[ 21st march 2018, 2:43pm ]

aeri walked through the halls, trying to find her locker. she was a mess. she had just been crying, for god knows how many times, over the boy she just lost a day ago.

mark's going to graduate soon in a few months. it'll get better for aeri, right?

since aeri lost jiyeon too, she was alone right now. especially, with no one to talk to.  what was she to do now? without her bestfriend and her boyfriend.

mark walks along the hallway, finding for his locker. his eyes met aeri's for awhile, then it drops to the floor, he tried so hard to avoid eye contact. it was hard for mark too. he really really loved aeri. with his entire heart, but he knew he wasnt the one for her.

aeri locked her locker. her heart dropped when she saw the way mark avoided her. everybody near them were whispering, they were wondering why mark and aeri werent walking side by side anymore. soon, everybody found out the truth - that they broke up.

and rumours spread fast. somebody said that mark broke up with aeri because he was still in love with his ex girlfriend. in reality, aeri broke up with mark, because he was still in love with his ex girlfriend. well, at least they got half of that right.

right at the corner of her eye, she sees her bestfriend jiyeon and her new bestfriend yena. yena was secretly grinning, she was the one that spread the rumour anyway. not a surprise that she did what she did. but when she made eye contact with jiyeon, jiyeon had a look on a face that wasnt like before.

the look. her eyes felt like it was trying to send her a message. usually, they'd make eye contact and jiyeon would roll her eyes. but this time, they both stared each other for quite some time. aeri gave her the stare that said, "i know you did all of this"

although aeri didnt know what jiyeon's eyes were signalling her, but deep down in jiyeon, it meant- "im so sorry for getting you hurt. i didnt mean to"

this time, aeri rolled her eyes and then took her bag and quickly walked out of school. she was exhausted. she didnt want to talk to anyone or even see anyone. she just wanted to go home and rest, cry a little and then do her homework and then sleep.

and that's what she did. and that's what she did for the day after, and the day after that. she carried on like that for a week. she stopped using her phone, she stopped visiting the cafe, and she stopped caring for anybody else.

[ 29th march 2018, 8:54pm ]

aeri was up in her room, working on her chemistry homework, when she heard somebody throwing rocks at her window. at first, aeri thought it was a robber trying to get in, so she grabbed a baseball bat from her parents room before taking a peep out her curtain.

she took a deep breath, she told herself that she wasnt ready to die today. when she took a peep, she realized it wasnt a robber. although the boy did look like a robber. it was jung jaehyun. he was wearing all black, who wouldve thought that he wasnt a robber?

she rolled her eyes, she scared herself for no reason. she quietly opened her window and stuck her head out. jaehyun had his hands in his pocket, he was smiling. she sighed, "do you want to die? i had my baseball bat ready to fight you," she complained.

jaehyun laughed, "you look dumb," was all he said. aeri showed him the middle finger, which only made him laugh even more. and that made aeri chuckle a little. it was the first time aeri had laughed after spending a week in despair crying over her ex boyfriend.

it was an honor to let aeri laugh. and jaehyun was kind of happy that he was the first boy to have let that happen. there was an awkward silence before jaehyun started a conversation, "are we just gonna talk like this? like romeo and juliet?" he laughed.

aeri just let out a weak laugh. she looked at her door, it was locked. her mom should be asleep by now. her dad usually comes back at 2am. she looks back at jaehyun standing down by the tree and then shrugs. "are you asking me to sneak out?" she asks. he nods.

she shakes her head before checking the time and then going, "my mom should be asleep by now. as long as im back in bed by 130 im fine," which just led to jaehyun nodding his head as a sign of acknowledgment. she started to put her right leg out of the window and stepping on the roof, she slowly puts out her left.

she looks down at the ground and starts to get nervous. "ive never snuck out before. what if i die from this fall?" she nervously exclaimed. jaehyun laughs, then gets closer, he stands directly under the roof. "i'll catch you, dont worry," he reassures her. she just closed her eyes and then dropped to the ground. it wasnt that much of a height, but jaehyun still caught her anyways.

she landed on both her legs, jaehyun just supported both her arms. it was kind of painful at first. she thought she broke her ankle but it was just her overreacting. jaehyun asked if she was okay and she nodded. the two finally regained their own individual support and walked slowly to the park near the cafe jaehyun works.

