. I didn’t throw away your note. Instead, I hid it in a place where I’ll always look and be reminded of you. Please take care, and live well! Thank you for your love, but I can’t return your feelings.

Get well soon! 

Author's Note:

I guess you can call this a quad-update. I got super excited over this, and so I couldn't help but quad-update.