SONG SUGGESTIONS /in order/:

1. Don't Go - EXO (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrwxG1sCZaE)

2. I Need You (piano cover) - Kim Sungkyu  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb6oEZIfwGM)

 

 

 

CH 15: I Need You

---

 

“Oppa, what have you been doing all these years while I was growing into a woman?” Seohyun swiped the hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. Ever since Kyuhyun and her were kids she tried to get him to notice her as more than just a little girl. As they got older and entered high school, they became distant.

Finally University rolled around and Kyuhyun seemed to not recognize her anymore. She gave in eventually, realizing it was a hopeless goal and that their lives were ultimately to be lived in much different directions. Yet here she was looking straight at the boy who grew into a handsome man. The man any family would be happy if their daughter married.

“Ah, I went to school to become an english teacher and more recently I got a contract that was in Canada. I taught there for a short while. How about you Seohyun?” Kyuhyun kept it short and sweet, grabbing a mouthful of the garden salad they were served.

“I’ve been working shift at a local restaurant which at night becomes a club. I sometimes do acoustic performances for extra money.” She chuckled, he finger twirling in her long hair.

“Is your voice still as nasally as when we were kids?” Kyuhyun jabbed lightly, his eyes flickering to meet her with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s my vocal charm!” She pouted crossing her arms. Kyuhyun had a beautiful voice when they sung in a small choir together in public school and he had always about sounded congested. Her voice cleared as she aged but the nasally sound never fully diminished. It had transformed into her vocal signature.

“I bet it is” He nodded his head, finishing off his salad.

“So, when you were in Canada...did you date?”

 

The abrupt change in topic startled Kyuhyun. It was not a discussion he wanted to have or an issue he liked facing. Gripping the hem of his pants tightly, he looked up, throwing her a smile.

“Of course,”

“Oh?” Seohyun’s interested peaked and she leaned forward on her elbows.

“We aren’t together anymore if that is was you are curious about. We broke up” Kyuhyun responded curtly in a factual manner wanting to cut this topic off as fast as he could manage.

“Oh...well It’s for the best you know.” Seohyun straightened up and dabbed the corner of with her napkin.

“How so?” Kyuhyun scoffed, reclining back in his chair to analyze her.

“Well you wouldn’t want to marry a woman like her. It’s best if you date a Korean woman who will know how to be a good wife for you Oppa. Besides we are far prettier..”

“Seohyun-”

“Oppa?”

“Call me Kyuhyun.”

“Kyuhyun? I don’t-”

“Let me make this very clear for you. I broke up with her so she would be happy.” Kyuhyun bit the side of his cheek letting out a huff and stood from the table. He set the napkin down in his spot and bowed to her.

“I’m sorry I didn’t-” Seohyun stuttered trying to recover the conversation.

“It’s not your fault.” It’s mine because I’m still in love with her.

 

*~*~*~*~*

 

“I will see you tomorrow Skye, and thank you for spending the day with me.” Minseok smiled brightly, his hand massaging the top of hers as they stood outside of Mr.Jang’s condo door.

“I really should be thanking you Minseok, I would never have been able to go out on my own and get half of what we did today done.” Skye laughed, lurching forward to wrap her arms around the sweet male.

“You’re welcome then” Minseok laughed before bidding her good night and heading out to the streets of Seoul.

 

He stepped outside, raindrops falling gently onto his shoulders.The rain pittered to the concrete and Minseok picked up his pace.

“Minseok-ah!”

Minseok spun on his heels in the direction of the once again familiar voice.

“Jongdae, what are you doing here…”

“I was closing up and it started to rain. I remembered you were walking your friend home and you left in this direction. When you said you worked for Mr.Jang, the CEO of Solixir Co. I figured I’d stop outside the largest and most lavished condo complexes in this general direction.” Jongdae grinned ear to ear looking at his friend and pulling the umbrella over them both.

“You’ll get sick walking home in the rain you know.”

“Jongdae...I didn’t come back so that you could worry over me with things like this.” Minseok sighed, watching his feet as they walked side by side.

