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J O O H E O N
Because I liked you better Than suits a man to say, It irked you, and I promised To throw the thought away.
To put the world between us We parted, stiff and dry; Good-bye, said you, forget me. I will, no fear, said I.
If here, where clover whitens The dead mans knoll, you pass, And no tall flower to meet you Starts in the trefoiled grass,
Halt by the headstone naming The heart no longer stirred, And say the lad that loved you Was one that kept his word.
▪A.E. Housman
❦
as each stanza is read, jooheon is left even more puzzled than before he began reading the poem. his understanding of it only making partial sense as he pieces his ideas together.
"so what i understand is that housman had confessed his love for his male best friend, only to be turned down in the end? and as their lives go on, he has to witness his muse live his life, find a wife, and settle down, not bearing any mind to housman's feelings."
jooheon's eyebrows furrow together at his thoughts.
"it's a shame that housman wasn't able to live in the times of now, then maybe he could find a second chance with someone else. homosexuality isn't as disgraceful now compared to back then."
as he proceeds to further study the story behind the poem in his grasp, up comes another man with two cups in hand.
once the man is arms length away from the unsuspecting jooheon, he yells with all his might, only to pause when he notices the poem book in jooheon's hand and notes scattered around the table.
"why are you yelling idiot!" jooheon whispers harshly. in all honesty, jooheon is used to loud sounds, especially when it comes to the man before him, but he actually likes being in the small café that they are in and would appreciate not being kicked out of it because of his friend.
his friend dismisses jooheon with a wave of a hand as he studies the notes that jooheon has splayed out on the table before them.
"what's this?" he questions, genuinely curious about jooheon's assignments for once.
letting out a quiet chortle, jooheon narrows his eyes at his friend.
"it's a life lesson wonho," jooheon states. "an important life lesson about love that you'll never understand because according to you, love 'doesn't exist'."
feeling somewhat offended, wonho raises both hands in the air as a sign to go easy.
"woah now," wonho said, and indifferent expression taking over his handsome features. "easy there tiger, did you get enough sleep? you seem more crankier than usual."
looking at his friend in irritation, jooheon stands and gathers his belongings before stomping out of the café, cheeks set ablaze as he thought of what wonho told him.
"the nerve that he has! i should just head home, shower, and get ready for bed."
but little did jooheon know that as he walked out of the café, he missed his chance at meeting his soulmate so soon.
