+ sixteen +

7K 533 414
                                    

[ edited ]

I walked slowly to class as I tightened my grip around my backpack. How could I face Jay after that girl Jihu revealed my feelings out of the blue? I was sure he freaked out and decided not to see me. I waited until 2 in the morning and I felt so upset when he didn't show up.

My heart pounded for nothing. I was so nervous that I couldn't sleep for no reason. I couldn't eat, I couldn't do anything. And all he did was leave me waiting for him until late at night. I took a deep breath and stepped into the room, seeing him lifting his face to look at me.

That was the time I regretted sitting next to him. I hesitantly went to my seat and took out my books for the next period. Suddenly, Jihu came up to me and placed a chocolate bar on my desk. "I just wanted to say sorry and here's a chocolate."

"For what?"

"For revealing your real feelings," she said before turning to Jay, "Please don't hate her just because she likes you, Jay."

My eyes widened when she said that. I stood up immediately and grabbed her wrist. I dragged her out of the classroom and headed to an empty hallway. "Hana-yah, what's wrong–"

I slapped her hard on her right cheek. "You're doing this on purpose. You have no right to reveal my feelings to him. It's bad enough that he knows about it because of you. So you don't have to bring it up anymore."

"I was just trying to help–"

"Well, don't. And don't ever think that we can be friends. You don't have to help or even think about me. I hate you, Jihu. I really do. If you keep on acting like this, I won't mind committing a crime just to make sure you're out of this world."

I gave her a death stare before heading to class, leaving her behind. I could feel her piercing gaze on me but chose to ignore it.




💌




I stayed in class as the school bell rang, signalling that it was already lunchtime. I kept my gaze fixed on my science textbook as I heard Jay tidying up his desk. He went straight to the door, not looking at me at all. I bit my bottom lip as I tried to suppress my tears.

Jay doesn't want to talk to me anymore because of Jihu.

I rested my head on the desk and sighed heavily, the upset feeling slowly rose inside me. The classroom door opened, revealing Heeseung panting badly. He approached me with a worried expression. I sat up straight and asked, "Are you okay? Did you run all the way–"

He pulled me into a hug before patting my back gently. "Are you alright? I'm so sorry for letting Jihu know about your feelings. I shouldn't even be talking about it when she's around."

I forced out a smile before shaking my head, "You don't have to be. She just happened to hear you. We can't do anything anymore. He already found out."

He helped me tidy up my books before carrying my backpack, "Let's go. I'll treat you to a meal."

As we were on our way to the cafeteria. We passed by the science lab. We both stopped walking when we heard some people talking inside. The lab was dark and it was supposed to be empty. I opened the entrance door a little and peeked inside. To my surprise, Jihu was sitting on a desk with Jay in front of her.

"You shouldn't just touch the apparatus like that. You could've hurt yourself," I heard Jay's voice. He was slowly rubbing the antiseptic with cotton on Jihu's wounded arm.

"I just wanted to see you."

Heeseung grabbed my arm, "Let's go, Hana. You shouldn't see this."

"Wait," I slapped his hand away and kept watching. "I wanted to ask you something. About Hana," Jihu suddenly asked. My eyes widened and held Heeseung's hand tightly, waiting for her to continue her words with anticipation.

"What is it?" Jay asked as he let out a heavy exhale. He looked like he didn't want to be bothered by the topic.

"What's your opinion about Hana's feelings? Will you accept it?"

"No. I've known her for years now. She's just a friend to me."

"What about me? What's your opinion of me?"

Jay's lips curved into a small smile as he lowered his gaze. He was a bit taken aback by the girl's question.

"You're nice and friendly," was all he said. "What about after this?" Jihu asked before pulling him into a kiss. What angered me the most was he didn't even pull away. Heeseung breathed out and dragged me away from the science lab, "Let's go."

I let him grip my hand tightly as I let my tears slowly trickle down. He stopped walking and turned around to look at me. His heart softened as he watched me cry behind him like a little kid.

"Hana-yah."

"No! Just... Be quiet. I don't want you to talk about what we just saw."

"I am so so sorry," he said before letting my hand go. "How can I be so stupid? Why can't I move on? Why is he in love with her? What does she have that I don't?"

"Hey, hey, hey," he cupped my cheeks before wiping my tears with his thumbs, "You're perfect in your own way. You're sweet, pretty, intelligent, kind and very admirable. People would kill to be like you. Trust me. There's someone out there that will appreciate you more and be better than Jay."

"Heeseung."

"Hm?"

"I feel so stupid," I breathed out and let him pull me into his embrace. I felt his warmth brushing against my skin and closed my eyes as I let my tears fall. He gently rubbed my back, "You deserve better, Hana. Trust me, someone better will only give you his attention."

"It's funny," I burst into laughter as I felt myself being dumb. "Jay was never mine, to begin with. Why do I feel like I lost him? Why does it feel like he was mine and I lost him?"

"It's normal to feel that way. The pain will soon pass."

"He wasn't mine to lose," I mumbled as I closed my eyes.

MISSION: LoveWhere stories live. Discover now