* * *
Taehwan says he doesn’t remember, but I do. Clearly. Vividly.
Im Taehwan was incredibly popular.
How popular, you ask?
Well… On Valentine’s Day, White Day, or any day remotely related to love, Taehwan’s classroom—and his seat—became a hotspot.
Chocolates, candies, marshmallows—every kind of sweet, along with heartfelt letters, piled onto his desk.
Even on ordinary days, at least every other day, someone shyly pulled Taehwan aside to a secluded spot.
Whether it was right after morning assembly, during lunch break, or on his way home, it happened like clockwork.
And then, surprisingly!
Even the most popular student in our school joined the lineup of people aiming for Im Taehwan.
A trainee under a famous agency, or maybe a former child actor.
I can’t remember exactly why they were so popular, but they were undeniably beautiful.
I had run into them in the hallway before, and even though I didn’t know their name, I was impressed.
But even someone like that couldn’t break through the firm wall Taehwan had built.
“Why did you turn them down? They’re super popular!”
“So what? Just because someone’s popular, do I have to date them even if I don’t have feelings for them?”
“Well, no, but… Still, you could give it a try. You’re both popular, so maybe you’d get along surprisingly well.”
“No thanks. Not interested.”
Taehwan dismissed the idea immediately and tried to forget about it.
But that person must have taken his rejection as a blow to their pride.
Instead of giving up after one try, they kept lingering around him.
Which, in turn, gave me the chance to talk to them.
“Hey. You’re Jehee, right?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“You’re close with Taehwan, aren’t you? I heard you two are always together.”
“Yeah… Why?”
“C-Could you help me out a little?”
“…Huh? Help with what?”
“I really, really want things to work out with Taehwan. Please, just a little help!”
I had my hands full with my rabbit-like younger siblings, so dating wasn’t on my radar, but I was curious.
Other people’s love stories—especially Taehwan’s—piqued my interest.
And I had no reason to refuse, so I helped them out quite actively.
Their smile was pretty enough that it felt rewarding to offer advice.
As we talked, I realized that while they might have started with a bruised ego, they seemed to have genuine feelings now.
So I found myself rooting for them.
“Please!”
“Just once. That’s all I’m asking.”
“If it doesn’t work out this time, I’ll give up. Just help me this one time!”
At first, I just answered their questions, but I guess they got comfortable with me quickly.
Before long, they started asking for more direct involvement.
Their latest request?
They wanted me to convince Taehwan to go somewhere—without mentioning their name.
The problem?
It was a pretty big ask.
They weren’t just asking for a casual school meet-up; they wanted me to set up a weekend movie date.
And not just that—they wanted me to make it seem like it was my plan.
“Isn’t that basically tricking him? I can just tell him you want to watch a movie.”
“T-Tricking? It’s not like that! As soon as he gets there, I’ll explain everything! And if he doesn’t want to stay, he can leave right away. Just this once, please!”
“Hmm…”
I hesitated but eventually agreed.
Around that time, Taehwan kept complaining about being bored on weekends, begging me to hang out, but I was always stuck babysitting my siblings.
If someone else could entertain him, wouldn’t that be a good thing?
Taehwan was easygoing and got along with everyone.
Maybe he’d actually enjoy himself.
“Wow, you actually suggested a movie? And what’s with this genre? Are you serious?”
“I am. Why? You don’t want to?”
“No, it’s not that. If you want to watch it, let’s go.”
Guess he really wanted to hang out.
The way he grinned from ear to ear made me feel a little guilty.
I made a mental note to set aside real time for him soon.
Then came the day of the big plan.
By sunset, after surviving another whirlwind of a day, I finally managed to put my siblings to sleep and collapsed onto my bed, exhausted.
That’s when I got a message from Taehwan.
[Come out.]
I was dead tired, but I forced myself up.
After all, I was the one who sent him to the movie theater—ignoring his message didn’t seem right.
And… if this meant things worked out with that person, maybe I’d even get a reward.
A little treat, like an ice cream or something.
Taehwan wasn’t the type to say “thank you” or “sorry” outright, but he had a habit of stuffing my mouth with good food whenever he felt grateful or guilty.
As usual, I headed to our regular meeting spot—a playground halfway between my house and his.
I managed to get there, but my body was beyond exhausted.
Even keeping my eyes open was hard. I was practically moving on autopilot.
