TOO FAR GONE

APPLICANT:raigel9elise

 

MAIN CHARACTERS: DONGWOON, AHN EUNMI, LEE KIKWANG

 

-----------------------------------------------------

 

Eunmi couldn’t remember the last time she and Dongwoon had eaten nor spent their time together without fighting about the smallest things.

For all she knew the last argument they had was about something about his shirt.

And it wasn’t getting any better even when their 4^th year anniversary is coming near.

Their relationship wasn’t like this during the first 3 years.

They were happy. Dongwoon was caring, gentle, fun to be with.

Most people thought they were a match made in heaven.

But what happened to them?

Eunmi wondered too.

She asked that question countless times and even until now, she never knew the answer.

Dongwoon just suddenly changed.

One day he began to be a stranger.

---

The sky looked bright and clear but it didn’t help Eunmi’s sullen mood.

Her boss let her off early after completing the art showcase she just handled. She tried calling Dongwoon to see if he was free for the day but he didn’t answer any of her calls.

Eunmi tried once again but as expected he didn’t answer.

“Eunmi!” Hyuna, Eunmi’s friend called out to her.

She smiled until her friend tackled her playfully that almost made them fall in the middle of the street.

“Yah Hyuna! Careful I don’t wanna ruin my clothes this early” Hyuna may be older than her but out of all of Eunmi’s friends, Hyuna acts like she’s the youngest.

As usual Hyuna brushed off her warning and acted like a child. “Is there something wrong with missing my best friend?” she said, hugging her in the process.

Eunmi couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes and pinched her older friend’s cheek as she pointed out her childishness. “You sound like you’re my boyfriend instead of my best friend. We’ve only been apart for what? A day?”

“Pfft. By the way where’s Yuri”

“Behind you” Yuri, one of Eunmi’s friends appeared out of nowhere, scaring both of her friends in the process.

“AHH!!!” Eunmi and Hyuna screamed at the top of their lungs, attracting the attention of people around them.

Just in time, Yuri covered their mouths lessening the noise they were making. “Jeez, you guys are a bunch of scaredy cats.”

Hyuna harshly removed her best friend’s hand away from . “If you could just show up like a normal person we wouldn’t be screaming like that” She spat and eyed her friend’s hand as if she wanted to bite it but Yuri sensed what she was thinking and told her in advance. “Hyuna you’re not a dog to bite my hand.”

Eunmi watched her friends bicker. She met and became friends with them during her college years. This senseless bickering was a normal thing for them whenever they meet and she had grown use to it. And usually, she was the one who stops them before it grows worse.

“Eh? How did-”

Before Hyuna could continue, Eunmi had to stop them. “Hyuna your hair is all over the place.” Hearing this, Hyuna stopped arguing and pulled out a hand mirror out of her bag and checked her reflection.

Then, she turned her attention to her other friend, Yuri and smiled. “Yuri it’s a surprise that you managed to come this early.”

“Got lucky. My boss fell asleep before he could say something that would detain me from the office.” Yuri gave her a cheeky smile.

“Ok. Now let’s go get some drinks. I’m thirsty” Eunmi dragged the two to a nearby coffee shop and ordered a frappe drizzled with caramel.

“Uh-oh Tell us what happened this time Eunmi” Yuri said as they were sitting down after all of them have ordered their drinks.

“Nothing.” Eunmi replied innocently, but her friends knew her better. Both of them knew Eunmi hated caramel. Whenever Eunmi ordered anything with caramel, it only meant one thing.

Their friend and Dongwoon fought again.

“Stop lying Eunmi. It’s getting old.” Hyuna commented and looked at Eunmi seriously.

Eunmi couldn’t lie anymore. All the frustration and hurt from the recent fights they had was making it hard to go as if everything was perfect.

“You know how he is. He’s busy.”

“Too busy to pay attention to you?” Yuri said straight on. She has been the insightful and observant one in the group.

Eunmi flinched at the statement. She couldn’t deny what Yuri had said. It scared her greatly but Dongwoon was really starting to forget about her.

“Do you want me to teach him a lesson? I have other friends who would be happy to do it for you” Hyuna offered. She has always been the playful one in Eunmi’s friends.

Other than Eunmi and Yuri, Hyuna have friends known as 4minute because they could make a guy kneel in under 4 minutes. They were diabolical and likes to teach men in how to treat women right.

