5 years ago

You were looking at the door of Taeyang’s apartment building, really wondering if you should go to his apartment today. You skipped school because there was a math test that you really did not want to do. You needed a place to hide until school was done and knew that Taeyang would not be home today. The perfect spot to wait the day out with be at his apartment but you suddenly felt bad about going in without an invitation. You turned around, about to go somewhere else, when you saw Taeyang walking towards the building. You looked around, looking for the best place to hide, and dove behind a bush.

Taeyang walked to his door, reaching into his pocket to pull out his keys when he suddenly saw a movement behind a bush. He looked at the bush warily thinking that a skunk or a rat was there. He quickly opened the door and pulled out a broom that was next to the door. He held the broom  and started to poke at the bush, wanting to animal to get out and leave.

The sound he least expected came out and all he heard was a huge scream. He saw you stand up with leaves all over her hair.

Taeyang dropped the broom and a booming laughter came out of his mouth when he saw the expression on your face. You scowled at him and walked out from behind the bush.

“Was that really necessary? Do you happen to poke at everything bush you see?” You said, a bit annoyed. You ran your hands through your hair, trying to get all of the leaves that stuck to you.

Taeyang’s laughter slowly subsided and shook his head at the look on your face.

“What were you doing behind a bush anyway? And what are you doing here instead of being in school?” You looked ashamed and started to play with the hem of your uniform.

“Well… I was just…. I was just… well… I skipped school.” You whispered out. Taeyang was quiet when he heard your reason and small chuckles started to leave his mouth. Soon the chuckles turned into a huge laugh and you looked at Taeyang with a small glare.

“Why are you laughing!” You demanded to know and Taeyang just shook his head.

“You skip school so that you can hide behind bushes?” He laughed out loud. You looked at Taeyang’s laughing face and you could not help but let out a small giggle.

“Well it beats doing a math test!”

-----

“Hello?” You answered your cell as you started to shut down your computer. It was time for you to finally get home from work and you were trying to leave as soon as you could. You had a tough few days, your love life really taking a toll on you. You had been trying to avoid talking to Seung-hyun, because you really didn’t think you were ready to hear him out and listen to his excuses. Taeyang told you that Seung-hyun did it for a reason, but you honestly did not have the strength to listen to it at the moment. You needed to calm yourself before you talked to Seung-hyun again because you knew that if you were to talk to Seung-hyun while you still felt strong emotions of anger and pain, things would never be solved.

It had been almost two weeks since your breakdown in Taeyang’s apartment and you still didn’t think you were ready to face Seung-hyun. Taeyang had been hinting at you lately that you should talk to him and finally solve your problems. That you had to stop hiding from Seung-hyun because he knew that what happened was still hurting you and only Seung-hyun’s explanation will be able to actually make you feel better. But you, no matter what the reason was, thought that his reason would not be enough to explain why he did that to you.

“------?”You heard Taeyang say. You put your stuff in your purse and started to walk towards the elevator.

“Do you need something Taeyang?” You asked him, he never usually called you unless it was important.

“Did you already have dinner?” He asked you and just as if it was timed, your stomach started to growl. You looked down at your stomach and gave a small laugh.

“No I haven’t eaten yet and I have to admit, I’m actually really hungry right now. I think I’m going to go stop by a restaurant to eat for a bit.” The elevator opened up and you stepped into it, walking a bit to let your co-workers in the elevator.

“Then you want to come at the restaurant we usually eat at? I’m there right now and I’ll wait for you here. I already ordered your favorite, so I think it should be here by the time you arrive.” He said and you smiled. You could always count on Taeyang to be one step ahead of you.

“Bulgogi right?” Youasked to make sure.

 “Of course, I know how much you love that stuff.”

“Thank you so much Taeyang! I’ll be there as soon as I can.” You shut your phone and ran towards your car when the elevator door opened. You opened the door and tossed your purse on the passenger seat, the only thought in her head was bulgogi.

-----

“Taeyang?” Seung-hyun answered as he picked up his phone. Seung-hyun just got home from his job, and he was preparing to make some dinner for himself. He put down the frozen dinner that he was about to microwaveand walked towards his living room.

“You know where ------’s favorite restaurant is right?” Taeyang asked him. Seung-hyun placed the remote back down on the table and he sighed. He had been trying to contact you but you were very insistent in avoiding him, going as far as telling your co-workers to tell him that you were away whenever he visited you. He visited your house a couple of times, hoping to see you and actually talk so he could apologize and explain himself but you never seemed to be there when he was.

“Of course I know where it is Taeyang. What’s this about?” He asked, lightly running his hand through his hair.

“Be here in about forty minutes.” Was all Taeyang said before he hung up. Seung-hyun looked at his cell phone and he knew what Taeyang was trying to do. Seung-hyun closed his eyes, really torn with what Taeyang was doing. He hated having to involve Taeyang anymore than he had to with his mistake with you because he knew that Taeyang really loves you. Even though he knows this, he also knows that Taeyang would do anything he can so that you and he were okay. Seung-hyun knows how much Taeyang hated what he did and he knows that Taeyang just wants everything to be fixed between you two. Seung-hyun hates that Taeyang has to be the one to do something to make his relationship with you be fine but he really has tried everything he could with trying to contact you. He knows it would be wrong to agree to what Taeyang is planning because Taeyang is hurting himself in the process but Seung-hyun just really has to see you. He has to make everything okay because he misses you so much.

