How to Prevent the Tragedy of a Love Triangle Scandal

The remaining school days for the third year of middle school were just a few days before the graduation ceremony.

I forgot most of my classmates, so I had to memorize it from my diary and cell phones in middle school during the winter vacation. But when I went to school, I had a few friends that I remembered at first glance.

Time went by quickly and the day of graduation came. When I was in middle school, I walked to school with my best friend, ‘Hong Yoon-ji’, and headed to school.

After rehearsing for the graduation ceremony which I didn’t know why it should be done, the students gathered in the auditorium and waited for their parents to enter.

Mom and Dad came into the auditorium a little late after the graduation ceremony started. When I waved my hand, they smiled brightly, greeted me, and took a picture of me.

Smiling while showing my teeth in front of the cameras which were everywhere, I actually had to hold up my tears throughout my middle school graduation.

Originally, in the past, I refused to go to school during my last middle school days, and I only attended the graduation ceremony, and I vividly remember the day that was very different from today.

Rumors spread throughout the school that I had lost my parents overnight and barely attended school. I could feel the eyes of my friends glancing at me. When someone tried to talk to me, I stood up and kept my mouth shut.

Perhaps among the children who approached me back then, there was my good friend, Hong Yoon-ji, who is with me now. At that time, it was hard for me to see my friends greeting their family because they were happy, and my heart was sore.

So whoever touched me hurts me like a knife, so I pushed everyone away. Perhaps the same thing happened with Hong Yoon-Jin.

And that must have been the end of our relationship.

If I had been comforted by her at that time, my path might not have been so tragic.

So even if we part because our high school are different, I want to continue my friendship with my friend Hong Yoon-Jin.

She’s a friend who makes me remember my lost past, and also a friend described in my diary in my whole middle school days.

* * *

After the graduation ceremony, I said goodbye to my parents and went out onto the streets with Hong Yoon-Jin.

The school uniform had already been changed to pretty plain clothes from school. Hong Yoon-Jin seemed happy that she’s going out after a long time.

We went out to ‘Advent road’. The road is the busiest place near our neighborhood. It was quite a hot place in this area because several towns were centered around here.

Dorae Middle School, the middle school I went to, and Dorae High School, are right next to the Advent road, and there is Seoyeon High School which is a little far away.

And on the other side of the Advent road, there is Jangdo High School, a high school where I dropped out.

So I used to hang out with a lot of gangsters on the road. None of the things they did was ahead of me, but just standing behind them made me feel guilty and uncomfortable.

For that reason, this road does not remain a good memory for me. However, I felt like I could wash away all the bad memories of this place thanks to Hong Yoon-jin today.

“Let’s have lunch first. I’m really hungry.”

Hong Yoon-Jin jumped and pulled my arm. I followed her with a smile.

The breeze while walking with Hong Yoon-Jin was so refreshing and nice.

Oh, maybe because there are no smokers around.

Strangely, the sky is brighter and bluer. Come to think of it, I used to come here at night rather than during the day.….

People passing by looked happy too. Is it because I feel good? Well, in the past, people used to sneak away when they saw my group.

Anyway, thanks to Hong Yoon-ji, I walked with a good feeling that I would be able to make good memories for the first time on this road.

We went into the cafe first. When I ordered two hot chocolate cups and waited, the drink came out a while later. I was the one who got up to pick it up.

At the counter, I was holding two hot chocolate on a tray and going back to my seat

I opened my mouth unknowingly. The last breath I breathed with a short ‘heuk’, I forgot to breathe.

I even lost strength in my hands and almost dropped the tray.

Why I didn’t see it earlier, there was a beautiful girl sitting right behind me and Hong Yoon-Jin.

She sat there alone with an expressionless face, with richly wavy light brown hair, clear eyes, and sculptural nose, modifiers usually associated to a romance novel heroine.

I could recognize at a glance.

Yeon Ha-eun, who has the same doll-like face even 10 years later.

Looking out the window while drinking coffee in a mug, she looked as if she’s in a different world. Heaven, old palace, or something poetic.