Eunmi and Yuri laughed at Hyuna’s suggestion and left their friend confused.

“As much as I want to see that, I don’t need it.” Eunmi assured her friends. Among the three of them, she was the most likeable. While Hyuna was the playful and Yuri as the most serious of them, she was the kindest. She never liked violence no matter what the form. “Don’t worry about it. Me and Dongwoon will get pass this.”

“Eunmi. How long have been like this? 6 months? Junhyung had told me that Dongwoon wasn’t even fazed by your last argument. He didn’t even apologized!” Hyuna was pretty close with Junhyung, one of Dongwoon’s friends. It wasn’t a surprise that her friends was keeping tabs on her.

She couldn’t help but sigh. It really has been far too long. Their relationship was affecting her work. She would always be deep in thought, forgetting her job. And a couple of days ago, she had been warned about slacking off during work.

“Are you gonna break it off with him?” Yuri asked.

“No!- maybe- I don’t know!” When Eunmi’s friend mentioned break up, she got frustrated. Never had she thought about it, but now it was really possible. “I love him. I don’t want to lose him, but he’s making it hard.” Her voice was in an almost whisper.

“Plus, our anniversary is coming up.” She smiled when she was telling this but the words tasted bitter on her tongue. With her relationship on the verge of being destroyed, celebrating her anniversary with Dongwoon who seemed not to care was becoming less inviting.

“Oh! Cong-” Hyuna automatically started to congratulate her and Yuri luckily stopped her friend from doing so. Hyuna’s eyes grew big and placed her hands on top of her lips, realizing her mistake.

Eunmi paid no heed at the mistake even though it stung that it was more likely sooner or later her relationship would come to an end.

“Eunmi-ah? Have you decided on what to do? You know you can’t let this go on longer. You’re hurting yourself.” Her friend, Yuri put her hand on top of Eunmi’s as a gesture of comfort.

Then, another hand touched Eunmi’s. “Dongwoon can’t do this to you. You’ll have to decide.” Hyuna agreed with Yuri.

“It’s not easy.”

“We never said it was easy. We just want you to decide. Make a rule or something.”

“Like what? If he breaks another promise, I’ll end it?”

Both of her friends nodded their heads. She looked at them exasperated.

“Why not?” Her friends asked.

“Because…” she trailed off. She was running out of excuses. Eunmi hated to admit it but she’s also getting tired of all this pain. She wanted the pain to end and be happy.

“We know you love him, but Dongwoon can’t do this to you. You have to make a choice.” Yuri urged Eunmi to decide. It was now or never. If she let her friend play a martyr, her friend would only keep in hurting.

Eunmi looked at her friends seriously and watched their expressions. She saw strong concern from them. With her strong bond with the two, she knew how much they cared and love her. They wouldn’t say the things they were saying right now without any reason. She hated to accept it but she knew it was time to decide.

“Okay.” She nodded her head.

Her friends smiled with a small relief. Both of them knew that if they ever broke up, Eunmi would be crushed but eventually she would survive and get over the relationship. That choice was better than watching their closest friend to torture herself from all the disappointments Dongwoon was causing her.

-----

For the week, Dongwoon and Eunmi weren’t able to meet. It only on the day of their anniversary would they be able to meet and today was the day.

Eunmi sent a couple of messages reminding Dongwoon to come over her place for dinner. She hinted a couple of times. No. She gave her boyfriend a dozen hints about the special occasion.

Dongwoon didn’t sent back any messages but Eunmi assumed that he was just busy. She was confident that he would come since he promised her before that he would celebrate every anniversary with her even if he was sick. It happened once during the first year and he kept his promise.

She prepared a lot of food for that evening. Her boyfriend was picky about food and she had taken it into consideration. Eunmi had spent countless hours practicing on how to cook Dongwoon’s favourite foods. She wasn’t good at cooking but she practiced for the whole week just for this dinner.

At 5:30 in the afternoon, she was finished and waited for Dongwoon.

6pm struck and he hasn’t arrived. Eunmi was still relaxed.

7pm.

8pm. She was already uneasy. Her thought lingered on the promise she made not only to her friends but also to herself. Her fear was growing.

10pm. The food had gone cold and he wasn’t in sight. She reheated them again to entertain herself, still hoping he would come. In her mind, she had concocted numerous theories about why he still hasn’t arrived. None of them went to the direction where he really forgot about the dinner nor he brushed off her message.

