(Sunhwa POV)

I step off the bus, breathing in the fresh Busan air. The wind coming from the sea brushes past my skin, tingling against our entwined hands. He smiles at me, his lips slightly swollen due to our session in the bus. 

“Where are we going now?” Donkey speaks in a soft voice, as if he’s afraid of ruining our moment. “Any special place you have in mind?”

“I’d like to...” I whisper into his ears, gently pressing my lips against his ear lobe, “go to my old house.”

He shivers, backing off a few steps. “Okay there, little one. We are in public after all, lets calm ourselves down.”

“Oh shut up, Donkey!” I hit his chest with all my might. “You clearly weren’t worried about the public when you were basically begging for me to let your tongue in!”

Donkey gasps, his smiles becomes more animated. “Young lady, how dare you use such language? Did your parents not teach you any manners?”

“Well, my father left us when I was like 7, and my mother tried but I was a stubborn child...so no, I didn’t learn any.” 

“Oh..” His expression drops. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to...uhm...I mean, I’m just sorry.”

“Don’t be.” I ruffle his shaggy hair. “I’m fine with it now. But I will not be fine for long if we don’t start walking!”

“Walking?” He shakes his head, suspiciously walking away from me. “Walking is for losers, race you till that stop sign!”

I scrunch my nose, trying to spot the so called stop sign, and I see a red octagon-shaped sign about a few blocks away and I’m about to refuse his offer when I see his stick his tongue out. 

Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt.

                                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Jiyeon POV)

He’s still sobbing when I nuzzle my face deeper into his chest. He tightens his embrace around me, filling my lungs with his sweet scent, causing me to go into a blissful trance. Even if this hug would only last for a few seconds, it was enough to lure me back into his heart. His cold, and empty heart that I once longed to own.

I still love him. I know that because when he lets out a long sigh, my insides weaken. When his tears wet the top of my head, my heart drops. When he continues to hug me without speaking any words, I can hear all his silent apologies. While I went through most of the pain, he was suffering right now too. 

I feel his trembling hand softly run through my hair, he holds me so tenderly, so lovingly, that I can almost believe that he truly loves me, as much as I love him. His actions are so gentle, but I can still feel an edge to his movements. They were sincere, but they were mechanical. He knows exactly what to do, when I hiccup he pats my back, when my breathing starts to regulate, he cries harder. He was too smooth. It felt like something he learned out of a book...or through experience. 

I mentally cringed picturing a crying Suzy rocking lightly in his firm grip. This was definitely not the first time he had comforted a female. I was not the first girl to fall in love with him, and I certainly wasn’t the girl he fell in love with. Suddenly, I was indifferent to his embrace. How could I have thought that our love was eternal, when our love really never existed? I was always number two. I am still number two.

I was a substitute from the start. I was basically a xerox copy of Suzy. How could I have not realize this earlier? We had similar personalities--the naiive Jiyeon that fell in love with this boy was as materialistic, and self-centered as Suzy--, we had the same job---she was a model first, and then I followed her pathway---, and worst of all...we had the same appearance. Although our physical features were different, we had the same aura. Distant yet alluring. Young yet mature. Beautiful yet deadly.

But there was one thing Suzy had that I didn’t. It was him, and he would always belong to her. Even if she didn’t want him anymore, he would always long for her. No matter how much I loved him, my love would never be able to satisfy him. He yearned for Suzy. He lived for Suzy. And I was merely a distraction. He was probably hugging me to erase Suzy from his mind...or imagining that I was Suzy. I curse silently, feeling more stupid than ever. 

But the hardest part is my feelings. Goddamn feelings. I’m still depressed, still disappointed. And it’s not him that I’m disa