Your's Pov:

We held hands till we reached my house. Throughout the journey, we were silent, as if words had suddenly vanished from our mind. But when we arrived at my void deck, L.Joe released my hand and said,

“Min Young, I’m always here. I’m always here, if you ever need me. Here.” He pointed to his heart.

I could no longer resist the urge to hug him. I wrapped my arms around him. The introvert Min Young was crying for the second time within a span of an hour.

“Ne gomawo,” that was all I could manage to say.

L.Joe released me gently and used his fingers, ever so tenderly, to wipe off my tears.

“Remember this. If you ever need me and I’m not around, just wait for me. Because I’ll always be here.” L.Joe said.

I nodded.

“I am just like the sun, and you the flower. I’ll provide sunlight for you to blossom. Sometimes, clouds will prevent me from reaching you. But you’ll know that I’m always trying to reach you. Just wait for the clouds to clear if you can’t receive my sunlight.” L.Joe said.

I nodded. If he continued, I could flood my void deck with my tears.

“Remember: To be happy, you either change the world, or you change the way you do things. To be realistic, you have to change your thinking by changing your behaviour to be happy. But, me…me. Min Young, I will change the world for you. So that you will be happy.” L.Joe said.

I said nothing because my throat was choked with my sobbing.

Gosh oh gosh. Don’t wake me up. Please, let time come to a standstill now. Right now. Gosh.

Chorong was munching biscuits on the sofa when I reached home. I had always envied how she could eat a lot and yet maintain her weight. When she saw my red eyes, we started our girls’ talk again.

And I told her what I felt.

“I’ve fallen in love with a guy. His name is Lee Byunghyun aka L.Joe. But I don’t know if he likes me or not,” I said. I was lying on the sofa, still in my uniform. I did not feel like bathing, as if the water would wash away L.Joe’s hug.

“Of course he likes you! I mean, he held your hand, he said all those…mushy, yet romantic things. Don’t tell me he says that to every girl,” Chorong said. She seemed to know everything.

Although she made sense, I still could not forget what had happened that night. “But that day, he said that I could not be his girlfriend. For some reason.”

Chorong sighed. “Guys. Maybe he wasn’t ready that day. Now that he is ready, what are you waiting for?”

What am I waiting for? I thought in my mind.

I got a call from a nurse the next morning. Dr Shin had assigned another therapist for me. I agreed to go, but I had already decided not to. I had ruined Mr Jung with my curse. They had to believe it.

L.Joe became L.Joe again. It was like the previous day had never occurred. He continued to wear that smile everywhere he went. I wondered if he would treat me like a girlfriend; but no, he treated me just like how he had treated me before. There was no difference.

We spent the next few days studying as normal. By the next week, we were on schedule for the full dress rehearsal of our play.

We had agreed to sing the song together near the end of the play. And I had agreed to do the play with an impromptu script. After we had changed into our costumes, I waited backstage. The song was then played loudly.

“2.00 a.m. and the rain is falling
Here we are at the crossroads once again
You’re tellin’ me you’re so confused
You can’t make up your mind
Is this meant to be
You’re asking me”

L.Joe was lying on the stage, his eyes closed. I walked onto the stage slowly, looking at the “unconscious” L.Joe.

“Romeo,” I whispered, “Andwae, Romeo…” I rushed forward and knelt in front of him, holding his head up. I could hear his breaths and smell his sweat. “Romeo…” I held his hand and clutched it tight. It was warm. I gripped it tighter and then lay my head on his chest. “Why are you going away now when I’m so in love with you? Wae?”

The audience, comprising our teachers and classmates, was so quiet that we might even hear the flapping of a mosquito’s wings. My breaths were unsteady. I was blinking fast again. “Jebalyo, stay with me. Na saranghaeyo.”

 should have given the cue to play the song, but I forgot to do that. Instead, I laid my head on Jacky’s chest, hearing his every heartbeat. Strangely, I had a fear: I feared that his heart might stop beating anytime.

After about a minute of silence, the song was played again.

“But only love can say
Try again or walk away
But I believe
For you and me
The sun will shine one day
So I’ll just play my part
And pray you’ll have a change of heart
But I can’t make you see it through
That’s something only love can do…”

When the song faded off, I looked at a cup of green tea beside me. “Poison,” I said to let the audience know that, that was not green tea. “Poison…” I tightened my grip on his hand and heard a soft groan from L.Joe through his closed mouth. “Wait for me, L.Joe. What for I live when you not around?” I gulped the green tea.

I shook and nodded my head for several seconds before dropping onto the floor, my hand still holding on to L.Joe’s. After a while, I sensed movement. L.Joe was waking up. He said something before lying on my back.

Everyone clapped. We thought we had done very well until one of the teachers spotted an obvious mistake.
“When you’re on the stage,” she said, “L.Joe is Romeo and you’re Juliet.”

I wondered whether she was being sarcastic or she was serious about pointing out my mistake.