Just Another Love Story

Story 1

"I'm sorry I'm late, Miss Park." Karina bowed from the doorway.

"No problem, Karina. Please take your seat." The teacher wasn't going to fuss over one of the best students in the school for being slightly late.

Karina went to her desk and sat down. She took her books out of her bag and stuffed them in the open drawer under her desk. She was surprised to see that they wouldn't go all the way in. She took them out and stuck her hand inside the drawer. She raised her eyebrows when her hand touched what felt like paper and ribbon. She pulled it out.

Karina almost gasped when she saw the small turquoise box tied with a white ribbon. There was a small blue envelope stuck to the box. She quickly stuffed her book in the drawer. She looked around the class to see anyone who could be the mysterious giver but all her classmates were either looking at the blackboard, sleeping or writing in their books. She opened the envelope and took out the small card.

"Happy belated birthday. This brand reminded me of you."

There was no sender's name, as usual.

Karina silently took a deep breath. It's been three years. Who are you? She slipped the card back inside the envelope then put the box in her bag – she'd take a look later during recess. She took out a pen and opened her notebook. She tried to focus on what the teacher was saying.

----

Minjeong kept her eyes on the blackboard although she could see Karina looking around from the corner of her eyes. She saw the absence of a smile on Karina's face even after reading the card and wondered whether she had gone too far.

A piece of folded paper landed on her desk.

Minjeong stealthily unfolded it and read.

"See? You're creeping her out."

She sighed and wrote a reply under it.

"Shut up."

She folded it and threw it back at her best friend who was sitting behind her. She chose to focus on the lesson while stealing inconspicuous glances at the dark-haired girl in pigtails who was sitting across the room.

----

Karina closed the stall door. She couldn't wait to see what was in the box.

For the past three years, she would always get random gifts during certain days like her birthday, Valentine's day, Christmas or after exams. She never knew who sent them. Sometimes the gift was in her desk drawer, other times it would be found in her locker. They always came accompanied by a short handwritten card or note.

There were also times when she would only get letters instead of gifts.

It had crossed her mind to try to compare the handwriting to all her classmates' but she didn't know what excuse she would have to come up with that could allow her to do that.

Karina quickly unzipped her bag and took out the turquoise box. She untied the white ribbon and saw the brand name printed nicely on the lid. She held her breath.

She took the lid off and saw a turquoise pouch emblazoned by the same brand name. She pulled the strings and looked inside. Her eyes widened as she took out a silver bracelet with a heart-shaped tag hanging from it.

"Pretty," she muttered to herself. Thank you, whoever you are.

Her friends told her that it was creepy and she thought that too but the letters and notes never indicated that whoever did this had meant any harm. It was a just a secret admirer, she thought.

A wealthy secret admirer, she told herself.

They were seniors in high school on allowance. The gifts had grown more expensive lately and this bracelet was definitely not something high school students could buy unless they had wealthy parents or didn't spend their allowance on anything for months or maybe even years.