9 Chapter 9: The one they call Jungha

It was a clear day, and the autumn breeze incased itself throughout the town. First period was about to begin, and Mickey was making his way to the classroom. While walking down the hallway, he was greeted by a female student who blocked his way. The girl was, Sayaka, a student who attended the same class as Mickey. She styled shoulder length hair with straight cut bangs.

Mickey could see a look of anticipation on Sayaka. She swayed her body in a rhythmic motion, with her hands behind her back, like she was hiding something. Sayaka had deliberately stopped him, and trembled where she stood.

"Sayaka, do you need something?" Mickey asked.

As Sayaka spoke, her face became flushed, "M…Mickey! Can you please do me a big favor!?"

She brought forth her arms and revealed a concealed item. She held it tightly in both of her hands, now quivering.

It's a letter? Mickey said to himself.

Without giving time for Mickey to respond, Sayaka spoke again, "Can you give this message to someone? He's from another class. It's my confession letter, but I can't bring myself to give it to him."

For a second, Mickey had thought Sayaka was going to proclaim her love to him.

Hesitant, Mickey replied, "Why does it have to be me? Can't it be someone else?"

Sayaka shook her head back and forth, her bangs swaying wildly. "I can't let a girl do it, otherwise they might sabotage my letter. You see, the boy I like is very popular and a lot of girls like him. Also, I can't let the other boys give it to him, because they're going to make fun of me. You're the only person I can trust, Mickey! If I could, I would ask someone else, but there isn't… That's why I've come to you."

Mickey took in a deep breath and let out a long sigh, submitting to her request, "Alright, I will do it. You can trust me to deliver your message."

Sayaka's worried expression soon vanished. Overjoyed, she leaped forth onto Mickey, hugging him. He tried to keep his balance, as she slightly bounced up and down with delight.

Thank you, Mickey! The boy is in class C-4. His name is written on the letter, so you can ask the other students and they can tell you which one he is. Okay, let's head to class, it's about to start!" Sayaka said.

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First period had ended, and Mickey pulled out the letter from out under his desk. He examined the name on the envelope. His eyes traced across each stroke of the characters, admiring the calligraphy.

Mickey slowly read the name under his breath, "Jungha."

Sayaka said he's in class C-4. That means he's in the same room with Rain and Jiang. Maybe I can get Rain to give him the letter instead. He thought to himself.

After what had happened with Hyung last week, Mickey did not want to be involved with anything love related. This left him paranoid, overthinking what will happen to his reputation at school. He wondered what others would think, if they saw him handing a love letter to another boy. Even though Mickey dreaded the idea, he could not bring it to himself to reject the girl's favor. He let out another sigh, before walking out of the room to find Rain.

Upon entering class C-4, Mickey found Rain talking to one of her friends by the window. Mickey politely interrupted the girls' conversation and pulled his cousin out of the room.

Curious about Mickey's random behavior, Rain questioned him, "What's the matter, do you need something? Do you need money again ha-ha?"

"I need you to bring me to this person." Mickey pointed out the name on the envelope, "I'm supposed to give this to him." He explained, the tone in his voice was quite serious at that moment.

Rain narrowed her eyes, as she grabbed the piece of paper to get a closer look. After reading the name, she raised her head to look at Mickey in confusion.

"You really don't know who this guy is?" Rain said, while handing back the letter.

Her question did not faze Mickey, for he was aloof to the whole situation. The longer Rain stared at his blank expression; she could tell he had no clue.

"He's the one called Jungha! The captain of the school's basketball team, and apparently, he's good looking, but he's just average in my opinion." Rain described, "Also, Jungha is very well known in our grade. I'm surprised you haven't heard of or seen him before. I can show you where he hangs out with his friends. They usually are on the fourth floor during break."

The two then began to seek out the one named Jungha. While walking side by side, an awful feeling clouded over Mickey. He could not bring himself to ask Rain to take his place. He was in no position to ask her for favors, but delivering the message was more humiliating than being criticized by her. Without another thought, he summoned up the courage to ask his cousin.

"Um…Rainie, since you know Jungha and both of you are in the same class, wouldn't it make more sense for you to give him the letter instead?" Mickey insisted nervously.

Rain was taken back, "You dummy... Why would I do that?! If I was the one who gave Jungha the letter, everyone is going to assume that I'm confessing to him."

That's the same reason why I don't want to give it to him… Mickey said to himself.

Rain turned to look at Mickey's side profile, "What are you embarrassed about? It doesn't matter if you give it to him. You're just a messenger doing his job for some love-sick girl."

There was great truth in what she said, but his worries still lingered in his mind. Mickey and Rain made it to the fourth floor and were close to where Jungha was. They were at a fair distance, but the two were able to find the students at the end of the hallway.

"He is the tall one with the short spiked up hair." Rain pointed out, "Okay, I've showed you where he is, now I've got to go back. Tell me how it goes, messenger boy!"

Rain departed with haste and left Mickey to deliver the love note alone. Annoyed, he thought she was going to stay by his side the whole time. Mickey then approached the band of teenagers. While trying to find the boy Rain mentioned, his footsteps ultimately came to a halt. Struck with disbelief, the one they called Jungha was the same boy wearing a cap Mickey encountered at the mall.

Mickey was frozen, lost in thought for a brief moment. He was about to move again, but Jungha had already caught sight of him. Jungha squeezed his way out of the group of friends and began sprinting towards the boy. Mickey clenched the envelope tightly in his right hand, waiting for him. Without knowing, Jungha could not help but form a wide grin on his dashing face, as the distance between them lessened.

It only took Jungha a couple of wide strides before he reached Mickey, and the space between the two boys were a mere foot apart. Jungha looked thrilled to see Mickey, whereas Mickey seemed uninterested, keeping a detached and composed appearance. Jungha's eyes were glittering with excitement, carefully studying the boy in front of him. He caught glimpse of the letter in Mickey's hand and returned his view to Mickey's mesmerizing face, refusing to look anywhere else.

Jungha laughed, as he spoke in a playful manner, "I only bought you that pastry and now you're confessing your love to me?"

That sentence alone destroyed Mickey's front. He felt disgusted by the cockiness in Jungha's voice. Mickey could not believe that the sincere boy he met two days ago was this guy. Mickey kept his brows slightly arched, while staring straight into Jungha's pupils. He wanted to give the impression that he was no lesser than him.

Mickey brought his right arm out until it reached Jungha's chest, revealing the envelope, "Don't be stupid, I only came here to give you this, from a girl in my class."

Jungha glanced down at the letter and then back at Mickey, refusing to take it. The left corner of his lip curved into a smirk, "Say, what's your name?"

Mickey grew impatient and did not want to prolong the embarrassing situation anymore.

"My task was to only give you this, either take it or throw it away!", The tone in his voice was harsh, each word shooting like an icy arrow.

The hand in front of Jungha shoved the letter onto his chest, creasing the envelope. Mickey let go of the love letter, not caring whether it fell to the ground or not. Jungha quickly caught it with his right hand and waited to see what the boy would do next. Without hesitation, Mickey fled the unbearable scene.

"Hey!" Jungha shouted.

Mickey ignored him and accelerated his pace with every step. Not daring to look back.

Can they really be the same person? He wondered.

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