Paper Friendship Chapter 8

At this moment, our timing was off. I went forward, assuming Choi Juoon wouldn’t be looking at me, but Choi Juoon turned his head toward me.

My lips brushed against Choi Juoon’s cheek. Actually, rather than his cheek, it was a spot very, very close to his lips.

“Ah, sorry.”

I said, pulling back slightly. It wasn’t like it was dirty or anything. I’d kissed my guy friends as a joke a few times before, after all.

But Choi Juoon stiffened, looking deeply displeased, and wiped his cheek.

“Are you crazy? Ah, you little shit, seriously….”

I really didn’t know he would hate it this much. I felt embarrassed, so I apologized one more time and wiped my own lips. Choi Juoon gathered his things without a word and stood up. I watched him blankly, then hurriedly packed my own things and followed him out.

We walked home in silence. I followed Choi Juoon, who was walking at a faster pace than usual, and thought:

Is it really something to get this seriously angry about? For some reason, I felt a bit hurt. When I glanced at Choi Juoon’s face, it was slightly flushed. I guess it must have been that unpleasant for him.

When we stopped for a red light, Choi Juoon spoke up first.

“Where are you going with Joo Sunhye today?”

“…We haven’t decided yet, so we’re going to meet up and figure it out. We’ll probably start with dinner, though.”

Since Choi Juoon didn’t say anything else about what had just happened, I continued the conversation as if nothing were wrong. When we reached in front of my house, Choi Juoon said:

“I don’t like that kind of thing, so don’t do it again.”

I just nodded. Even without asking in detail, I knew he meant what just happened. As I went into my house, I vowed to be careful with physical contact from now on.

∞ ∞ ∞

In the afternoon, I met Joo Sunhye. Her makeup was a bit heavier than usual, and she was wearing a white shirt with a denim skirt. As soon as I saw her, I couldn’t help but smile.

“You look pretty.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“You look handsome, too.”

Joo Sunhye smiled and linked her arm through mine. I could feel the scent of her perfume and the physical sensation of… Joo Sunhye, so I naturally pulled my arm away. Fearing she might try to link arms again, I held her hand. Joo Sunhye intertwined her fingers with mine without a word.

We had dinner and watched a movie. It was past nine o’clock by the time we came out of the theater. It was an awkward time to go anywhere else, so we sat on a bench, holding hands. I’ve felt this for a while now, but Joo Sunhye’s hands are truly soft. We just sat there in silence for a while. It was fun, and it was nice. Everything was just good.

Then, I heard a sniffing sound, and when I looked to my side, Joo Sunhye was crying.

“Why, why are you doing that? Does your stomach hurt?”

Joo Sunhye chuckled a little at that, then started crying again. I pulled a tissue from the nearby restroom and handed it to her. For a moment, it seemed like her tears had stopped, but she started crying again when I handed her the tissue. Not knowing the reason, I hesitated, unable to do anything. Joo Sunhye wiped her tears and said:

“I don’t think we’ll be able to meet often anymore….”

Joo Sunhye kept choking up as she talked. To summarize what she said: her midterm grades had dropped too much, so she wanted us to meet only at school from now on. Since I agreed to some extent, I nodded and said I understood.

“I wish the college entrance exam was over quickly.”

Joo Sunhye muttered, leaning on my shoulder. I patted her gently in silence.

“I’m going to the restroom for a second.”

While Joo Sunhye got up and went to the restroom, I sat there staring blankly at the moon.

“…Ah…!”

That was when I suddenly remembered that I had left the printout for tomorrow’s performance assessment at the study room. I must have forgotten it because I left in such a rush this morning.

The study room was right in front of us, but I couldn’t leave Joo Sunhye waiting alone. While I was debating, Joo Sunhye returned. I asked if she would mind stopping by the study room with me since I had left something behind. Joo Sunhye readily agreed.

Joo Sunhye waited in the lounge, and I went to my seat. Just like in the morning, it was empty. I was the only one in our room. I searched my desk for a while, but the printout wasn’t there.

