A COLD DAY IN JULY SERIES

lacuna (19)

  "Mrs.Park."

"Yes, Ha Ruhan? What's wrong? Did you meet Jihoon?"

Ruhan smiles at his mother and put the food on the table,

"I need to go home now. I want to meet him but he is busy. I don't want to bother him."

"So, I will go first. Have a great day. Please hand this food to Jihoon."

His mother looks at the girl in confusion as she hands the food to her.

"Please don't tell him about this. I don't want him to know about my presence. He will be so sorry for not coming to me."

"Thank you, Mrs.Park."

"Alright, Ha Ruhan. But can you at least eat with us? I want to talk to you longer."

Ruhan gives a warm hug to his mother,

"I'm sorry. I need to go now. I will come again next time."

*******

"Did you still wait for Ruhan to come?"

Hong Hari asks him as she wants to break the awkwardness between them. It's already 20 minutes past since the accident, but they are just sitting next to each other while avoiding gazes. The room becomes so silent and it's awkward for Hari to stay with him longer.

Jihoon takes a glance at his digital watch,

"I don't know, but I'm still waiting for her to come."

"You can meet her tomorrow. It's been a week since you were apart right? Ruhan might miss you too." Hari leans her head on the wall and gazes at him who just stays with his plain and cold face.

"She has been avoiding it for a week. Jungwon hates me for a nonsense reason. I don't know what's going on at school right now."

He continues, "They refuse to listen to my explanation. They jump to the conclusion and think that they are always right."

"Ruhan must be avoiding me because of the rumor about us."

Hari raises her eyebrows in confusion.
"A rumor about us?"

"Don't you see the school page? Juhan took a picture of us at the restaurant last week. Everyone assumes that we are dating."

Hari laughs, "What nonsense. I don't care about the school page, so I know nothing."

"I left Ha Ruhan hanging after my dad got a heart attack. She must be so surprised after knowing about the rumor. She will think that I'm leaving her because I get a girlfriend."

"And she avoids me because she wants to respect my relationship."

"How did you know? There must be another reason." Hari asks him back.

"Because it's how Ruhan is. She will always think positively and do everything just to make everyone happy."

Hari glares, "I don't think it's the reason she has been avoiding you."

"What do you mean?"

She scoffs,
"Men are so stupid at understanding women."

He rolls his eyes.

"Think more, Jihoon. I won't tell you."

******

"Haru, are you alright?"

Ruhan doesn't respond, just sitting behind the door while holding her sobs. She wraps herself with a blanket and cries silently when the moment she caught him with Hong Hari on the bed crosses her mind.