Boran and Freida were able to complete the final signature that was required before they could bind the thesis project that they have been working on for the past couple of weeks with relatively little effort and in a relatively short amount of time. The fact that everything was finally resolved brought them both a significant amount of relief.
"So, which coffee shop would you prefer to celebrate this accomplishment, Freida?" Boran's words were abrupt and came as soon as they exited from the research office.
Freida had been looking forward to this time for quite some time, and as a result, she had been diligently putting money aside and making plans for where she would go in the event that she was successful in persuading Boran to accompany her.
"Well, there was this—" But just as she was about to begin speaking, someone called out her name, which cut her off mid-sentence.
"Freida, do you have a moment?" Freida was able to identify the voice as belonging to a male voice she knew almost immediately. The moment she looked over her shoulder and saw that the person who had called her was none other than the on-the-job training coordinator, she realized that her premonition had been correct all along.
Freida turned to look at Boran, who seemed to have a genuine understanding of the situation, as he said, "It's fine, we can still have some other time for this."
However, Freida was aware that the likelihood of her having this kind of opportunity with Boran would range from extremely slim to impossible at this point, particularly considering the fact that their thesis project was so close to being completed.
She was adamant about not abandoning Boran, but ignoring the call of their job training coordinator could have a negative impact on her training in the long run. Due to the last-minute shift of circumstances, Freida had no other option but to extend her apologies to Boran.
"It's really fine. Off you go now. I'll see you around, Freida." Boran said as he continued to move forward with his steps. Freida was grateful that Boran was able to comprehend that, but she regarded the situation as extremely unfortunate because it meant that she wouldn't have the opportunity to hang out with Boran when she didn't have to focus on her thesis.
Almost immediately, Freida made her way over to the side of Mr. Delgado, and then approached him with questions regarding his concern. "You called for me, Sir?" she asked him immediately.
Mr. Delgado took a cream folder out of his laptop bag and handed it over to Freida while saying, "I already got you a place for your training."
The look on Freida's face transformed into one that was filled with optimism. "Really sir? That would be great news." She then told him.
"Well, once you find out, I'm not sure that would be something that would make you happy. You need to understand, kid, that the school is already crammed with students who chose to complete their OJT here. But because you wrote a letter to the president saying that you couldn't abandon your sick grandmother, the only thing we could do for you was send you to an environmental facility in the mountains with the rangers."
The smile that had been plastered across Freida's face disappeared all of a sudden. In an instant, all of her hopes were transformed into an image of a hazy, dense fog that obscured the light in front of her. It dawned on her that the establishment that Mr. Delgado was referring to was, in fact, located atop the same mountain where the tragic event involving her parents had taken place.
"But sir, this place—"
"Listen, kiddo, I get it, but this is the very least that the university can do for you. Unless, of course, you would rather engage in an internship that takes place outside, which will, of course, require you to spend time away from your grandmother.
After giving it some thought, for a short while, Freida eventually stated, "Sir, I can't leave my grandmother for long. She is very old."
"Believe me, kid, I know. However, as I've already stated, this is the extent of the assistance that the university is able to provide for you."
Freida took the papers from Mr. Delgado and, despite having a heavy heart, she had to accept it because it was the only place where she could begin her internship and, at the same time, it wouldn't be too far from her home, because the trail to the mountains down to the town would only take an hour to travel, so she could still go home every day to see her grandmother.
LATER THAT AFTERNOON. When Freida had finished taking care of the final few things she needed to settle at the university, she was on her way home when she happened to see Boran—who was about to take a ride on his bike.
She was about to address him with, "Bor—" when she stopped herself in time after she noticed another girl coming up behind Boran. Before they climbed on the bike and headed out the exit of the university gate, Boran offered to put his spare helmet to the girl. This took Frieda completely by surprise and the same time, jealous.
At that precise moment, Freida realized that she was unable to win the battle she had been fighting. Throughout all of these years, she had given herself reason to hope that there would be a chance for her to reach through Boran, that a day would eventually come when Boran would eventually notice her. But to her dismay, it appeared as though that day would never ever come.
When Freida was some distance away from them, she had the abrupt sensation that her chest was being compressed. It was as though she had been placed in the middle of two solid walls that were attempting to collide with one another, and that she could not be able to move even the slightest bit. Freida in other words was heavily broken.
It's possible that Freida and Boran had never had a romantic or otherwise meaningful connection, but just because that's the case doesn't mean that Freida shouldn't have been allowed to feel tormented by the situation. She has kept her fondness for Boran a secret from everyone for a considerable amount of time. And as a direct consequence of that, she was never able to muster up the bravery to confess her feelings for him.
And despite the fact that she had the opportunity to do so, she frequently failed to take advantage of it. Freida was frightened by the idea that Boran would distance himself from her had she ever confessed to him, and that this would be detrimental to both of them, especially given the fact that they were working together on their thesis project.
The day that Freida dreaded the most has finally arrived.
The day that he would see Boran be with somebody else that he genuinely loves while she watched them from a distance while being tormented by pain that nobody else could possibly know. The fact that she could not even dare speak about this to anyone at all because she knew that she would only end up being the center of talk the following day was the thing that wounded her. It was inevitable that she would be ridiculed for having an overactive imagination when it came to the possibility that she and Boran might one day end up together.
The fact that Freida couldn't even complain about the heartbreak that she was experiencing, that she couldn't even rant about it, and that she couldn't even speak about it either, was something that could end up being something that was too torturous for her to bear. Regardless of how painful it was to see him with somebody else, she felt as though she had no right to complain about the pain in her chest because it was her who had allowed herself to fall for him in the first place.
That same afternoon, Freida made her way home, carrying such a heavy heart. She had the urge to cry, but eventually she stopped and asked herself what benefit crying would bring her.
It wasn't as if her sobbing would ultimately result in her becoming Boran's girl, was it? She thought. However, on some level, she was conscious of the fact that sobbing would, at the very least, alleviate a portion of the overall agony that she was experiencing.
What Freida failed to notice, however, was that she was almost at the crossing when a loud horn buzzed in front of her, which snapped her out of her dreamlike state and brought her back to the present.
After passing by her, the driver yelled, "Hey bitch, watch where you are going!" as he drove away.
Freida was taken aback by the events that transpired after she was pulled away from the pedestrian crossing by someone. She was shocked and began to gasp for air at the same time as she reflected on the close accident that had just happened, which had come dangerously close to taking her life.
"Are you all right, child?" Unexpectedly, a man walked up to Freida and assisted her to get back on her feet.
As soon as Freida felt ready to speak about what had happened, she approached the man and said, "Thank you."
"When you cross the street, I ask that you please be careful. These days, motorists tend to be the most dangerous people on the road." But the man just made a remark instead.
Then, all of a sudden, Freida noticed the man was holding a long, thin piece of wood in his hand as he traced down the ground to make sure there were no obstructions in his path as he walked. Frieda cast another glance at the man's face and was finally surprised by the realization that the person who had just rescued her was, in fact, a blind man.