When the clock pointed at exactly 12 midnight. The day of their anniversary already ended.

“Belated Happy anniversary to us Dongwoon” She said to herself while staring at the empty chair in front of her. Dongwoon didn’t come.

Her body shook at the realization what this meant. Dongwoon had broken the promise.

She couldn’t believe it. She refused to believe it.

This was really too much.

It really has to end for her sake.

Slowly, she stood from her seat and exhaled. Finally she has come to a decision though it really pained her to do it.

With her hands shaking, she started to clean up as she sobbed hard. Her heart hurt as if it had been hit by a truck.

She washed every plate with care as if it was the love being washed away. All throughout the cleaning until she fell asleep in her bed, she cried and cried.

When she woke up, she immediately dialled Dongwoon’s number. She just wanted to end as quickly as possible. As expected, he didn’t answer.

Eunmi dialled another set of numbers and waited for the other line to answer. This time, the owner answered.

“Where is he?” She asked in an emotionless voice.

“He’s with us at the hangout.” Yoseob answered innocently. He didn’t know what was happening.

She hanged up the without saying goodbye. Her body was tired as well as her heart but she paid no mind to it. Even with her appearance, she had forgotten all about it and took out the most comfortable clothes in her closet and changed.

In an hour after the call, she arrived the Dongwoon’s hangout with his friends. They were enjoying a break from their play.

Dongwoon stood up from his seat when he saw Eunmi coming. He was surprised that she would come that day since she had work that day.

“Eunmi what are you doing here.”

Dongwoon reached out for a hug but Eunmi just stood there in front of him while their friends were looking at them, confused.

“Did you check your messages yesterday?” She had to ask first. Eunmi wanted to confirm if this relationship of theirs was really ending.

“I did and I forgot.” Dongwoon never lied to Eunmi, it was one promise he didn’t break.

After hearing this, the decision was set in stone.

His girlfriend didn’t waste any time and said the words she planned to say immediately out in front of his friends.

“LET’S END IT HERE SON DONGWOON.”

It took him a moment to register what his girlfriend was trying to say.

“What?!” He looked at her wide-eyed. He didn’t expect this from her.

“I SAID WE SHOULD BREAK UP RIGHT NOW.” She almost screamed this words at him. Her heart felt like it was about to burst if she didn’t say it and it felt good when she started to tell him this.

Behind them, Junhyung immediately fished out his phone from his pocket and immediately called Hyuna.

“Why are you doing this babe? It’s totally not you.”

“You’re right this is not me and I’ve grown tired of everything!” Her voice rose an octave higher as her emotions rose up a notch. This was the first time she had been this angry.

“Is this because of last night? Okay. I’m sorry I prom-” With her boyfriend as passive as ever, he made another empty promise. Eunmi couldn’t have that. This had gone too far.

“Don’t ING promise me anything!” Her hand brushed the top of her hand and harshly pulled her hand away from her hair in anger. Even at this moment, Dongwoon was dense.

Eunmi fully realized that sometimes love wasn’t always enough.

She and Dongwoon have drifted apart. Dongwoon had already taken her for granted.

“You don’t really understand anything! There’s no use in explaining something you haven’t realized yourself.” Tears started flowing out of anger and hurt.

Dongwoon took a step nearer to her to wipe the tears. Eunmi couldn’t have that. She stepped a few steps back with her palms facing him, telling him not to.

“Eunmi-ah” Dongwoon called her name soothingly and Eunmi shook her head furiously telling him no.

“Telling you what’s wrong won’t mean a thing.” She wiped her own tears while Donwoon together with the rest of his friends watch her do it herself.

“It’s over Dongwoon. You’re the worst.” She gave Dongwoon one last look with a bitter smile on her face. Eunmi’s eyes reflected all the emotions she had been bottling up inside and Dongwoon saw it. The only thing he can’t understand was why. Eunmi was right that he couldn’t understand a thing…even now.

With that said, she threw the ring that used to remind her of what they were back at him. The ring bounced back and cluttered on the floor. Dongwoon picked it up and felt the cool metal on his skin. He looked up at Eunmi with disbelief that it was really happening.

Eunmi had broken it off with him.

Then, his former girlfriend took off without looking back at him.

Just in time, Hyuna and Yuri came. When they saw Eunmi’s condition, they knew.