[ 9:48PM ]

jaehyun took out a packet of gummy from his jacket and then offered it to aeri. they were sitting side by side on the park bench, the view they were facing- the pond, and the 10 ducks that were currently swimming about. the last time aeri sat on this exact park bench was when she was having a serious talk with mark that ended with both of them tearing up.

"does this feel different?" jaehyun asks, after chewing on a gummy. aeri turned around to look at him, raising her eyebrow, she was confused with what jaehyun was asking. "what does?" she returned the question.

"this. ever since mark, you know," he said, emphasizing on the 'this'. she just let out a soft, 'oh'. before thinking about everything that has happened ever since things ended with mark lee. jaehyun just waited patiently for an answer. aeri looked around the park, so many memories were made here, she slowly smiled to herself while thinking about them.

"yea, yeah, you know what? it really does feel different," she let out a weak chuckle after the end of the sentence. jaehyun just nods his head. "i understand. my ex girlfriend, the love i had for her was the same kind of love you had for mark," he spoke what was going on in his head. she looked at the boy sitting next to her, and then into his eyes.

"what does this love feel like?" she asked him innocently. jaehyun stretched his arms out. he was ready to answer her question. he passed her the gummy so that she could eat it while he tells her his answer. "its the kind of love that you knew wasnt gonna last but you still savoured every moment you had together before it ends, you know?" he started to speak.

"the kind of love that brought out the best but also the worst in you," he continued. aeri just sat there, listening, thinking of all the times she had spent with mark, relating back to whatever jaehyun had said.

"trust me, aeri. my ex girlfriend. when she cheated on me the first time, i was heartbroken. but she was the only person in my life that point of time who actually cared and loved me. so it was hard for me to move on from her," jaehyun says. and then he continues with,

"it was the kind of love that you couldnt stop giving second chances to. you know its unhealthy for you but you submit to it anyway, because thats how much you love them," and then ended there to continue to munch on his packet of gummies.

there was a moment of silence between them. they were both just in their own space, thinking. "how long did it take for you to move on from her?" aeri asked. jaehyun stopped eating, his mouth open, he was thinking. "it took me a long time. but hey! im over her now, a miracle, right?" he laughed, trying to lighten the mood. aeri just laughed.

"jaehyun, i hope you find someone who will treat you with so much love and affection. someone who will be so in love with you that they wont even think about cheating on you, you know? i hope that someone will watch princess and the frog with you everytime you feel like watching it. and when that someone comes, i hope youll be so much happier than how you were with your ex," aeri confessed, fiddling with her fingers.

jaehyun just looked at the girl next to him, his heart felt so content and full. what did he do to deserve her? he stood up and opened his arms wide. aeri was confused, she thought he was gonna perform a dance for her. "aeri, i hope youre ten times happier soon," he spoke before she could even say what was going on with him.

she was taken aback. "i hope ill still be here in your life when you meet someone who wont ever dare to break your heart like mark did, i would like to see you shine so bright," he continued on. the girl was about to cry, she never had someone care for her this much. "until then, ill be here for you if you need somebody to talk to," he put on the biggest smile he could ever do.

aeri couldnt handle the tears. it just came out flooding. she stood up and hugged jaehyun, so tight, and vice versa. jaehyun chuckled, "stop crying, loser. ill start crying too," he said while slowly and gently patting her head. aeri just cried in his embrace. "i love you," she blurted out in between tears.

jaehyun's heart was full of warmth. "i love you too, aeri," he replied back. all he did was smile, and at that moment he was so thankful for having a friend like aeri.