Paper Friendship Chapter 3

“Choi Juoon. Seriously, what is it? Who is it? I’m dying of curiosity.”

Choi Juoon smiled, but I couldn’t. Such a strange guy. I glared at him slightly, and just as I was about to leave first:

“Joo Sunhye.”

Choi Juoon said the name. I turned around immediately. Joo Sunhye? Really, Joo Sunhye?

“Really? Really? Is it really true?”

“Yeah, let’s eat pizza for dinner today.”

“Okay, but is it really Joo Sunhye?”

“Yeah.”

Choi Juoon answered nonchalantly and headed to his academy, but my heart started pounding like crazy.

Joo Sunhye.

Joo Sunhye is in the same class as Choi Juoon, and they attend the same flight attendant academy. There wouldn’t be a single guy in our school who doesn’t know Joo Sunhye. Joo Sunhye is really, really, really pretty.

You might be surprised and ask if this is Hollywood when you hear this, but Choi Juoon and Joo Sunhye dated briefly back in their second year of middle school. For a week, or maybe two weeks… the two of them dated for a very short time, and now they remain friends. The fact that they used to date didn’t bother me much.

While Choi Juoon is at the academy, I go to see the ocean. Since it was close from the station to the sea, I walked slowly while smelling the salt air. Then, I thought of Joo Sunhye.

After hearing her name, I suddenly felt an attraction to Joo Sunhye, even though I hadn’t thought much of her until now. But is it okay to have my first relationship in my third year of high school? Since I’m also a senior, I should probably at least be sitting at my desk.

I was walking with a bit of worry when I saw a Santa statue in front of me. So, I closed my eyes slightly and made a wish, half-joking and half-serious.

Dear Santa. I’m not asking to win the lottery. Just let me pass and get into a college in Seoul. If possible, I’d like you to give me my diploma too.

Walking while thinking this and that, before I knew it, the cool ocean spread out before me. As I listened to the sound of the waves, I felt my worries disappearing. I crouched on the ground and stared at the sea. Like that, without a single thought… no, that’s not true, I kept thinking about Joo Sunhye.

…Should I check her SNS?

My hand kept drifting toward Joo Sunhye’s social media. No, don’t look, you’ll seem like a weird person. I steeled my heart, but before I knew it, I was eating a hamburger while stalking Joo Sunhye’s SNS. Suddenly, I felt so pathetic. Even when I tried to do something else, I kept thinking about Joo Sunhye. Thinking I might as well watch a movie, just as I was clearing my spot, I got a call from Choi Juoon.

“Uh-huh.”

— What are you doing?

“Eating… and now I’m going to watch a movie.”

— You were looking at Joo Sunhye’s SNS until just now, right?

I got goosebumps and froze for a moment. I looked around and said:

“No?”

Then I heard Choi Juoon’s laughter. Feeling a bit embarrassed, I touched the back of my head and changed the subject.

“…Did you eat?”

— I’m about to eat now. What did you eat?

A hamburger. I answered simply and talked on the phone with Choi Juoon. It wasn’t until I arrived in front of the movie theater that I hung up after he told me to meet him in front.

For the first time, I watched two movies in a row. The first movie was by a director I really like. Even though I had high expectations, it was fun. But the second movie… it was boring, so I ended up thinking about Joo Sunhye the whole time until it finished.

After the movie ended, I came out of the building while stretching. It was still chilly, but the night air was nice. The darkened sky. The spectacular night view and lights were visible to my eyes. And, Choi Juoon, too.

Choi Juoon was sitting on a bench, on his phone. How long did I keep him waiting? I hurried my steps. Whether he heard the sound of me running, Choi Juoon lifted his head and looked at me. A smile slowly spread across Choi Juoon’s face, and he said in a playful voice:

“Are you not going to hurry up?”

Choi Juoon, coming out after his academy like this, well, he really looks like an adult. I don’t know what they learn at the academy, but at some point, Choi Juoon started dressing like a flight attendant who had just finished a flight and styling his hair, too. Perhaps because he’s tall, he looked good in his clothes, and because his face is decent enough, the hair suited him well. Watching him like that, I also said playfully:

“Hey, should I become a flight attendant, too? I think I’d be insanely handsome.”

