AR Ch 3 part 2

PR by neji

When they arrived at the convenience store at the intersection, Jiwon finally let go of his hand. She didn’t remember the last time she’d sprinted like this. She felt like her heart was going to burst, and she could taste the faint scent of blood in her throat. However, Seokju looked completely fine even though he had run here with her, so she grew even more annoyed.

When she saw Seokju frowning as he stared down at his hand, she gestured to the plastic chairs placed outside the convenience store.

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“Sit over there for a bit.”

She entered the convenience store to cool off and came back out with two cold cans of something to drink. She held one out to him. When Seokju saw the yellow can of sweet rice punch, he spoke up with a blank expression.

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“You have quite an old-school preference in drinks.”

“Then don’t drink it.”

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“I never said I didn’t want it.”

Seokju snatched the can from her hand and emptied it in one go. Jiwon flopped down onto the chair next to him and gulped down her drink.

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“Thanks.”

She almost choked on a grain of rice that got caught in her throat. After wiping her mouth, Jiwon looked at him as if she were staring at an alien. Seokju pressed down on his temple and took a deep breath.

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“If I ended up going to the police station, things would have gotten really annoying. Thanks to you, I was able to avoid that.”

“Mm, but I’m the one who called the police.”

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When she told him the truth, Seokju’s face twisted into a scowl.

“You called them?”

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“Yeah.”

“And why would you do something as pointless as that?”

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His voice became a notch louder. Jiwon glared back at Seokju with hateful eyes.

“I thought someone was being attacked by bullies. Obviously, if I knew it was you, I would have just charged in.”

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Of course, it wasn’t like he needed her help anyway. She couldn’t get herself to say those words. She didn’t want it going to his head.

“Even if it was someone else, why would you meddle?”

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Jiwon gave him a pitiful look and stared at him. She felt a bit overwhelmed, but that might be why she felt comfortable saying it.

“Who knows? I might save someone’s life by meddling someday.”

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“What?”

“I’m someone who benefited from something like that. There was a time when I almost died, and someone saved me.”

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“…You should intervene depending on the situation.”

Seokju’s voice slightly calmed down, but the scowl was still on his face.

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“Being brave and being stupid are two sides of the same coin.”

Jiwon let out a sigh and crossed her arms.

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“You… the words in your head and the words that come out of your mouth are quite different, aren’t they? Be honest.”

“What are you talking about?”

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“If you want to tell someone that it’s dangerous and you’re worried about them, then say it nicely! Whenever you open your mouth, you insult people with every breath.”

Tsk, Seokju clicked his tongue, but it seemed to have hit the mark. He kept his mouth shut. Jiwon cooled off the hair on her forehead and dried the sweat from her skin. Then she put her feet up on her chair and gulped down more of the sweet rice punch.

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The cherry blossoms on the trees in front of the convenience store fluttered in the wind. Why did she have to see such a beautiful sight with this jerk?

“Do you always carry a whistle with you?”

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Seokju broke the silence. Jiwon gazed at the fluttering flower petals that reminded her of snowflakes and lightly nibbled on the empty can.

“My dad gave it to me when I was little. Ever since then, I’ve always carried it around.”

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If she wanted to properly answer the first question he’d ever asked her, she needed to open up a bit. Seokju went ‘ah’ and closed his mouth again. Jiwon hesitated in the silence for a moment before she cleared her throat.

“When I was in first grade, I was kidnapped.”

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After that incident, Jiwon had never spoken about it to anyone. Not even to her close friends or to her parents. She never brought it up first. She didn’t really know why she was telling this to Seokju now.

But she couldn’t ignore the warning in his black eyes as he approached the bullies with the brick in his hand. To Jiwon, Seokju was someone who was on top of a precariously shaky line. As if a single misstep would cause him to fall into the deep abyss below…

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Her dad’s strange story was also on her mind. She was worried Seokju would go from cruelly beating up the bullies to moving over to their side instead.

She wanted to ask him if he was really the same kid who was annoyingly stubborn about keeping a clean student record, but she was worried he’d go astray if she pushed him too hard. Therefore, she decided to just regard him as the rude model student instead.

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She didn’t care if he said she was being meddlesome. If it was him, she thought he’d listen to her story with the same indifference he always did, so she felt that it would be okay to talk about it.

“Back then, we were still on the poor side. But my parents still dressed me in strange clothes, you know? Because of that, they said the criminal mistook me for a child from a well-off family.”

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“That’s stupid. The criminal, I mean.”

Jiwon thought his curt reply was very in tune with his personality and chuckled. Seeing that she got this kind of response from him, Jiwon felt a lot more comfortable continuing her story.

