The insane woman laid on the ground in pain as she muttered profanities. She furiously eyed the newcomer with a death glare, but upon meeting his eyes she cowered.

“Get the out of here!” he yelled. All thoughts of spite dissolved under Wonwoo’s own glower as she scrambled to her feet and dashed away. Wonwoo’s dark gaze didn’t falter until he made sure the was out of sight. Once she retreated into an alley, he placed all his attention on the crying girl in his embrace.

His heart broke when her sobs pierced the air. He hugged her tighter. He rubbed her back up and down as he whispered words of comfort in her ear. “Shh. Sohye. I’m here now. I promised you, didn’t I? I came for you, it’s okay now.” he said over and over. As a result, she buried her head deeper in his chest.

Suddenly, her knees buckled under her. Wonwoo was caught by surprise as they both dropped to the ground. His hold on her loosened as she pulled away, whilst still crying. Wonwoo couldn’t speak as he looked her up and down and his eyes widened on the various injuries she gained. He grit his teeth. He got on his feet and crouched in front of her, his back facing her.

“Get on.” he said. Sohye blinked in surprise and simply stared. He sighed and pulled her hands around his neck. “Come on, Sohye.” She hesitantly got on his back and he stood up, adjusting her slightly. He immediately began walking, silence falling upon them.

---

Wonwoo punched the code in and turned the lights on in Seventeen’s dorm. He gingerly placed Sohye on the couch and wordlessly left.

Sohye looked around the living room. In front of her was a TV set with various game consoles kept underneath it and to her left was a rather large kitchen. What littered the wall were pictures of Seventeen, as a whole group or with just a number of members. Speaking of which, Seventeen wasn’t here. Only Wonwoo was here. And she was here. Which meant they were alone together.

She was struck by realization. Her calmed nerves spiked into action turning into a jumbled mess. She wrung her hands together as her heartbeat increased.

She was suddenly brought back to reality as Wonwoo came back and knelt in front of her. Her brows furrowed as she wondered what he was doing. All of a sudden, he held her left leg.

Alarms rang loudly in her mind. But it went completely blank as he removed her shoe and placed her foot on his lap.

Then, Wonwoo picked up a damp cloth from a basin next to him and wrung it. He used the cloth to gently wipe her leg and knee clean off dirt.

She sighed in relief.

The cold water made her shiver but in a way it relaxed her from her nervousness. His touch was so gentle and careful that she couldn’t help but feel comforted.

She decided to break the silence.

“Thank you.” she said softly, to treasure the calm atmosphere. “I’m so thankful you found me.” Wonwoo didn’t speak.

“Thank you for saving me, Wonwoo.” she said sincerely.

He continued his ministrations silently.

“Hey. Why aren’t you saying anything?” she asked.

Instead of answering, he just sighed.

“What’s wrong?” she asked worriedly.

“Nothing.” he whispered.

“Are you… mad at me?”

“No! Of course not.” he answered instantly, finally looking up. “Rather, I’m mad at myself.”  He confessed with distress clear in his eyes. “It’s my fault this happened to you.”

“Huh?” Sohye asked, bewildered. “Wonwoo, you saved me! How could you blame yourself when you’re the reason I’m safe right now?!”

“It’s because you wouldn’t have needed saving if it weren’t for me!” he said loudly. “If only… If only I didn’t tell you to go…” his voice got softer as his head lowered. It was only then she felt how much his hands were shaking, his fists clenched around the cloth.

Sohye’s chest constricted. “Hey…” she reached out a hand weakly and rested it on his cheek. Wonwoo flinched in surprise as he looked up. “Wonwoo, it’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known what would happen.”

“But if only—“

“Yah, it’s no use blaming yourself, now. What matters is that you saved me and I’m so grateful you did.” she said with a soft smile. It was quickly replaced, however by a frown. “Don’t fight me on this, Wonwoo. If you do, then… then I won’t hesitate to leave and never talk to you again.” she said with all seriousness.

Cue wave of nostalgia washing over.

“No way.” he answered just as seriously. He brought up his hand and rested it on top of hers. He squeezed it firmly. “There’s no way I’m letting you leave a second time.”

The dual meaning of his words hung heavily in the air.

Her eyes widened slightly as her heartrate picked up. Wonwoo stared into her eyes dead-on, conveying his resolve with his gaze.

Sohye cleared and the tension was broken.

She retracted her hand and placed it on her lap, intense heat emanating from it. He let his hand drop and went back to tending to her wounds.

 The following minutes were spent in awkward silence.

