It All Started With A Creepy Mail ⚊ Yang Jungwon [#4]

✗ forty seven ✗

⚊ chapter forty seven

The weight of it all pressed down on me like a boulder. The fallout between Chenle and me wasn’t something I could ignore anymore. I couldn’t keep pretending everything was fine when it clearly wasn’t.

And to be honest, the guilt was eating me alive.

After class, I found myself sitting on the edge of the school fountain, my phone in hand as I debated calling Minji. She always had a way of making things clear, even if it meant being a little too honest.

When she picked up, her voice was as sharp as ever. “What is it now, Jungwon?”

I didn’t waste time dancing around the issue. “I think I messed up with Chenle.”

Her response surprised me. “No, you didn’t,” she said, her tone softer than I expected.

I blinked. “What? Minji, come on. This whole thing feels like my fault.”

“It’s not,” she replied firmly. “If anyone’s to blame, it’s me.”

That threw me off completely. “You? What are you talking about?”

She sighed heavily, and I could almost picture her pinching the bridge of her nose. “Jungwon, I knew how Chenle felt about Jillian from the start. I’ve known for a while. But I didn’t take it seriously. I thought it was just another one of his fleeting crushes, like the one he had on Sunhee last year. I figured he’d get over it eventually.”

Her words hit me like a brick. “Minji…”

“No, let me finish,” she said quickly. “I was so focused on you and Jillian—on helping you navigate your feelings for her—that I didn’t stop to think about Chenle. I didn’t think about how he might actually be taking this seriously, how it might hurt him if things didn’t go his way. And now, here we are. He’s upset, you feel guilty, and I can’t help but think that I should’ve done something before it got to this point.”

There was a pause, her words settling over me like a heavy cloud.

“I feel terrible, Jungwon,” she admitted. “I should’ve been more aware, more considerate. I should’ve talked to Chenle before things escalated. Instead, I just stood by, thinking it wasn’t a big deal.”

I didn’t know what to say. Minji was always so confident, so sure of herself. Hearing her sound so guilty, so vulnerable, was strange.

“But,” she continued, her voice firmer now, “you have to remember something, Jungwon. At the end of the day, Jillian chose you. This isn’t about who’s to blame or who did what. Jillian made her choice, and it was you. And, honestly, that all started with that creepy email you sent her.”

I cringed. “Minji, you’re never going to let that go, are you?”

“Never,” she said, a hint of a smile in her voice now. “But seriously, think about it. She could’ve ignored you, brushed you off, but she didn’t. Something about you made her want to give you a chance. That’s not something you can control or plan for—it just is.”

Her words gave me a strange mix of relief and discomfort. I was glad to know Jillian’s feelings for me were real, but it didn’t make the situation with Chenle any less complicated.

“Thanks, Minji,” I said softly. “For being honest. I’ll talk to him, I promise.”

“You better,” she said. “And Jungwon?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t overthink it. Just be real with him. He deserves that much.”

“I will,” I promised, ending the call and taking a deep breath.