"Finally! Last day of school" Ricky says, jumping up and down next to me. We are walking through crowded hallways, people rushing to go outside to see their friends, or rushing to get to class to get a good seat.
"Aren't you a bit too excited?" I ask. Ricky shakes his head
"Nah bro, I'll get to hang out with Gyuvin the whole summer-"
"Gyuvin? So you guys are all good now?" I ask. I see Ricky's ears turn slightly red
"We talked it out, I guess," he says
"And...?"
Flashback
"Hey... Gyuvin?" Ricky says quietly, walking into the small room. As he expected, the boy is still inside, hands hugging his knees. Gyuvin looks up at Ricky, eyes watery. As he opens his mouth, Ricky beats him to it
"I'll let you explain yourself. I'm sorry I didn't before. Don't expect me to forgive you though" he says, sitting in front of his old friend
"Ricky... I'm so sorry. I didn't know you felt the way you did. Taerae... you know how he was new to the school in the middle of the year?"
"Yeah"
"He came to live with me and my family. That's why we're always hanging out. Whenever you called me, I was always mostly at my house with Taerae.
"Why does he live there? What about his family?"
"They sent him here. His parents are good friends of mine, and because they're always on business trips, they sent him with us to make him feel less lonely. Tearae's a really nice guy, Ricky, but I get why it bothered you"
"You do?"
"Yeah, of course. I mean, if my best friend suddenly distanced themselves from me to hang out with another person, I would also feel pretty shitty" Gyuvin says. Ricky hums in response
That's not why I feel bad... I like you, Gyuvin
"Ricky, please forgive me. I really didn't want to make you feel bad. I just wasn't aware that it would hurt you that bad. Shit, I didn't even know that you thought of me as a friend!"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, we always fight here and there. You act distant all the time, even when we hang out. You act like you hate me, but then act like you don't. It's very confusing to me too, y'know that right?" Gyuvin says. They stay in silence for a while, looking at each other. Ricky feels hurt, not knowing that that's how Gyuvin felt this whole time
"I'm sorry too. I didn't know you felt like that"
"Why did you act like that though? You don't act like that with your other friends" Gyuvin asks
Because I like you
"I don't know. I guess it is just an instinct. I guess I sometimes felt like you didn't like my presence, so I would kinda try to back off" Ricky answers finally. Gyuvin hums
"So... are we all good now?" He asks quietly. Ricky looks at him and smiles lightly
"I guess"
Back to the present
"So... was there a reason as to why you didn't come to school the next day?" I ask
"Oh, that was just because I wanted to study. There was no point in coming if I had no exams" Ricky answers. I laugh
"Sound like you. Anyways, are you still going to the beach thing with Jiwoong?"
"Nope. Gyuvin and I decided to stay back"
"Really? So now you're making vacation plans with him all of a sudden?" I say, trying to sound offended
"Shut up. It's not like you won't be passing 24/7 of your time with Cho," Ricky says. At the mention of her name, my face drops. I guess Ricky has a sixth sense, because he immediately looks at me with a worried face "Don't tell me you guys got into a fight"
"No, not a fight," I say. Ricky doesn't look away from me, but I avoid the gaze
"Then what happened?" he asks. I grab him and take him to one of the bathrooms close to our classroom
"It wasn't a fight. We just... I just... I feel really guilty"
---
(after a whole explanation of what happened)
"Ok... so this whole time you've liked Hao?" Ricky asks. I nod
"I mean, for most of it. I did like Cho at first, but it changed after I started to talk to Hao. He was helping me initially, just like I told you, but we sorta forgot about that whole thing after and just started to hang out together" I say
"Ok... and explain to me the part where any of that is a problem? Cho literally said that she doesn't mind that you like someone else. In a way, she literally gave you permission" Ricky says
"Yeah, I know. The problem here is that she doesn't know that it's her fucking brother. She'll freak out if I tell her" I say, putting my hands over my face, distressed
"Really? Does she hate him that bad?"
"She doesn't hate him. It just scares her to see everyone leave her for her brother. She'll hate me if I do the same thing to her"
"Why?" Ricky asks, jumping onto the side of the sink
"Dude... I literally just told you"
"Yeah, I know, I know. Because it scares her. But why would she hate you?"
"Oh. Because she trusted me with so many of her problems regarding Hao and her relationship with him. She's explained to me how much she's, well, jealous of him, in a way. If I tell her that I like him, she'll feel so betrayed after all she's told me" I reply. We stay in silence, and I see Ricky contemplating what to say
"So, what're you gonna do?" he finally says. I shrug
"I dunno. I don't even know if Hao likes me back"
"I bet he does. Who can resist this face?!" Ricky says jokingly, putting his two hands at the sides of my face. I bat his hands away from me
"Go to hell," I say between laughs. Ricky smirks in return and drags me outside of the room
"We'll be late because of you. Also, about the whole Cho thing, don't worry about it too much. Just do what your heart tells you to do"
"That sounds awfully cheesy"
"I'm a cheesy person, what can I say" Ricky says
I laugh and try to let go of my worries. It's impossible though
â¡â¡â¡
So, normally I don't talk about any politic-related things in what I write. Still, the matter of Palestine and the horrendous genocide that is happening right now is a crucial topic and needs to be known and raised awareness of.
Israel has been attacking Palestine, and more specifically, Gaza. Of course, it's not only Gaza that has been affected by the attacks, but it is the one that has experienced the most heavy bombardments.
So many people have died, been hurt, and been separated from their families. Children, teenagers, adults, and overall humans have been dying every day, every hour, in the present time. Continuous bombardments have wiped away so many people from Palestine. Unfortunately, all contact with Gaza has been cut off from the world, and the people of Palestine have been silenced. These are the lives of humans that we are talking about, and they have no idea how life will be for them in the future. They don't even know if they'll survive, and they live in fear for themselves and for what is left of their families every day.
I won't explain everything since it's pretty complicated, and a matter that needs to be discussed in-depth if one wants to understand it completely. All I want is to raise awareness of this and encourage everyone who reads this to try to help the people of Palestine in some way or another.
Therefore, as a normal human being, I encourage all of you to be the voices of the people who cannot speak out, and raise awareness of the fatal situation.
Thank you so much!