Chapter Eleven

 

"NO!" exclaimed Taec, "What if something had happened?! What if I didn't get here in time? You could've gotten hurt, or maybe even worse."

 

"Sorry," Jiyeon stated with her head hung low. 

 

"Don't be too hard on her. She couldn't have known that that was going to happen. I mean, no one could have," Yoona said trying to help the girl out. She then decided to change the subject. "So, is anyone hungry? I'll treat you guys to some noodles from my family restaurant." 

 

"It's okay. We sh-" Taec began.

 

"Oh! I'm starving!" Jiyeon interrupted. "C'mon Oppa, I haven't eaten anything all morning."

 

Taec reluctantly replied, "All right."

 

They made their way to the restaurant. The three of them ate their noodles in silence. It was rather awkward. Taecyeon was the first to finish and asked to be excused. Yoona and Jiyeon nodded as they continued to chew. When Yoona was sure that Taec was out the door, she turned to Jiyeon and let her curiosity get the best of her. 

 

"So, how do you know Taecyeon?" Yoona tried to sound as casual as possible. 

 

"Oh, he's my brother," she stated with a smile. 

 

Yoona let out a sigh of relief. 

 

"Why are you so relieved? Wait! You didn't think me and him were..." Jiyeon burst into laughter before finishing. She nearly fell out of her seat from her hysterical laughter. Yoona felt completely embarrassed for assuming such a thing. As soon as Jiyeon got all her laughter out, she questioned Yoona, "So, what's the deal with you and my brother?" 

 

"We're just classmates. That's all," Yoona replied as casually as possible as she had done before.

 

Jiyeon looked at her suspiciously, "It sure doesn’t seem that way."

 

Yoona choked on her food upon hearing Jiyeon's reply. 

 

"There's nothing going on between me and your brother. We're just paired up for an assignment in class. All that I've gotten out of it is trouble. Trouble, trouble, trouble," Yoona frowned, thinking about all the crap she's gotten into thanks to Taecyeon. 

 

"Let me apologize on behalf of my brother," Jiyeon stood up, bowed to Yoona, and sat back down again. 

 

Yoona was shocked by her sudden action. "You didn't have to do that. It's not your fault."

 

"He's really not that bad, you know," Jiyeon's words were soft and gentle as she stared at her brother through the window. "This ‘rebellious’  image he puts on started after our mother passed away. He resented our father so he moved out and in with his girlfriend's family. It was nice of them to take him in. Even though his relationship with our father didn't get any better, he would still come home to visit me. He hasn't come in several months so I went to look for him, and that's when I heard he had moved out here. I'm just happy to see that he's okay. He might seem like an , but he has a really good heart. Don't be too quick to judge him, okay?"

 

Jiyeon shifted her attention back to Yoona and gave her a sweet smile. Yoona smiled back, and then looked out to Taecyeon. She suddenly felt rather guilty for judging him as prematurely as she did. 

 

- - - - -

 

Taecyeon decided to walk Yoona home after dropping Jiyeon off at his place. 

 

"You didn't have to do this, you know," Yoona stated as they walked quietly next to each other. "I just live a few blocks down from your place." 

 

"Well, after what happened today, I'd feel better if I knew you got home safely. Thanks for helping my sister out. I owe you one," Taec said as he looked at Yoona.

 

"Don't worry about it."

 

Their eyes met lingering in a long gaze. The way they look into each other’s eyes, the way they knew that there was this spark or connection, made it undeniable that there was at least a little chemistry that they shared.  Taecyeon smiled, catching Yoona off guard. She looked the other way as her face became flustered, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks all to her dismay.

 

Yoona quickly adverted the situation and decided to instead, "Um, so what's this I hear about a girlfriend? How come you've never mentioned her?"  

 

His smile quickly faded as this concept derived from the word "girlfriend" entered his mind. How could a simple word have such painful connotation attached to it. His brow furrowed as he displeasingly stated, “It’s none of your business.” 

 

“What’s with the sudden attitude? Did she break your heart or something? Or maybe she left you because she couldn’t stand being with such a pompous idiot!” Yoona retorted. 