“Hyung...I know but you have to understand. You have been gone for a while. I just missed being able to talk to you.” Jongdae whispered softly.

“I missed you too Jongdae-ah” Minseok spoke softly, nearly letting his words get drowned out by the rain.

“You were awfully vague about why you are back in Korea. What happened anyways?” Jongdae looked up, trying to see Minseok’s eyes. Abrupt as ever Jongdae, Minseok shook his head.

“Mr.Wu heard I told someone that he was trying to buy out Solixir, he didn’t want that to spread and have Solixir find out. Since I was friends with Dongwoo…Mr.Jang, he fired me. I had to beg Dongwoo-Mr.Jang for any type of job opening. Even he was cautious about hiring me since I had worked for Wu Enterprise. With the cash flow he has, he hired me as a house maid or attendant. I do groceries, I cook and clean. Now I take care of this girl.”

Jongdae didn’t respond right away, instead he twirled the base of the umbrella while they walked in silence.

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s ok, I missed home. I missed my friends...I missed you. I will miss the friends I had there, but I should have known better.” Minseok mumbled the last bit.

“It’s my fault, if I didn’t always ask about work, you would have never told. You would still have your job…”

“It’s not your fault Jongdae.” Minseok grabbed his shoulder suddenly. His hand moved to the back of his neck when he turned to face him.

“Don’t blame yourself or hold yourself accountable for things I do. This is no different than when we were younger and I tore a muscle in my leg. I knew we both shouldn’t have gone on the roof and we got caught. I tore my muscle and couldn’t play soccer, but it was my fault. Even though you asked me, I knew right from wrong.” Minseok let his head and arm drop.

“Alright Hyung”

and without an argument Jongdae agreed. It seemed like years Minseok had waited to have him agree with no sarcastic comments or arguments. He just submitted to him.

Had Jongdae turned into a man when he was gone?

“Now let’s get you home” Jongdae smiled and patted his back, urging him forward.

 

*~*~*~*~*

 

Skye let the door click behind her as she stepped into the room filled with a succulent aroma. Her heart pounded in as she stepped further inside. She had been waiting all day to see Mr.Jang. She wanted to thank him, but ultimately she wanted to see his face. She wanted to look at the man who saved her. She had tried to visualize a face that would match a deep soothing voice and a selfless soul but came up with nothing. She was curious and as the day unraveled she found herself depicting him as a stuffy CEO who strictly wore suits.

 

“Hello…” Skye managed to croak out, fiddling with her hands and dropping her head waiting for the man in the kitchen to turn around and face her.

“Hello.” His voice was shocked but chipper. She was initially startled because it wasn’t the soft and lulling tone she heard last night but remarkably still comforting. Pleasing even.

“I’m...I’m Skye”

“You’re nervous” Allowing herself to look up and meet his eyes she was surprised to see and man with friendly eyes, full lips and dark hair that crossed his face. He wore a casual t-shirt  and on top was an apron to cook in. The idea of a stuffy CEO in a suit filtered away and her tension diminished.

“Not so much now.” He was not breathing taking, but somehow he took her breath away instantly. He an aura that surrounded him. For the first time in a very long time Skye saw a sincerity in someones eyes. His eyes matched his voice, it matched the way he held her tight but touched her softly. Everything clicked.

“Good, are you hungry?” He grinned and Skye was taken aback. His smile was wide and bright and for some reason she found her own lips twitching into a smile before responding with a confident yes.

“I don’t cook often, but I can cook...I would hope I could cook. My mother would be so ashamed if I didn’t learn anything from her. Do you like chicken? It’s really simple but I thought we could talk over dinner and I wanted to cook it for you. I like Minseok but I wanted to just talk to you, no interruptions.”

Skye had met her match. She had now met someone who could leave her speechless and out talk her as well.

“I love chicken and simple is great. I don’t know what you want to know about me because I’m quite boring and thank you for the clothes and taking me in and...saving my life.” Skye let her voice slip at the end.

“Great! The clothes were nothing and to me you don’t seem boring at all, the opposite actually. I’m curious.” Just don’t thank me again, you saved me. He turned around with two plates and motioned his head towards the small dining room table.