“Ow!” she cried out as she felt the sting of the medicine.

“Sorry.” Wonwoo mumbled with a small smile. “Bear with it for a while.”

Sohye scrunched her face. “You’re really used to this, huh?” she remarked after watching him put various ointments.

“I guess so. The members play rough a lot and get wounds often. Especially Mingyu, he’s really clumsy. There was no other way but to get used to it.” he paused. “And well, I often treated this girl’s wounds in the past, too. She was way clumsier than Mingyu, falling every other day.”

Sohye became silent.

He continued while he moved to her other leg. “Sometimes I wondered how she did it. She was truly the embodiment of the saying ‘two left feet’. I can’t count the times when I had to rush her anywhere close by just to dress her wounds. To be honest, I think I was terrible at it, but the thing is, she never complained. Instead she always gave her brightest smile and sincerest thanks.”

Sohye’s breath hitched as she realized what, rather who he was talking about. “Maybe she…” she decided to play along. “…wasn’t thanking you for treating her wounds. Maybe she was thanking you for was being there for her and worried for her to the point that you’d treat her even if you didn’t know how to.”

“Oh, so you know this girl?” he asked with a sly smile.

“Wha- no! I-I was just guessing.” she denied. “W-Who is she anyway?” she blew off her bangs.

“The girl I love.” he said nonchalantly.

dropped open. A blush spread in her cheeks as her eyes darted all over the room. Wonwoo stifled a laugh at her reaction and his confidence shot up.

Then he took a deep breath. “I lost her once. It was the worst moment of my life.” he confessed sadly. “But now I’m trying to get her back. And I thank God with all my heart and soul that she’s finally letting me.”

 Sohye stared at him. Her already racing heart quickened as she digested his words, but focusing on one part of it. She bit her lip as she thought over what to say back. She swallowed her nervousness. “Why did you… lose her?”

Wonwoo froze. His hand hovered over her leg as he was caught by surprise by her question.

Sohye patiently waited for an answer, but she couldn’t deny the curiosity burning within her. “Was she ugly? Was she not good enough for you? Was she extremely lacking? Did you get tired of her? Is that why…” she pursed her lips, trying to disguise her bitterness. “…you looked for another?”

“NO!” he shouted firmly. Sohye flinched. “She was none of that!”

She scoffed. “Then why?”

“It was me! All me! I was weak! And greedy! And blind! Even when she had everything, I was stupid to be looking for even more!” he clenched his fists again as he held his head down. “There was nothing wrong with her! Everything was wrong with me.”

“And I realized too late just what I lost. I lost a piece of my life when she left. I was haunted everyday by a bad decision that led to my greatest regret.” his confessed sorrowfully.

“So why just now?” Sohye shot back just as intensely, but in a softer tone. She didn’t want it to be heated, but this is what her curiosity lead to. “If you regretted every day, then why are you just acting now? Didn’t it occur to you that maybe she’d think it’s too late?”

Wonwoo slowly looked up and stared into her eyes. “Is it?”                  

Sohye returned his gaze but she refused to answer.

“Maybe it is.” he spoke. “But I’m not giving up. I can’t live on with this regret any longer nor can I go on without her. I’m trying to set things right, Sohye. I promised to do everything in my power to receive her forgiveness. And I promise to do even more for us to be back together.” he paused. “I just wanted to say thank you to this girl for giving me a second chance. And that I’ll do it right this time.”

Sohye was speechless. She lost to his powerful words and conviction behind it. She was angry and bitter, but it all melted into a puddle and settled into compassion.

‘I’m the only one clinging so tightly to the past.’ she realized. ‘I can’t keep being blind to his efforts when he is so clear in wanting to move forward. I have to learn to let go.’

‘No, I will. Slowly, one step at a time.’ she decided.

The previously tense air shifted into a calmer one.

Sohye took a deep breath. “I’m sure… that she’ll be overjoyed to hear that.” she assured shyly. “But she’d probably want to say it’s really not easy for her to forget, but she’s willing to forgive.”

Wonwoo face slowly contorted into a wide smile, his eyes crinkling slightly in happiness as her words dawned on him. “Thanks, Sohye. You don’t know just how happy that makes me.”

Wonwoo went back to treating her wounds, his smile never faltering. He became light and warm inside and it radiated off him, infecting the girl before him.

Sohye couldn’t help but smile back.

He finished placing bandages and he leaned back to examine his handiwork. He nodded in approval and put back everything in its place. He looked up at her. “I’m done. You get some sleep, Sohye. You had a long night.” he pointed to some sheets in the corner. “There’re some blankets over there, if you’re cold. You have to rest, okay?” he slowly got up on one knee and went to keep the first-aid kit.

