Do Not Feed Recklessly - Chapter 2. Part 2

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“Jia, you’re amazing! Congratulations!”

Jia and her friends raised their champagne glasses in a toast. They offered their heartfelt congratulations. With a big smile on their faces, Jia took a sip and fell on top of the world.

“So, have you set your departure date yet?” 

“Yes, I bought my ticket yesterday.” 

“Wow! That’s great! But you’ll come to visit us, right? It’s so sad that you’re leaving so soon.” 

“Of course, I’ll visit now and then. Maybe not too often, but I’ll definitely come back from time to time.”

Jia couldn’t hide her happiness as she spoke, and the champagne seemed to go down faster than usual. It hadn’t felt real, even after receiving the final acceptance email, but buying the plane ticket made it all sink in. She was really going to Korea soon.

“But are you really not going to tell Ethan?”

Her smile faded for a moment. At the mention of the familiar name, Jia’s face tensed and she shook her head quickly, her eyebrows furrowed.

“No way,” she replied firmly.

“I’m not telling him. And you guys better keep it a secret, okay?”

“Ethan’s going to feel hurt.” one friend teased.

“Yeah, weren’t you two the closest?” another friend chimed in with a grin. 

“Ugh, don’t say something so gross… We weren’t close. It was just because our houses were so close, that’s all.” Jia replied, rolling her eyes.

Even in a moment like this, hearing Ethan’s name annoyed Jia to no end. Her expression turned sour and she waved her hand dismissively, indicating that she didn’t want to continue the conversation.

“Don’t even bring him up. Ugh, it’s ruining my drink.”

“That’s a shame. Honestly, I thought you two would end up together.” one friend teased.

“Are you crazy? You might as well curse me to death!” Jia shot back, her voice dripping with disgust.

“Come on, whatever else you say, you have to admit that Ethan has a killer face.”

Jia pursed her lips in irritation. She didn’t want to admit it, but she couldn’t deny it – Ethan was undeniably handsome. After a moment of silent fuming, she reluctantly spoke.

“That is a completely different question. And what good is it if he looks handsome? The rest of him is useless.

“So you’re saying there was never anything between you two?” another friend asked, her eyes twinkling with curiosity.

Normally, her friends would have taken the hint and changed the subject. But today they were relentless. With Jia’s departure confirmed, they seemed determined to satisfy every last bit of curiosity they had suppressed.

“Ugh, absolutely never.”

Jia groaned, scrunching her face in disgust as she thought back on her history with Ethan.

“Okay, enough. If you keep talking about Ethan, I’m leaving.” she threatened, clearly done with the topic.

It wasn’t until Jia gave them an ultimatum that her friends, though disappointed, finally moved on to another topic.

Only then did Jia relax, picking up her champagne glass and taking a long, satisfied sip. As the thought of saying goodbye hit her, a sudden wave of nostalgia washed over her.

She embraced her friends and drank until they were all completely drunk.

On the way home, emotions overwhelmed her, and she found herself blinking back tears. Even after arriving home, she sat outside, staring blankly at the scenery, though there was nothing particularly special to look at.

Now that it was time to leave, her emotions were all over the place.

Leaning back in the chair, Jia quietly murmured to herself.

“There’s less than a week left now…”

“For what?” a familiar voice interrupted.

Once again the familiar voice shattered the peaceful silence. Jia clutched her chest in surprise and frowned at the sudden appearance of Ethan.

“Ugh, you scared me,” she muttered.

Ethan jumped easily over the flimsy wooden fence between their yards and sat down beside her.

“So, what’s happening in less than a week?” he asked, clearly intrigued.

“You don’t need to know. It’s just something.”

Jia replied, shutting him down without hesitation. She kept her gaze fixed across the yard, staring down the street, refusing to look in his direction. But Ethan wasn’t one to be dismissed so easily.

“Jia, did you drink?” 

“Yeah,” she replied.

Ethan’s expression shifted, a hint of unease crossing his face as he looked at her with suspicion. 

“You don’t even like drinking,” he said, clearly dissatisfied. 

“So what?”

Jia replied, a small laugh escaping her lips. Whether it was the alcohol or the thought of finally being rid of Ethan’s annoying face soon, she couldn’t stop smiling.

Her carefree expression only made Ethan more uneasy. 

“No, seriously… what’s going on with you lately?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“You’ve been acting weird.” he pressed, his confusion growing.

Ethan was certain something was up, but he held back his words, glancing at Jia anxiously. Unlike him, Jia remained calm, casually tapping the armrest and gazing up at the night sky.

Jia had no intention of telling Ethan she was leaving for Korea. The thought of saying goodbye felt unbearably awkward, and she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that something bad might happen if she told him. So, she kept her mouth shut and quietly began packing her things.

It wasn’t hard to keep it a secret, especially since only Jia was going back to Korea – not her whole family. Time passed, day by day, and soon her departure was near. The only one still in the dark was Ethan.