A walk to remember || Tk

「 Chapter 4 」

—Chapter four—

Jungkook reached up and started to adjust his hair. By my reckoning, it hadn't moved at all. I took a deep breath, trying to gather myself, but I couldn't force myself to come out with it just yet.

"So," I said instead, "you were at the orphanage today?"

Jungkook looked at me curiously. "No. My father and I were at the doctor's office."

"Is he okay?"

He smiled. "Healthy as can be."

I nodded and glanced across the street. Mrs. Hastings had gone back inside, and I couldn't see anyone else in the vicinity. The coast was finally clear, but I still wasn't ready.

"Sure is a beautiful day," I said, stalling.

"Yes, it is."

"Warm, too."

"That's because you're in the sun."

I looked around, feeling the pressure building. "Why, I'll bet there's not a single cloud in the whole sky."

This time Jungkook didn't respond, and we sat in silence for a few moments.

"Taehyung," he finally said, "you didn't come here to talk about the weather, did you?"

"Not really."

"Then why are you here?"

The moment of truth had arrived, and I cleared my throat.

"Well . . . I wanted to know if you were going to the homecoming dance."

"Oh," he said. His tone made it seem as if he were unaware that such a thing existed. I fidgeted in my seat and waited for his answer.

"I really hadn't planned on going," he finally said.

"But if someone asked you to go, you might?"

It took a moment for him to answer.

"I'm not sure," he said, thinking carefully. "I suppose I might go, if I got the chance. I've never been to a homecoming dance before."

"They're fun," I said quickly. "Not too much fun, but fun." Especially when compared to my other options, I didn't add.

He smiled at my turn of phrase. "I'd have to talk to my father, of course, but if he said it was okay, then I guess I could."

In the tree beside the porch, a bird started to chirp noisily, as if he knew I wasn't supposed to be here. I concentrated on the sound, trying to calm my nerves. Just two days ago I couldn't have imagined myself even thinking about it, but suddenly there I was, listening to myself as I spoke the magic words.

"Well, would you like to go to the dance with me?"

I could tell he was surprised. I think he believed that the little lead-up to the question probably had to do with someone else asking him.

Sometimes teenagers sent their friends out to "scout the terrain," so to speak, so as not to face possible rejection. Even though Jungkook wasn't much like other teenagers, I'm sure he was familiar with the concept, at least in theory.

Instead of answering right away, though, Jungkook glanced away for a long moment. I got a sinking feeling in my stomach because I assumed he was going to say no.

Visions of my mother, puke, and Carey flooded through my mind, and all of a sudden I regretted the way I'd behaved toward him all these years. I kept remembering all the times I'd teased him or called his father a fornicator or simply made fun of him behind his back.