The Love Triangle I Never Wanted

The solitary life I’ve been living...

One day, someone actually asked me for my Facebook.

And what's even crazier?

It ended up being a "two men fighting over one woman" kind of scene, right in the cafeteria.

What the hell!?

...

I was wolfing down my breakfast when a handsome young guy suddenly placed his phone in front of me and asked, “Hey, could we be friends on Facebook?” He was wearing a simple white T-shirt, looking clean and refined, like some model.

I looked up abruptly, and as my gaze settled, I noticed his hair was casually pushed back, exposing his smooth, flawless forehead. The white T-shirt and jeans—simple, but somehow, he wore them like they were custom-made for him.

There was something about his face, though, like I’d seen it somewhere before, but I couldn’t quite place it.

The young man noticed my stunned expression and smiled lightly. He repeated, “Can we add each other on Facebook?”

His voice was clean, warm, like a soft current of electricity running through me.

I was still frozen, and Mia nudged my elbow. “What are you doing, staring like that? He’s talking to you.”

It was only then that I snapped back to reality. My face flushed slightly with embarrassment, and I quickly swallowed the bite of food I’d been chewing. Wiping my mouth with a napkin, I offered an awkward but polite smile. “Sorry, I just thought you looked familiar for a second there, and I didn’t react fast enough.”

At my words, the young man’s lips curled up in a faint smile, and for a brief moment, it seemed like he was about to say something, but he quickly masked it, as though it had just been a figment of my imagination.

I turned to grab my phone, but I couldn’t find it no matter how much I searched.

“Mia, do you have my phone? I can’t find it.” I asked, hoping for help.

“No, I thought you had it. You didn’t lose it, did you?” Mia’s tone grew anxious, and she immediately joined the search, turning her bag inside out, determined not to stop until we found it.

As I was hunched over, my hair—loose from earlier—had fallen in front of my face, blocking most of my view. A thin layer of sweat formed on my forehead from the stress. If this were the middle of the night, with no lights, I’d look like something straight out of a horror film.

“Do you need help?”

Looking over at the young man waiting by, my face burned with embarrassment. “Umm... well... I’m really sorry, but my phone’s gone missing. I don’t think I can add you on Facebook right now... Maybe next time, when we meet again, I promise I will... I’m really sorry about this.”

I kept my head lowered, feeling guilty, my tone genuine.

“It’s alright. When we meet again, you can add me then.”

“I swear I will. Next time for sure.” I nodded rapidly, almost like I was pleading, hoping he’d believe me.

After the young man left, I let out a sigh of relief, only to see Mia still digging through her bag. I walked over and patted her shoulder helplessly. “He’s already gone. Stop looking.”

“Haha~ You found your phone, didn’t you?” Mia’s face was full of confusion.

“It was never lost. I lied to him.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket, looking pleased with myself.

“Wow, that was so convincing. You could be an actor! Such talent going to waste!”

I could hear the irritation in her voice, so I quickly tried to apologize. “Well, I didn’t have time to explain, and besides, if I’d given you a heads-up, would you have been able to pull off the act that well?”

I ruffled Mia’s hair, soft like a well-behaved kitten.

“But seriously, that guy was so handsome. How could you let him go?”

“I... I don’t know. Maybe it just didn’t feel right.” I lowered my head, but my mind wandered to someone else—the one who had claimed my heart throughout my youth.

“Let’s get going, we still have class in the afternoon!” Mia said, picking up her tray to take it to the return station. I followed closely behind her.