THE BET 🦋

XIV.

I had been keeping myself busy with school and spending time with Bitna to keep my mind off Jae-eon. I had been ignoring his constant texts and calls, even though a part of me missed him terribly.
Bitna was supportive of my decision to ignore Jae-eon's messages.
"You need to take care of yourself first, Nabi. He hurt you, and you have every right to take the time you need to heal," Bitna said as she hugged me.
I nodded, taking comfort in my friend's words. But deep down, I still couldn't shake the feeling that I wanted to talk to Jae-eon.
Days turned into a week, and the constant barrage of messages from Jae-eon started to wear me down. One night, as I was getting ready for bed, I couldn't resist picking up my phone to check if he had messaged me again.
There were several messages from Jae-eon, ranging from apologies to the words about that it is not as it may have seemed.
I felt a lump form in my throat as I read them. I missed him so much, but at the same time, I was still angry and hurt.
Bitna walked into the room and saw me staring at my phone with a conflicted expression. "Nabi, what are you doing?" she asked, concern etched on her face.
"I don't know," I said, tears welling up in my eyes. "I miss him, but I'm still so angry at him for what he did."
Bitna sat down next to me and took my hand.
"It's okay to miss him, Nabi. But remember why you're angry. Don't let him back into your life until he's proven that he's worthy of your trust again."
I nodded, wiping away my tears. "You're right, Bitna. I need to stay strong and stick to my principles."
Bitna hugged me tightly. "I'm here for you, Nabi. Whatever you need."
And with that, I made the decision to keep ignoring Jae-eon's messages, at least for a little while longer.
My phone suddenly rang and first I thought that it was Jea-eon. I saw a look of disapproval on Bitna's face, but after I looked at the phone screen, there shined the name of someone else. Taejin's name. I hesitated for a moment before answering, not sure if I was ready to talk to anyone from Jae-eon's circle.
"Hey, Taejin," I answered, trying to keep my voice steady.
"Hey, Nabi, how are you doing?" Taejin asked, his concern evident in his voice.
"I'm doing okay," I replied, unsure if I was telling the truth. "What's up?"
"I wanted to invite you to join me and some friends at the Fin Park this weekend," Taejin said. "It's a beautiful place, and I think it would be a nice way to celebrate your upcoming birthday."
I was surprised by Taejin's invitation. I hadn't expected anyone from Jae-eon's circle to reach out to me, let alone invite me to an event.
"I don't know, Taejin," I said, hesitant. "I'm not sure if I'm ready to see anyone from that group yet."
"I understand," Taejin said. "But it would mean a lot to me if you came. And I promise you, we won't talk about Jae-eon or anything like that. We just want to have a good time and celebrate your birthday."
I thought about it for a moment. It had been a while since I had gone out with friends, and I was starting to feel a little lonely.
"Okay, I'll come," I said, a small smile spreading across my face.
"Great!" Tae-jin exclaimed. "We will agree on the details later." "Oh and I almost forgot. There is someone there who would like to meet Bitna. Do you think you could take her with us?"
"Yes, of course I can bring her, actually, I was about to ask about that too."
"Great," he said again, "so I will call you later then. Bye."
After I hung up, I felt a small spark of excitement. I hadn't realized how much I missed spending time with friends, and I was looking forward to seeing Tae-jin and the others. But at the same time, I was a little nervous about facing them without Jae-eon by my side. I knew it was time to start moving on, but it was still hard to let go of the past.
I had two days to mentally prepare for it. I tell myself, that after these two days, I will come out of this situation as a new person who won't even stop to think about the name Jae-eon.

The next day, as I was walking to my art class, I couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness. My upcoming birthday reminded me of the memories I shared with Jae-eon and how I wished he could have been a part of my special day.
Tae-jin's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "Yu Nabi."
I lifted my head and looked in the direction the voice was coming from and saw him leaning against the door frame.
"I was waiting here for you," Tae-jin said, "I wanted to agree on things about tomorrow. We have a scheduled meeting in front of the park around 2 in the afternoon. Is that okay with you?"
"Yeah sure, that's great."
"And don't you have school?" Tae-jin asked thoughtfully.
"Yes. Yes, I do, but it's something I can miss and it won't hurt my grade in any way," I said.
"Okay then," he finally said, "I'm already looking forward to tomorrow."
"Me too," I said with a smile.
I was really looking forward to it. I was hoping it would be fun and not a fiasco.
I let Bitna know when we would meet tomorrow and she was probably just as excited as I was.
"I wonder what you think about the present I bought you," she squealed happily.
"You shouldn't have worried," I said with a smile.
"I know, I know," she said.
She knew I didn't like presents, but she still bought them for me every year. And I accepted them from her every year with a smile on my face.