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“Actually, after I got kidnapped, I don’t remember much. I remember bits and pieces of it. According to the psychiatrist, in order to protect themselves from extreme violence, human beings will make that choice. In other words, it’s a defense mechanism. To help humans survive.”

“Did you forget how you escaped?”

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“No. I will never be able to forget that.”

Jiwon hummed and coughed awkwardly. Then she brought her hands around her mouth and whispered as if telling him a secret.

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“That’s where my first love made his entrance. And he was even younger than me.”

Seokju’s expression became strange as he listened. One brow went up, and it looked like he was laughing at her.

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“What?”

“The little boy who freed me from the warehouse was younger than me.”

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Seokju was at a loss for words, almost as if he couldn’t believe what she was saying. Jiwon rested her piercing gaze on him and earnestly opened her mouth.

“You can’t believe it, can you? He was barely old enough to be an elementary school student, but he opened the warehouse door for me. Secretly, when the criminal was inside the house. Even if I were to explain to you how critical that moment was, you wouldn’t know it.”

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“Keep going.”

Seokju narrowed his eyes as he absentmindedly nodded his head. Although Jiwon didn’t like how nonchalantly he was taking in her story, she continued.

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“Actually, the kid’s face is still a bit fuzzy to me. I can’t remember much other than the fact that he was dirty, but…”

Jiwon swallowed and sifted through her memories.

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“I can’t forget his eyes. He had very pretty eyes, but he had quite a fierce glare.”

She had never seen those eyes on someone her age. At the time, she didn’t recognize it, but she felt like she knew now. Dread and apprehension… Eyes that showed how he was using all his might to win over his fear.

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“The last thing he did was hit me. Really hard on the head. Telling me to go. To hurry up and leave. And the last thing I remember is running through the heavy rain as I cried. So that’s why I still hate it when it rains to this day.”

“……”

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“Because I feel like I can still hear that kid’s screams through the rain.”

Because it sounded like he was crying out that he was scared, too.

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Jiwon stared at the silently trembling flower petals before softly clearing her throat.

“I fainted, and when I woke up, I told my dad. That there was another kid captured in that place. That he needed to save him.”

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“What did he say?”

When Seokju asked back, Jiwon turned her head and met his eyes.

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“Judging from how my dad didn’t say much about him afterwards, I don’t think it ended well.”

Jiwon widened her eyes to cool her heated eyes. Then she looked at Seokju and crinkled her nose.

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“It’s freaking sad and gloomy, right? The story about my first love. That’s why I have to live the life of a good person. For the sake of the boy who saved me. That’s why I bought you something like this, too. It’s not because I’m fond of you or anything.”

Jiwon raised her empty can and tapped Seokju’s as if she were clinking glasses in a toast. She tried to lighten up the mood, but Seokju’s expression was one of disbelief. He snorted and murmured.

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“How can he be your first love if you can’t even remember his face?”

“Since you’ve never experienced a genuine communion with another human being, why don’t you shut your mouth?”

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“If he’s such an amazing guy, don’t you think he would have found his way out and continued to live his life well?”

“Not everyone is like you. Do you think it’s easy to find someone who studies as well as you, fights as good as you, and lacks any manners like you?”

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Jiwon spoke sarcastically, and Seokju turned his head away as if he couldn’t believe it. He’d lost his glasses during his fight, and his hair was disheveled and sticking out all over the place.

Jiwon liked this side of him rather than his neat, tidy appearance. And now that she got a look, she realized that Shin Seokju’s eyes were very pretty.

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“What are you going to do now that your glasses were smashed to pieces?”

“It doesn’t matter. My eyesight is perfectly fine.”

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“What? Then why did you wear glasses?”

“If I go out with my bare face, the number of people who needlessly approach me will double.”

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“Ah, of course.”

Jiwon nodded her head. Bragging about oneself in such a nasty way like that was hard to do.

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“And because wearing glasses makes me look more scholarly.”

Jiwon burst into laughter when she heard Seokju’s final words. So he actually had a cute side to him.

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“That’s crazy. You’re actually quite funny. You know that, Shin Seokju?”

“Move your face away.”

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“Yes, yes. I’m truly sorry for pushing my ugly face your way, sir.”

“Don’t get too close, fuck. I’m a mess right now.”

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“Wow… The curses are just leaving your lips so cleanly, aren’t they? Just like a punk.”

Jiwon watched in glee as Seokju tiredly stared up at her before sighing as if he gave up trying to fight back. Blood was still dripping from a cut near Seokju’s brow.

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“Bring that handsome face of yours closer.”