“You interest me much more Mr.Jang…”

He laughed loudly sitting across from her. Her eyes traveled from her plate to his throat where his adams apple bobbed. She looked at his eyes which had disappeared to slivers and were casted by his large open mouth smile.

“You can call me Dongwoo.”

“Dongwoo...not nearly as intimidating as Mr.Jang.” Skye laughed, cutting into the chicken on her plate. Dongwoo laughed along with her and Skye once more found herself pausing and reevaluating the man seated before her. His laugh was loud and irregular but it chimed something in her and she couldn’t help but laugh harder.

“I like your laugh.” Skye halted mid laugh and stared back at him wide eyed.

“Mine?” She pointed a finger at her chest, blinking twice.

“Yes, yours.” He pointed his fork at her with one raised eyebrow, the corner of his lip twitching into a subtle smirk.

“Oh...I was laughing because yours is so loud and…happy?” Skye flushed. She was down right terrible at this. She didn’t want to tell him she was entranced by his laugh. They had just met.

“It has been a long time since I have laughed like that.” Dongwoo mused taking his bottom lip into his mouth and biting it. He had laughed since his parents accidents, his laugh sounded unfamiliar even to his own ears.

“Well, laugh a little more, it’s nice.” Skye slapped herself mentally for adding to her embarrassment.

“Where did you come from?” Dongwoo looked at her, his eyes searching deep. How could someone who had never met him come into his life and change it. It had been less than 24 hours and he was laughing again. It didn’t hurt to smile. Just the way she shifted her eyes before saying what she wanted to say made him smile.

“Canada…”

“Do all angels live there?”

“I’m not an angel you know…” Skye sighed. If anyone was an angel it was him. Never in her life had she heard of someone risking their life to save a strangers. She wouldn’t have expected it, and she didn’t which was why she knew she was going to die. But someone was looking out for her that day, and someone placed Dongwoo in her life.

“Do you believe in fate?” Dongwoo smiled back at her earnestly. Skye nodded. If she didn’t she wouldn’t be here.

“Well then you know that we were meant to save each other right?” Dongwoo spoke calmly, standing from his seat and grabbing her plate that she had polished off.

“But you just-”

“You saved me Skye.” The words he said and how he said it caused her heart to stop. She stood frozen at the table, looking at her hands pressed to the tabletop.

“How?”

“Before you screamed I had my foot hanging over the edge of a subway track. I was going to take my own life in the most cowardly way possible. Then you screamed and someone or something pulled me towards you. A dirty, roughed up girl, soaked from rain and nearly pressed under a rubber tire. You were so scared and so cold and the only thing that made you less tense was me telling you ‘you’re ok’.” Dongwoo’s voice broke at the end. He was holding back tears and Skye wasn’t sure how to react. She didn’t know what was normal or what was appropriate so she let her heart take over instead of her mind. She walked over, tilting his chin up from the skin he had the dishes in.

“Don’t think of doing that again...ok?” Skye held back her own tears that were beginning to form. She had lost two great men before to suicide, she didn’t need another. She knew that it was her role in life to be there at that exact moment. For two great losses she was given the gift of saving someone's life who in turned saved hers for the gift of life she gave them.

“I won’t” He whispered and looked back down to the dishes when she removed her hand from the side of his jaw.

“I...I should probably get ready for bed.” She felt a heavy pressure on her chest from what she just discovered and it had already been a long day.

“Alright then, I guess...I’ll see you tomorrow evening. I leave fairly early.” Dongwoo looked up at her, his eyes pleading for her not to leave the kitchen. He was scared that the energy she brought with her would leave him.

“See you tomorrow...good night, Dongwoo” Skye looked back over her shoulder, taking one last look at the man who she saved and who saved her. She wanted to absorb how he looked so that when she closed her eyes she would remember and tomorrow this wouldn’t seem like a dream.

“Good night.” He watched her disappear into the darkness of her room.

 

*~*~*~*~*

 

Skye looked up at the dark ceiling, imagining stars and northern lights dancing with one another. She thought of laying outside in a bed of grass, breathing in the pine trees and letting the lakeside lull her to sleep. In the distance were wolves gathering and the crackling of firewood.

