We gradually stopped contacting each other after that. Sometimes, we'd go up to half a month without saying anything to each other.He had a girl he liked by his side, after all. I didn't want to cause any misunderstandings between them. I also didn't want to distract their lives just because I couldn't control my emotions. That was why I never made the first move to contact him, no matter how much I missed him.It was hard to cut back on contacting him, but I needed to move on.I swore I had to get over him by hook or by crook.When it was almost time for winter break, he texted me once, asking me when I'd be going home.I stared at the single line of text on my phone for the longest time ever. My mind was conflicted. I didn't know if I should feel sad or happy.I thought I'd forget him as long as I didn't see him or think about him.However, when his familiar profile photo popped up again on my messaging app, telling me I had unread messages from him, my mind started wandering
I felt a pang in my heart. The sweet, juicy watermelon immediately turned sour in my mouth.I kept my silence as I frowned and tossed the watermelon skin back onto the table. Then, I wiped myself clean with the towel.Was that a harmless insult? Or did he really look down on me that much?He was perfect. As someone who'd had a crush on him for the longest time ever, how much harder did I have to work to shift my affection to somebody else?I didn't know if I was destined to spend the rest of my life alone while waiting and hoping that my childhood sweetheart would finally come to his senses."Felix White, you're a meanie. Can't you stop being so cruel to me?" I whined inwardly.It was bad enough that he didn't like me. But he didn't have to rob me of my peace either.Please, could he just leave me the fuck alone?…Both our families still spent Christmas Eve together.Mom, Dad, and I were all quickly ushered over to Uncle Austin's house early in the morning. Mom then looked a
He tossed my phone back at me, and I caught it neatly. I managed to catch a glimpse of frustration on his grumpy face.My head started hurting. All of a sudden, I didn't know how I was supposed to spend the rest of my winter break with him around.If I got close to him, he would feel disgusted and get sick of me. But if I kept my distance from him, he then said that I was a killjoy who didn't know how to take a joke.Whatever I did, he would always find a way to criticize me.After getting my phone back, I wasn't in the mood to continue watching the movie anymore. Instead, I found myself over-analyzing the words he told me just now."You girls are all the same overthinking species."He used the plural form of "girl", which meant he was referring to me and at least someone else. But then again, it wasn't hard to guess who else he was referring to. First of all, he used to be quite anti-social since he was young and hated talking to females. I was the only exception. As of now, t
Good times always seemed to fly by. Before I knew it, it was time for a new semester.With Mom's and Aunt Mel's insistent interventions, I booked a ticket that was on the same day as Felix's.When we reached the airport, Lilac was standing at the roadside, craning her neck in anticipation. Felix was delighted to be out of his parents' sight. He ran over happily to take her hand and kissed her deeply on the forehead.So it was true that people in love always felt like every day apart was an eternity.Green with jealousy, I turned away and entered the hall with my suitcase.The airport was enormous, and there were countless people heading to their respective destinations. That was their destiny. In the future, our lives would be like that, too. We would go in two separate directions.With tears in my eyes, I said a silent goodbye to him in my heart.I had more classes this semester compared to the previous one. I put all other thoughts behind me and threw myself wholeheartedly
We got on well because of how similar our interests were, and it was really easy to be around Colin.I'd followed Felix on Instagram again. Sometimes, when I managed to squeeze out some time, I would look at the Instagram stories he shared to try and build up my resolve.Felix was now entirely different from how cold and impassive he had been in the past. He posted about how happy his life was almost daily. If Felix and Lilac weren't having a drink together, they would be holding hands on a date. In any case, all these sickly-sweet images of their love life made me feel like I was choking on something.I thought that Colin treating me to pork ribs would make me feel better, but Colin's return kept getting delayed. I had no choice but to go and get pork ribs twice with my roommate instead.When summer break started, Felix didn't contact me, and I didn't disturb him. Once more, I picked up my suitcase and started the journey home.I felt like I had become accustomed to life withou
"Luna, Lili's timid and shy, so you've got to treat her well. Don't disappoint me."I wouldn't disappoint him, but he had really disappointed me.We'd known each other for 19 years, and I was sure he knew very well what kind of person I was. But he was giving me an indirect warning in front of everyone as if I was some kind of sly, spiteful person.I wasn't that kind of person, but I was really disappointed.I said, "Okay."Uncle Austin and Aunt Mel probably knew about Lilac's family and were very unhappy about it. When dinner started, they kept plying me with food while ignoring Lilac completely.Lilac shrank back helplessly in her seat while Felix continuously comforted her in a low voice.My parents couldn't say much as this was the White family's affairs. As for me, I focused intently on eating and enjoyed the food thoroughly like the connoisseur I was.This was the most boring dinner I had ever eaten.When I had had my fill, I put down my cutleries and went out on the bal
Felix's voice was heavy and full of anger, and it was filled with pain, too.I felt as if I had been struck by something, crushing me and leaving me in agonizing pain.Something was flowing out of me relentlessly, and there was a lump in my throat. I wavered unsteadily on my feet, and my heart ached so much that it felt like it was about to split in two. 19 years, and he had once again denied it so heartlessly!What did that make me? My heart had almost died because of how much I loved and missed him, and all those days of my youth when I had worshiped him like a god … What a pity. It was just a one-sided infatuation on my part.I was extremely upset.It was fine if he didn't have feelings for me, but we had grown up together. How could he be so heartless as to describe me in that way? He should have been kinder to me, especially knowing how much I had liked him. I did not want to listen anymore because I didn't know what else Felix would say if I continued to hide here. His
I smiled and leaned on Aunt Mel's shoulder like I used to do when I was young. I said playfully, "Aunt Mel, please don't say things like this again. If my boyfriend finds out, he'll be unhappy."That night, I lay in bed sleeplessly for a long time. The pain in my heart continued to spread, and I gritted my teeth as I endured it.When it was almost dawn, Felix sent me a message on WhatsApp. "Do you really have a boyfriend? Who is he?"I stared at the phone screen unblinkingly for a long time until my eyes began to ache.No matter who he was, it wasn't Felix. Why did he still have to ask so much?I put the phone on silent mode and tossed it at the foot of the bed without replying.I didn't have a boyfriend. Whoever he was, it was my business and had nothing to do with Felix. I had no reason to tell him anything. The next morning, with huge dark circles under my eyes, I made plans with a few of my high school friends to go hiking.After the events of yesterday, I especially did n