Charles and Richard Chapter 12

They were too overly familiar with each other to easily notice any change in one another. But others were different. Jennifer was different, too. She quickly sensed Richard’s change. And as Richard secretly stole glances at her for over a week, she could feel that change all the more dramatically. According to Jennifer’s thinking, Richard’s change was because of her. Richard had changed because he liked her, Jennifer. Jennifer became the envy of many girls. Jennifer, too, was intoxicated by that envy and failed to notice Richard acting strangely.

R: Do you know a guy named Charles?

Jennifer: Charles? Who’s Charles?

R: He’s in history class with you. Brown hair and green eyes. He has a few freckles, and when he smiles, he gets dimples on both cheeks. He’s not talkative, but he laughs a lot, and at first glance, you might think he’s a bit brusque.

Jennifer felt no suspicion whatsoever about the overly long and detailed description above. She just thought for a moment and then answered simply.

Jennifer: But why him?

R: He’s my friend.

Jennifer: Really?

R: Yeah.

The conversation about Charles ended there.

Though he couldn’t find any charm in Jennifer, Richard didn’t give up easily. No matter how boring it was, he tried to take note of even the smallest things about Jennifer. As a result, Richard was able to come up with a list of items regarding Jennifer’s charms:

1. She’s a beauty. (Jennifer was pretty enough that anyone could agree on this point. Nevertheless, Richard felt no attraction to her face. Because Jennifer didn’t have freckles on her cheekbones like Charles did, nor did she get dimples when she smiled. He could agree that she had a pretty face, but Richard’s stance was the same as before. Just as the world is overflowing with brown-haired people, it is also overflowing with beauties.)
2. She likes beans. (The one thing Richard found regrettable about Charles was that he disliked beans. Jennifer liked beans. …The problem was that this didn’t seem like something Charles would find attractive.)

That was all. He’d racked his brains desperately, but for Richard, those two points were everything.

Richard was frustrated. In the meantime, his relationship with Charles had made no progress at all. Richard was burning with anxiety. Just thinking about Jennifer meeting Charles every history class made his insides burn with impatience. Because someday, Jennifer would inevitably fall for Charles.

It was only natural. Because anyone couldn’t help but love Charles. There was no one who could see Charles’s freckles and dimples and not fall in love. Therefore, as time went on, Richard grew more and more frightened. Charles still showed no sign of liking Richard back. At this rate, Jennifer might really take Charles away from him. She just might.

The moment that thought occurred to him, Richard’s face went pale. Richard had never had anything taken from him. Nothing had ever left his hand and never returned. But if Charles was taken away by Jennifer? What if he could never get him back? A fear and sense of loss he’d never felt before came crashing down on him. Just imagining it was terrifying. Richard began to meet Jennifer more and more ardently. Now, the boy and girl started spending lunchtime together every single day.

∞ ∞ ∞

By now, the relationship between Richard and Jennifer was already famous among the girls. There wasn’t a single girl who didn’t know the two were dating. As the rumor spread widely, the news gradually began to reach the boys’ ears as well. Without Richard’s knowledge, the talk of him even reached Charles’s ears. Charles’s friends subtly asked him about it when Richard wasn’t around.

Friend: Did you hear about Richard? That he’s dating Jennifer? Did you know?

C: Who said that?

Friend: Everyone’s saying it.

C: They must have it wrong.

Charles answered firmly. He was a little uneasy, but he could still be certain. Richard wouldn’t do that. Richard knew that Charles liked Jennifer. He’d been steadily trying to win Charles’s favor lately, too. It had already been about half a year. He often did things that were frustrating, whether from clumsiness or stupidity, but Charles could at least tell that Richard was sincere.

Charles didn’t believe what his friends were saying. Even while those rumors were circulating, Richard always came over to Charles’s house for dinner. Charles believed that there was simply no way Richard would do that. Even when one of his friends said he’d asked Jennifer directly, and that Jennifer herself had answered that she was dating Richard, Charles still didn’t believe it.

Charles knew that Richard was popular, too. Jennifer might just be exaggerating. Charles had initially liked Jennifer with a mix of curiosity and admiration, but ever since those rumors involving Richard started circulating, any feelings of liking had completely vanished. In fact, he’d even started to think Jennifer was acting strange. But Charles’s friends seemed to think Charles was the strange one.

One day at lunchtime, Charles’s friends suddenly dragged him outside. Even though it was spring, it was still a bit chilly, so Charles said they should eat lunch in the cafeteria. His friends said they weren’t going to eat. They took Charles to the tennis court. A couple was sitting on the stands.

Friend: I told you they were dating.

But even then, Charles didn’t believe it.

He didn’t believe it, but he still needed to correct the error. Charles was sick of his friends saying bad things about Richard. He didn’t intend to defend Richard. But he also didn’t feel comfortable leaving his friends to badmouth him. He was fed up with hearing the rumors or hearing about them through his friends any longer.

Charles intended to correct his friends’ misunderstanding about Richard, and also to correct Jennifer’s delusion, so he stayed in the classroom for a while after history class ended. He quickly caught Jennifer as she was about to leave the classroom. Jennifer looked back at Charles with a questioning face. Charles briefly asked if she had time. Jennifer shrugged and followed him. Charles didn’t need to go far. It was enough if they could just talk privately.

Charles and Jennifer stood facing each other in a corner of the classroom. Jennifer looked suspicious. Charles looked at Jennifer’s blonde hair, which he had once liked, and asked abruptly.

C: Why are you lying?

Jennifer: What?

C: You’re not actually dating Richard.

Jennifer: How would you know if that’s a lie or not?

C: I just know.

Silence fell between the boy and girl. Jennifer was annoyed by Charles’s blunt outburst. On the other hand, her pride was also wounded. The girl had been feeling anxious lately because Richard still hadn’t asked her out. Coupled with her anxiety, she snapped back sharply.

Jennifer: If Richard didn’t like me, why would he say all these things? Richard said his heart fluttered so much he couldn’t even look me in the eye properly. He said even when I smiled, he wanted to see my smiling face but was too nervous to look, so he just imagined my dimples forming. He said the freckles on my cheeks were really cute, too. He said just looking at me made him so shy and excited he didn’t know what to do. If that’s not liking someone, what is? If you don’t believe me, go ask Richard yourself! Ask him what it feels like to have feelings for someone!

C: …