Don't You Want to See It Just Once?
I'd been to countless baseball games before, but I couldn't imagine any leaving a stronger mark on my memory than this one. That's how special it felt to attend the game with Jung-woo.
He hates crowded places, so I thought it might be hard on him. Yet during the entire match, he never once showed any sign of discomfort.
For a moment, I actually believed he was fine. But once the game ended and we left the stadium, it became clear he wasn't.
He'd been pretending everything was okay just so I could enjoy myself without worrying. He didn't have to go that far. Why did he always think of me like that?
After creating that new memory together with Jung-woo, I returned to my school routine. With finals approaching, I had no time to spare for a trip to Gwangju. It had already been two weeks since I'd last seen him.
"Chae-yeon."
"You're here?"
"What's wrong with your face?"
"I want to go to Gwangju..."
"Then just go."
"I have so much to do. You know that."
"If it were me, I'd go see my boyfriend even if I had a ton of work."
I had tried what Ju-hee suggested before. It ended in failure.
I'd told Jung-woo I wanted to come to Gwangju over the weekend because I missed him, but he said he knew how much I had on my plate and told me not to push myself.
I was grateful he was being considerate... but I still missed him!! He didn't have to shut me down so coldly.
Feeling disappointed, I showed Ju-hee the text conversation I'd had with Jung-woo.
"Does your boyfriend always put his responsibilities first?"
"Seems like it. I didn't know he was like this. Honestly, it's a little annoying."
"I get why you feel that way, but I don't think what your boyfriend said was wrong."
"You think so..."
"If you push back important things to meet up, even if you don't mind, the other person might feel uncomfortable."
After hearing Ju-hee's words, I started to feel like maybe I was being too self-centered.
I'd only been thinking about myself.
For us to meet and have a good time, both of us needed to feel at ease. And for that kind of comfortable meeting to happen, I realized it was right to listen to Jung-woo.
"Chae-yeon, does your boyfriend ever get jealous?"
"Jealous? Hmm... I've never seen it."
"So he's not the jealous type?"
"I don't even know if he gets jealous or not. We've never been in a situation like that."
"Don't you want to see it just once? Your boyfriend getting jealous over you."
Since I'd never seen that side of Jung-woo before, I couldn't picture it. But I was curious. The question was how to create a situation where I'd get to see it.
It wasn't like I had a lot of male friends around me. The only friends I had were girls. There were some male seniors, but I wasn't close enough with any of them to set up a scenario like that.
"I'll make one for you."
"Make what?"
"A situation that would make your boyfriend jealous!!"
"Don't do anything weird. Just stay out of it."
"But I'm curious."
"I'm curious too, but why do you seem even more curious than me?"
If we'd gone to school in the same area, I wouldn't have to worry about any of this. Even though coming to this university after taking the college entrance exam for the third time made it precious to me, right now there was no place I wanted to escape more.
-Vrrrr!!
Thinking it was Jung-woo calling, I quickly checked my phone... but it was Dad.
My face flushed bright red at lightning speed from that single text from Dad.
With how busy real life had been, I'd completely forgotten about that kiss cam moment. No one had mentioned it, so it had slipped my mind entirely.
But now that Dad had brought it up... I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear forever.
"Chae-yeon, what's wrong?"
"I suddenly want to die."
"Huh? Out of nowhere?!"
"Dad says he saw me at the baseball game with Jung-woo."
"So? Your dad likes baseball, so it's not that surprising he'd be watching."
"That's not the problem... During the kiss cam, we got caught on the big screen."
"Oh, he saw that? What are you going to do about your boyfriend? This is bad."
It was bad for me too. That moment, which was both a cherished memory and a total black history, had been witnessed by my dad.
If Dad saw it, there was a good chance Mom knew about it too. Suddenly I didn't want to go to Gwangju at all. Maybe I should just stay at Jung-woo's house if I did go.
If Mom had said that, I might have believed it was sincere. But since it was Dad, I could tell right away it was a lie.
Should I tell Jung-woo about this?
