My Ex-Girlfriend Regrets Dumping Me

10 – Reunion (5)

The distance between Jia and me grew closer bit by bit.

Once it ignited, it couldn’t be stopped and burned on.

Jia fired the first signal.

It was around lunchtime on Monday, after the weekend and after classes ended.

[Oppa, have you had lunch?]

With a cat emoticon raising question marks above her head, Jia messaged me first.

After reading the message, I looked at Jinho, who was walking beside me, with a pensive expression.

“Jinho.”

“What?”

“Can’t we have lunch together tomorrow?”

“Why all of a sudden? Who should I have lunch with then?”

Hey, it’s not like it’s important for me to eat with you right now.

It’s about friendship rather than love. More than just friends, but not yet my girlfriend.

Jia wasn’t my girlfriend yet, but I thought there was a high possibility of it happening.

“Instead, I’ll buy you lunch tomorrow. I’m really sorry.”

“It won’t cancel our lunch date just to have a meal with a guy… Maybe…”

Jinho rolled his eyes at my apology and let out an unpleasant laugh.

As I discreetly hid the phone I was holding, Jinho looked at me with a serpent-like gaze and said firmly.

“Don’t tell me it’s Jia. Is it her?”

I didn’t really want to say it, but there was no reason to hide it.

In a way, Jinho was the one who brought us together.

“Yeah. She suggested having lunch together.”

“Wow. Yun Geon-yul, this guy. Finally getting rid of the crappy car and switching to a new one?”

For some reason, Jin-ho, who walked along happily, seemed to like himself more. He patted me on the back with a faint smile and saw me off.

“Right. Go ahead. But don’t forget your friend’s sky-like grace.”

“Okay. If things go well, I’ll buy you a meal.”

“Right, right. That’s a very good attitude.”

I roughly waved goodbye to Jin-ho and quickly replied to Jia.

[No. I haven’t eaten. Why?]

[Then let’s have a meal together. I’m hungry ㅠㅠ]

The chatting tone made me think of Jia and I couldn’t help but laugh.

[Should I?]

[I’m in front of the student union. Where are you, oppa?]

Was she looking at her phone the whole time? Jia’s response came flying in an instant.

[I’m on the 2nd floor of the main building. Just stay there. I’ll come to you.]

[That’s close. Got it…ㅎ.]

After finishing the messages with her, my face reflected on the now dark screen was smiling so much that it almost made me feel bad.

Seems like she is happy. Me too.

My steps toward the student union were twice as fast as usual.

“Are you too lazy to go out, so should we just eat at the school cafeteria today?”

Our school was so big that it was a bit of a distance to go to a restaurant.

So we often had our meals inside the university.

So I didn’t think much and agreed to Jia’s suggestion, and we headed to the student cafeteria.

After ordering, an unexpected comment came out.

“Do you want to exchange our schedules?”

“Huh?”

I was so surprised by the sudden proposal that I inadvertently asked Jia back in confusion.

She lightly tapped her chopsticks against the dish and looked at me.

“Why did you say that? At that time?”

“What do you mean?”

Jia, who hesitated for a moment, dipped her chopsticks into the broth of the knife-cut noodles.

It seemed like she was the type who couldn’t leave things around her alone depending on her emotional state, like children who tore apart paper or cut erasers during their school days.

“…I want to get to know your brother.”

I remembered what Jia said to me a few days ago when we exchanged numbers.

I apologized to her as I thought I had made her feel uncomfortable because of me.

“Ah… That’s right. Yeah, sorry.”

“No need to apologize. Just exchange schedules with me if you’re sorry.”

“Oh. Wait a minute.”

I turned on my phone’s famous university community app and registered as friends with Jia.

Jia gazed intently at my schedule through my phone.

“Hmm… We have no classes together. It’s too bad.”

“It’s difficult since we are in different majors. Anyway.”

“The schedules are somewhat similar though, aren’t they? Look at this day and that day. We can have lunch together.”

“Oh. That’s true.”

“And after class on this day and that day, we can go home together or maybe go somewhere to hang out…”

Looking at Jia planning enthusiastically while showing me her schedule, she looked like an innocent child before a picnic, which made me smile.

“Sigh.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, really.”

Did she know that I meant to look at her affectionately?

Jia seemed to feel embarrassed and spoke with laughter.

“Ah… I got carried away again by myself. I’m sorry. Sometimes I get this way when I’m excited. hehehe.”

“It’s alright. You’re cute, you know?”

“…Well, that’s good to hear. Wow, this is burnt.”

The atmosphere became awkward for a moment.

Jia slurped up her kalguksu noodles, and I checked the schedule she had mentioned.

Hmm. It should be okay.

“On Thursday, I’ll be working part-time, so I won’t be able to go home with you. But for the rest, I can do as you suggested.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, if I want to get to know you better, we need to spend time together.”

Since I enjoyed being with Jia, I thought it would be even better if we could have more time together.

