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Ari stared at the boy in front of her, who was not aware of her gaze on him. He was talking excitedly with the girl beside him, drinking from his glass of wine. That familiar look of his gave Ari nausea. That familiar black jacket, those typical heavy chains of his...it was deja vu.
She wanted to run away from that place. Far away. Just in case it was who she thought it was. But after her petty heated argument with the much arrogant Heeseung, she didn't have many places to run to.
Ari decided she'd escape to the front yard instead. She ran into Sarang and Chaewon, but they were pretty preoccupied with talking to Sunoo and one of his friends. They seemed pretty interested in the boys, so Ari decided to leave them to it, and with the arguments she'd been having with guys lately, she wanted to go anti-men for a few days.
The evening was dying and the moon was high up in the sky, full and bright. She couldn't remember the last time she had the opportunity to look at the moon for more than five minutes without worrying about finishing her assignments.
Ari had picked up a drink on her way outside, which she sipped while gazing at the sky.
"Pretty, isn't it?" She spun around to the origin of the voice. "It's been a long time since I've watched the moon with someone beside me"
There he was, standing beside her with the usual look of his neck filled with heavy chains. He kept his stare on the black sky, yet it felt like he was boring his eyes into Ari's soul.
He walked over to the bench kept at the end of the garden. It was against Ari's will, but she followed him anyways.
"How long has it been, again?" the boy asked, looking at Ari. "The last you and me spoke?"
"T-three-" Ari cleared her throat. "Three years"
"Three years," he repeated. "Seems like forever, though"
Ari remained quiet, not knowing how to continue the conversation, right when someone called the boy's name.
"JAKE"
The two of them spun around to see the owner of the voice. It was Mr. It's-My-Game, aka Heeseung. She didn't know the two of them were friends.
On reaching them, Heeseung saw the two of them standing beside each other. "You know this...," Heeseung waved his hand in front of Ari as of she were an object, "girl?"
"Yep," Jake nodded. "Pretty well, I think"
Heeseung made a disgusted face towards Ari, to which Ari responded by pushing her hair behind her ears with her middle finger.
"You are needed in the game of ping pong," Heeseung nodded toward Jake.
"A'ight. You wanna join?" Jake asked Ari, to which she rejected politely.
"See you around?" He asked, turning around to leave. He looked at her expectantly with his huge puppy eyes.
"I guess...," Ari responded, unsure if she wanted to have another conversation with him ever again.
"Then gimme your number"
She hesitantly pulled out her phone and lent it to Jake.
***
Ari remained grounded to her feet, not knowing where she'd even go after that little event. Three years did seem like forever. All those memories, good and bitter, had been flashing in Ari's mind throughout their conversation. And she hated it.
The moon hid under the clouds and the sky darkened, as everyone headed inside the building, for their romantic night out was over.
She looked down at her shoes, and instantly two drops of water fell on them. The sky was too clear for a downpour. Then she realized they were her own tears. Feeling like a weakling, she wiped them hastily and found the energy to move from the place.
She walked around the backyard to find a place to hide from everyone. Sure enough, there was a small, dark shed. She leaned against the tin door and finally let all her tears out.
She had, in fact, not felt something like this for ages. She thought she had moved on.
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