Gold | Park Sunghoon

25

Confrontations

"Sunoo! I need to ask you something!" Heeseung called the younger boy's attention as he ran towards him. He had been running around the building for the past fifteen minutes, searching every classroom and hallway for someone familiar.

"Are you looking for Jangmi?" The older boy flinched at what he just heard. Sunoo's tone was a bit too strong for his liking, making him quite uncomfortable. "Yeah. If you could just tell me where she is—"

"Hyung, she doesn't want to talk to you; or not right now, at least."

"Not right now? Why?" He asked. It had already been a week since the confession, and he had been trying to get to Jangmi. Every text he sent was not opened, and he decided to talk to her after a few days. He didn't want to talk to her so suddenly, so he kind of started to pester her best friend.

Sunoo wanted to shout at the boy in front of him and tell him exactly what was on his mind but held himself back. No matter how much he wanted to get mad at him, he couldn't find the courage in him. He was still older no matter what, and he didn't want to risk being seen as disrespectful. "Hyung, you already know the reason why," he replied simply, holding back a scoff.

Heeseung wracked his brain for answers and was still confused. Shouldn't Jangmi want to talk to him already to clear things up? It had been going on for a while, and he desperately wanted to apologize to the younger girl to solve the problem. Sunoo eyed his reaction; and feeling the frustration build up inside of him, he let it all out. 

"Aren't you close to her? Aren't you supposed to know that she deals with emotions differently from us? Aren't you supposed to know that your actions made her very uncomfortable and scared? And you still confessed, for what? You were jealous that Sunghoon hyung liked her too? And you just had to shout and try to kiss her?" He stopped mid-ramble, sucking in a breath before speaking again.

"It's like you don't know her at all."

Sunoo knew his best friend too well. He knew that even when she was overwhelmed and confused, she would still try to be considerate towards others. She hated the idea of ever having to getting angry or having to hold a grudge because she always found it too heavy. If the world was ever cruel to Jangmi, she would be even kinder—which is what Sunoo loved and admired about her. She was always kind and caring, a soft smile always adorning her features.

He remembered the first time he saw Jangmi cry. He remembered how the cold breeze nipped at his arms as they walked together from her gym. He remembered how her sobs sounded like as they sat down on the lone park bench. They were fragile and painful—and they made his heart break into a tiny million pieces. Whenever she was sad, the said memory would replay in his head and bother him; breaking his heart all over again. He hated seeing her sad. To him, she didn't deserve to be sad.

No matter who she was talking to, Sunoo will always defend and protect Jangmi. He is, and will forever be, her best friend even if she was already close to other people.