Perhaps it would make attending this boring school more bearable.

“So, what should we eat this Wednesday? Let’s try something different since we’re tired of the school cafeteria food.”

“Should we go out and think about what to eat? I know quite a few delicious restaurants around here.”

“Me too! What do you like, oppa?”

We continued our conversation without properly eating.

That’s how the time spent between Jia and me in university, both on and off-campus, began to increase gradually.

*

Wednesday, the day Jia had been eagerly waiting for, finally arrived.

I walked out of the lecture hall with a blank expression on my face.

“I have no idea what they were talking about for a whole hour.”

The complex economic mathematical terms had clouded my mind.

I sighed, feeling as if I had gone back to my exam days.

But it didn’t matter how I felt right now.

Just the thought of meeting Jia made me instantly happy.

I walked towards the school entrance.

It was the place where we had planned to meet for our meal.

“Oppa~!”

Jia waved her hand cutely from afar.

After confirming her figure, I quickened my pace towards her.

She wore a black skirt and a red-toned checkered shirt.

She looked neat and feminine, which suited Jia very well.

“You dressed up nicely?”

“Because I’m meeting with oppa, so I put some effort. hehehe.”

“Yeah, yeah. You did well.”

As Ji-ah looked at me with a happy face like a puppy asking for compliments. I wanted to pat her head, but I thought it wasn’t time for that yet, so I barely contained myself.

“Are we going to that place you mentioned earlier?”

“If it’s okay with you. Their cream pasta and aglio e olio are really delicious!”

We had looked at a few places before we met, and today we were thinking about going to a nearby pasta restaurant.

As soon as we left the school gate, the road was right there. Since most restaurants were on the opposite side, we stood in front of it to cross the street.

“Oppa, what do you like the most? Are you not into pasta?”

“No. I like noodles too. But I prefer tomato-based pasta.”

As we talked about the restaurant we were going to visit, a buzzing noise was coming from a distance. An illegal bike ran towards us making a strange sound. Although it didn’t cross the road, it was running perilously close to the sidewalk.

“Yikes!”

She seemed to have felt the bike that passed closely behind her and took a step toward me as if surprised.

…Was she about to fall?

She got caught on a protruding block of the sidewalk and fell into my arms. I carefully caught her in case she fell.

“Are you okay?”

“Oh, yes. I was just surprised.”

The fresh fragrance that reminded me of Ji-ah stimulated my nose. I was momentarily embracing her, feeling the softness under her thin shirt, until she regained her composure and returned to her original position.

Then the pedestrian light changed, and a woman in jeans and a white T-shirt walked towards us. Her attire seemed familiar. When she saw my face, her eyes widened.

“…Oh no…of all people.”

I didn’t want to say this to Ji-ah, but I couldn’t help but curse.

I met the person I never wanted to encounter again, eye-to-eye.

And that too, in the middle of the street, with Jia hugging me tightly.

I turned my head quickly away from her, but it was already too late.

“…Yura?”

My name flowed out of Hayeon’s trembling eyes.

I held Jia’s hand, feeling a strong desire to go anywhere.

“Thank you. For accepting.”

“Yeah. Let’s go now since the pedestrian crosswalk changed.”

Jia finally let go of me, and I tried to ignore Hayeon and cross the pedestrian crosswalk.

“…Yura! Just a moment.”

But as I crossed the pedestrian crosswalk, Hayeon turned around and blocked me at the end.

Like a goalkeeper, spreading their arms, she prevented me from passing.

I didn’t understand why she was doing this.

I warned her not to talk to me like this last time.

Why doesn’t she understand after saying it once?

“Yuri? Is he someone you know, oppa?”

“No. He’s someone I don’t know.”

Jia stood in front of me, looking at Hayeon, and asked me.

I confidently replied.

Now we were worse than strangers.

“…We’re worse than strangers?”

“Yeah. Let’s just go.”

When I tried to push her aside and pass by casually, Hayeon now cling onto my arm.

The weight on my arm annoyed me greatly.

“Please, just once. Yura, please give me some time to talk.”

Ugh, she’s really frustrating.

I pushed her away roughly, irritated by her clinging.

“Ow!”

Hayeon tumbled onto the street.

She suddenly looked at me with a teary-eyed face.

“Oh, Oppa. What’s wrong? It’s scary. Who is this person?

Oh, I didn’t want to show this side in front of Jia.

I grabbed Jia’s shoulder and quickly changed our pace.

If I worried about Seo Hayeon now, it would only dampen my mood.

I came out to spend a pleasant time with Jia, not to meet that woman.

“No, don’t worry about it, let’s just go.”

“…What? But that person fainted…”

There was a suddenly sobbing voice from behind.

People passing by were looking this way and murmuring.

“Sniff…Ugh… Yul-ah…”

Jia, even more startled, glanced back at me.

I spoke firmly to Jia.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

Ignoring the sobbing woman who was struggling with my name, I never turned back.