The next picture was of you smiling as you ate your dinner. It was had been a year and eight months since I first knew you. This picture had memories that were bittersweet. 

After that incident at the cinema, it seemed the gap between us grew even wider. I had never faced this situation before and felt lost. Donghae, who knows you better than I do, was being all jittery everyday. “Lee Eunhyuk, you’re an idiot!” was what he chanted every single day. The situation had become even worse because Ae-young wouldn’t stop pestering me. This led to you avoiding Donghae and I altogether. We tried to get you to meet us but you always had plans that involved Jiyong which made me very jealous. This went on for around two weeks until this one particular day. I was sitting on my bed, sighing over the whole situation. It had been two weeks since I last spoke to you. Determined to resolve this issue, I quickly changed and walked over to your house. It was a weekend and I was quite sure you would be at home. I rang the doorbell and waited. The door opened and standing there was you, dressed comfortably. Your eyes widened in shock at seeing me at your front door.

“What are you doing here?”you asked.

“We need to talk,”I told her.

“Let’s go somewhere. My parents are home. Wait here. I’ll go change,”you closed the door, leaving me to stand outside.

I waited for awhile before you came out. We walked in silence to a park nearby. There was nobody around. Just you and me.

“What do you want to talk about?”you asked.

“Don’t you think you’re spending way too much time with Jiyong?”I didn’t want to beat around the bush.

“So what if I am?”you replied in an indifferent tone that I was not used to.

“Well, Donghae and I are your best friends. Shouldn’t you spend some time with us as well?”I got a little angry.

“Have you ever thought of saying the exact same words to yourself?”you asked.

I was taken aback at your words.

“We’re talking about you here. Not me,”I argued.

“Lee Eunhyuk, don’t you realize that you are spending too much time with Ae-young as well? Do you even have Donghae and I in your heart?”you asked, annoyed.

“Ae-young is upset. I have to comfort her! It’s a different situation as compared to yours!”I flared up.

“THEN HAVE YOU EVER SPARED A THOUGHT FOR ME?!”you shouted all of a sudden.

“What?”I was dumbfounded.

I watched as tears stream down your cheeks.

“What about me? I’m getting more depressed as the days pass by. And you didn’t even notice! What kind of a best friend are you?”you cried.

Whenever you started crying, I would be left speechless. I remembered hating myself that time. I was such a woodblock. With my eyes wide open, I watched the girl I love cry right in front of me. And I wasn’t doing anything to stop it.

“Do you know how much it hurts me to see you with another girl?! Do you really think I like hanging out with Jiyong that much? Are you jealous when I go out with him? What do you take me for?! I thought you had feelings for me! But why are you pushing me away nowadays? Why is Ae-young your priority? Am I that unimportant to you? Do you really not know my feelings for you or are you just playing with me? Lee Eunhyuk, I want an answer,”you sobbed.

Those words that came out of your mouth made me pull you into my embrace.

“I thought you didn’t like me,”I mumbled.

“You’re the most idiotic person I’ve ever met,”you began to hit me as you cried in my embrace.

You carried on hitting to vent your frustration on me. Once you stopped, I lifted your head so I could look into those sparkling eyes that were filled to the brim with tears.

“I’m sorry for making you suffer these past few days. I was a woodblock. But from now onwards, I’ll be more observant. I’ll be more sensitive towards you. I promise.  Although you deserve someone better than me, I don’t think I can watch you go with someone else. I promise that I’ll take care of you and protect you. I assure you that my shoulder will always here for you to lean on. Kim Haemin, will you be my girlfriend?”I asked, sincerely.

Tears fell in that instant. Yours and mine. It felt as if that was all an illusion to me. I couldn’t believe that it was real.

“What if you leave me?”you asked, softly.

“If I were to tell you that I wouldn’t, I don’t think you’ll believe me. Give me time and I’ll prove it to you,”I smiled.

“How?”you asked.

“We can be an unofficial couple for a year. In that one year, I’ll prove to you that I’m worthy of your love. How’s that?”I reached out to move your fringe that was blown by the wind.

At that moment, we were still in each other’s embrace. My heart then stopped beating when you nodded to agree to my idea. With all the happiness rushing through my blood vessel to my entire body, I hugged you tightly. I felt your arms tightening the hug as well.

“I love you, Haemin. Ever since I first met you,”I told you.

We let go of each other and I wiped your tears away.

“It was love at first sight for you?”you asked, amused as you wiped my tears away.

“Of course!”I grinned.

That caused you to smirk before laughing. We sat down at a nearby bench with no words spoken.

“Do you really hate it when I meet Ae-young?”I asked.

“Of course! Everyday, I was thinking of how to get revenge on you,”you replied childishly.

“You idiot,”I laughed, earning a punch on my stomach.

With our new status, it made both of us shy to talk to each other but slowly, as we continued talking, our conversation became back to normal. Just like before, we talked about anything. The sun began to set slowly.

“Let’s go have dinner,”I smiled.

You nodded and we began walking towards a stall. We walked in and ordered food. We talked as we ate. We also took a lot of pictures. After eating, we walked home, under the moonlit sky. In the silence, we could hear each other’s breath.

“Are you cold?”I asked.

“No,”you replied with a smile.

With that, I reached out to hold your hand. You didn’t push me away. Just like that, we walked under the stars, hand in hand. We arrived at your house minutes later and as I looked into your eyes, I could see stars reflecting from your bright eyes. I smiled at you.

“Sleep well,”I said.

“You too”you smiled the eye smile that always melted my heart.

End of Chapter

DarkAngel