Their friend’s knees buckled when she saw them, Hyuna caught her while Yuri suddenly stormed toward Dongwoon’s group.

A slap came across Dongwoon’s cheek. Everyone gasped. It was out of Yuri’s character to slap somebody. She was usually the harmless type but seeing Dongwoon act like a jerk to her best friend has taken its toll on her.

“Stupid insensitive jerk! Are you blind?! Don’t you see that you always take her for granted?! Why can’t you be the boyfriend you’re supposed to be!” The anger she had towards Dongwoon for hurting her friend was apparent in her voice.

Dongwoon couldn’t speak nor touched the throbbing cheek. Everything was a shock to him especially now that he realize what Eunmi meant. Yuri’s slapped made him remember what was so special about last night. It was their anniversary and he truly forgotten about it.

His eyes searched for Eunmi’s but she didn’t look back and her face was buried onto Hyuna’s chest.

“I-” He wanted to say something but he didn’t know what.

“What?! No words?! Don’t you dare come near her Dongwoon. You’ll regret it.” Yuri threatened him before leaving together with Hyuna and Eunmi.

For minutes, Dongwoon stayed frozen in his spot looking aimlessly at the spot where Eunmi fell crying into Hyuna’s arms.

He never realized how much he had hurt Eunmi, the love of his life.

---------

The following week after their breakup, she left and went to Incheon.

Dongwoon didn’t come to bid farewell. Eunmi hoped that Dongwoon would have done this. It the least she could do for her.

She still love him, her heart still belonged to him. In the corner of her heart, she to see Dongwoon one last time. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen.

In the end, Dongwoon didn’t understand.

He already forgot to care about her. She wanted him to care about her.

Before riding the bus to Incheon, Eunmi asked her friends, Hyuna.

“He’s not coming, isn’t he?” Eunmi voiced out sadly while her eyes lingered towards her shoes, trying her hardest not to cry.

Hyuna could only meekly shook her head as she cried like a baby. Eunmi was her closest friend and she was too sad to know that they’ll be separated.

Yuri, too, was crying quietly.

Both of them understood the extent of Eunmi’s affection to Dongwoon. They knew she wouldn’t be able to forget about him any time soon.

For one last time, she cried together with her friends. She cried for her friends and she cried for him.

------

“She already left” The screen showed.

It came from Hyuna, one of Eunmi’s friends, who he knew hated him as much as Yuri. The maknae just stared the screen until his vision got blurry.

He didn’t realize that they were tears.

For months he lived like he was dead. When Eunmi left his side, it was only then he realized his mistake.

He got so used having her by his side that he forgot that he was taking her for granted.

In all their fights, he finally realized what Eunmi was trying to tell him.

Every time they fought, he never cared about her feelings.

It was his ego and selfish desires that came first.

“I’m so sorry Eunmi…”

------

Three years had passed. Eunmi had lived quietly in Incheon forgetting about the love she thought was her last.

During these two years, she worked hard trying to make a name for herself.

She personally asked to be transferred here in Incheon and she loved the place bit by bit.

In the beginning Incheon was her escape from the past but as she lived in this place, she learned to love it.

It was also the place where she fell in love.

She started to fall in love during the time of her depression. Her friends, Hyuna and Yuri even drove all the way to Incheon to set her straight and forced her to go out.

Eunmi argued that she goes out but her witty friend, Yuri pointed out that work doesn’t count as going out.

Hyuna forced her into a clothes Hyuna would usually wear, not her but they didn’t listen to her pleas.

Her friends dragged her out of the house and went to dance battle tournament.

“Tell me why I’m doing this?” Eunmi asked her friends. She was clearly not in the mood to play. Her heart still felt as if the wound left by the breakup was still fresh as if it happened yesterday.

“You’re doing this because you love us and we love you” Yuri told her.

There were a lot of people in the tournament which made Hyuna excited and Yuri uninterested. It wasn’t Yuri’s usual crowd but for Eunmi, she was willing to give it a shot.

In the midst of different groups performing, Eunmi lost her friends. In fact, she suspected that they did this on purpose.

“They would pay for this later.”, she mumbled to herself.

Being alone in a strange crowd was new to Eunmi. She had no social life for 6 months and being suddenly thrown into this hyped-up crowd too much for her.

It felt like her lungs closed up and she had a hard time to breath. She started to have a panic attack. She stumbled across the crowds as she tried to gasp for air.

