hi. taeyong

sixty three

- miyeong

Jaehyun.

Hasn't it been a few weeks since I last saw him?

It's been so long.

I wonder how he's doing... I wonder how he's feeling right now.

I stumbled upon a local park near my apartment, a short two-minute walk. The chilly wind blows right past my heated face as my nose naturally scrunches. I unconsciously hid my hands at the deepest pockets of my coat due to the cold temperature. It's warm.

The word struck me, my mind instantly brought back a memory of Taeyong smiling dearly. I shook my head, confused. As I stood in the middle of the park, Ha Ri's peculiar message rang in my mind.

"He sounds like a bad person to me, try to avoid him okay?"

What on earth does she even mean? Telling me to avoid someone I barely know means that she probably met him years ago before I did... right?

"Hey, sorry I'm late." a familiar voice speaks.

I looked up slowly to see the figure in front of me. It's Jaehyun.

My heart cracked a bit, seemingly in a good way. I never knew I would miss this smile. The smile that once belonged to me - only me.

"Hey, it's been a while!" I crack a smile.

Jaehyun nods in reply, "it has been a while."

We found ourselves sitting on an empty bench in front of the park. The distance between us was insane. At the corner of my eye, I saw Jaehyun taking out a hot beverage he bought moments ago before meeting up. 

"Here, got this for you. Just in case you feel cold." He says gently.

I smiled and took the hot drink from his hand. Before cracking it open, I took a peek at his hands once more and curiously asked, "what about you? Did you buy a drink for yourself?"

He cheekily smiles, "Of course. My favorite-"

"Peach soda!" I exclaimed unconsciously. Jaehyun looked at me wide open. I coughed several times to cover up that embarrassing moment while laughing awkwardly.

"I... um... still remember you like that drink."

Silently, we both took a sip from our drinks. Awkwardness fills in the air as none of us dare to speak about the elephant in the room.

"I heard you're getting back on track with academics?" he curiously asks, his eyes fixated on the playground in front of us.

"Ah, yeah!" I said happily, "I've been catching up with schoolwork now, thanks to our classmates! They've been such a help ever since," immediately, I stopped. All of a sudden I felt like there was a lump in my throat, making me unable to finish my sentence.

"Ever since you locked yourself in your room... right?" Jaehyun slowly says, "well, that's good to hear." he smiles.

I sadly grin at his remark. Hearing this directly from him somewhat made it difficult for me to speak about what we both want to talk about. I clenched both of my hands as I was about to speak.

"I really don't know where to start." Jaehyun breaks the silence. He chuckles softly. He throws his arms up in the air, slouches down a bit, and lazily places them on his lap. "It took me days to gather my courage to talk you right now," he says as he flung his head upwards - staring at the night sky.

Ah, there it is.

Is he going to apologize for what happened last time?

Maybe ask to get back together?

Am I being too narcissistic?

Maybe.

I looked at him and smiled, "Is that an insult or something?" I asked jokingly. My head shifts slightly to the left to face the playground, suddenly reminiscing the times we both had spent together not too long ago.

Has he begun to love Ha Ri out of nowhere?

In a sudden flash, a vivid and clear image of the two figures resurfaced my mind. My body uncontrollably shakes out of pure fear.

That can't be true, right?

They never met or anything.

I did meet him first before Ha Ri did.

Right?

"If you're going to apologize, just don't. There's really nothing to apologize for. I get it, Ha Ri sure is a real catch. She's too pretty to not be crushed on, right?" I laughed purposely, shaking off this uncomfortable feeling off from my body.

With a bewildered expression, Jaehyun slowly turns his head to my direction - eyes wide in shock.

"Miyeong... I'm sorry."

Huh?

"All this time,
Ha Ri has always been on my mind."