Rachel let out a long sigh. “I don’t know. But from the look on her face, she really did seem confused. She honestly didn’t look like she was joking if she truly didn’t know me. Could she have gotten amnesia on her way back to Korea?”
Deisha gently nudged Rachel’s shoulder. “What kind of stupid thought is that? It makes no sense.”
“Yeah, you’re right. How could she have gotten amnesia overnight? Even if she really did have amnesia, she’d be in a hospital today, not wandering around a convenience store,” Rachel said listlessly.
“What did she buy at the convenience store? Is she older than us?”
Rachel shrugged with both shoulders. “I don’t know. Maybe ingredients for making bungeoppang. Cia is the same age as us. In fact, I saw her wearing a school uniform earlier, but I don’t know which school it was from.”
“Does that mean she transferred to a school here?” Deisha asked again.
“I guess so,” Rachel replied, slowly nodding her head.
“Why don’t you just send her another letter?”
Rachel, who had looked listless moments earlier, began staring at Deisha with a wide smile. “Oh, you’re right. Why didn’t I think of that? Thanks for the suggestion. I didn’t realize you were actually this smart,” Rachel said, then pulled a notebook from her bag to write a letter to Cia.
Deisha could only sigh and roll her eyes. “You were almost late again today. And it feels like just yesterday that I saw you arrive early.”
“Shh, don’t distract me. I’m focusing on putting my words together,” Rachel replied, busy writing her letter without looking at Deisha.
“Good grief, how did I ever become friends with someone like her?” Deisha muttered as she began opening her textbook.
Before going home, Rachel headed to a post office, where she dropped off the letter she wanted to send to Cia.
Rachel stopped before entering the post office. “If Cia really has gone back to Korea, she won’t be able to receive this letter,” Rachel said as she stared at the letter in her hand.
“Ah, well, it’s fine. After I send this letter, I’ll message Cia through social media.”
Without lingering, Rachel handed the letter over at the post office and continued on her way home.
“If that girl named Cia isn’t Park Cia, my pen pal, I’m going to be incredibly embarrassed if I run into her again,” Rachel thought.
As she walked, Rachel pulled her phone from her pocket. She quickly sent Cia a message, hoping Cia would reply soon.
‘Cia, have you gone back to Korea? I met someone with the same name as you, but strangely, she didn’t know me. Did I really mistake her for someone else?’
“She’s not online. Hopefully Cia will reply to my message tonight,” Rachel said before slipping her phone back into her pocket.
Rachel’s footsteps were almost carrying her past the bungeoppang stand. She slowed down, worried that she might run into Cia. But all of a sudden, Cia came outside to give change to a customer who had been waiting in front of the stand.
Their eyes met, and Rachel suddenly felt embarrassed thinking about what had happened that morning. She quickly looked away and walked faster so she could get home.
“Good grief, what happened this morning really made me embarrassed when I ran into that girl named Cia. I’m getting more and more anxious waiting for a reply from Cia, my pen pal. If Cia replies that she hasn’t gone back to Korea, I’ll really have to avoid that bungeoppang seller named Cia so I won’t keep embarrassing myself,” Rachel said anxiously.
Rachel had now arrived home. She quickly stepped inside.
“Mom, I’m home,” Rachel called to her mother, who was standing in the living room while talking to someone on the phone.
“What?!” Sera cried out. The glass in her left hand suddenly slipped from her grasp.
Hearing her mother’s shout and the sound of breaking glass, Rachel stopped just as she was about to enter her room and immediately ran over to her mother.
“Mom, what’s wrong?!” Rachel asked, followed by the sound of little Ivy’s footsteps as she ran over to their mother too.