Because of that, unfortunately… I didn’t get a good look at Taehwan’s face.
“Hey, Jehee.”
“You’re back early. How was it?”
“How was it? You’re seriously asking me that?”
“Yeah. Did you enjoy the movie?”
Since he came back in the evening, that meant they at least saw the movie together.
I figured after hearing the explanation, he agreed to stay, and they had a decent time.
Thinking about that made me jealous.
I had spent my whole day running after my chaotic little twin siblings, while my best friend got to hang out with a pretty girl and have fun.
We used to spend our weekends together when we were kids…
Now that sticky feeling of loneliness crept up inside me.
“I’m jealous. I don’t even have time to watch anything these days. The twins always get to pick the TV shows…”
“Jealous? You’re seriously saying that?”
“Huh? Yeah. You ate something nice too, right?”
I wanted to eat out too.
Something sweet, salty, or spicy—stuff little kids couldn’t eat.
Once that thought surfaced, the “older brother responsibility” I always carried felt like it was slipping away.
But if I said that to Taehwan, he’d probably scold me. I couldn’t let him see me struggling too much. So I forced a smile.
And that’s when Taehwan’s face twisted in anger, and his voice shot up.
“Jehee! Do you even know why I dressed up, made a reservation, and went all the way there today? Do you? And now you’re telling me you’re jealous?!”
“…Huh?”
I had no idea why he was so mad.
Sure, I tricked him, which was my bad… but wasn’t this too much?
He still had a good time, didn’t he?
I felt a twinge of irritation.
“You had fun, didn’t you? So why are you getting mad?”
“You had no fun? I went there for you! But you didn’t show up. You never even planned to come, did you?”
“I mean… yeah, but… You know I was busy…”
“Then you should’ve just said you couldn’t make it! Why did you lie?”
Looking back now, I should’ve just apologized.
It would’ve been that simple.
I was the one at fault first, after all.
But at the time, I was exhausted.
And I hated it when Taehwan yelled at me.
The more he raised his voice, the less I wanted to back down.
Did he think I didn’t want to hang out?
It’s not that I didn’t want to—I couldn’t.
Frustration bubbled up in my chest, spilling out through my lips before I could stop it.
“You keep asking me to hang out, but I’m busy. I couldn’t come. So I introduced you to someone else who wanted to hang out with you instead. Why are you so mad? It doesn’t have to be just me, does it?”
“It has to be you! I wanted to spend time with you, not someone else! I waited for you. They said you’d be there soon, so I waited. But you never came!”
“Why?”
No—my frustration didn’t just come out in words.
Back then, I could hold it in just fine in front of my younger siblings, my mom, and other adults.
But for some reason, whenever I was with Taehwan, that ability broke down.
Tears started falling.
“Why does it have to be me?”
“…What?”
“I can’t hang out with you anymore! I’m busy. So busy! I feel like I’m going to collapse from exhaustion. But even then, I forced myself to come today, and all I get is you yelling at me? Just leave me alone!”
“……”
“You’re popular. Everyone at school likes you. Even the adults like you. You have plenty of people who want to spend time with you, so why do you keep clinging to me? That’s why they asked me to invite you, right? Because they knew you wouldn’t come otherwise. So tell me—why does it have to be me?”
The truth is, it felt good knowing that Taehwan, despite being so popular, still wanted to spend time with me.
It made me feel special.
Irreplaceable.
It reassured me that I was his best friend.
And I liked that.
But in that moment, even his genuine desire to be with me felt like another weight pressing down on my already burdened shoulders.
“Because… because…”
And Taehwan—he was someone with a lot of pride.
He could’ve just said it.
That I was important to him.
That we’d been together for so long, and he didn’t want that to change.
But instead, he always had a habit of saying things the wrong way.
And when I finally broke down, sobbing, Taehwan completely panicked.
His face flushed red, his mouth opening and closing as if searching for words.
He didn’t know whether to comfort me or leave me alone.
At that moment, I think… we could only see each other.
We were so precious to each other that it hurt.
So precious that it felt unfair.
So precious that we didn’t know what to do with ourselves.
Maybe that’s why—
Rumble—
Even when the sky roared above us, we didn’t notice.
“Taehwan!”
It wasn’t until the darkness swallowed him whole that I realized—
Something terrible had happened to us.
* * *
