DALI Ch 0 – Prologue

Jung Jihee was famously known for his dislike of celebrities.

Although he had never expressed this contempt in front of others, everyone implicitly knew it.

Also, Jung Jihee was unpretentious, kind, unassuming, and friendly to everyone. But that was only until they crossed the line.

Lastly, Jung Jihee was the perfect type to harbor fantasies of unrequited love.

If you become interested in him, you’ll soon realize it. That beneath Jung Jihee’s gentle eyes lies a concentrated melancholy. Looking into his eyes, one often falls under the illusion that they, and only they, can understand his suppressed loneliness.

Like butterflies drawn to flowers, countless people have rushed towards Jung Jihee with such delusions. To a magical being who evokes fantasies of unrequited love and amplifies anxieties.

Choi Heejoon, his classmate, was one of them.

Ultimately lacking the courage to confess, he would occasionally slip letters, in which he explosively poured out his feelings, into Jihee’s locker. However, he never wished for Jihee to know it was him.

So, it was only natural that his heart leaped into his throat when Jung Jihee called him out.

“Is this, did you send this?”

Jung Jihee held up the white paper he was holding between his long fingers.

His head slightly tilted, his gaze askew. Healthy, porcelain-like skin and a firm nape. Resolute eyes beneath neatly shaped eyelids stared directly at Heejoon, as if urging a response.

“That…”

Choi Heejoon, with a frozen expression, couldn’t say anything.

Seeing his face, unable to affirm or deny, Jung Jihee was certain. That the guy in front of him was indeed the owner of this letter.

“Ha…”

He lowered his eyes and sighed, just softly enough for the other person not to hear. The fatigue emanating from Jung Jihee’s downcast eyes made Choi Heejoon want to cry.

At the same time, he berated himself for indulging in fantasies of unrequited love. It’s natural for someone to react this way when they receive a confession from a guy, so why did I have such futile dreams?

Now, all that’s left is to be dumped like a dog.

It was as he was hanging his head, thinking this, that Jung Jihee spoke quietly.

“Choi Heejoon. Liking someone isn’t a punishable offense.”

“Huh…?”

“Relax your face. You look like you’re being punished by me right now.”

“…Uh…”

Heejoon’s expression became blank at the unexpected words. The words he heard at the moment he was sure he would be rejected were not particularly kind, but they were not accusatory either. That was unexpected.

“The letter… thank you. I was a bit surprised, though.”

Saying so, Jung Jihee looked at the round handwriting on the letter.

The handwriting was neat, so he hadn’t thought it was from a boy.

It had been quite a while since he started receiving anonymous letters. The love letters from an unknown sender would sometimes be tucked into the first page of his textbook after he returned from the restroom, sometimes slipped into the gap of his locker, or even into the pocket of his gym clothes. At first, he thought someone was playing a prank, but at some point, he started to have a strange feeling.

And not long ago, he saw Choi Heejoon scurrying out of the classroom, as if he had been caught doing something, when he thought no one was there. Immediately after, he found another letter tucked into his empty drawer, and he became certain.

This time, instead of sighing, Jung Jihee held his breath. The other person was trembling like a trapped rat just from him watching.

“Choi Heejoon, are you even breathing?”

“Uh, uh…?”

“Relax.”

Then Heejoon, with an expression of disbelief, scratched his head.

“I thought you were angry, Jihee.”

“Me?”

“Uh… I thought maybe you called me out to some deserted place like this to beat me up….”

To think he had such a misunderstanding. Jihee shook his head with a frown.

“No. I just, I was worried you might be embarrassed. If someone overheard, it would be awkward for you, too.”

“…Ah, was that it?”

Jihee nodded once.

“Anyway, it means you were sincere enough to write and send this many letters. You wanted to say it. So, your confession… I can’t accept it… but… I’ll listen.”

“Um… are you not upset?”

To Heejoon’s bewildered question, Jihee replied plainly.

“Yes. So don’t be nervous and confess. No one’s here.”

Saying this, Jihee looked around once more. There was no sign of anyone around, just the sound of the wind rustling through the trees.

“It’s okay. I’ll listen.”

At the incredibly gentle voice, Heejoon pressed his lips together.

“Ugh…”

His lips began to twist with pent-up emotions, and small sobs leaked out.

Jihee thought, such a wretched expression right before a confession. He couldn’t fathom the feeling of liking someone to the point of this much distress.

Was it bad taste to tell him to confess now, even though he’d be rejected anyway?

Or would it have been better to pretend not to know….

After standing in the muggy outdoors for about ten minutes, sweat began to bead on his neck. Jihee lightly wiped the back of his neck with the back of his hand and looked up at the sky. The humid summer air was moving slowly, carried by the clouds.

“Hey, rather…”

“……?”

At Heejoon’s voice, bursting out with a chuckle, Jihee turned his gaze back to him.

“Rather, it would’ve been better if you were a fucking asshole and cursed at me and beat me up.”

The other, having barely swallowed his tears, said so in a trembling voice. Jihee quietly looked at Heejoon’s distorted face. A strange face, laughing while crying.

“No, it’s not like it’s a bad thing. It would just be a normal reaction. But you…”

Although his breathing was unsteady from suppressed sobs, Heejoon’s words were interspersed with laughter that sounded like a scoff.

What did I do wrong?

Jihee wondered as he looked at the other’s tear-stained face.

“You’re pissing me off because you look like you’re exactly what I like, until the very end. I knew you’d be like this. That you’d listen kindly, even to a confession from someone you don’t give a shit about, and a guy at that….”

And Heejoon, wiping his tears with the back of his hand, finally said,

“I liked you.”

His face looked relieved after uttering those short words.

Only then did Jihee feel a faint urge to smile.

“Okay, thank you.”

At the words ‘thank you,’ Heejoon’s face fell. As if he hadn’t expected to hear those words.

“What are you thanking me for?”

“I’m thankful. Liking someone isn’t easy.”

As he said this, Jihee neatly folded the letter. Watching his long, firm fingertips move meticulously, Heejoon muttered.

“I wonder if I’ll ever be able to date someone like you in my life.”

“Someone like me?”

“Yeah. Fucking awesome, but not arrogant, and so fucking kind….”

“There are plenty of people more wonderful than me in the world.”

“No way.”

While Jihee, unable to find anything particular to say, fiddled with the surface of the letter, Heejoon turned around.

With that as their last interaction, they parted without a word. They both knew that they probably wouldn’t talk like this again. Just as it was before today, so it would be in the future.

Heejoon got on his bicycle parked nearby and pedaled vigorously. Watching his back receding, Jihee pondered what to do with the letter in his hand.

“…….”

He hesitated for a moment, then folded the paper in half again and put it in his pocket. He was reluctant to immediately throw it in the trash, as it contained someone’s feelings. He did so even though he knew it wouldn’t lead to a different outcome if he kept it a little longer.

The letter would be confined in a drawer in a corner of his room, never to be opened again, gathering dust until it was eventually thrown away. Like the numerous confessions he had received before, around the time he no longer remembered who sent them.

Jihee, with his hands in his pockets, walked back the way he came.

From somewhere, he heard the frail chirping of an early cicada.