CH 44

Peter was getting happier. After receiving congratulatory calls from all his relatives, his mother invited all of his relatives living nearby to a party for him. When he received the award from the newspaper, the whole family came to congratulate him on his award. Because it was a contest with more authority than Peter had thought, his victory even made it to the local newspapers. His mother cut out the small article from the corner of the local newspaper and put it on the top of the refrigerator, and his father was delighted to see his son’s certificate several times a day. Upon hearing the news about his award, the president of the Korean Association contacted him to give him a plaque of merit. Even in the student council, the teacher who taught literature called Peter forward and told the students the story of his award. Many students, who had not even noticed the existence of the boy named Peter by then, congratulated him. Melinda and Philip were also in it. Philip said congratulations, but Peter responded in a trembling voice to thank him. When Philip joked that he should get an autograph from the future writer teacher in advance, everyone around him burst into laughter. It was silly, but Peter went home that night and practiced his signature diligently by himself. Each time he wrote his name on a piece of paper, he reflected on his future success as a writer. Those were happy days.

All of this had happened over the course of a week, so Peter couldn’t help but feel a surge of euphoria. The only concern for him now was Jennie. At first, she rejoiced as if it was her job, but the depression cycle came again and she was confined to the house for the third day. As always, Peter waited for her to come to him first.

One night, he was startled when Jennie threw a small stone at Peter’s window. Jennie’s face was swollen all over, and her forearms were full of traces of self-harm. There was even a bluish bruise near the temple, probably from hitting it somewhere.

It was Peter who always pretended not to know her small wounds, but at that time, he couldn’t do that.

“What the hell happened? Why is your arm like this?”

“It was scratched. I fell.”

It was never a fall and scratch. Peter felt his heart clench and urged her.

“Jennie. It’s not right to hurt yourself. You know that too.”

“…”

“If you’re having a hard time, tell me…”

“What happens if I talk to you?”

“What?”

“If I’m having a hard time, should I tell someone? So what will be different? It just makes me depressed and you will be depressed too.”

She rolled her eyes and bit her lip. Her lower lip was ragged with tooth marks.

“I don’t want to say anything depressing. Nothing will change… ”

“How about getting counseling?”

“Anyway, forget about this. Do you think they could change my mother? Nothing changes. As long as those humans don’t kill us, this problem will repeat forever.”

“Don’t say that. Why would we die? Don’t say such scary things.”

“…”

“Don’t do that again. You said that when I’m sick, you’re sad too. Me too. Do you know what I mean?”

Peter took her hand and said. Jennie nodded her head reluctantly. After being silent for a while, she struggled to speak in a bright voice.

“I spoke to Aunt Spencer.”

“… Yea.”

“She was supposed to buy my dress, but I refused. I don’t think it’s polite to just receive a gift every time. What do you think?”

“Yeah. It’s best to do what you want.”

Peter guessed that Jennie’s mother wouldn’t buy her a dress.

“I’m thinking of buying with the money I saved up, are you going to go pick one up with me?”

“Of course.”

Then a faint smile spread across her lips.

“Then we’ll go pick it up tomorrow.”

“What time?”

“Four o’clock.”

He had promised to go to the department store with his mother at 4 o’clock, but Peter nodded obediently.

“Great.”

The two got up from the bench. After saying goodbye and parting, Peter put a little more force than usual and hugged her tightly. But at 4 o’clock the next day, she didn’t show up. After waiting for her for a long time, Peter had no choice but to go to the department store with his mother.

From then on, Jennie’s whims continued. She came to Peter when she felt like it, and talked for a while. Peter noticed that her nonsense was getting worse as time went on, but the thought that Jennie was having a hard time just broke his heart. He believed that one day she would return as a happy Jennie, and he would stand by her side. But she gradually sunk into the abyss of melancholy. When she saw Peter talking kindly with his mother, she would often get angry and go home, and she would argue with nonsense reasons. Even Peter, who was trying to heal the wounds of his best friend, began to feel the limits of his patience.

What made her the most depressed was that the letter from the prince had been cut off. At first, Jennie bit her nails nervously, saying there must be some mistake. Eventually, she yelled at Peter that he must have written something strange in the letter. Peter was astounded. But he swore he would never do that because he couldn’t let Jennie be mad at him. However, Jennie’s anger did not subside, and it all poured fiercely on Peter.

‘It’s all thanks to me that you received an award, not because you’re good. Don’t be so proud of receiving an award like that. Did you do such a cowardly thing because your stomach hurts since I’m doing well with the prince?’ etc.

Peter’s blood boiled, not knowing what to do with every nonsense she poured out. He knew from the many books he had read for Jennie how depressed people express their frustration and anger towards others. However, it was the first time that her anger had been poured out on him in this way, so Peter could not respond properly.

How many times did Peter convince Jennie that he hadn’t done it, that he didn’t know how much he valued her, but she kept talking  like a mad racehorse with her ears covered.

As Jennie grew more violent, her delusions got worse, and she even went on to say that the prince came to her house last night and sang to her. Peter was heartbroken. He couldn’t sleep that night, so he read until late at night, so he knew Philip didn’t go to Jennie’s house.