---

Taeyang looked up when he heard the door to the restaurant open and saw you step in. You were looking around, most likely looking for the table that Taeyang was in. You spotted Taeyang and hurriedly walked to where he was. You greeted him and just dropped down on your seat. You pouted when you saw that your food was still not on the table and looked at Taeyang. Just as you was about to complain, a waiter appeared and placed your bowl of bulgogi in form of you.

“Enjoy.” The waiter said and you didn’t wait to dig in. You didn’t even pay attention to the smile that appeared in Taeyang’s face and just continued to eat heartily.

“You must be really hungry. Don’t tell me you skipped lunch again.” Taeyang asked you. You looked up at Taeyang and chewed the food in your mouth before you replied.

“You know it’s not my fault. There’s just too much to do at work.” You replied, eating another mouthful of your food.

“Even if there’s a lot to do, you shouldn’t let a meal pass by ----. You’re going to make yourself sick if you keep skipping meals.” Taeyang chided you. He knew the reason why you was completely immersing yourself in your job. He knew that you were trying your best not to think about Seung-hyun.

“I know, I know,” You replied. You looked at Taeyang and finally noticed the empty space in front of him. “Why aren’t you eating anything Taeyang?”  You asked, as you put down your spoon. You heard the door in the restaurant open but you really didn’t pay much attention to it. Taeyang looked up at the front of the restaurant and caught Seung-hyun’s eyes.

“Taeyang? Did you already eat?” You asked again when you did not receive an answer from Taeyang.

Taeyang sighed as Seung-hyun started to walk towards them and you looked at the direction that Taeyang was looking at. You saw who was there and dread started to creep in. You looked at Taeyang, and reached for your purse. You looked in it, trying as fast as you can to get your wallet. You were really not ready for any of this at the moment.

“Taeyang, I’m going to go pay for my food at the front, so I’ll see you later.” You hurriedly said. You were about to stand up but Taeyang held onto your hand.

“No -----. You need to stop running away. You need to listen to Seung-hyun’s explanation. I know that he still really loves you and you guys need to resolve this misunderstanding that you guys have.” You looked at the look on Taeyang’s face and you slowly sat back down in your seat.

Seung-hyun reached your table and his eyes did not leave you. He hasn’t seen you in a long time and he really missed seeing your beautiful face. You still looked as beautiful as he remembered and he wondered how he was able to stay away from you for so long. He really hoped that you would forgive him for his mistakes because he really needs to be with you.

You finally looked up and found yourself staring at the beautiful eyes of Seung-hyun. You bit your lip, and you couldn’t help but want to leap up and hug him. You really missed him so much, really missed being with him, but you stopped yourself. The image of seeing him with another girl was still fresh in your head.

You forced yourself to look away, knowing that the longer you stared into his eyes, the more you would want to be in his arms again. She really did not want her emotions overriding her common sense at the moment.

Seung-hyun’s eyes darkened when he saw how you did your best to avoid looking at him. He looked at Taeyang and no emotion was present in his face. Seung-hyun suddenly felt ashamed with having Taeyang put in this situation.

“You guys need to talk.” Taeyang’s cold voice said and he stood up from his chair. You looked up when you heard the chair scrapping and your hand shot out to hold onto Taeyang’s hand.

“You’re leaving?” You asked him, still avoiding eye contact when Seung-hyun. Taeyang looked at your hands holding his and he could help but feel bittersweet. He looked at Seung-hyun and sighed, telling himself over and over that this was the right thing to do. Telling himself over and over that the one you loved is Seung-hyun and you only see him as a brother. He pulled his hand free from your grip and put his hands in his pockets.

“I need to. You guys need to be alone to fix your own problems.” He said as he started to walk out of the restaurant.

“But…” You started to protest,but Taeyang was already leaving the restaurant as fast as he could. Seung-hyun looked at Taeyang’s retreating back,and couldn’t help but feel thankful and distressed at the same time.

Seung-hyun was still standing awkwardly in front of the table; no words were spoken between you. He was staring at you and you were doing your best not to look at Seung-hyun. It was still silent even after a few minutes and you could not take the silence anymore.

You didn’t feel comfortable with him standing in front of you and you ran a hand over your face. But you knew that this needed to be done and you really wanted to get it over with.

“Sit.” You forced the word out and Seung-hyun was startled when the silence was finally broken. He pulled the chair out from under the table and slowly sat down. “Thanks.” He whispered back.

Silence once again took over and you both tried your best not to stare at each other. Seung-hyun cleared his throat after awhile and just as he was about to say something, a waiter came to your table.

“Would you like anything else?” The waiter asked and both Seung-hyun and you looked up.

“Um… can I have some tiramisu…?”

“A slice of tiramisu please.”  You both turned to look at each other and caught each other’s eyes. That was one thing you both had in common. When you both were in an uncomfortable position, eating sweets were your solution.

Looking at the couple, the waiter wrote down their orders. “Two slices of tiramisu coming right up.” He said.