"Hey! "I shouted when Kyle finally answered my call.
"What" He responded.
"I have been calling you the whole day! Why are you not answer my calls? What is wrong with you? I sh…" Kyle hung up the phone, and I was not able to finish my sentence.
I redialed his number, and it was out of reach. "What is wrong with this s*n of a bi*tch!" I said to myself while trying to find my car keys and about to drive to his place. I do not understand this behavior; he was always there for me. Yes! Often, he will find me annoying and weird, but he never shut me out like this. Even though he doesn't have nice things to say, he is always there to listen and talk with me, patiently waiting for me to sobber and bring me home drunk. I do not understand.
"katok" A Kakaotalk notification came in.
"Do not go out! I will not open my door. I do not want to see you today! You are annoying. "Kyle messaged me on the app.
"Wow! So, I am the one annoying now?!" I said while staring sternly at my phone.
"I can't take this anymore. I need to talk with Kyle and ask him what is wrong. I am the one who broke up with my boyfriend, but he is the one throwing tantrums at me! Wow!" I said annoyingly as I walk out of my house wearing a black hoodie and jogging pants and firmly clasping my car keys on my hands.
I was about to start my car parked outside my gate when I heard a familiar voice behind me.
"Hey! Didn't I tell you to not get out? "It was Kyle, holding a box of beer and Fried Chicken in his left hand.
"Yaa! What is wrong with you? "I shouted at him.
Silence, he just looked me blankly in the eye and winked.
I ran towards him and hugged him. I put my face on his chest and mumbled, "What is wrong with you?"
"Do not wrinkle my shirt. It's an LV, "he playfully said while playing tapping my head.
"The F*CK! Are you teasing me right now?" I retorted.
"Haha, it is a fact. Let's go inside; it is freezing here. It is not good for our skin" I look at Kyle with irritated eyes, but I smile. I grabbed the chicken in his hands and followed him inside.
This makes me happy. Talking with my best friend while laughing and annoying him.
"So, Let's get down to business; what is wrong with you today?" I asked Kyle with a sharp tone.
"I mean, you never shut me out; what is wrong?" I followed up since he did not answer my first question.
"It’s just annoying, “he said in a calm tone while eating his chicken wings.
“What is annoying?” I asked while drinking my beer in between words.
“Your stupidity is starting to annoy me,” he said in a calm yet serious tone while looking at me straight into the eyes.
“I mean, I do not understand the logic behind all these years. Are you not tired? Of how your relationship with that Shrimp is going? Girl, you deserve better than this, and that what annoys me,” He continued.
I did not say anything and just continued drinking my beer. What is there to say anyway? That is on point. Somehow, I realize it after all these years. What am I doing? Even I get tired of all these charades and shenanigans, and I know I am near the point of no return.
I tried to salvage our relationship because it was my first date, my first kiss, my first everything! But right now, even these first, it feels nothing but a memory that needs to fade away. Instead of being in love and being happy, my first love felt like a cell, a holding cell that I cannot escape in, no matter how hard I try.
“Hey,” Kyle said in a low tone,
“Huh?” I responded
“What were you thinking? Look, I think your phone is ringing; check who’s calling,” he said while pointing at my phone.
When I checked my phone, we both got dismayed. It is a familiar name that we both dreaded to see.
“자기야 (jagiya)”
“Wow, this jerk is something!” Kyle said in an annoyed tone. While I just stare blankly on my phone.
“Yaa! Don’t tell me you will answer that?” he said in the same tone again.
“Huh?” I answered blankly.
“If you answer that call, I am telling you now, I will never talk to you again! I mean it, Angela!” Kyle said in an angry tone. I know he is serious; I mean, DEAD SERIOUS. But something inside of me is boiling. I feel that I need to answer this call. I think that I might be able to end this on a good note. Somehow, something inside of me, a little voice of courage, tells me to answer the call and stand on my ground. And there it goes; I pressed the answer button while looking at Kyle’s eyes. His expression changed so fast, from confused to annoyed and then angry. He stormed the room so quickly that I was not able to run after him. He did not hear what I said on the phone.
“Hello,” I answered the man on the other line.
“Babe, I’m sorry” Michael’s voice sounded so sincere in my ears, I can hear his sobs.
“Huh?” I replied blankly. My mind seemed to stop working right after I heard his voice on the other line.
“I did not mean what I said, I still love you, I know you love me, do you still love me? “
He said on the other line.
I know I heard it clearly, but for some reason, I cannot understand. It is like a resounding bell that doesn’t mean anything to me. I felt numb. I can’t even describe what I am feeling now…
“Babe? Are you still there, “said Michael.
“Oh? Yes,” I answered expressionlessly,
“Do you still love me?” He asked again since I did not answer him the first time,
“Yes,” I said impassively,
“Are we good now?” He asked in a happier tone as it seems to me,
“No,”
I said sternly and hung up the phone, blocked the number. I threw the phone on the couch, stare at it blankly for some seconds, and somehow this felt good. It felt relieving! The handcuffs and chains that have been with me for all these years are is finally broken! I chucked for a good five minutes while my head is lying on the couch,
“Did you see that, Kyle? I did it!” I said while looking at the ceiling; when I heard no response, I lifted my head and tried to look around for him, and then I remembered that he stormed out of the room when I answered the phone.
I went out of the house and tried to look out for him outside the gate. I wanted to call him, but he is screening my calls, and he is not responding to my Kakaotalk Chats as well:
“Ya! Where are you? I did it! I broke up with him for good! “
“Hey! Where are you? Did you go home?”
“Oppa, why are you not responding to my chats and my calls! Do you want to die?!”
“I am going there now!”
I went back inside my house to get my car keys, when I am about to open my car door, somehow, I felt dizzy, everything is turning black, and there is a popping sound in my ears. Before I entirely lost consciousness, I saw a stranger approaching me, a black silhouette that I am not sure If I am familiar with.