As we sat there, an awkward silence settled between us. It was strange—after everything, I didn't know what to say or how to act. Jiho shifted his weight, leaned back in his seat, and sipped his drink.
"Yuna is taking her precious time isn't she?" He smiled.
"She's probably off talking to some dude, you know here." I added.
"Same old Yuna, never changes."
Joon chuckled, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, she's always been like that. Always got some guy's attention without even trying."
I leaned back in my chair, relaxing just a little.
It felt weird to be having this normal conversation with him, like old times, when we used to hang out and talk about Yuna's antics. But the air between us still felt heavy, like there was a giant elephant in the room neither of us wanted to acknowledge.
"Do you ever miss it?" Joon asked suddenly, catching me off guard.
"Miss what?" I frowned.
"Us. The way things used to be… before everything got messed up."
I glanced at him, unsure of how to respond. Of course, I missed it—missed the simplicity, the easy friendship we once had. But things weren't that simple anymore. There was too much history between us now.
"I don't know, Joon," I said quietly, choosing my words carefully. "I miss… parts of it, I guess. But we can't pretend like things didn't go wrong."
He nodded, looking down at his drink. "Yeah, I get it." There was a pause, and then he added, almost in a whisper, "I wish I could take it back, you know."
I didn't say anything at first. Hearing him admit that made something inside me soften, but I wasn't sure if it was enough.
"Maybe we can't take it back," I finally said, "but maybe we can try to move forward."
As we drifted to a lighter conversation, Yuna came back with the food in hand but to my surprise Jihoon and BaekHyeon were behind her. Hyeon looked nice as ever with a big smile on his face, but Jihoon's expression was colder then usual. It was like he was ready to punch anyone that got in his space.
"I met with Jihoon and Hyeon in the front," she said placing the tray down on the table. "Oh, I just wanted to say thank you for the birthday gift." Hyeon said.
"No problem." I smiled.
"Oh right, this is our friend Joon. He just got back from JeonJu island." Yuna introduced him.
"Let's go, I didn't come here to make friends." Jihoon said to Hyeon and walked away, "well it's nice to me you Joon, hope to see you around soon." Hyeon said as he followed behind his brother.
As Jihoon and BaekHyeon walked away, the tension they left behind lingered in the air. Yuna sat down across from me, her eyes flicking between Jiho and me, sensing the awkwardness that had crept back into our conversation.
"Well, that was... something," she said, raising an eyebrow. "Jihoon's moodier than usual, don't you think?"
I shrugged, trying to act like it didn't bother me as much as it did. "He's always like that."
Jiho, on the other hand, seemed unphased. "Guess I didn't make the best first impression, huh?"
I forced a smile. "Don't take it personally. Jihoon isn't exactly the friendliest person in the world."
Yuna sighed, taking a sip of her drink. "Even though those two are identical Twins, it's easy to tell them apart by their presence. Jihoon isn't really much of a people person." Yuna.
"Let's not talk about him now, let's catch up."I said trying to drift the conversation away from Jihoon, not only was he in his worse mood I have to deal with it soon or later. Especially seeing me chitchatting with Jiho.
Yuna nodded, sensing my desire to change the subject. She flashed a quick smile and leaned back in her chair. "Alright, alright, no more Jihoon talk. So, Jiho, tell us what you've been up to in Jeju? I heard it's beautiful this time of year."
Jiho relaxed a bit, grateful for the shift in conversation. "Yeah, Jeju was incredible. Even though I was stuck with my grandma the whole time, I went hiking with my cousins explored the island and enjoyed most of my times on the beach."
"Sounds like the perfect getaway," Yuna said, resting her chin in her hand. "I've been dying to go there again. Maybe we should plan a trip."
I smiled at the thought of a carefree escape. "That sounds nice. Could definitely use a break from all this." I gestured vaguely, referring to everything we were dealing with here.
Jiho chuckled. "You should definitely go. It's got this... peaceful vibe, even when it's busy with tourists. And the sunsets? Unreal. You'd love it."
Yuna grinned, her excitement growing. "Let's make it happen then! I'm serious. We'll plan something before the year ends."