With one step he took, Sohye’s whole body lost its warmth. She felt a sense of alarm and urgency and before she knew it, she called his name.

He stopped in his tracks. “Yeah?” he looked back.

It was only then she realized she had nothing to say. She internally panicked. “Uh... um…” she stumbled over her thoughts. “I… I…” suddenly, she had an idea. “I still have a wound right here!” she held up her palm frantically and it forward.  She wasn’t lying. There really were scrapes on her hand from when she fell repeatedly, but it wasn’t something to be concerned over.

But she didn’t understand what she was doing and why she was doing it.

Wonwoo blinked and walked back to her worriedly. Sohye internally sighed in relief. He took her hand gently and inspected it. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?” he asked as he cleaned it.

She gave an awkward laugh. “Mian.”

Wonwoo made quick work of it, since it was a smaller wound. He took her other hand and cleaned it, just in case. “So, any more wounds I don’t know about? That woman didn’t hurt you before I found you, did she?” he asked with concern.

“Um…” she trailed off. She shook her head.

He sighed in relief. “Okay, I guess I’m done.” he stood up and dusted his pants.

“Not yet!” she exclaimed suddenly, surprising them both. “I mean, I don’t think it’s enough…”

‘What the hell am I saying?’

“Huh, so what more should I do?” he asked, puzzled.

Sohye’s heart pounded against her ribcage.

‘That lady must have rubbed her insanity on me.’

She out her hand to him. “Hold it.”

Confusion overtook his features. His eyes widened as he stared at the small hand in front of him in utter disbelief. “What?”

“I said hold it.” she said as an fierce blush spread on her cheeks.

Wonwoo shifted his gaze from her hand to her face. She was red as a tomato, but he could see she was serious. He tried to suppress his laugh at her cuteness.

“Got it.” he said. He placed his larger hand onto her petite one and held it tightly. He watched her face flare up to her ears and his face broke into a grin.

Through their interlaced hands, Sohye regained the earlier warmth. It spread all over her body, from the ends of her hair to the tips of her toes. Despite overcome with extreme embarrassment, she let herself bask in it. With just that, all the panic she felt at being chased, the fear of being attacked and the bitterness of mentioning their past vanished into thin air. She internally sighed in contentment.

“Is this all?” Wonwoo asked teasingly.

Sohye narrowed her eyes at him.

He chuckled. “No, really. Is this all?”

“Yeah…” she answered timidly. She quickly changed her mind. “I mean, no.” she tugged on their linked hands. “Please don’t leave. Stay here.” she said in all innocence.

Wonwoo felt an arrow shoot straight through his heart. He was rendered speechless and breathless as it was his turn to have his face heat up.

“O-okay.” he stuttered out as he was pulled onto the space beside her. He sat stiffly in place as his heart raced. Her hand burned his, but he wouldn’t dare let go of it for the world.

Sohye was completely clueless of his situation. She, herself, was nervous and in disbelief of her boldness, but she didn’t regret it. She was greatly soothed by his touch and enjoyed every second of it.

They sat together in silence, comfort and tranquility reigning upon them.  

Sohye yawned. Her exhaustion finally made its appearance, after a rollercoaster of events.  

Wonwoo noticed. “I told you to go to sleep.” his thumb slowly caressed the back of her hand. She smiled at that. “I’ll wake you when the others get here.”

She nodded, snuggling into the armrest. She didn’t have the courage to do anything more than hand-holding tonight.

Wonwoo watched her silently and waited until she closed her eyes. In just a few minutes, she was knocked out, her breathing deep and steady, but her hold not loosening in the slightest.

He reached for a blanket. His arm circled her as he draped it around her and he glanced up. She was still wearing the hat. He couldn’t fight back a smile. He reached out his other hand and took it off, just to air her head. In the process, her hair fell and he gently tucked the strands behind her ear.

Her face was in clear view to him, and he took it all in.

‘I can’t believe it.’ he thought. Being with her in the same space, in such closeness, after a long time was unreal. It was a situation he gave up on hoping. But here she was, right in front of him and their hands interlocked. His heart soared and he couldn’t be any happier.

His lips tenderly kissed her forehead.

“Goodnight, Sohye.”

--------

omaygadeu. myheart. ohmaygad >w<

So much happened in this chap! I hope you liked it, everyone~

coz i did
but that's irrelevant xD

Please comment if you guys liked it. Bai~~