Paper Friendship Chapter 6

Even while talking, I thought, I should stop now. But today, I truly couldn’t help myself. When Choi Juoon smoked two or three cigarettes in a row, I managed to finish my story. Honestly, I could have said more. But Choi Juoon looked very tired. It seemed like he had studied a lot today.

“Choi Juoon. Thank you so much.”

I’m really happy, really. I hugged Choi Juoon tightly just like before. I thought he would push me away, calling me disgusting, but unexpectedly, he didn’t. I showed Choi Juoon the biggest smile I could muster. That was the best way to express how I felt right now. Choi Juoon stared at me blankly, then let out a long puff of cigarette smoke.

“Good luck.”

With that, Choi Juoon headed home. How boring. But Choi Juoon has been smoking a lot lately. Just as I was wondering if his studies were wearing him out, I got a call from Joo Sunhye. I walked home while talking to her.

I started dating Joo Sunhye.

On our second meeting, I walked Joo Sunhye home. Her house was in the opposite direction from mine. In front of her house, Joo Sunhye confessed her feelings to me. I was flustered, but not entirely surprised. It was because I had a feeling that we would start dating today. However, since I couldn’t help being shy, I avoided her gaze and said softly:

“…. Okay.”

Joo Sunhye must have been very happy, as she grabbed my hands and shook them up and down vigorously. We wanted to talk more, but it was already late. So, just before she went inside, Joo Sunhye made a heart shape with her hands and said:

“Bye, love you.”

“See you tomorrow. I, me too….”

I barely got it out. Honestly, it was insanely embarrassing to say, but Joo Sunhye’s eyes were so full of expectation that I couldn’t not say it. Upon hearing that, Joo Sunhye was genuinely delighted and went inside.

And as I walked home, I couldn’t stop my heart from pounding. I’m in a relationship. April 15th. It was the day I had my first relationship.

Suddenly, I thought of Choi Juoon. For some reason, I felt that Choi Juoon wouldn’t be all that happy about it. Because until now, I had always been glued to Choi Juoon. We were, quite literally, one and the same. But now that I have a girlfriend, the time we spend stuck together is going to decrease. I thought about it for a bit, then contacted Choi Juoon first.

Finally escaped being a solo since birth 

12:04

I messaged the other guys as well. Park Yoonchul called me immediately. I explained the situation while walking home.

After hanging up with Park Yoonchul, I realized I had received a ton of messages. Joo Sunhye had tagged me in a post on social media with a picture of us together. She also posted photos of us on other social media platforms. I followed suit, changing my profile picture and posting photos of us, too.

It wasn’t until I was about to go to sleep that I got a reply from Choi Juoon. It was very brief. I just checked it and didn’t reply separately.

Choi Juoon 

Congrats 

02:38

∞ ∞ ∞

The reaction at school was exhausting. The midterms were less than two weeks away. In my opinion, even though everyone said they were studying, they all seemed to want school drama more than anything else. It really felt like the entire student body knew. Even our homeroom teacher called me aside to tell me to focus on my studies.

Every break between classes, the other kids swarmed me. The boys asked how we started dating, congratulated me, and then stated their own conclusions—they asked me to introduce them to Joo Sunhye’s friends.

At lunchtime, I really wanted to go home. When I happened to stand in line next to Joo Sunhye at the cafeteria, Park Yoonchul started giggling and said:

“Hey, hey, Joo Sunhye.”

The girls around Joo Sunhye kept staring at me. And my friends shouted my name, “Lee Juun, Lee Juun,” for no reason. I was already embarrassed, and because of those noises, I felt like my face was going to explode. Joo Sunhye looked back at me every now and then. After making eye contact with her once, I kept my eyes on the ground.

Inside the cafeteria, the boys sat me down where I could see Joo Sunhye well, thinking they were doing me a favor. But as luck would have it, it was a seat facing Choi Juoon. Choi Juoon was chewing his food without any expression, truly staring through me. But somehow… he looked like someone who had lost his mind.

Did he not sleep well last night?

Now that I think about it, this was the first time we’d faced each other since this “situation(?).” I sat with my head down, barely eating, just pushing my spoon around.

At lunch, while I was hanging out with the kids in class, Joo Sunhye came to our classroom with her friends. I knew without being told that she had come to see me. I stood up and approached her. Since all the students in the hallway were staring at us, we went out to the school field. But the moment I stepped onto the field, I regretted it. I’d tried to avoid the seniors, but ended up coming out to where the whole school was.

Teachers, juniors, Joo Sunhye’s friends, and my friends. Everyone was truly staring at us. I thought I was going to die of embarrassment. We walked with a bit of distance between us.

“What’s up, Joo Sunhye.”

“Hi, isn’t my boyfriend cute?”

Joo Sunhye greeted her friends naturally. I sincerely hoped my friends wouldn’t talk to me. Luckily, my friends just stared at us and didn’t try to speak to me separately.

Trying to avoid the crowd, we ended up behind the school where there were fewer people. The senior boys sometimes smoked here, but it wasn’t frequent, so I hoped no one was there today. Unfortunately, I saw Choi Juoon and a few other students in the distance. The moment I saw Choi Juoon, I wanted to make a U-turn immediately.

Even though I know them, we weren’t close enough to greet each other happily in a situation like this. Although, Choi Juoon was there….

“Joo Sunhye!”

Just then, someone shouted to Joo Sunhye from afar. At that sound, everyone there looked at us. Joo Sunhye waved, and I slowly bowed my head.

I’m doomed….

As the distance closed, the gazes felt truly scorching. The boys, including Choi Juoon, smoked heavily without saying a word as they watched us. Joo Sunhye laughed and playfully punched the boys, asking them what they were looking at. When I made eye contact with Choi Juoon, I hurriedly avoided his gaze. That brief moment of eye contact… how should I put it, it felt like he was glaring at me intensely….

A while later, the bell rang, allowing us to leave. I thought as I ran back to my class, Choi Juoon, he’s really smoking a lot lately.

I sat in my seat and kept flapping my uniform top. It’s not even May yet, so why is it so hot?

∞ ∞ ∞

I walked home with Choi Juoon. Ever since I entered high school, we’d walked home together almost every day. While heading to the study room, Choi Juoon memorized English vocabulary words, and I just walked in silence.

Choi Juoon didn’t bring up anything related to Joo Sunhye. Was he being considerate? Before I started dating, I used to talk about her just fine, but strangely, now that we were dating, the words wouldn’t come out. As we walked quietly and the study room got closer, Choi Juoon asked in a low voice:

“You’re walking home with me, right?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“If you don’t even do that, you’re a real traitor.”

I slowly nodded. Today, in particular, Choi Juoon had a distinctly chilly atmosphere about him.

∞ ∞ ∞

My days leading up to the midterms weren’t much different from today. The midterms lasted for four days. However, since the weekend was in between, the exam period lasted for a total of six days: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.

Joo Sunhye and I met every day. We met before studying, and even in between breaks. At some point, Joo Sunhye wanted to study together. So, we started studying together as well.

In truth, I thought it was better to study individually. We needed to cut back on our meetings. After I started dating Joo Sunhye, I hardly studied at all. Still, I’d never neglected it to this extent before, so I was anxious for the first time in my life because I wasn’t studying.