Chapter 6: ✨
Well… until now, if you told me that all my kindness would pay off with me dating this cool and handsome guy, I would've told you, "Yeah, right."
But here I am, walking with my ...boyfriend.
And honestly? I still don't know anything about all of this.
I don't even know what it means to be in a relationship.
What is a girlfriend? What is a boyfriend?
Because apparently, I'm one of those things now. All I know is that I have this fuzzy feeling on the inside, as I have never felt before.
We were walking home, well, technically, he forced me to at least let him walk me halfway, and it was time to say goodbye.
"I know the first time I didn't ask, and even just now I hugged you without warning," he said suddenly. "But do you mind if I can hug you sometimes?"
My cheeks burned immediately. I looked down, but of course, he tilted my chin up again.
"Whenever you want to talk to me, I want you to look at me," he said.
"Okay… but I'm shy," I whispered. "But yes, I don't mind the hugs."
"Good. And when you want a hug, you should tell me."
I instantly shook my head, and he burst out laughing.
"You're funny, you know," he said. "Give me your pendant for a second."
He pulled out a small box from his pocket, took the pendant, and slipped it onto a new chain. He turned me around and clasped it behind my neck.
"I noticed it was the chain that needed to be changed, so I bought you another one."
I turned back to him. "Thank you so much."
After that, he sent me home and left.
I got into the shower, got ready for bed, and when I looked at the mirror now and saw my necklace i felt like it had a whole new meaning, something deep and special. I was happy. I checked my phone. A message from Jack lit up the screen:
"I hope you reached home okay. I promise to make you trust me more, and I will treat you well, Lea."
I read the message five times before remembering that I should probably respond. But… How do you answer something like that? His words, everything he does for me fills me with happiness.
I fell asleep, turning on my bed, hugging my phone to my chest.
(Yes, that's literally how I slept.) This was all new, and I want to embrace it little by little.
When I woke up, I forgot I hadn't replied. I saw two missed calls, and then my phone vibrated again, another call from Jack. I panicked and picked up immediately.
"Hey, good morning," he said. "I hope I didn't wake you?"
I cleared my morning voice. "No, all good."
(For the record, his phone voice is the sweetest thing I could listen to all day.)
"Cool. I was just checking since you didn't respond last night."
"I'm sorry, I fell asleep without even knowing."
"That means you slept well thinking about me, I hope?"
I started stuttering, dying of shyness. "I—well—I guess so. Do you always say whatever passes through your head?"
"Just with you, I promise. And by the way, it was my first time seeing you outside your school uniform, and honestly… your pink dress looked really nice on you."
"Thank you so much. I just bought it because I have no clothes to go out in. And my hairstyle? I tied it lower for a change. I try to look okay."
I giggled, instantly embarrassed, regretting it because I sounded boring and not that interesting.
But he replied seriously, "I thought you looked very nice. And you should let your hair down sometimes. I have a feeling it'll look great and more cute."
That morning, I talked to him like I never had before. Maybe it was because he wasn't in front of me, I felt free to say anything without getting shy or blinded by his unconscious charm. My heart was full of joy, my spirit flying.
Like when a dog is happy, and its tail starts shaking?
Yeah… that was me, but I don't know what was shaking though hihihi...
During the call, he mentioned he wouldn't be coming to school for a while because he had to look after his sister. So I went to school the following day, and then I saw it. The black luxury car. The same one from the other day.
And then she stepped out.
Faye.
Pretty.
Bright smile.
Rich-girl glow.
The kind of confidence that walks before her like she owns the air.
Everything was in slow motion. And I swear, it was the same car. But it was not my concern at that moment.
Three days passed. Jack was still absent. Everyone was asking where he was, but the teachers only said it was personal family business. He texted me here and there, good morning, good day, sleep well, but no threatening calls or anything intense, which was pretty boring and lonely.
I kept wondering how he was. If he was tired. If he was stressed. How is his sister doing? If he was eating. What a girlfriend is supposed to do in moments like this without being a burden or add to his worries. Like, I was just in a relationship, and then I was not??
So I decided to make him some notes to help him catch up when he returned. I made them cute and neat.
At the end of the week, I went to the rooftop for lunch like usual, and suddenly, Faye appeared right in front of me.
I froze.
But then I thought, okay… finally, I'll know what she is to Jack.
"I believe you already know who I am, right?" she started.
Of course, I played dumb. "I'm sorry, but no."
"I guess I'll introduce myself then. My name is Faye, and I'm Jack's girlfriend."
There was no reaction on my face, but inside, my soul left my body.
"It's okay if you're shocked," she continued. "That's the title I wanted to introduce myself with… but unfortunately, I can't do that anymore."
There was sadness in her eyes, even though she kept smiling.
"Why are you telling me this?" I finally asked.
"I know you're dating him now."
(And in my head: How do you know?! Like, is she a witch or something?)
She continued, "Don't be too surprised. I was literally stalking you guys. I'm not going to be some evil, jealous girl who gives you ultimatums or causes trouble. But I won't lie. I still want Jae back."
"I...truly don't know what to say to you right now."
She smiled. "Of course you don't. You don't know yet what a great guy Jae is. I wanted to see if I should give up on him, but I can see you don't like him yet. So I can still get him back. There is no fire in your eyes, no true love. He's a lovable guy. He treats the right people with respect and the wrong ones as they deserve. I liked him right away; it was love at first sight for me."
"Then can I ask you one question?" I said. She nodded.
"If you love him like that, and you know he's a great person… why aren't you still with him?"
She stopped. Slowly turned to me.
She'd been sitting the whole time, but she stood up with a look that said she did not like that question.
"As all couples, we had some fights… and let's just say it was personal," she said. She walked toward the door. "You can ask him yourself. Let me know if he actually answers you."
She gave a final smile and left.
I just sat there processing everything. My mind was spinning, my stomach doing backflips.
What does she mean, there is no love in my eyes? What was that about anyway? But wait, did I… did I just meet my romance nemesis?!
Because it really felt like it.