I stood there, frozen, behind the corner of the school building. My heart was racing in my chest, thumping so hard I felt like it was going to break free. I shouldn't have been eavesdropping, but curiosity got the best of me. It was Valentine's Day, after all. I had spent the last week preparing, writing the perfect letter, picking out just the right chocolates, and baking cookies—all for her. Yoon Jihee. The girl I thought was perfect. The girl who had been kind to me, who had made my heart skip a beat every time she smiled at me in class.
But now, I wasn't so sure anymore.
I had just gotten the courage to go up to her, ready to tell her how I felt, to finally confess that I—well, I liked her. No, more than liked her. I had spent endless nights thinking about her, imagining what it would be like if she actually liked me back. Maybe—just maybe—I could finally escape my miserable existence, my lonely, bullied life. Maybe with her by my side, I wouldn't feel like I was nothing. Maybe, for once, I'd feel like I mattered.
But as I stood there, watching them, everything changed in an instant.
I could see Jihee's familiar silhouette in the distance. She was sitting on the steps near the back of the school, surrounded by the usual gang of bullies: Jihoon, the leader; Seojin, his right-hand; and Jiwon, the quiet one who always had that smirk on his face when they were picking on me.
I wasn't close enough to hear at first, but the words started to filter through as the wind carried their voices toward me.
"Do you think he'll actually fall for it this time?" Jihoon's voice, full of mockery, broke the silence. "You've been stringing him along for months. You sure he'll actually confess today?"
Jihee giggled. *Jihee... giggling?* My stomach sank.
"I hope so," she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice. "I've been working so hard on this. I really think it'll work. I mean, look at him." There was a pause, and when she spoke again, her voice dripped with a false sweetness. "It'll be so funny when he hands me that stupid love letter and chocolates. He really thinks I like him."
My breath hitched. What was she saying? This wasn't real. She couldn't have just said that.
"Poor guy," Seojin added, her voice light but laced with malice. "I feel bad for him. He's been so delusional about you. But it's hilarious, right?"
I felt the blood drain from my face. My hands, trembling, reached into my pocket and gripped the small box of chocolates, the ones I had carefully wrapped with a ribbon. The cookies I had baked just for her. The letter. *The letter*.
I wasn't imagining things. It wasn't a joke.
"Yeah," Jihee said, her voice almost like a whisper now. "He's the perfect target. Everyone's betting on him to confess today, right? So I'll just reject him in front of everyone, and then we'll have a good laugh. Plus, I'll get more attention from Hyungwoo, you know, the hot guy in our class."
*Hyungwoo*. The name rang in my ears, and suddenly the world felt like it was collapsing in on me. Hyungwoo. The guy who always had girls hanging around him, the one everyone adored. *The one who Jihee had been chasing the whole time.*
"So that's the plan?" Jiwon asked, his tone sharp with amusement. "You'll play the innocent girl and crush his heart?"
"Exactly," Jihee replied. Her voice wasn't the warm, caring tone I'd come to recognize in the past. It was cold, calculating. "I mean, he's always been a loser. He'll never have a chance with someone like Hyungwoo."
I could feel the weight of their words pressing down on me like an anchor sinking into my chest. My vision blurred, and for a moment, everything around me felt like it was spinning. The world felt so far away. This wasn't real. It couldn't be real.
I wanted to scream. To run out there and yell at her, at them. Tell them they were wrong. Tell them they had no idea how much I cared about her. But I couldn't move. My legs were frozen.
I had never felt so small.
I heard their laughter as they continued to talk about me. The way they mocked me. The way they thought they could toy with my feelings like it was all some game.
"You're so good at this," Jihoon said. "Jihee, I don't know how you do it. I feel like this whole school is laughing at him already."
Jihee laughed again. But this time, it didn't sound sweet. It sounded cruel. "Because I am the one who's been saving him all this time, right? The nice girl who sits with him during lunch and listens to his pathetic problems. Who knew it would be this easy?"
A pit formed in my stomach, and I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. I turned and ran. I didn't care if they saw me. I didn't care if they laughed.
I ran.
I ran through the hallways, down the stairs, and out of the school gates. I didn't stop. I didn't even know where I was going. All I could hear was my own heartbeat, thudding in my ears like a drum, and Jihee's voice repeating those cruel words over and over in my mind.
I ended up by the old alley behind the school, my breathing heavy and erratic. I couldn't see straight. My vision was blurry, the tears pooling in my eyes. I wanted to scream. To shout at the world. To tell everyone what had just happened. But I was alone. Alone with my thoughts, with my pain.
I didn't know how long I stood there, leaning against the brick wall, just... letting the emptiness take over me.
Eventually, I pulled out the box of chocolates from my bag. The chocolate that I had carefully picked, the one I thought would make her smile. I opened the lid and stared at it for a long time. The letter, still folded neatly, lay on top.
What now? What do I even do with this?
I thought I'd finally have a moment, a moment where everything felt right. Where I could tell her how I felt, and maybe—just maybe—she'd feel the same.
But instead, I felt like an idiot. A fool.
I stared at the chocolates for a long moment, then I shoved the box into the nearest trash can. The letter followed soon after, fluttering in the wind before being swallowed by the trash, buried under the wrappers and litter.
I stood there, staring at it, my chest hollow.
I don't know what I was expecting, but it didn't feel like a relief. I didn't feel like I was letting go.
I just felt... empty.
There was nothing left.