I wrapped up the chat with Dad and called Jung-woo.
"Jung-woo."
"Yeah, Yeoni."
"I just got a text from my dad."
"Huh...? W-what did he say?"
Even though I hadn't said anything yet, Jung-woo's voice was already shaking. He must have guessed what this was about.
"He saw us during the kiss cam while watching the baseball game."
"...Am I going to die?"
"Why would you die? What do you think my dad is?"
"I'm not going to die? That's a relief."
"He said it looked nice. Of course, he's probably lying."
"Did he say he wants to see me next time?"
"Um, hold on."
I paused the call with Jung-woo and checked Dad's messages. Sure enough, just as Jung-woo predicted, Dad wanted to see him. From the way he phrased it, he seemed to miss Jung-woo more than his own daughter.
"Dad says he wants to see you next time."
"Yeoni, I've been so happy while dating you all this time. You'll be fine even without me, right?"
"Why are you suddenly making a will? I told you, you're not dying."
"Just from the vibe, it feels like I'm about to die?"
"I'll come with you next time. And right now I'm the one having an emergency."
"You, Yeoni? Why?"
"I showed my parents me being all touchy with my boyfriend. Who could possibly be okay with that!!"
Only then did Jung-woo let out an "Ah" and start to understand how I felt.
Why did he think I'd be fine? Did he have any idea how embarrassing that was?!
"When are you coming to Gwangju, Yeoni?"
"Probably... next week? Even if I go, I'll have to head back Sunday morning."
"That's really short."
"Finals are coming up, so it can't be helped."
"During finals week, we probably won't be able to meet at all, huh?"
"Yeah... I don't like it, but that's how it'll be. Still, once exams are over, it'll be vacation."
Over the phone, I could hear Jung-woo's sigh full of regret. Just as he felt that way, I felt exactly the same. If we'd gone to university in the same area, we could've seen each other even during exam period.
"Yeoni, the professor just came in, so I have to hang up."
"Okay, got it. Pay attention in class."
"I will!! Love you."
"Love you too."
When I ended the call, Ju-hee was staring at me with a strange expression. Whenever she looked at me like that, she always said something weird.
"So, have you thought about it?"
"About what?"
"What I mentioned earlier. Making your boyfriend jealous."
"Do I really have to do that?"
"Honestly, you want to see it too, don't you? Right?"
If it was a question of whether I wanted to see it or not, of course I did... but what if things went badly? I didn't want to do something pointless and end up driving a wedge between us.
"Don't worry too much. I'll handle it properly in my own way."
"Do we really have to do this?"
"Let's say we're going out drinking with the club seniors today. I'll set up the appointment."
"I told him I was busy, so if I suddenly say I'm drinking, he'll probably hate it."
"That's exactly how we can make him jealous!!"
I brought up all kinds of concerns to Ju-hee, but the conversation just kept circling back to the same point. I wasn't sure if I was talking to a person or a wall.
If Jung-woo were the type to get really jealous, I would've warned her not to involve any guys even if I had no connection to them. But since nothing like that had happened so far, I didn't think he'd get that jealous.
"Just try it once. Please?"
"Why do you want to see it more than I do!!"
"I'm curious. We'll do it this one time and then never again."
"And if it's not that fun, you'll want to do it again."
"I really won't. I promise!!"
In a relationship, trust between partners is essential. This kind of prank could create a crack in that trust.
Still... honestly, I was curious.
"I tried it when I was dating, and it was pretty fun."
"You've done this before?!"
"Yeah!! It was super cute. He never got jealous, but this one thing made him jealous right away."
"Just don't go overboard. Got it?"
"Yep!! I got it!!"
Ju-hee posted a notice in the club group chat about the get-together, and as soon as it went up, both seniors and juniors immediately volunteered. It made me wonder whether we'd come to university to study or to drink. Not that I, who loves drinking, should be talking.
"Oh!! It's rare for the whole club to gather like this."
In the end, the situation to make Jung-woo jealous had been created. Would this really be okay? I just hoped it wouldn't lead to anything bad.