Just in time before she lost consciousness, an unknown set of arm caught her.

That was all she remembered before everything went black.

When she finally regained her senses the first things she noticed was a minty scent. She slowly opened her eyes and saw a strange pair of eyes staring back at her.

She yelped and backed away from the owner of the pair of eyes she was staring earlier.

“Wh-who are you?!” She demanded. Mentally, she scolded herself from being a wuss. This is what happens to people who have deprived themselves of a social life. Paranoia.

The man grinned at her and smiled brightly as he introduced himself. “I’m the one who caught you. Hi! I’m Lee Kikwang.”

He was right about that one. Kikwang really did caught her. In her sadness, he was the one who caught her both heart and soul.

Right now, she was busy with one of her current projects. It was one of her company’s biggest projects and it was also an important chance for her to gain a promotion.

She was at the opening of the exhibit and she was checking whether everything was going smoothly.

Earlier, she received a voice mail from Kikwang that he would be coming later at the event.

But before saying goodbye, he made a wet kiss sound on the phone which made Eunmi both cringed and happy at the same time.

---------------

Dongwoon didn’t think he would see her again.

Seeing at her in a pale peach dress, she looked prettier than before.

It was like there was something different about her.

This was his first assignment from his job. His boss instructed him to check the place for their magazine article.

He was glad that his boss gave him this assignment or he wouldn’t have the chance to see Eunmi again.

Ever since they broke up, he wanted to patch things with her. He wanted to start all over with her but Eunmi’s friends were hard. They never told him a single about Eunmi.

Now, he has the chance to make a fresh start with her.

“Eunmi-ah” He called out. His voice quivered. He was scared of her reaction. They haven’t seen each other for a long time.

She turned to his direction and saw him. “Do-Dongwoon!” She was clearly surprised.

A shy smile rose from Dongwoon’s lips and his hand reached the back of his scratching it. “It has been a long time Eunmi”

“Yes. It has.” Eunmi couldn’t believe what she was seeing. After all those years, Son Dongwoon finally showed up. “So… How have you been”

“Me?” He asked dumbly. “I uh-am great! Good. I got a new and better paying job and was transferred here.”

“That’s good.” Their conversation was dull since they didn’t know how to talk normally to each other since they haven’t met for so long.

They fell silent all of a sudden and Dongwoon took this as a chance to try to fix things.

“Eun-” Before Dongwoon could continue, a man slipped his arm around Eunmi’s waist and kissed her rosy cheeks.

“Yeobo. Sorry I’m late. I kinda got lost.?” Kikwang came out of nowhere, catching the old lovers in a awkward moment but the two managed to mask their emotions.

A smile rose from Eunmi’s face and Dongwoon saw the change in Eunmi’s aura when the mysterious man came.

“Oh! Who is this?” Kikwang asked Eunmi.

Eunmi stared at Dongwoon with a mysterious smile before continuing. “He’s an old friend from Seoul” That was what Dongwoon have become. Kikwang didn’t know about the history of the two and Eunmi wanted it to stay that way. She had moved on and she expected that he had as well.

Kikwang smiled some more. “You mean you’re friends back home? That’s wonderful! You should probably invite him to our wedding. You know Hyuna and Yuri too, right?”

Eunmi didn’t know how to act. Kikwang just told Dongwoon the news without any warning. But who could blame her fiancé? He didn’t know.

Just then, Dongwoon’s hope of being together with Eunmi again came crashing down in an instant. He saw the engagement ring on Eunmi’s finger.

He felt that his heart stopped working.

He was far too late. Eunmi had a change of heart.

The day of Eunmi’s wedding came. Even the rest Of their friends came. Hyuna and Yuri were especially happy that their best friend found her match.

Dongwoon could see the happiness in Eunmi’s as she was wedded to Kikwang. He realized that Eunmi had never been this happy with him.

Though it pains him, he was happy that she finally found someone deserving of her love.

“Cong-congratulations Eunmi-sshi. I’m happy for you.”

The couple looked as happy as ever in the new chapter in their life. Eunmi was oblivious of the love she yearned before from Dongwoon.

Dongwoon prayed for the newlywed’s happiness and hoped that someday he could find someone who would share her happiness with her.

Yes… Someday he’ll find someone who will look at him just like how Eunmi was looking at her husband.

~THE END~