Chapter 5:
In the dramas I watch, when girls go on a date, they raid these giant closets, try on cute outfits, fix their hair, do their makeup, and get all excited. Meanwhile… there's me. I live with my dad and my little brother. There's no one in this house who's going to ask me about hair or clothes. I go to school in the same ponytail and uniform every day. At home, it's just a T-shirt and shorts or sweatpants if I'm feeling fancy. Even when I go out, it's never anything "cute."
Basically, I have nothing worthy of walking beside that perfect guy.
I kept looking and looking until I finally searched online for something nearby. I found this pink-and-white dress and thought, Okay. This one. This is appropriate. This is nice. At least I hoped so. I bought it and tried fixing my hair, but… yeah, no. That was a battle for another day. I just did a lower ponytail with some side bangs and called it a win.
While I was getting ready, my phone vibrated.
Jack: Good morning. I hope you slept well. See you in a bit.
I'm still not used to having messages on my phone. It feels weird. And for some reason, the message sounded like a threat—like, "You better show up or else." I don't know why my brain is like this.
Since I haven't done anything like this in for-never, I got there thirty minutes early and waited outside the cinema. Then I waited another thirty minutes before deciding to go inside and sit somewhere. There were so many people, and I felt overdressed in this pink dress. Honestly, I probably looked a little miserable sitting alone.
Another thirty minutes passed. No message. No Jack. Nothing.
I tried comforting myself. He's going to come. He seems sincere. He wouldn't do that to you. Just give him more time.
But I was scared to text him, scared he wouldn't answer, terrified I'd see him somewhere laughing with Faye like, "Look at her, she even put on a dress. She really thought I'd date her."
My heart was hurting so much. I knew it was too good to be true. Everything crumbles.
I went to the bathroom to wash my face because I could feel tears coming. I put on my "it's okay" face and decided to watch a movie anyway since I was already here. It was supposed to be a comedy, but I was laughing with tears, not crying for real. At least that's what I told myself.
When it ended, I wiped my face and walked toward the exit. My necklace fell without me noticing, so I bent down to look for it. People kept passing by, and someone even kicked it further away. I was still on my knees when a whole crowd started approaching. I was about to become an omelette on the floor when suddenly someone grabbed my arms and pulled me out of the way.
It was Jack.
"With this crowd, this is dangerous," he said. "I picked it up before they came."
I was shocked. And mad. And embarrassed. And tired. I didn't even want to talk. I just took my butterfly pendant and walked out.
He followed me.
"Hey, wait. I'm so sorry I'm late. I know you're mad, and you have every right to be, but it really wasn't my fault. I can explain."
I kept walking, but everything inside me snapped. I turned around, tears already falling.
"Can you please not talk to me ever again? Games are fun and all, but I'm a real person, and I have dignity too. Just tell me you won't contact me anymore. Please. I'm begging you."
My whole body was shaking. I hated myself for believing him, for feeling that happy for no reason, for being such an idiot falling for this. I wanted to disappear.
Jack took my arm, not hurting me, just firmly, and led me to an empty park near the cinema. He made me sit down and took out his phone. He showed me a photo of a little girl in a hospital bed.
"This is my little sister, May," he said quietly. "Last year, she was diagnosed with first-stage cancer. A lot happened… and I didn't notice fast enough. She almost died because of me. I actually came to the cinema before you today, but then I got a call that she relapsed again. So I went back and took her to the hospital. Before I realized it, it was this late. And texting you felt cowardly. So I came back to check on you and… well, you know the rest."
He wasn't looking at me anymore, just staring at the ground. And suddenly I felt awful. If he lied about something like that, it would basically curse him. So he must be telling the truth.
"I'm so sorry, Lea, I was lucky you decided to stay," he said. "I'll try to make it up to you."
I looked at the picture again. The little girl really did look like him. "She looks a little like you," I said quietly.
He smiled a little. "People say that. But she looks more like my mom."
"Then you must look like your mom," I said, more awake now.
"That's the thing… I don't look like her." He let out a small laugh.
"What? You don't make sense at all." I smiled until I noticed the way he was looking at me. I immediately looked away, but of course, he gently lifted my chin so I'd face him.
"Lea," he said.
My heart dropped. I forgot how to breathe. There was so much intensity in his eyes.
"I'm really sorry. The way you looked at me earlier, with disgust. I couldn't handle it. I never want you to see me like that. You are truly important to me. I want to like you more. All of you. Can I do that?"
In my head, I was screaming, Say something! Anything! But I froze. It was too direct. Too intense for me.
So I stood up, took a deep breath with my hand over my heart, and moved in front of him while he was still sitting. We were almost the same height like that.
"I want to trust you," I said. "I really do… so I want to give this a try if you really want it."
I shut my eyes so hard while saying it. And then suddenly he pulled me by the waist and hugged me so tightly. His head rested on my chest, and my hand ended up on his hair because he was still sitting. I could feel his heart beating fast and his satisfaction.
That moment stays like an art, and just like that… I became someone's girlfriend.