I nodded, though part of me wondered if it was even possible. Things always seemed to get in the way, especially with Jihoon's unpredictable mood swings and everything else. Still, for now, it was nice to imagine a fresh start, even if it was just a short trip.
"So what about you, Minji?" Joon asked, his voice softer as he looked at me. "What've you been up to?"
I shrugged, not really wanting to get into too much detail. "Same old stuff. School's been busy, and, you know, dealing with life in general."
Yuna raised an eyebrow, clearly picking up on my vague answer, but she let it slide. "Well, whatever it is, we'll take a break from it all soon enough. Jeju, here we come."
Jiho smiled, though his eyes lingered on me for a moment longer than I expected. "Yeah, sounds like a plan."
As we kept talking, the tension eased even more, and for a little while, I could forget about Jihoon and everything that came with him.
—————————
On a Monday afternoon during school:
"Should we go to the BBQ place after school?" Yuna asked as we headed to the teachers office, "is Jiho going to come?" I asked.
"Yeah," she replied.
"Well then I'm not going." I said. "Come on, didn't you guys make up?" She asked.
"We did, but it doesn't mean I good with hanging out with him every time you feel like it seeing him." I stated.
"I also don't want to make things worse for me," I told her.
She raised an eyebrow looking at me confused, "worse how?!" She asked.
Suddenly before I got to answer Jihoon walked by his headphones in and phone in hand, he was so glued to his phone that he didn't even noticed that he walked by us.
"Nothing." I said looking back at him.
Yuna glanced over at Jihoon as he passed by, then back at me, her confusion deepening. "Is this about Jihoon?" she asked, lowering her voice.
I sighed, feeling the familiar weight settle in my chest. "No" I said as I entered the teachers office.
"Thank you for bringing them," Mrs. Jeon said grabbing the books out my hand. I smiled and walked out heading back to class, "so you won't hang out with us after school?" Yuna asked again.
"Yes."
The rest of the afternoon dragged on, and I found myself zoning out more than I'd like to admit. Jihoon was a presence I couldn't seem to shake, and it was frustrating how much space he occupied in my thoughts. Even when I didn't want to think about him, he somehow lingered.
After class, Yuna waved goodbye as she rushed off to meet Jiho for the BBQ. I lingered at my locker, taking my time packing up, not really in a rush to go home. As I zipped up my bag, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around and, to my surprise, there was Jihoon, still with his headphones in, but this time he wasn't glued to his phone.
He pulled out one earbud and looked at me, his usual cold expression replaced with something unreadable. "Meet me at the condo this evening."
I blinked unsure on how to respond, but before I got to reply he placed his earbud in and walked away.
I stood there for a moment, staring at Jihoon's retreating figure, trying to process what had just happened. Meet him at the condo? My mind raced with questions, none of which I had answers to. Why now?
I shook my head, grabbing my bag and heading out of school. As much as I didn't want to admit it, curiosity gnawed at me. Despite everything, part of me wanted to know what he was going to do.
That evening, I found myself standing in front of his condo, nerves buzzing in my chest. The sun had begun to set, casting an orange glow across the city, and the air was thick with the humidity of summer.
I took a deep breath and knocked.
A few moments later, the door opened, and there he was. Jihoon stood in the doorway, looking slightly more relaxed than usual, but there was still an edge in his eyes.
He left the door opened and walked away, nervously I entered closing the door behind me. We stood in the silence for a while until I decided to speak up, "you didn't call or text for the past 5 days, are you feeling any better now?"
"I don't want to hear your fake concerns, all I want to know is who was that guy you were with last Friday?" He said his tone so forward.
I blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift in his tone. "What?" I asked, confused. "You mean Jiho? He's just a friend."
Jihoon scoffed, crossing his arms. "Just a friend, huh? You seemed pretty close."
I felt a flare of frustration rise in my chest. "What does it matter to you? You've barely spoken to me in days, and now you're asking about Jiho? You don't get to just disappear and then come back demanding answers."
His jaw tightened, and he looked away, as if trying to keep his emotions in check. "Isn't it your Job to sit around and wait for me, or did you forget what you agreed on when you threw yourself at me."
"You wanted this, so if you're going to be sitting around with some other guy don't dare come to me and act like you give a shit!" He snapped.
TBC