𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 /GXG/

🔸️There by the bush

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AKARI TOKIZAKI
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The small basketball court is outdoors. It is halfway to the athletics track.

It's just for fun that we're here. I don't understand what these demarcations are in court. I don't even care about sports except that I have to practice on Friday.

Ji-hye has the ball, and she runs towards me. Her eyes look at the basket. She and I jumped at the same time. My fingers touch the ball, diverting its path, and it bounces until it stops near the bench where four girls are talking. One of them takes the basketball and comes with her group to play.

She and I grab our towels, wiped our faces, and leave.

''But you didn't like him, shouldn't the kiss have been nice?'' I question, trying to hide my frustration.

''You said everything! After the kiss, I lost my love for him. Oh... it wasn't love. If it was just because his body was beautiful, it was just sexual attraction. But even though he was hot, when I kissed him, I immediately stopped liking him,'' Ji-hye says, without smiling.

''You couldn't have waited...?''

''There was no chemistry between us, unnie.'' Her voice gets a little lower. ''I liked him because he was very handsome and the kiss was a disaster. And he kissed girls everywhere.''

"Okay, but if I haven't kissed yet, I'll probably fail. The person won't want to see me anymore," I say anxiously.

''So the advice I give you for your first kiss is to let it flow. Leave the kisses furious until you get used to it. Otherwise, it will be traumatic the first time,' she explains sincerely.

We walk around the block, slowly. Ji-hye stops to watch her boyfriend enter the cafeteria through the side glass door. The two exchange passionate looks that can't hide their shy smiles, and Tae-hyung enters. It's his lunchtime.

Outside, there are some small round tables. Ji-hye and I chose to sit in one of them, and in front of us is a long, well-trimmed lawn with some cherry trees.

''The problem is that there are only girls here. If there were some boys, you would have gotten rid of it by now,' she says.

The next thing I know, my lips are pressed to the back of my hand. ''If my parents would let me go out...''

''Yeah, your parents...'' She takes out her portable fan and redirects it to my sweaty face and then hers.

''Wait a minute!'' she continues, scratching behind her ear, her smile disappearing, and now she is certainly remembering some tragic moment in her life because she froze her gaze on mine. Her eyes then widen, and her mouth opens as if she is scared. ''You are in love! Uh!!'', Ji-hye groans.

My heartbeat soon increases, ''I'm not in love!'' I swallow hard and remain serious, playing with the chain around my neck with the danglin key.

''Who is it, unnie!'' She narrows her eyes.

''No one!'' I shake my head.

''Liar!''

''I still don't like anyone,'' I add more clearly. ''But I think I'm tired of being the girl who never kissed.''

Now my heart skips a beat because these thoughts are taking my focus away. I don't think about it all the time, most of the time when I go to sleep. I even researched things related to this on wikihow.

But now... now it's another concern because it's hard to kiss on the lips when you're a girl who likes girls, and I'll add that I wish I had a girlfriend. I am so lonely.