A Drunken Mistake | Lee Jeno

Chapter 13

Jeno was over the moon since last night and Solji didn't know what to feel.

She was happy that he was happy, of course. But they didn't get the chance to talk about the situation that happened the past few days. She deemed it inappropriate to bring it up now, too afraid to ruin Jeno's happiness.

She decided to just talk about it when she found a perfect opportunity.

Right now, the three of them: Solji, Jeno, and Mark, were sitting on the bleachers watching the soccer practice while talking about the phone call from last night.

"So last night while I was watching Bridgerton, you know the episode where they were at the library and---" Mark was cut off when Solji held up her hand.

"Please, we already know the details about that episode. Just... just tell us straight to the point."

Mark grinned apologetically before continuing. "So I was saying, I was watching that when I heard the notification of my phone. Someone messaged me on Instagram. The account had no photos and no followers but she was following me.

"I was intrigued when she sent a message: Hi Mark! Long time no see! How are you? So of course I asked her: Who the hell are you? Then she sent me a picture. You have no idea how shocked I was when I opened it. I know we haven't seen Heejin for a long time but her face didn't change at all. She's still cute. I didn't want to believe what I was seeing so we did a video call. Dang, Jeno! You have no idea how happy I was last night."

Instead of smiling, Jeno frowned.

"Why did she message you instead of me?" he asked.

"That's because you do not have an Instagram! Don't worry, she didn't forget about you. She asked for your number and she said she will contact us when she's free."

"Did she tell you where she lives?"

"She told me their family stayed in Germany and yesterday, she arrived in South Korea."

This time, Jeno broke into a huge grin. "I can't believe she's back! This is all too good to be true! Can I... can I see her picture?"

Mark brought out his phone and tapped the screen before shoving it to Jeno.

Jeno instantly smiled at the sight of Heejin. He zoomed in the photo and chuckled to himself.

She's so pretty, Solji thought. She looked like a doll with the prettiest pair of eyes and the brightest smile. It was true that nothing had changed in her physical appearance. If anything, she grew up into an attractive and mature woman.

There it was again, the twisting pain inside her chest as she watched the man beside him gushing over his friend's photo. She told herself she would be happy for him no matter what so she faked a smile.

Unknowingly to her, Mark was observing her quietly. She was too focused watching Jeno that she didn't feel Mark's burning gaze.

Jeno was looking at Heejin's photo, Solji was looking at Jeno, and Mark was looking at Solji.

***

It was one of those days when Solji decided--out of nowhere--to get her life together and now she's organizing her closet. Karina and Yeji asked her if she wanted to hang out but she declined.

She wasn't exactly in the mood to do anything. She wanted to be left alone with her thoughts. Isolate herself, get her shit together, and face them when she's feeling better. That was her plan. However, it was easier said than done.