Pandora's Box | kim mingyu & jeon wonwoo

08

That weekend, I went out of my way to spend it alone. This was unusual for me, considering I usually spent my weekends pestering Wonwoo or by taking up another shift at work. This weekend, however, I was too drained to do anything.

I noticed that this feeling of dread had begun to overtake my mood the moment I handed over the money to Nayoung. I don't know why. I understood that -arguably- I had done a pretty good thing, and if anything, it should bring some positive karma my way.

Still, I could not help but feel. . .shitty. Perhaps it was a warning of everything that was about to come raining down on me; I don't know. 

That Monday, for the first time in my life, I considered going to school by myself.

For some reason, I didn't feel like seeing Wonwoo. Perhaps it was because I didn't want to think about a large amount of money I had just given away, or perhaps because what I wanted to avoid thinking about was Nayoung. 

And the more I thought about Nayoung, the more I came to realize that the problem was not her. Not really. It was what she meant, what she symbolized. And I despised thinking of that even more.

Despite my controversial feelings, in the end, I ended up walking to school with Wonwoo. And despite my reservations, Wonwoo and I fell right back into it, the way we always did.

"I'm serious! The anime is better than the comic, and that is a sentence I never thought I'd say."

Wonwoo shoved my arm playfully, simultaneously laughing as he shook his head. "You're so wrong though," He replied, but I could barely make out the words through his laughter.

"Bro I'm serious. The anime adds themes of-" I cut myself off because Wonwoo and I approached the school gate. Our discussion had been so intense, I had barely noticed the walkover. As we approached the school gate, I was stunned to find Nayoung waiting for us so early in the morning.

"Good morning." Naturally, Wonwoo was quick to greet her. Nayoung smiled politely in his direction, but I couldn't help but notice how quick she was to focus her gaze back on me. It sent a shiver down my spine, but I ignored it.

"Good morning," I finally said. Her smile broadened at that, and I was painfully aware of how joyous she was to be seeing me. I started to feel nauseous, but I powered through.

"I was waiting for you. I wanted to thank you in person again. I really can't begin to express how grateful I am to you. And I promise that once I'm back in Seoul, I'll pay you back straight away!" I could appreciate how sincere she was being, and honestly, the more time I spent with Nayoung, the more she was starting to grow on me. I had gone from really disliking her, to tolerating her, and that's progress if you asked me. With that being said, however, I wasn't comfortable with this sudden familiarity. I recognized that I had done her a pretty big favor, but that didn't mean that we were suddenly friends. If anything, I didn't want us to be. She didn't seem to pick up on my discomfort though, because she continued.

"I also thought you'd like to know that I bought my tickets already! I'll be going this weekend, with a return ticket for Sunday evening that hopefully, " she crossed her fingers, " I won't have to use. I'll let you know how it goes! Wonwoo oppa was kind enough to give me your line. Anyway, that's all I wanted to say. See you around," she bowed and waved us goodbye. She was long on her way before I had fully processed what she had said to me.

When I finally understood, I was quick to turn to Wonwoo. "Why the fuck did you give her my line?" That wasn't the question I wanted to ask, but it was the only question I was brave enough to ask.

My tone had immediately pissed Wonwoo off, but I was too heated to care. "She asked for it," he stated as if that answered everything.

"So? If Nayoung asks you to shit on the sidewalk, would you do it?" I shook my head and marched off, "fuck off."

To this day, I couldn't tell you what pissed me off so much. Perhaps, it was the fact that Nayoung had asked for my Line at all. She was supposed to be falling for Wonwoo, you see, but even I could start to see the way I was beginning to pique her interest.

It made me sick: it sucked the air out of my lungs, it made my stomach queasy, it made my palms sweat, and it made my shoulders tense.

Needless to say: I hated it.

For the rest of the week, I tried my hardest to be on my best behavior. It was hard because it felt like I was constantly being tested. Suddenly, my walks home from school with Wonwoo were no longer the highlight of my day because Nayoung had infiltrated it.

Whereas before, where I would spend all of my breaks in Wonwoo's classroom, now, Nayoung would come to pick me up, and together -at my suggestion- we would pick up Wonwoo and hang out at the rooftop. Which, I should add, I fucking hated because I had a fear of heights.

It was so bad, it reached a point where I began to look forward to moments I wasn't with Wonwoo. I began to look forward to work, and just being in class. This development was astonishing to me, but it did not take rocket science to realize that the problem was not Wonwoo, but somebody else entirely.

In the past, when people had tried to join in on my relationship with Wonwoo, I would quickly set them straight. I had no tolerance for people who came in between Wonwoo and I. Lim Nayoung was different; I could not be so honest with her, because Wonwoo would get mad at me.

Because while I was suffering and uncomfortable, Wonwoo was the happiest I had ever seen him.

One day, when we were by ourselves after Nayoung had finally departed from us, he said, "This is great. My first love and my best friend get along, and we spend all of our time together. It's like straight out of a shoujo manga." He had said it with such a smile, that I did not have the heart to tell him that I could not stand it.

I did not have the heart to tell him that every time I noticed the way he looked at her my chest tightened and I did not understand why; that every time he smiled at her I felt like I was dying.

Instead, I would simply nod and smile at him. Who was I to ever oppose Wonwoo?

Absolutely nobody.