In fact, it was quite noisy inside the cafe, but for some reason she felt like a queen drinking tea in a very tranquil garden.

A lot of people around her were already glancing at her as to show I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

I barely took my feet back to my seat and slowly put the tray down at the table and took a breath.

Hong Yoon-jin whispered to me in a small voice.

“You saw it too. She’s really pretty, isn’t she? She looks like a celebrity.”

Yeon Ha-eun is an ordinary person now, but for me who knows the future, Yeon Ha-eun was a real celebrity. So, why does the younger Yeon Ha-eun coming out of here!

I slowly sat in a chair with my hands on my chest because my pounding heart didn’t calm down. I wasn’t really a fan, but she’s still a celebrity, so my eyes keep rolling over there.

Clap. I slapped my cheeks with my hand. She’s not a celebrity yet, and it’s rude to keep staring at an ordinary middle school student. Hong Yoon-Jin looked at me with strange eyes, but I fixed my eyes on the hot chocolate.

“*Imin-ah… you’re a little weird today. No, in fact, you’ve been weird these days.”

(*it’s a nickname “Lee Mina” “I-min-ah” the ‘ah’ was added because they’re friends)

Hong Yoon-jin looked at me with her chin in one hand and murmured. I was about to part my lips to make an excuse.

Clink clank!

There was a sharp burst. Everyone who was chattering inside the cafe stopped talking and attention was focused on the side where the sound was made. I, too, was surprised to find the source of the sound. It was the sound from behind me.

Standing up from her seat, Yeon Ha-eun was looking down at the broken plate with a perplexed face.

And in front of her, a number of male students were standing with their heads *raised. 

(*raised in a way that they tryna look tough)

A group of rogue boys standing in front of a picture-perfect girl. It was obvious what had happened. 

As people’s attention was focused, a man with a shriveled face raised his voice and shouted. 

“hey. Are you ignoring people’s sincerity? Huh? After all, trusting one face and showing kindness, don’t think it’s a right and treat it as a favor!

 Judging by the fact that there were crumbled pieces of cake lying on the floor along with a broken plate, it seemed that it was caused by Yeon Ha-eun’s refusal of the cake the boy had bought.

 Come to think of it, I was somehow familiar with the boy pointing his finger at Yeon Ha-eun in the center of the crowd and ranting.

Ah. I sighed inadvertently. I just realized that the school uniforms the boys are wearing are Jangdo High School uniforms. Looking at the nameplate, he’s a freshman, and among the crowd at the center of the incident, was the guy I knew, especially well.

I squeezed my fist and jumped up. Hong Yoon-Jin was surprised and opened her eyes round.

“Hey, *Imin…… what’re you doing? Hey, what’re you going to do?”

(*nickname)

Conscious of the surroundings, I walked slowly leaving behind Hong Yoon-ji, her voice was getting smaller and smaller. Without a moment’s hesitation, I approached their table.

Before I could make up my mind about something, I was already standing next to Yeon Ha-eun and facing a group of Jangdo High School students.

I could feel Yeon Ha-eun’s surprised gaze on the side face of my face, and the high school students, who was called “Kwak senior” in my memory, frowned as if this was absurd.

The distorted faces that seemed to say, ‘What are you again?’ focused on me. I approached them one step ahead of Yeon Ha-eun.

Then I opened my mouth.

“Hey. This is a habit for you.”

I checked Kwak’s nameplate. Kwak Dong-soo. He’s not a senior because I’m *older now.

(*mentally. Counting the years of the past.)

Kwak Dong-soo . . .

He is the worst bully among high school bullies. Bashing is the basic thing to do, beating for male juniors, and embarrassing for female juniors.

And it was also the main culprit who ruined my high school days. If I hadn’t caught his eye, I wouldn’t have had a school life chasing a bunch of bullies who didn’t fit in.

Various memories of him sprang to my mind.

I know all of Kwak’s biggest weaknesses, past mistakes, and future atrocities.