This was one of her favourite places to be and when she couldn’t sleep this was where she would drift off to. Far away from cars and buses. Separated from bustling bodies and bright lights.

Just air.

Oh how it contrasted Seoul. It quieted down at night but you could still hear cars. You could hear the old lady sweeping her doorstep before closing up shop. The lights beamed through windows but Skye could close it all off. She could drift away and find the water that rushed against the rocks and cradled her into a comfortable slumber.

 

The mattress sunk beside her and her eyes opened softly, staring at the ceiling once again.

“Can I ask you a question?”

The deep velvet voice returned to his lips. She could feel Dongwoo’s body heat radiating outwards to her.

“Yes.” Skye spoke. Originally her heart jerked when he spoke but once he talked, she relaxed, letting the mattress conform around her frame.

“What brought you hear from Canada?” Dongwoo rolled to his side to look at her. The city lights twinkled off the bridge of her nose with the window as a backdrop.

 

Skye exhaled deep. She owed him at least her story. He saved her life, he gave her shelter, food and clothes. He opened up enough to show he was not some perfect role model of society but a man scared by past demons.

She could tell her story of how she got here.

“How long do you have?” Skye’s voice held a playful tone in it before she glanced over to see his wandering eyes.

“I have all night if you need.” Dongwoo remained calm, his eyes meeting hers.

 

“The first reason is because I have a friend somewhere here. Her name is Nini, and she is in love with our college english teacher. The school found out and he lost his job and had to come back to Seoul. She left everything behind because she is still in love with him and I guarantee you he still loves her.” Skye paused and let Dongwoo think that over before she explained the rest.

“So you came here because you were worried about your friend who came to Seoul all alone, heartbroken and looking for her boyfriend?” He asked to verify if he understood everything correctly.

“Yes. the next reason is...I got into something because I was alone and tried to force love instead of letting it find me. I started dating My friend’s boyfriend’s best friend. We hated each other but something wouldn’t let us break away from one another either. What was pure lust I mistook for a deeper emotion. He did as well and confessed to me that he was in love. I knew when those words left his mouth he had no idea what real love was so I distanced myself. When I finally snapped on him for being suggestive to another woman and accused him of being untrustworthy he admitted he had lied to me. He helped my friend Nini out of the country but didn’t tell me she was gone. I was worried sick because she didn’t return my calls. He also never told either me or my friend that he knew when Nini’s boyfriend left and why he had to leave. I left him and left the country. I knew I needed to find my friend and I needed to find myself. I had been deceived by a man before but I had thought this time when I played with fire I would be more careful and not get burned.” She took a deep breath, looking at the ceiling again and blinking the tears away.

“I had a bad relationship, and have issues trusting people. I cut off all my hair in an airport restroom so he couldn’t recognize me and to symbolize a new beginning. I sound pathetic.” Skye let out a breath that blew her bangs off her face.

 

“You’re not pathetic and I don’t want to hear this story ever again.” Dongwoo spoke after several silent minutes. The only sound was their shallow breathing.

“Why?” Skye rolled to her side so they were face to face. His hands came up and cupped both of her face. His thumb rubbing her cheek bone softly.

“Because when I looked into your eyes for the first time, I saw clarity and purity. I saw a girl who is still waiting to be shown the world like she has never seen before. Although those scars are deep within you, that small girl who waits for someone to open her eyes lies deeper. I don’t want to hear how you have been hurt. You make me want to erase all those bite marks that cover you and mend all the wounds. I would...no, I will spend the rest of my life trying to give my fallen angel her wings back.”

Skye closed her eyes and felt a tear fall gracefully from her eyelashes. Dongwoo’s thumb rushed it away as he continued to hold her face.

“I know, this doesn’t make sense to you. It doesn’t make sense to me either but I want to keep you around. I have to keep you around. We only have one another. You need me and…”

Skye opened her eyes to look back at him. His eyes wet with his own tears. She could see her reflection in them but she looked past, letting herself drown in the warmth of his eyes.

“ ...and I need you.”