If a person would be so anxious around people…what would be the cause? It wouldn’t be because they are just scared, right? There would be other possible theories. Like…someone rejected you on Valentine’s Day.
Go Mi-Suna and Kim Jeomjun were Katelyn Barnaby’s best friends. But she has known Kim Jeomjun the longest. At fifteen, she was at an age when a young adolescent would easily be affected by rejection. And that includes suffering a short-term depression.
But our story begins on a normal day at school, on the day before Valentine’s Day. It’s class time. Kim Jeomjun was sitting at the edge of the classroom and Go Mi-Suna was right next to him. Katelyn was sitting near a window.
Of course, during class, Katelyn would always glance at him a few times. But most of the time (and possibly never), Jeomjun would notice her back. But this day was the start of changing everything in Katelyn’s life.
Jeomjun glanced at Katelyn and blushed slightly, but he tried to hide it. He spoke to Mi-Suna, who was right beside him. They seemed to be having a really deep conversation.
Katelyn saw them talking.
I think he is trying not to show that he likes me, she thought in a giggle.
In another look, she noticed that Jeomjun’s hand was gently resting on Mi-Suna’s arm. Her heart began to sink.
“No…they couldn’t be.”
As Katelyn looked away, both Mi-Suna and Jeomjun looked at her. Mi-Suna could finally see what had been going on for a while.
“I think she’s starting to like you.” she said, wincing her teeth.
Jeomjun rolled his eyes.
“She’s definitely jealous.” Mi-Suna said again.
“I’m not doing anything wrong.” whispered Jeomjun.
“But I can tell she has a crush on you.”
Jeomjun was indeed oblivious to the fact that Katelyn really liked him, however Mi-Suna was already aware. In fact, it annoyed her that Katelyn always took a look at him every single chance she got.
“She’s still looking at you…” she growled.
Katelyn eventually stopped and looked out the window.
Mi-Suna and Jeomjun sighed in relief.
“I think she finally gave up,” said Jeomjun.
“I hope so,” said Mi-Suna.
“She’s finally realized that she has no chance with me.”
They both sighed again. But Mi-Suna rolled her eyes.
“She’s just being stubborn,” she mumbled, “I can’t believe she still has feelings for you even though you’ve been so obvious that you don’t feel the same way.”
Through their trash-talk on Katelyn, Katelyn herself sighed sadly.
It won’t matter anymore, she thought.
“Unless,” she finally said.
She then pulled out her pink notebook and began to jot down some things.
“Valentine’s Day is tomorrow,” she said to herself, “And I have the perfect gift ideas for Jeomjun.”
Jeomjun noticed Katelyn writing something down. He glanced over and saw that she was writing about Valentine’s Day tomorrow. He raised an eyebrow and whispered to Mi-Suna:
“What is she doing?”
“I wonder if he is going to like the necklace I made.” Katelyn said to herself.
Jeomjun’s curiosity got the best of him and he tried to sneak a peek at what she was writing but couldn’t get a clear view. Mi-Suna noticed this and whispered:
“She’s pretty much planning something.”
“Mi-Suna would be all over him. But I won’t say anything about that.” Katelyn said.
She then carefully tore out the piece of paper, folded it neatly, and slotted it in her binder. As she was doing so, Jeomjun and Mi-Suna eventually caught a glimpse of what she was writing. They saw that she wrote something about “Valentine’s Day” and “Jeomjun” on the page.
“She must be planning something for tomorrow.” said Mi-Suna.
The bell rang; school was over for the day.
As Mi-Suna and Jeomjun walked out of the classroom, Jeomjun noticed that Katelyn was still gathering her things but not saying anything.
“I have a bad feeling about this.” he said.
“Why would you?” Mi-Suna asked.
“I don’t know.”
They heard her say:
“I MUST have the perfect gift for tomorrow! Then…he will be all over ME!!”
Horrified, Mi-Suna whispered, “This is getting out of hand…she’s going to make a fool of herself!”
Katelyn rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a necklace that she had been working on. It had a gold chain and a red heart pendant. She smiled proudly.
“He’s going to love it!” she whispered.
Jeomjun couldn’t help but notice how gorgeous the necklace was. He couldn’t take his eyes off of it. Mi-Suna nudged him.
“I bet she is giving you that for Valentine’s Day.” she said. “But then…we’ll have to tell her…”
Jeomjun shook his head.
“I don’t know,” he said, “She’s going to be so disappointed.”
“I know. But we can’t lead her on any longer. This is the right thing to do as of now.”
“And now…something else,” said Katelyn, looking at the necklace, “I’ll go to the mall on my way home.”
She put the pendant in her pocket, grabbed her bag, and proceeded her way out. Jeomjun seized this opportunity.
“Hey, Katelyn…”
“Oh! Hey, Jeomjun!” Katelyn said, blushing.
“Um…” Jeomjun said, trying to find the right words, “I just wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Anything you need to say, just name it. I won’t ever judge.”
“Well, it’s about Valentine’s Day!”
“Oh! I know right? It’s going to be amazing! And look at the time! I have to get to the mall before it closes. But we’ll pick up where we left off tomorrow! I do have a few things I want to gift you with. I’ll see you soon! It’s going to be special!”
She springfully skipped away. Jeomjun was stunned.
“She’s in for a big surprise.” said Mi-Suna.
As they all walked out, Jeomjun and Mi-Suna could not believe that Katelyn was planning something for tomorrow. Jeomjun sighed and turned to Mi-Suna.
“I do not like the looks of this.”
“Me neither…” replied Mi-Suna.