The Kiss I Never Should Have Asked For - Chapter 39 – The One Who Stayed

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The day after Narin and I broke up...

I almost didn't go to school.

I stood in front of the mirror, wearing my uniform.

Everything looked the same.

The white shirt.

The black trousers.

The school badge.

But...

I wasn't the same anymore.

For the first time in years...

I wasn't waiting for a message that said,

"Good morning."

School felt unusually quiet.

Not because the students were silent.

But because my heart was.

Every place reminded me of Narin.

The corridor where we first met.

The canteen where we always sat together.

The tree where we laughed until the bell rang.

Memories were everywhere.

During lunch, I sat alone.

My food remained untouched.

I wasn't hungry.

I just wanted the day to end.

"Mind if I sit here?"

I looked up.

Korn.

He was holding his lunch tray with a hesitant smile.

I nodded.

"Sure."

He sat across from me.

For several minutes...

Neither of us spoke.

Then he quietly pushed a carton of chocolate milk toward me.

"You forgot to buy a drink."

I looked at it.

"When did you notice?"

"You always buy one."

"I noticed you didn't today."

A small smile appeared on my face.

"You really do notice everything."

Korn smiled back.

"Only because you're important to me."

I looked down at the table.

Normally...

Those words would've made me nervous.

Today...

They made me feel less alone.

"Thank you."

I whispered.

He didn't answer.

He simply smiled and started eating, giving me the space I needed.

After school, I was putting books into my bag when heavy rain suddenly began to fall.

Students rushed toward the entrance.

Some opened umbrellas.

Others waited for the rain to stop.

I sighed.

"I forgot mine."

"So did I."

Korn laughed beside me.

We both looked outside.

"This doesn't look like it's will stop anytime soon."

I smiled.

"I guess we're stuck."

Nearly twenty minutes passed.

The rain became lighter.

Korn looked at me.

"My house is on the way to yours."

"We can share my umbrella."

I blinked.

"You have one?"

He reached into his bag and pulled it out with a grin.

"I almost forgot."

I laughed for the first time in days.

"Only you would forget an umbrella inside your own bag."

As we walked home together...

The umbrella wasn't big enough.

Every now and then...

Our shoulders brushed.

Neither of us moved away.

The rain fell softly around us.

The streets were almost empty.

For the first time since the breakup...

I wasn't thinking about what I had lost.

I was thinking about the person quietly walking beside me.

The one who had stayed.

Without asking for anything in return.

Without realizing it...

My broken heart had taken its first small step toward healing.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR1ybzyV9mB

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