Students slowly trickled out of the soccer field, some still in costume, others carrying half-eaten snacks and polaroids from the photo booth. The night air was soft and a little too quiet now—like the school had finally exhaled after all the excitement.
Jiwon and Jungwon walked in silence toward the school gate.
Jiwon’s hands were stuffed in her hoodie pocket, fingers fidgeting with a crumpled napkin. Jungwon had his arm slung lazily over his shoulder bag, but he kept glancing at her—like he wanted to say something, but didn’t know where to start.
Finally, Jiwon spoke.
“Did you have fun today?”
He looked at her, smiling gently. “Yeah. It was better than I expected.”
“Because of the fireworks?”
“Because of you.”
She froze.
“Sorry,” he said quickly, rubbing the back of his neck. “That sounded cheesy.”
She didn’t reply at first. Then—
“No... it didn’t.”
He looked at her again, this time more carefully.
They stopped walking. The sidewalk was empty now, just a faint glow from the street lamps painting light over the shadows.
Jiwon exhaled.
“There’s something I should probably tell you,” she said, staring at the ground.
Jungwon’s heart thudded once. “Okay.”
“I didn’t hate you,” she began slowly, voice soft. “When I found out it was you behind those texts.”
“Jiwon…”
“But I was... confused. Hurt, I guess. Not because you were you, but because I trusted the person behind those messages with parts of myself I wasn’t used to sharing.” Her fingers gripped her sleeve tighter. “And when it turned out to be someone I already knew—someone close—it felt like maybe I’d said too much to someone who hadn’t really... earned it yet.”
Jungwon felt that. Deep in his chest.
“I didn’t mean to lie,” he said quietly. “I just—I didn’t know how to tell you. And the more we talked, the more I didn’t want to ruin it.”
Jiwon finally looked at him.
“You didn’t ruin it.”
He blinked. “I didn’t?”
“You just made it harder for me to figure out how I feel.”
Silence stretched between them again.
Then she smiled, small and a little sad. “You know... when I used to text you, I told you about my crush.”
He nodded slowly.
Jiwon met his gaze. “I was talking about you, Jungwon. I just didn’t know it yet.”
He stared at her, stunned.
“I used to think I liked the version of you that I saw from afar. The quiet class president. The boy everyone liked,” she said. “But it turns out... I liked the boy who told me dumb jokes at 2 a.m., who listened when I was upset, who never made me feel weird for being a little too soft.”
Jungwon swallowed hard. “You’re not too soft.”
“I know,” she said. “You told me that.”
He stepped closer, heart pounding. “Do you still feel the same way?”
Her expression flickered—hesitating, uncertain.
“I want to,” she whispered. “But... I’m still figuring things out.”
Jungwon nodded. He didn’t push.
Instead, he held out his hand, palm up.
She looked down at it.
“It doesn’t have to be everything right now,” he said gently. “Just... let’s not walk apart anymore, okay?”
Jiwon slowly slipped her hand into his.
It fit.
Not like a perfect puzzle piece. More like two people learning where their edges meet.
And they walked on—under streetlights and the weight of half-meant confessions, their joined hands saying the words they weren’t ready to speak aloud yet.
But someday, maybe soon, they would be.
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