Did I leave it at home…?

Since it wasn’t here, I assumed it must be at home. Since a lot of time had passed while searching for the printout, I picked up a cat doll that was on my desk to give to Joo Sunhye for waiting for me. I’d won it in a claw machine a while ago; it was quite cute, so I kept it on my desk. I headed back with a light heart.

∞ ∞ ∞

“You’re back?”

Joo Sunhye turned toward me and said happily. Joo Sunhye was alone in the lounge.

“This….”

I approached her and handed her the doll. Joo Sunhye said nothing. The air felt strange, somehow. I smiled out of awkwardness. I was just about to tell her I’d won it in a claw machine.

Joo Sunhye stood up, made me sit in the chair, kissed my right cheek, and looked at my face. Joo Sunhye’s face was slightly flushed. I stared at her blankly with my mouth slightly agape.

Then, Joo Sunhye smiled slightly and kissed my left cheek this time. Looking at my face again, she whispered, as if shy:

“Close your eyes.”

I closed my eyes. My heart started pounding like crazy. I felt something slowly approaching my face, and then something soft touched my lips. Even without opening my eyes, I knew it was Joo Sunhye’s lips. My lips met hers.

I kissed Joo Sunhye.

Truly, goosebumps broke out all over my body. We kept our lips together. Should I open my mouth? Is this meant to be a kiss? No, is-is the progression a bit too fast?

Joo Sunhye’s lips slowly pulled away. Only after a while did I manage to open my eyes and look forward. I saw Joo Sunhye’s back. I followed her gaze and looked behind me. Choi Juoon was staring at us from behind.

Seeing Choi Juoon, my heart sank.

I felt like I was going to die of embarrassment. I truly wanted to jump off the building right then and there. Without realizing it, I pushed Joo Sunhye away slightly.

“I’ll… contact you.”

Joo Sunhye, perhaps finding the situation overwhelming as well, left only those words, grabbed the doll, and quickly exited the lounge.

I was….

Left alone with Choi Juoon….

Choi Juoon had his usual expressionless face, but his face was extremely red. It was incomparable to the morning. I had never seen Choi Juoon with an atmosphere like this before. Besides, even back in middle school, Choi Juoon hadn’t shown such an expression in front of me…. Thinking that made my body heat up. I swallowed once and stood up.

I walked with brisk steps and pulled the doorknob next to Choi Juoon. Choi Juoon didn’t move aside or anything. He was stiff as a stone. But no matter how hard I pulled, the door just rattled; it wouldn’t open.

Is it broken? What’s wrong with it? I was almost at the point of breaking the door down now.

“…Then….”

Choi Juoon muttered something from the side. But I couldn’t hear his voice. I could only see what was in front of me. I wanted to open the door quickly. I wanted to get out of here. Then, Choi Juoon grabbed my face and forced me to look at him.

Seeing Choi Juoon’s eyes, my breath hitched. Choi Juoon’s brow was deeply furrowed, and his eyes were bloodshot. Choi Juoon’s eyes weren’t looking at me. They were looking at my lips. Glancing at my lips with his eyes, Choi Juoon slowly spat out, word by word:

“That’s not how you open a door.”

“…Ah….”

“And your face is red.”

Choi Juoon took my hand and opened the door for me himself. Whether it was because my body was hot, or because Choi Juoon’s hand was hot—the hand touching Choi Juoon’s felt hot enough to give me a burn. The door opened, and I headed to the restroom at a near run. Fortunately, I was the only one in the restroom.

I gasped for air and looked in the mirror. My appearance was a mess. My face was flushed as if it would burst, and my lips were shiny as if I’d applied lip balm. I raised my arm and rubbed my lips vigorously. Is that why he was staring like that?

When I stood in front of the sink to wash my hands, someone walked in. I had hoped no one would come…. When I looked up, it was Choi Juoon again.

“This is the men’s restroom….”

Ah, right, he’s a man too. I turned my head again. My mind was completely blank.

Anyway, this bastard….

He came here on purpose, 100 percent.