And Joy’s sobs.
I chuckled coldly.
Crying? What was there to cry about?
Didn’t she always hate me? Always think I was
annoying?
I was doing what she wanted. I was leaving.
Wasn’t that a good thing?
I took a cab to the train station.
There were no flights left that night. But even if
it meant taking the train, I didn’t want to see
Joy again.
There were no sleeper seats left, so I bought a
regular seat.
I had to admit, a regular seat for a dozen hours
But compared to being miserable for decades,
a few hours was nothing.
When I got there, I rented a room near the
university.
After unpacking, I went to check out the school.
Breathing in the air, I felt refreshed.
Having a day without Joy made me feel so
much better. Life was only going to get better.
For the next few days, I was busy getting
familiar with the school.
I even met an upperclassman.
She knew I was getting ready for school before
the acceptance letters even came out, and
admired how confident I was.
く
But even if I hadn’t been accepted, I still
would’ve stayed at UCLA.
I wrote it on all my applications.
Even if it meant going to community college, I
wouldn’t listen to my dad and go to New York.
She was really nice. She’d take me out to hang out, buy me food, and take me shopping.
I got a cold because I wasn’t used to the new
environment. She even brought me medicine.
My landlady knew I was far from home and
brought me food all the time.
In just one month, I felt the warmth of the
people in UCLA.
It made me feel like I’d made the right choice.
Soon, the acceptance letters came out.
く
I got in. I was so happy, I asked the
upperclassman to go out to eat with me.
70
I rode my new moped to pick her up at the
school gates.
She gave me a drink and chatted with me. I was
getting ready to take her to dinner.
Suddenly, she smiled at me. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
I was caught off guard and shook my head.
“Nope. Been single my whole life.”
She pointed across the street.
“Well, here she comes.”
I followed her gaze.
“That girl has been looking at you for a while.
<
The way she looks, it seems like she knows
you.”
Seeing who it was, my face darkened.
It was Joy.
“What are you doing here?”
LO
5
My tone wasn’t friendly.
Joy glanced at the upperclassman and said, “I came to see you. I was worried you wouldn’t be used to the new food, so I brought you some homemade dishes.”
She held out a lunchbox.
I was surprised for a second, then chuckled.
See me?
<
Like I was supposed to believe that she, with
her frozen heart, could say something caring?
The upperclassman put her arms around me,
“You say she’s not your girlfriend? She came all
this way to see you.”
I shook my head.
“She’s really not my girlfriend. She’s just a… friend I grew up with.”
Joy froze, and the lunchbox fell to the ground.
I ignored her and said to the upperclassman, “Let’s go eat.”
I was about to leave with her when Joy grabbed
my hand and dragged me to the other side.
I yelled, “What are you doing?”
Inushed her away She fell scraping her knee
<
I pushed her away. She fell, scraping her knee.
She hissed, and you could tell from her
expression that it hurt.
But she didn’t say anything. She stood up and grabbed me again.
I don’t know where she got the strength, but she dragged me under a tree.
I pushed her away again, annoyed. “Joy, enough is enough. Didn’t I make it clear last time? I’m not going to chase after you anymore. You can go to NYU in peace. Why did you come looking for me?”
Joy looked at me, tears streaming down her face.
“Gus, you weren’t like this before. Why are you treating me like this?”
く
Chapter 2
I froze.
Had she been reborn too?
Thinking back on how she had acted, I
should’ve seen it coming.
But since she was here, it was time to clear the
air.
“Joy, we weren’t happy together last time. You only married me because of your grandfather’s dying wish. That’s not necessary anymore. You have the memories from last time, enough to
stabilize your company. You don’t need my
family’s help. You can go to NYU and reconnect
with your old flame. Let’s just stop torturing
each other.”
I didn’t wait for her to answer. I just left.
L
Took the upperclassman out to dinner.
จ 70
70
At the table, she noticed I wasn’t feeling myself.
She asked me about Joy.
I hadn’t confided in anyone in two lifetimes, so I told her the story of Joy and me.
