I never expected the secret I'd hidden in my heart for so many years to be exposed in such a humiliating way.
I felt my crush had become a joke.
Tears blurred my vision. Suddenly, a hand offered me a tissue.
It was Locke.
The embarrassment and shame in my heart surged once again.
As if I'd found an outlet for all my pent-up anger, I yelled furiously, "Get lost! Can't you just leave me alone? Don't you know how much I hate you?"
I thought I had long since let go of that youthful romance.
But today, when I saw Locke again, all those painful memories resurfaced.
Those memories haven't blurred despite the passage of ten years.
Now I realize that it wasn't him I hated, but the pain of not being able to stand up to my family when I was young. My reaction back then was just the result of a sensitive, insecure teenage pride.
I couldn't bring myself to say the apology I owed him. As he turned and walked away, only the bitter scent of smoke lingered in the air.
When I returned to the private room, I was in a low mood.
I sat in a corner, drank a few too many without realizing it, and then lost consciousness.
That was where my memory ended. What happened last night slowly became clear in my mind.