Hearing that, Choi Juoon laughed softly and got up from his seat.

“Where’s the pizza place?”

“Over there.”

Choi Juoon pointed with his chin. The shop wasn’t far from the movie theater. Because there were a lot of people, I wrote my name and phone number on the waiting list and sat in the space where people with reservations were waiting. And then, I asked about Joo Sunhye, the one thing I had been dying to hear about all day.

“Now, tell me about Joo Sunhye. I’m honestly so curious.”

“Lee Juun, but tell me this first.”

“What?”

“Are you going to date Joo Sunhye?”

Choi Juoon asked seriously. I thought for a moment, wondering what kind of question that was.

…Am I going to date her? Of course I want to. But I haven’t even contacted her yet…

“I don’t know about that, if we hit it off, we date…”

“Are you going to date Joo Sunhye?”

“No, I haven’t even contacted her yet, so how would I know…”

What on earth is he saying? Choi Juoon became serious at a strange point.

“Joo Sunhye has liked you for 5 months now.”

“…What?!? Really?!”

My voice went up without me realizing it. People waiting nearby glanced at us. I felt embarrassed and muttered a small “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, should I tell her to come here now? She’s probably eating around here anyway.”

“No, no. Ah, absolutely not. I’m shy… and… I’m currently… today, a little, no.”

“Why? You look better today than usual. Don’t you know what you looked like in middle school?”

He teased me subtly, so I just ignored it. Of course, compared to middle school, I’ve turned over a new leaf. Me, wearing a white hoodie and jeans, and Choi Juoon next to me… my physical state was a problem, but more than anything, I felt like I would just act like a total loser if I ate with Joo Sunhye right now.

“Number 67, customer Lee Juun.”

Our turn came at a perfect time. I hurriedly got up from my seat and said:

“I’ll pay for dinner tonight.”

Choi Juoon didn’t answer and just stared intently at me, as my face turned red.

The pizza came as soon as we sat down. Maybe it was because they took our order while we were waiting? I was going to try to talk about Joo Sunhye while we ate, but the pizza was so much more delicious than I thought, so the conversation drifted to pizza. It was the most delicious pizza I’d ever eaten.

“You know that tonkatsu place we went to last time is super popular now? This place will probably be like that soon, too.”

I said this while tucking the owner’s business card from the table into the back of my phone case. Choi Juoon asked if it was that good and gave me one slice of his Margherita. I also gave him a slice of my pizza. Choi Juoon didn’t say much, but he seemed to be eating it deliciously.

Choi Juoon paid the bill. I had pulled out my wallet late, assuming I would pay, but Choi Juoon had already handed over his card. Oh, because it happened in an instant, I hesitated in my action. And when we came out of the shop and were left alone, I said:

“It was really delicious. Thank you, Juoon hyung.”

Hyung is the best, you’re cool. I flattered Choi Juoon jokingly. Choi Juoon took a picture of the shop and said offhandedly, “Pay me back.” I nodded, smiling.

We walked to the train station while eating ice cream. The night breeze was cool and pleasant. Staring blankly at the sky, I spoke first.

“But is it okay for you to tell me that Joo Sunhye likes me?”

“She asked me to pass it on.”

“Ah, really? Then should I contact her first?”

“She’ll probably contact you first, right? But Joo Sunhye thought you were gay.”

I stopped in my tracks. Choi Juoon also stopped and looked back since I wasn’t moving. Ugh. I made a look of disgust. Choi Juoon seemed to find my expression funny, so he laughed slightly and said:

“She thought the two of us were really dating.”

“Hey, seriously, what… I’m speechless right now. You told her we aren’t, right?”

“I told her we were.”

“Ah, why would you say that!!”

Setting aside romantic feelings, this was a situation where I had to reach out just to set the record straight. Choi Juoon laughed loudly, clearly finding my reaction amusing. Certainly, today was one of the days where Choi Juoon was in the best mood ever. I threw my finished ice cream stick into the trash can and said: