Just Before the Date
By Yejun Chun
The gunfire behind me first sounded like fireworks cackling or rubber exploding so I didn’t run or yelled like / the other students around me / are bleeding and some of them are coughing because of / the tear gas / is producing the silver smoke which starts to get into my eyes and ears and my mind but there was no alarm blaring even though I do feel / the earth / shakes underneath my feet but I see the outlines of the / blurry buildings / are in front of me even though they were never blurry before / a cold metal makes contact with / my upper back / feels something snap / and I feel an oozing down / my left elbow / understood something was wrong / but what was supposed to happen / (I can only dream of it now) / was that I was supposed to meet Jisoo from the church choir in front of / the Japanese curry restaurant / is next to / the university gates / is where she is / really cute, most beautiful / I was thinking too much of only her / I feel / the oozing down my neck / / and then I was supposed to say something smart and romantic to Jisoo over / ramen and curry / are our favorite foods / no / I was actually supposed to give her / those words / were some of my best yet / I had written a sonnet during my English class / the original copy is still folded in / my pocket / is somehow wet with red but the poem still is inside and the last stanza had a line that I was really proud of / I can’t read it now / even though / I’ve taken it out with / my trembling fingers / are amazing because of how they’re able to work together / even though / someone’s spilled red all over / the final two lines / were the hardest to write and work out / I had to rewrite them so /many times / I hear someone call / my name / is so delicately yelled out by her delicate voice / (unlike my sheet of paper now getting torn at the red soggy part) / the screaming continues from / the crowd / is getting dismantled / violently / I feel the asphalt hit / my cheek / is ripped apart unlike the road / was redone not so long ago / which I notice because of / the smell / really hits me too / and I suddenly feel so sorry for Jisoo / Jisoo / didn’t tell me so / but I knew she took a day off from work to meet me / here / where I am / now / I’m worried of what might happened to / Jisoo / needs to be safe and get away from here because she still has / time / couldn’t save me but I still wonder what Jisoo though of me / if she loved me also / and what the world will think of us / tomorrow / suddenly seems so far away and everyday seemed so hopeful, everyday had something to look forward to not so long ago.
THE END
Author Bio: Yejun Chun is a writer from Seoul, South Korea. He is currently studying English Literature at Yonsei University as a graduate student. His works of poetry, CNF, and short fiction have been published in the Academy of American Poets among many other places. His plays have been produced and performed in Seoul. His work has been nominated for the Best Microfiction Anthology and was awarded the university's 2024 Academy of American Poets Prize. He is currently working on his debut novel.