She pulled out the bandaid she’d bought at the convenience store from her pocket.

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“Enough already.”

“If you go home with blood on your face, my mom and dad will be surprised.”

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When she used her parents as an excuse, Seokju finally listened to her. Jiwon silently ripped open the package and carefully applied the bandaid to his wound. Although she shouldn’t be feeling anything, she felt a bit strange.

Was it because a flower petal had fallen down on his hair? Or was it because his glaring eyes that were piercing through her didn’t affect his annoyingly handsome face? Her heart went ba-dump, ba-dump.

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“Idiot.”

Seokju mumbled, and Jiwon returned to her senses.

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“Did you say ‘Thank you’? You’re welcome.”

She nonchalantly tapped his cheek with her hand and straightened up. Her cellphone began to vibrate in her pocket.

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“Yeah, hello?”

— Where are you?! Why weren’t you answering your phone?!

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Her mother’s shrill voice pierced her ears. Jiwon quickly raised her voice.

“Hey, I came outside for a walk before coming to the convenience store and met Seokju. Why are you so mad about that?”

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After what happened in the past, Jiwon knew that her mother was a lot more sensitive about the tiniest things. When she said Seokju’s name, her mother’s voice lowered somewhat.

— Seokju? Has he eaten?

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“Hey, have you eaten?”

Seokju didn’t answer and merely slung his backpack over his shoulder before walking away.

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“I don’t think he wants to talk. He probably hasn’t eaten and is acting sorry for himself.”

— I can’t believe you two. Both of you, hurry back home this instant!

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“Yes, ma’am!”

After ending the call, Jiwon grabbed Seokju’s arm and began to run home.

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“Hey, hurry up. The thing my mom hates most in the world is when people skip meals.”

“About your mom…”

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Jiwon looked up as Seokju refused to pick up the pace. He was asking with a confused look on his face.

“Why does she forgive your dad? If it were me, I would have kicked him out long ago. Or broken up with him.”

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“Isn’t it obvious? You idiot.”

“So what’s the reason?”

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“Because she loves him!”

Jiwon shouted out the obvious answer, and Seokju’s eye slightly twitched. Jiwon thought he only had one expression, but now that she got a closer look, he was merely hiding all his emotions on his face. When she saw him shut his mouth as if he no longer wanted to speak with her, Jiwon continued.

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“Do you know how powerful love is? Ever since I met my dad when I was five up until I was in second grade, I thought my dad was my biological dad. Even though our faces look so different, I wasn’t able to see it because I was blinded by love.”

Seokju suddenly stopped walking.

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“…Detective Park isn’t your biological dad?”

Jiwon plunged her hands into her jacket pockets and walked backwards as she grinned at him.

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“Yeah. You look surprised.”

Jiwon pulled out her cellphone and took a picture. Seokju frowned.

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“What are you doing?”

“Just ‘cuz. I didn’t think seeing such an expression on your face happens often.”

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Seokju gazed at her for a moment before sweeping his tongue across his lips as he bit down on them.

“Why are you telling me this?”

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“Because I wanted you to know.”

“Know what?”

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“That people aren’t always as they seem, maybe?”

Underneath the streetlights, Seokju’s shadow stretched out. He quietly stared at Jiwon with an uninterpretable expression before suddenly asking a question.

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“How do you see me?”

“…Is that important?”

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Jiwon scratched her head, and Seokju urged her once again.

“Tell me. What kind of person am I in your eyes?”

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Jiwon pondered over Seokju’s question for a moment before opening her mouth. Since she was honest with him thus far, she decided to remain honest until the end.

“You’re like a person walking a fine line. From far away, it looks like you’re rather composed on top of the line, but when I look closely, you’re covered in sweat and your muscles are trembling from the effort. You’re a person on edge, afraid that you’ll fall at any second if you don’t focus.”

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“Does that mean you feel sorry for me?”

Seokju gazed piercingly at her. Jiwon gave a soft laugh and pounded her fist on his shoulder.

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“It means you’re cool, you idiot.”

“…Don’t be sarcastic.”

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Jiwon thought she heard a slight tremor in Seokju’s low voice.

“Think whatever you want.”

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He was impossible. Jiwon quietly clicked her tongue and turned around. Back in this moment, her first love still remained young in her mind. That meant she hadn’t fallen in love with him yet. However, the reason why this night remained deeply engraved in her memories was because the street was lined with blindingly beautiful cherry blossom trees as they silently walked back home from the convenience store. It was because Seokju kept his eyes locked on her as he took each step.

As if a flower petal was blowing with the wind before landing on the nape of her neck, Jiwon felt something tickle.

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