All of My Days

13

Mid-January 2019

"I know it's a Gala, not the end of the year dance, but we thought some live music would be great, and some dancing afterwards. The Student Council voted on it and we were wondering if you could ask the event coordinators to accommodate?" the guy was fidgeting, his little speech obviously rehearsed and his girlfriend nodded eagerly, holding on to his arm like it was her life vest.

"We'll see what we can do," Shelley promised.

"They're disgusting," Seri wrinkled her nose watching the couple walk away, giggling and embracing each other.

"I think it's cute," Shelley piped in. "First love!"

"It never works though. Might as well contain themselves in public," Seri picked at her perfectly manicured nail.

"Here comes the Grinch again," Shelley rolled her eyes. "You can't say first love never ever works though. It could."

"Yeah, it's just nobody has ever seen it happen," Seri turned on her heel and started walking towards the elevator and Shelley followed.

"I am sure someone has," Shelley pressed the button and waited as she eyed her friend.

"Didn't know you were such a sappy romantic," Seri commented as the elevator arrived and the doors opened, revealing 2 men standing inside, each holding something resembling hard drives wrapped in wires. Seri frowned a bit seeing Jeong Hyeok and Jack and only nodded in greeting as they entered the space and turned back towards the closing doors.

"I don't think it's just me who had a good first experience, Seri," the older woman noted and the girl snorted quietly, throwing her friend a quick side-eye.

"And how did that work out for you?" she replied sarcastically.

"What do you guys think?" Shelley asks suddenly, turning towards the guys.

"About what?" Jack asked, curiosity heard in his voice.

"Do you think first love can last?" Shelley clarified.

"Um... not for everybody, but why not? If my first girlfriend didn't move across the country, who knows," Jack pondered.

"One more!" Shelley said triumphantly. "See?"

"People change though. It's all talk," Seri retorted, slightly annoyed.

"What do you think, Jeong Hyeok?"

The hairs on the back of Seri's neck stood up in anticipation of his answer. She heard him inhale deeply behind her but did not dare to move or look anywhere besides the elevator door.

"I don't know," he stated flatly, dodging the question.

"Well, what about yours?"

Seri lowered her head, studying her shoes. She almost did not want to hear his reply.

"I'd do anything to still be with my first love," he answered finally in low baritone and Seri's heart jumped against her ribcage. A dry lump suddenly formed in her throat and she felt like she needed some water to wash it down, only she did not have any on hand.

"See?" Shelley repeated, moving her gaze from the men to Seri.

"It's all talk," she whispered again and moved her eyes to her hands when the elevator finally arrived at their floor and the doors opened.

She walked out and strode towards her office, leaving her friend's following words behind.

In the office, she took the phone out of her pocket and dialed the events coordinator number while taking a sip of water from her water bottle.