43 The Things which Happened in the Last Months....(2)

The very next day,

Ray was sitting on the bench at the Joy Park, waiting for Gyuri.

"Hey, Ray!"

Ray looked up and he saw Gyuri's smiley face there.

"Oh Hey….Umm...

Why are you so dressed up today?" Ray asked looking at Gyuri, who was wearing a Sundress with matching sandals and accessories.

Looking at Gyuri's girly side, he was quite surprised.

"Huh? What? Don't you like it?"

"Oh...Um…No. I mean it's not like that. But I've never seen you so dressed up before. That's why…

Are you going somewhere else after this?"

"I wore this especially for you!" Gyuri said as she blinked her eyes several times, acting cute.

"Huh? What?" Ray's eyes widened.

"Pfftttt.....Hahaha..." Gyuri burst into laughter and started clapping, pointing at him.

"Look…at your face….Hahaha….

Your expressions are so funny...Haha.." Gyuri's laugh made Ray embarrassed.

"I was just kidding but…Yeah…Today is…a special day…" Gyuri said wiping her laughter tears.

Ray didn't say anything and kept looking down, hiding his embarrassed expressions.

"So? Where are we going?" Gyuri said. Her voice became serious.

"…Um…What do you mean? Aren't we hear to talk about Mi—"

"I know a very good Café here. Let's go."

Gyuri pulled Ray's arm and got him up from the bench.

.

"Yummy….This is so tasty!" Gyuri exclaimed happily as she took a bite of pastry.

While Ray was sitting in front of her awkwardly, with a can of diet coke before him.

"Umm…Gyuri?" He asked.

Gyuri looked at him, and as she saw his confused, a bit upset face, she kept her spoon down.

"Did you talk to her?... To Mia?" Ray asked.

Gyuri sighed. "Yeah…."

She wiped her mouth with a tissue paper and then took her drink in her hand.

Ray was looking really upset now, his fingers constantly tapping on his lap.

"…So?... What did she say?"

"Listen...Ray."

"Yeah…"

"I can't tell you everything….But…" She said as her face turned sad.

"But what?"

"I think it will be better, for your and for her sake too, if you stay away from her," Gyuri said as she took a sip of her drink through the straw.

"Wh..? What do you mean?"

Gyuri kept her glass down and looked at Ray. Her eyes filled with concern.

"Ray...It's…Its...I can't tell you everything…"

"Huh?... Just tell me…What happened? Did she say something?" Ray asked.

"Listen, Ray. You are a very good friend of mine. And I can't see you like this.

If you'll hear all those things, it will break your heart and I won't be able to—"

"JUST TELL ME!" Ray yelled.

Other people, at the nearby tables, started looking at them.

Ray looked down, his fists were clenched tightly.

His heart was beating fast and he was breathing loudly.

"….Please….." Ray looked above, right into Gyuri's eyes.

They kept looking at each other for a couple of seconds.

Gyuri sighed again, louder than before.

"Okay…"

Ray's fists loosened a bit.

"I...I talked about you…with her.." Gyuri said looking down.

"What did you ask her? Did you ask about me, directly?" Ray asked eagerly.

"I..I just started the conversation, with the incident which happened at April's Party."

Gyuri looked at Ray.

"I talked about the things So Hee said to you. The way she was talking to you.

I asked Mia, how did she feel at that time?"

"So? What did she say?"

"Um...She said that it's true that it was So Hee's fault, but Ray was also responsible for that.

She said that he should have been more careful."

"Oh…Yeah...Maybe she's right…I should have been more careful…If I was—"

"And I asked about her conversation with So Hee in the bathroom also," Gyuri said hurriedly.

"Really?"

"Yeah…I asked her what happened in the bathroom and why So Hee went home early?

She told me the same things you told me yesterday…about..you being fat…and your way of eating…and...."

Ray's eyes saddened.

"So then I asked her if she agreed to So Hee or not…"

"So? What did she say? She said 'No'. Right?

She'd say 'No', I know her…"

"She agreed to whatever So Hee said!"

Ray's eyes widened. He looked right at Gyuri.

His face was turned pale.

'She…She'd never do that….' Ray thought.

"She said that, though So Hee's words were a bit harsh…They were all true!"

'She'd never say that.…R...Right?' Ray started doubting himself.

He looked down; clenched his fists again tightly.

"Mia said that….she also didn't like the way you used to eat from April's lunch box…

Or how you used to talk about the food all the time…And…

She also said that….She didn't like the way you gave her a candy, after the results, especially when she was feeling miserable about her marks….

She is not a child to get a candy, she said."

Ray's face was turned completely pale. His eyes were moistened. He didn't lookup.

'She said such things?... She really said those things?... Why?....???'

"I asked her, why are you talking about Ray like that?

Isn't he, your friend? You two seemed really close in the class…"

Gyuri said looking at Ray's reactions.

"But she said that…"

Gyuri waited for a couple of seconds before talking further.

"She said, You Are Not Her Friend!!!!"

Ray instantly looked up, at Gyuri. His eyes were turning red and his face had darkened.

"What? What did she say?" He said as he started breathing heavily.

"She said that you are not her friend. She never thought of you as a friend.

Actually, it was so awkward and embarrass—"

Before, Gyuri could complete herself,

"THUDD!!"

Ray got up from his seat as he smacked hard on the table.

His eyes were completely red, spilling fire.

Gyuri was also startled by looking at Ray's reaction like that.

Then without saying a single word, He gushed out from there with long and angry steps.

~

~

Ray got up from the bench and took his cycle.

'I was really angry at her….I've never been so angry before….But…

That day…I just couldn't control my anger….

Why was I so angry with her?.... Why did that make me so mad?…

People had talked about me like that always. But I've never felt a thing before.

But..This time…

Maybe….I…I was expecting too much from her…

Yeah! That's right! I expected a lot and what I got at the end… was a lot of disappointment!'

Then sighing to himself, he sat on his bicycle.

Suddenly his phone rang.

'Huh? Gyuri?'

"Hello."

"Hey, Ray…" a bit tired voice of Gyuri, came from the other side.

"Did you reach your home?" Ray asked.

"Yeah...Just now…"

"Are you okay now?" He asked worriedly.

"Yeah...I am okay now…Where are you?"

"I am going home. I am on the way."

"Oh...Okay…Did you..talk with Mia? About what happened today?"

"Yeah. I did."

"But…"

"Don't worry. She'd do nothing to you again.

Now, put some ointment on your wounds. Okay?"

"Yeah…"

"I'll hang up now. Take care."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye."

Ray put his phone in his pocket and looked above at the sky again.

~