Chapter 71
A Bang In The Heart
"Oh Minwoo-ya! What are you doing here?"
Minwoo backed away from the door and scratched the back of his head as he smiled shyly. "Sorry didn't mean to surprise you, it's just that you left your wallet down at the store tonight. I didn't have a chance to tell you before you left."
Minwoo was dressed in his usual casual style of clothes. Same dark green winter jacket and worn jeans. A black hat and scarf warmly covered his neck and head.
I took the wallet from him and smiled, "Ah thanks buddy."
Minwoo gave a little salut and began to walk down away from my house. Was he here just to give me that?
"Minwoo-ya! Um...I was just going to go on a walk, wanna come with me?" I asked as I closed the front door behind me. The winter wind was calm but the air was still frosty and bitter. It felt as if little glass shards were stabbing into my skin but I liked it for some reason. The piercing crispness of it all. Good thing I was dressed warmly though.
Minwoo gave a tight grin and nodded. "Sure thing noona."
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The air was calm and all sounds felt muted. The street lights weren't a yellow dim color but more so a bright bluish light.
I kept my hands deeply shoved in my pocket and we walked slowly. This refreshing air was nice to breathe in.
"Listen...Can I tell you something?" I asked Minwoo.
Minwoo turned his head towards me and smiled. "I'm all ears!"
I scoffed and took a sniff to move my numb muscles.
I needed someone to tell all of this to. Just Sua wasn't enough... She was busy all the time and we rarely saw each other except on Sundays when we didn't work. Minwoo on the other hand, I would always see him at late night after teaching at the school. Yet, I never uttered a word about what I was going through.
So I told him. I told him everything about my relationship between Jiyong and me.
"Wait wait wait, you're talking about the G-Dragon from Bigbang? The idol group??" Minwoo's eyebrows were twitched up in massive confusion.
I nodded "Yeah, I told you about how I work at YG right?"
"Wow...G-Dragon. My sister is in complete love with him." Minwoo laughed as he shook his head.
It was a little funny seeing his dumbfounded reaction when I told him about the whole "Miko and Jiyong" thing and why it happened. Apparently Minwoo was a fan of Miko Kazuhara.
I told him about how much I always missed Jiyong and one bad thing about him was that...he was always busy.
"And I found out a few weeks ago...that I'm pregnant." I whispered when we finally reached the little playground in our neighborhood,
Minwoo stopped in his steps and then looked at me. There was serious confusion in his eyes, "...pregnant?"
Minwoo looked down at my stomach and ended his eyes widely as if he couldn't believe it. "Wow. That's just- wow. I guess I really can't flirt with you anymore."
"Don't worry, No offense but, I never accepted it in the first place." I laughed as I pat his shoulder. I really never saw Minwoo as anyone that I could fall in love with. It was Jiyong and always Jiyong.
"Have you told him yet?" Minwoo asked as we sat down on a bench
I looked down at my feet and shook my head. "...no not yet. I-I can't work up the courage to."
"What could go wrong noona? Jiyong...shi would probably love to hear that you're having his baby!"
I swallowed the cold air down and closed my eyes. "Yeah...he would love that." But I knew, I knew that if I told him, then Jiyong would have to make such a hard decision between his job and the family we would have. I didn't want him to go through that and sacrifice so much.
I shuddered at a sudden chill that left my spin tingling. Too much coldness wouldn't be good for the baby.
Before I knew it, my nose was runny and I was beginning to get a little dizzy.
"Wanna walk back? You look cold." Minwoo stood up and smiled gently at me.
I nodded and smiled back.
I coughed loudly and Minwoo looked at me with sorry eyes. "Noona, take my scarf". He unwrapped his scarf off his neck and began to warp it around mine.
"Ah no- it's okay-" I protested but it was,already around me and sure enough, Minwoo's lingering heat transferred to my body.
"Thanks." I said touching the scarf gently.
"Did you want my hat too?" Minwoo took off his hat.
I laughed as I pushed him away, "Yah, I don't need your hat-"
Then from the corner of my eye, I saw a dark figure approaching from a few feet away.
"Is this what you call sick?" I heard a small whispery yet slightly evil voice speak. It felt as if some heavy aura of anger and sadness mixed together was creeping in like a fog.
But my ears immediately picked up the voice and knew who it was.
I quickly looked to the direction of the figure and it walked into sight.
The dim street light created a nascent darkness over his eyes but I could still see a reddish glare reflected from the light. His lips were twisted in a devilish smirk but his head was down as if emerged in an uncanny sadness.
I stepped forward and I felt a sudden feeling of panic all around my head.
"Oppa-" I began to say.
Jiyong held up his hand and his lips. "I didn't realize your friend's house was the neighborhood park." Jiyong glared and pointed at Minwoo. "And I'm guessing this is her mom?"
Wait...was he taking this the wrong way? Uh oh.
Even though it was cold, I began to sweat and my head spun.
Jiyong's brilliantly blonde hair seemed almost black in the darkness and he looked pissed. A smile laced his lips but it wasn't really a smile, more of a snare.
"Oppa, no! It's not that-"
"You know, I really wanted to see you...I really did. I guess you didn't really feel that way with me." I could tell that Jiyong was stressed on top of his anger. After all it was the end of the year and Jiyong had been preparing for a new album along with the endless performances for the tour. Dark circles were heavy under his eyes and fatigue was just written all over his face.
I shook my head and frowned, "No...I-I was just..."
Jiyong scoffed, "Were you having fun while I was gone?"
Why was he being like this?
Minwoo stepped forward and frowned at Jiyong. "Aren't you being a bit too harsh with your words? You don't know what she's going through do you?"
"Who the hell do you think you are? " Jiyong raised his eyebrows.
He looked so different, as if he were processed by some devil fixated on hate.
Minwoo looked irritated and began to get closer to Jiyong. "Does it matter? You know what? If I were you, I'd treat her better. Don't you know that she's pr-"
"Minwoo-ya!" I yelled out loud as I held Minwoo back. I had to stop him. I just had to.
And then I realized I had made a stupid move. My arms were around Minwoo's waist as I pulled him back, almost as if I were hugging him.
As if...I loved Minwoo more than I loved Jiyong.
Jiyong's eyes widened with something of a shock and I realized what I had done to him. I could hear a soft thud that might have been Jiyong's heart.
I felt my throat numb up from the cold and my body froze.
This...wasn't what I wanted to happen.
The surprise in his eyes gradually went away as a disappointing look casted on his face. It was hope and happiness that faded out and sadness took over. I felt my heart rip when I saw his face.
Jiyong's shoulders drooped and he slowly began to back away.
"I hope...you get well soon." His voice had a soft diminuendo into a whisper that blended in with the winter silence.
I couldn't speak, I couldn't move. And then Jiyong drifted away into the darkness that I never knew existed.
"I-I...I...." It was all that I could get out through my lips.
I didn't even get to tell him. I didn't even get to say what I wanted to say. And now he thought I was with someone else.
My knees crumbled down and the only thing that I could see were little white specks coming down from the forever dark sky.
Snow. It was snowing.
And at that moment, something hit me and I realized what day it was.
It was Christmas Eve.
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