Jennie talked about the song and the lyrics the prince sang for her for an hour, then shut her mouth and stared at Peter coldly. Why was her expression like that? The story that began with absurdity came to a forced end by saying that he made things that way because he was jealous of her again.

Peter was upset and angry enough to cry, but he had to release his anger alone each time. This time, he believed that her melancholy cycle was only getting longer, and that, as usual, his dear friend would be heartbroken watching everything inside. It was only natural that, as a young Peter, he could not even guess how serious her condition had become, because the extent of her heartache could not be seen with the naked eye.

The end of Jennie’s melancholy cycle was as sudden as a midsummer rain shower. Running up the stairs with a lot of fuss, she held out an envelope to Peter and shouted excitedly.

“There is a letter from the prince! No, I have an invitation.”

“Invitation?”

Peter, who was reading a book, got up halfway from the bed.

“He’s inviting me to the party. This is really big news. The only people invited to this party are the really popular kids who are rumored to be hot at school!”

She screamed in excitement. Peter couldn’t be happier with her words. Considering Jennie’s condition these days, it was inevitable that the first thing that came to mind was whether the letter was true.

“… Maybe it was sent by another friend? Another friend who likes you.”

Peter asked carefully so as not to offend Jennie.

“What are you talking about? Who else could send me an invitation like this other than the prince? Are you saying you won’t believe what I’m saying now? Come on, let’s see. What is written here?”

The letter Jenny got simply stated that he wanted to invite her to the party and the location and time. Peter recalled Philip’s handwriting he had seen recently. It was quite different from what was written on the letterhead.

Enough to be recognized by anyone who sees it.

Peter was very upset and decided he had to tell Jennie about it.

“You know,  I go to Korean gatherings once every weekend, right?”

“Huh. Why?”

“…Philip sometimes comes there too.”

Jenny put on a puzzled expression.

“Not every week, but occasionally.”

“Why are you talking about this now? Hey! Do you know how hard it was for me to put the letter in the prince’s locker? There were times when I pretended to be sick in class and put it in! If I knew that he went to the same place as you, it would have been better if I asked you to deliver a letter!”

Jennie got angry at the wrong point.

“No, you see him at least once a week anyway… sometimes I can’t go because I’m sick.”

“But. Because letters were exchanged once every three or four days. Hmmm, but? Why are you talking about that now?”

Jennie put on a very suspicious look. Peter swallowed hard.

“I was going to say … but kept missing out on opportunities. He has no connection whatsoever with me.”

As he said this, Peter continued to fiddle with his fingers.

No contact.

There was contact. He thought of Philip and probably memorized his face and name. But he couldn’t say that to Jennie.

He didn’t want to tell anyone about it, because he didn’t know exactly the palpitations or chest pains he felt when he saw Philip meant. No, he really didn’t want to share those feelings with anyone.

Peter comforted himself by saying that he felt sorry for Jennie, but that he could keep this as a secret.

“Really? Well, indeed. The prince is always full of people. You couldn’t have intervened there.”

At that, Peter groaned for a moment. He wanted to counter that he had talked to Philip before, and he said congratulations to him a while ago, and joked that he would get an autograph if he became a famous writer.

But now it was useless. Peter had to focus on the purpose of bringing up this story.

“Sometimes, I see Philip writing on the blackboard or taking notes in his notebook.”

“Wow! That would be really cool A prince who writes on a blackboard.”

Jennie replied with a smirk as if the world’s most delicious pie was in front of her.

“However… The font is different.”

“Huh?”

“The handwriting on the letter is different from Phillip’s.”

Having said that, Peter bowed his head. He thought it was normal for Jennie to scream or get angry. She may swear at him. Barely out of depression, she could have plunged back into the depths of despair. Peter was prepared for the worst.

However, the response that came back was unexpected.

“Ha ha ha ha ha. What are you talking about?”

“… uh?”

“Is the font different? What is that? Does he have multiple fonts? A font for doing homework, a font for writing reflections, a font for writing a diary. Everyone is different.”

She said, pointing out each hand one by one.

“No, I mean…”

“What else do you want to say? Ha ha ha ha, did you like that that much?”

Jennie asked Peter as if he were a child.

“Because it’s not. That’s not it, obviously the font… ”

“You are too suspicious. Peter.”

“I’m worried.”

Peter knew how Jenny was treated at school. He had been treated similarly, so he was several times more worried about her than other people. It’s strange that Philip willingly invited her to a party even though they didn’t know each other, and it was also strange that he has Melinda next to him and he dares to ask her to be his partner. What would he do if she went to the party and other people were harassing Jennie?

“I understand why you’re worried about me, but this time it’s for sure. It’s an invitation sent by the prince himself. No one can say anything.”

Jennie shrugged and patted Peter’s back with her palm. Her pleasant voice and actions almost brought tears to his eyes.

“Ah, what should I do? It’s a party this weekend and I don’t have any clothes to wear… ! No. This a masquerade party. How do I Prepare?”

“Masquerade Party?”

“Yes. We need a meeting right now! Meeting tonight!”

Jennie shouted. Peter smiled broadly. He struggled to suppress the anxiety that was creeping up in his chest and welcomed his friend who had come back to him.

There was no time to even think about what that single piece of paper would bring.