At a quarter to seven that evening, I sat in front of my mirror, I asked my reflection. If you had a bit of sense, you’d tell him you wouldn’t go out with him if your life depended on it! But that’s the whole problem, isn’t it? Where Junhyung is concerned, you have no sense at all. He practically orders you to go out with him, and deep down inside you’re thrilled to death, even though he’s already found another person. Where’s your pride?

   It was a question I couldn’t answer and suddenly the door bell rang. Now’s your chance. I told myself as I walked to the door. Tell him to buzz off! Tell him you never want to see him again! Tell him…

   I opened the door, and there stood Junhyung. “Hello, Junhyung,” I said in a small voice. I was suddenly breathless.

“Well, that’s a relief,” he said, as he waited for me to come out. “I was afraid you might slam the door in my face.”

 “I did think about it,” I confessed.

“I guess I lost my cool this afternoon,” he said.

“I guess we both did.”

   We both rode in silence as we headed to the school. The bonfire was a new experience for me, since there wasn’t anything like it at Seoul. It was an outdoor pep rally held the night before the big game and it was the highlight of the week. I had expected to see a small campfire, so I wasn’t prepared for the sight of flames leaping ten feet into the air.

  “Is it supposed to be that big?” I asked Junhyung. “I mean, you’re not going to burn the school down or anything like that, are you?”

  Junhyung smirked. “We have some colourful traditions here but arson isn’t one of them.”

We joined the crowd of students gathered among the huge fire. Dongwoon and Doojoon were already there, and Dongwoon gave me the thumbs-up sign when he saw me with Junhyung. He and Doojoon didn’t make a move to join us, however, and I was glad. This was my first date-and my last evening-with Junhyung. I didn’t want to share him with anybody.

  Soon the pep rally was in high gear. But I was in the feeling of sadness. My time with Junhyung was quickly coming to an end, and all my hopes and dreams, like the battered toy, were going up in smoke.

   “Let’s get out of here,” Junhyung said suddenly, taking my arm. “We need to talk, remember?”

   He guided me through the crowd as we walked away from the fire. I followed him without a word. My eyes suddenly stung with tears. I blamed it on the smoke from the bonfire. We walked in silence through the maze of brick buildings on the campus. At last we came to stop.

   I caught my breath as I looked out across the lawn. A full moon hung overhead, its silvery light casting a dreamy glow over everything. It was a scene made for romance: a full moon, a romantic setting, a boy and the person he loved. The irony of it all was that this night wouldn’t mark the beginning of a new romance, but the end of one that had never had a chance. A cold wind made me shiver, I hugged Junhyung’s jacket tightly around me.

  “Cold?” Junhyung asked, speaking to me for the first time since we left the bonfire.

“I’m-I’m fine,” I answered. It was a stupid thing to say when my heart was actually breaking and I felt like I was dying inside. But the important thing now was to be calm and unemotional. I never, ever wanted Junhyung to know how I really felt.

  We walked across the moonlit lawn. Except for a distant whistle or shout from the kids around the bonfire, the only sound we heard was crunch of the dying grass beneath a tree, Junhyung turned to face me, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans.

  “Well, I guess this is it,” he said.

  “I guess so,” I managed to reply.

  “You know, we weren’t too bad together, were we, Yoseob?”

“No, Junhyung. Not bad at all.”

   We lapsed into silence a few long seconds. Junhyung let out a sigh. “This is no good, Yoseob. I’m afraid I haven’t been honest with you.”

“It’s alright, Junhyung,” I was amazed that my voice could sound so steady and calm. “You don’t have to say any more. I-I already know.”

He looked shocked. “You do? How do you know? Have you been talking to Hongki?”

“Hongki?” I was confused. “Hongki hasn’t told me anything. I overheard you talking to Doojoon on Monday.”

“I’m sorry you had to find out about it that way,” Junhyung said. “I meant to tell you myself, but not until we were finished with this act we’ve putting on. I don’t want you to feel like you’re under any sort of obligation to me, or anything like that-“

Of course, what he really meant was that he was no longer under any obligation to me. He was telling me, as gently as possible, that he had found another person, a real boyfriend.

“Of course not, Junhyung,” I said. “You helped me get rid of Joon, and I’m grateful to you, but there was never any question of-of anything else.”

For a moment I could have sworn that he looked gloomy as I felt, but in the next instant that look was gone. He gave me a slightly forced smile. “Well, I guess a situation like this is bound to be kind of awkward, but I hope we’ll always be friends.”

His voice held so much tenderness that I almost burst into tears. But tears would have to wait. Right now I had to pretend that Junhyung had merely been my partner in a game. It had been fun for a while, but now it was over. 

Oh no. This would be the second to the last update of "Wrong-way Romance". And tomorrow would be really the end. Aww. But hey, good news, i'll be writing a new one. :) So wait for it. Okay guys? Enjoy. :)

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