The Kiss I Never Should Have Asked For - Chapter 35 – A Promise That Began to Break

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For nearly two weeks...

Everything felt normal again.

Narin kept his promise.

He waited for me after class.

We ate together.

He even walked me home almost every day.

Sometimes, I caught myself thinking...

Maybe this was just a misunderstanding.

Maybe we had worried for nothing.

The school festival finally arrived.

The campus was filled with colorful decorations.

Music echoed through the hallways.

Students moved from one stall to another, laughing and taking pictures.

It was one of the happiest days of the year.

Narin and I were assigned to help at our class's food stall.

Korn was helping the junior classes nearby.

Although we didn't spend much time together...

Every now and then, we'd exchange a smile from a distance.

Around noon, our teacher asked Narin to deliver some supplies to the back of the auditorium.

"I'll be back in a few minutes."

"I'll come with you."

I said.

He quickly shook his head.

"It's okay."

"You stay here."

"I'll be right back."

Before I could insist...

He was already gone.

Nearly twenty minutes passed.

Then thirty.

Our teacher looked around.

"Where's Narin?"

"I don't know."

"I'll go look for him."

I left the stall and walked toward the auditorium.

The corridors were crowded.

Students hurried past carrying boxes and decorations.

I checked the storage room.

The music room.

The teachers' office.

He wasn't there.

As I turned the corner behind the auditorium...

I heard familiar laughter.

I stopped.

It was Narin.

He was standing beneath a large tree.

Rin was beside him.

They weren't carrying any supplies anymore.

They were simply talking.

Laughing.

Completely unaware that anyone was watching.

Then...

Rin reached out and gently adjusted Narin's festival badge, which had come loose.

It was such a natural gesture.

Narin smiled at him.

Not the smile he had forced over the past few weeks.

This one came effortlessly.

I quietly stepped back before they noticed me.

When Narin returned almost fifteen minutes later...

He smiled as though nothing had happened.

"Sorry."

"The teacher kept asking questions."

I looked at him.

For a moment...

I almost told him I had seen everything.

Instead...

I simply nodded.

"It's okay."

That was all I said.

After the festival ended, I walked home alone.

I didn't tell Korn.

I didn't tell anyone.

Because deep inside...

I still wanted to believe Narin's promise.

But another part of me had begun to understand something painful.

A promise can keep someone's actions in check for a while...

But it cannot force a heart to stop changing.

And for the first time...

I wondered if I was holding on...

To someone who was already beginning to let go.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPHoVwKNXAx

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