 

“Don’t you dare talk about her that way,” he stated in a very solemn manner.

 

“Who the heck is this girl? Is she a saint or something? It’s as if you’re under her ‘heavenly’ spell. Dude, I’ve never even seen her at school. Is she too dumb to even get in? Maybe she doesn’t even exist-” Yoona immediately stopped herself midsentence, realizing what she had just said. She hadn’t the slightest idea where all the animosity was coming from. This wasn’t like her to react this way. She didn’t know why she said such things. What did Taecyeon having a girlfriend have to do with her? And with all that being said, a pang of guilt had suddenly struck her, or perhaps it was even more appropriate to say that it stabbed its way through her very core, for she felt remorse, bleeding through its crevices.

 

“That’s enough!” he exclaimed.

 

“I’m so so so sorry. You don’t have to walk me the rest of the way. It’s okay,” Yoona said as she quickly bowed to Taecyeon. She turned around and began hastily walking away.

 

Taecyeon did not move an inch as he took in everything that had just happened. He  chased after Yoona and stopped her by grabbing her wrist.

 

“No, wait. I overreacted.” He proceeded to say in a softened tone, a complete contrast to how it had been a few moments ago, “Do you want to know the story?“

 

With soft concerning eyes, Yoona looked into his eyes and nodded. They continued walking. Taecyeon placed both hands in his pocket as he gazed up into the sky. Closing his eyes, he felt the cool breeze caress his skin leaving fragments of his long forgotten memories of her soft slender fingers tracing the lines of his face. He took a deep breath, taking in all the senses that came with the memories.

 

"She had always said she wanted to see the ocean. But I could never take her there. There were so many things I wanted to do for her. But there was nothing I could do. Nothing at all. The summer had just begun."

 

“It started several months ago. We were on our way back from the store when she suddenly collapsed. She awoke within a few minutes so we didn’t think it was anything too serious. However, the next two weeks that followed told us otherwise. She kept having these fainting spells. It really worried me. It wasn’t until she started having constant nosebleeds that she decided to go see a doctor,” said Taecyeon as he wore a grim expression on his face.

 

“Was she okay?” Yoona inquired.

 

“She was diagnosed with leukemia. About a month after she was diagnosed, you could tell she really struggled. I tried my best to be there for her whenever she needed me. We even moved here in hopes that she would get cured. I’ve been by her side through it all. It wasn’t until a  month ago that she suddenly decided to break up with me. We were supposed to enter school together, but they decided it was best that she not finish school. It would be too stressful for her.”

 

The guilt that Yoona felt was now larger than before. How could she say such things about Taec's girlfriend. She bit her lip, “How is she doing now?”

 

“I don’t know. I haven’t checked up on her because she clearly doesn’t want me around. She said that I would only cause her more trouble.”

 

“Maybe you misunderstood her.”

 

“How? It couldn’t get any clearer than ‘I don’t want you around anymore. You would only cause me more trouble. We’re breaking up.’ I just don’t understand why she doesn’t want me anymore.”

 

“Maybe she’s only pushing you away as a test to see if you’d stay.”

 

Silence was all that followed. Taecyeon had not thought of that as a reason and now that Yoona brought it up, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. How could he have been so stupid? There she was, going through the hardest time of her life and he couldn’t even be there for her. He had to be the biggest idiot for actually abandoning her. In a fit of frustration, Taec turned and punched the cement wall of the building they were passing. Yoona began to panic when she saw the blood trickling down his fist. 

 

“OMG! What are you doing?! Are you okay?!” she said as she grabbed his hand and began to inspect it.

 

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” Taec sternly replied without taking his eyes off the ground.

 

“Taecyeon! Snap out of it! Injuring yourself isn’t going to do the situation any good. If you want to do something about it, just go and check up on her. It’s not too late to let her know you care and will be there for her.”

 

His stern face softened as Yoona’s words set in. “I’m sorry for acting so irrational.”

 

“Just don’t go off doing anymore stupid stuff.”

 

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