When We're Together [양정완]

02.

As the girl left the room, Jungwon slung his bag over his shoulder. Chae Aera. She had a pretty name.

The boy slid his hands into his uniform pant pockets and made his way to the front of the school where he met his friend, Kim Sunoo. Despite having been placed in different classes this year, the two were still as close as ever.

"What took you so long?" Sunoo questioned with his arms crossed. "I was debating whether or not I should just go home on my own."

"Something came up."

The two walked down the street towards their homes, which were on the same street. As Sunoo went on and on about the plot twist of his most recent favorite drama, Jungwon couldn't stop thinking about the strange encounter he had after school.

"Sunoo?"

"Hm?"

"Do you know a girl named Chae Aera?"

Sunoo paused for a second and tapped his finger on his chin in thought. "Oh, Chae Aera? She's in my homeroom class."

"Ah, I see."

"Why? Do you know her?"

Jungwon thought for a second about how to explain their weird encounter, but eventually just gave up. "Kinda? I ran into her earlier today."

"Mmm," Sunoo puffed air into one of his cheeks. "She's really nice and bubbly. I've only talked to her a couple times since she always has people around her, but she seems like one of those people that's just always happy, you know?"

"Hm." Jungwon thought back to his encounter with Aera. Bubbly and happy? That didn't seem like the girl he had run into.

"Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, maybe I should become friends with her. We'd probably get along well. I mean, I get along with almost everybody anyways so- Hey, are you even listening?" Sunoo paused, side-eying the male walking beside him. "Jungwon?"

No response.

"JUNGWON!" the boy shouted into his friend's ear, finally getting his attention.

"Hey! What was that for?"

Sunoo sighed. "Sometimes you're seriously confusing, Jungwon," he huffed as the two arrived on their street.

~~~

Chae Aera finally made it to her family's large penthouse apartment after having to sneak out the back of the school in hopes that nobody she knew would spot her puffy, red face. She punched in the code on the door's padlock and it clicked open.

"I'm home, Mom," she called as she took off her sneakers in the entry way.

"Aera!" Chae Yeseo, the girl's 6-year-old cousin shouted gleefully as she ran to hug her. Despite being cousins, the two girls were practically like sisters since the younger girl spent so much time at the Chaes' house.

"Yeseo! Did you have fun at school today?" the older girl asked as she leaned down to pat the younger girl's head.

Yeseo nodded enthusiastically and grabbed Aera's hand, leading her to the living room to play a game.

~~~

The following week, Chae Aera found herself hiding in the library during lunch again with her friend, Kang Yoona.

"Why did you drag me here to eat lunch again? Of all the places on campus, the library? Really?" Yoona complained in a hushed voice to her friend.

"Come on, you know this is the only place where I know I'm safe from Yuhan." Aera replied in a whisper. "He never studies for anything. Last time he read a book was probably in elementary school."

Yoona giggled, but quickly covered her mouth with her hand when she received annoyed looks from other students who were trying to study.

As the two girls ate their lunches while whispering, Yoona's phone buzzed with a new text from the boy she had a crush on, Seo Chaneul. The girl's eyes lit up as she quickly typed a reply.

"Sorry Aera, Chaneul just asked me to meet him in the courtyard. I'll be right back, I promise."

"Alright, fine," Aera laid her head on her arm as she watched her friend skip off happily to meet with her crush. Oh, how she missed that feeling.

Of course she still got nervous seeing Yuhan, but it hadn't been the same feeling since he had rejected her. The two had basically just been avoiding each other with the exception of an awkward wave in the hallway or an occasional "hey." It made the girl's heart heavy to think their friendship might be ruined all because she had confessed.

The girl was still deep in her thoughts when she felt a tap on her arm. She lifted her head to see an embarrassingly familiar face. Yang Jungwon.