Unexpected Confession
Ever since Friday classes wrapped up in sixth period, hanging out at home with Park Siwoo had become my daily routine. I would drop by the house, spend a little time together, and it had turned into an ordinary habit. But today, because there was a club activity and Park Siwoo had cleaning duty this week, there was a bit of extra time left. "Sia, should I head home first?" Of course I suggested going home first to Sia, but she refused. "No, I'll wait. Take your time." She waited patiently for Park Siwoo to finish cleaning. The reason she waited outside the classroom was that she had once helped clean up after Park Siwoo and he had refused her so stubbornly. She wanted to be there in front of everyone when it was done. Then, suddenly, "Sia, long time no see." "...". I met the person in my life I hated seeing the most. The senior who had confessed to me in my first year of middle school and whom I had turned down. Even though it had been a while since I last saw him, I kept his creepy vibe in mind, so my face naturally crumpled, but I forced myself to stay expressionless with all my might. Yet the senior acted as if my cold face didn't matter at all and came closer, saying, "You came to Nara High School too! I had no idea! If you had come, at least call me!" "...". The reason the senior didn't even know where I was going to high school was because I had blocked him on SNS the day I turned him down. Back in middle school, when he started getting too close, I had kept my distance because I hated him. After I rejected his confession, I blocked him on SNS right away. I didn't tell him myself; I got his number from a friend in my class and called him. That incident left a bit of trauma for me, so I don't share my phone number easily these days. Anyway, now that I had run into this old grudge from middle school again, I was really irritated. "Ah... of all days...". I wanted to avoid this guy the most in my life, but I thought about how annoying the third-years had been lately and didn't want Park Siwoo to get caught in the crossfire, so I held my tongue. From the senior's point of view, he thought my polite face meant I had changed my mind about him now that we were in high school. "I know your phone number. Why haven't you contacted me?" "...I changed my phone and lost everyone's number." "Ah... really? Then I can give you my number now." The clingy senior kept approaching, and I wanted to run away because of the disgust rising from deep inside me, but I acted as normally as possible. "No, it's fine. Actually, what brought you here?" "Eh, is there really no reason? It's only natural to greet the junior I cared about who came to our school." Sia knew the senior's reason wasn't innocent at all. She knew he had another agenda, but she replied as calmly as she could, "I see." At least I needed to get him off my back first. But then the senior persisted. "If you have time, can we talk for a moment... Shall we go to a cafe?" "No, no cafe. Let's just step outside and talk." He tried to pull me into a cafe, but Sia didn't want Park Siwoo to see it, so she suggested moving the conversation somewhere else. "...Okay." The senior agreed and the two of them headed to the back of the school building. Sia wanted to go even farther, but she was worried about what he might do if she ran, so she just followed without a word. When they reached a safe spot, Sia stopped him and got to the point. "So, what did you want to talk about?" "Ah... well, there's this weird rumor going around school lately." "What kind of rumor?" "There's a rumor that you're in a relationship. Is it true?" The senior finally admitted his reason for coming. When Sia heard why the stalker had shown up, her first thought was, 'This stalker idiot is at it again.' Back in middle school, at the end of the first semester, I had started interacting with a senior. That senior was him. At the time, I only talked to him to keep him at a distance, but he wouldn't let go. I was thinking about how to cut him off sharply, but I was afraid he would hold a grudge because he was in the same class as Park Siwoo and might try to get back at him. So I kept things light, but the senior kept coming back. Then, in the second semester, one day, he confessed. Naturally, I was trying not to smile because I wanted to, but I rejected him politely on the outside. After he was turned down, he said he was going to Nara High School too and I should remember that, but of course I erased it from my memory right away and blocked his SNS. I spent the remaining two years of middle school happily. Then, on the day of the high school entrance ceremony celebration performance, when I saw his face again, the memory came flooding back. Two years of forgetting, and then running into him like this, Sia thought there was no worse curse than this one. As she was wondering how to handle this curse, she started pushing him away. "What's that got to do with you, senpai?" But then the senior said, "I have to know." "So why do you have to know?" Sia meant 'You're not my type anyway,' but the senior kept clinging on. "Do you remember the confession I made to you in third year of middle school?" "...I remember." From Sia's perspective, that was the worst memory, so it was impossible not to remember. "At that time, you said that if I entered high school, we could date." "When did I ever say that?!" The senior's words were completely made-up nonsense. In Sia's view, she had already fallen for Park Siwoo and was blocking all other guys from getting close. The senior should have known there was no room for that kind of suggestion. Sia realized it must have been a mix-up in her memory, but the senior's eyes were filled with hidden madness, leaving her speechless. 'Ah... this happened out of nowhere...' She was still trying to figure out how to handle it when --thump!-- "Listen! What the hell are you doing?!" "Let go!" Sia roughly shook off the senior's grip on her shoulder and stepped back as if she had touched something filthy. Seeing her reaction, the senior exploded. "Hey, are you calling me filthy?!" Sia's patience had finally snapped. "Yes! I hate jerks like you the most! Even though I showed I hated you back in middle school, you still clung to me like a leech in high school! You stalker idiot!" "Wha... this... bastard..." "Get lost already. I'm with my boyfriend now, and he's way better than you!" "You think you can treat me nicely just because you're so good-looking!" Just as he raised his arm to hit her, --whip!-- thud! "What the hell are you doing?!" Park Siwoo had appeared. *** *** *** *** *** Sia was talking to another guy and the volume was rising, so she started recording with her phone just in case. At that moment, another guy suddenly grabbed her shoulder, Sia pushed him off, and they started shouting at each other. Feeling the situation was about to get dangerous, the guy suddenly swung his hand. Knowing he was going to hit Sia, I reflexively threw the trash bag I was holding. The bag flew straight and hit the guy in the face. I ran over and stood in front of Sia. "What the hell are you doing?!" I stepped in to protect Sia. "Ah... what the...". "Answer the question. What are you trying to do?" "Who the hell are you?" The guy in front glared at me and said. My heart was pounding as something rose from inside my chest. It was anger. "Me? Her boyfriend. You bastard." "Ha... ah... you... Sia, your type is...". The guy was about to talk to Sia again, so I stepped half a step forward to block his view. "Shut your mouth. Why are you always talking to Sia?" "What does that have to do with you?" "She's my girlfriend. So stay quiet." "Ha..." He sounded annoyed, but I warned him while he was speechless. "If you don't like the red mark on your ID, stay away from Sia." "Ha...! Really, what mark are you even talking about?" "I recorded everything. From the moment you started shouting until the end." "...you bastard!" "And I can include the stalking too." "Ha, what are you even saying? Anyone watching would think you're getting married." "...how did you know? We're going to get married." "...what?" I panicked and tried to overdo it, but once the water was spilled, I decided to finish it. "I like Sia so much I won't let anyone else near her. I'll keep her with me for the rest of my life. Stop acting like a jerk and get lost." "You think we'll be together forever?" "Yeah, isn't that obvious?" With madness hidden in my eyes, I clung to her tightly and said, "We're going to get married." An unexpected supporter had arrived. "So, from now on, don't cling like that. I can report you to the police." "No... ha... really..." With Sia backing me up, he couldn't say anything else and just muttered to himself. "Hey... see you later, bastard." "Damn it, I'll be with Sia, so I don't even look at you." "You... bastard." As he left, cursing and muttering 'I'm definitely going to kill you,' I wasn't scared of him at all. The most important thing was that I had already confessed my feelings.