My phone buzzed and I slowly stretched my arms and rubbed my eyes. I had trouble falling asleep last night thinking of Chunji. I looked at the clocks which read 6 AM. I grabbed my phone off the table and looked at the message.
From: L.Joe
Hey Na Eun! Hope I didn’t wake you up too early…just wanted to say Happy 18th Birthday! You’re legal now, so don’t do anything crazy; if you do, do it with me ;) See you in English.
I smiled and chuckled at his dorkiness. I quickly sent him a text and went to get ready for the day.
L.Joe’s POV
I woke up early today so I can think about what to say to Na Eun. I saw on the calendar it’s her birthday today. I only knew it was her birthday because I remember seeing it in her agenda. What should I say to her? I didn’t want to sound like a creep….I scratched my head in confusion and lied down on my bed. A couple minutes later, I started typing on my phone. Send. I waited for her to reply. Ok, why did I write if she wanted to do something crazy she should do it with me….I’m not a stalker or anything...5 minutes later, my phone vibrated.
From: Na Eun
Thanks L.Joe :) How did you know it was my birthday? Did you stalk me….? jk :) And no I will not do anything stupid, and if we were to do anything crazy…..I’ll leave that up to you ;) I got to go get ready now. See you in English!!
My lips formed into a wide smile. I probably looked like an idiot, but I don’t care. God, she’s driving me crazy.
*************
I got to English class and saw L.Joe sitting in his desk facing the window. I smiled and quietly went over to him. Once I got there, I poked him on the side and he flinched and jumped in his seat. I laughed and went to sit in my desk.
“Hey, that was uncalled for,” he said.
I stuck out my tongue and got my binders out.
“So, are you doing anything today for your birthday?”
“No, just staying at home probably.”
“You sure have an exciting life.”
I rolled my eyes. “Like you have anything better to do.”
“How about I take you to the amusement park? I haven’t been to Lotte World since I was a kid.”
“Really? That’d be great!”
“I’ll pick you up at 5.”
“Thanks,” I smiled, “for everything.”
When I got back home I showered and got ready. I decided to wear a pair of dark skinny jeans and a black tube top. I applied some makeup and let my hair fall naturally wavy to the side. Why was I so keen in taking care of my appearance? It’s not like it’s a date, right? I shook the thought off and checked the time. It was 4:45. I still had 15 minutes. I grabbed my bag and stuffed my wallet, sunglasses, chapstick, and phone. I went down the stairs and see my parents making dinner.
“Hey mom, L.Joe’s taking me to Lotte World in about 10 minutes so I won’t be eating dinner with you guys.”
“Ok, honey, be safe. At least drink some seaweed soup since it’s your birthday.”
“Alright,” I smiled. My mom always made me seaweed soup on my birthday and it’s the best! After finishing the bowl, the doorbell rang. I ran to the door and slipped on my sandals. I opened it to see Chunji. His arms were extended, holding flowers for me.
“Happy Birthday,” he smiled.
At that moment, I didn’t know what to do. I mean, I shouldn’t be surprised…he’s always remembered my birthday and brought me gifts, kind of like last night. I didn’t say anything for the longest time. After he coughed, I snapped back and looked at him.
