Avoidance and Reconciliation
You're My Red String of FateEver since that day, Soojin constantly avoided Myungsoo. And she went through great lengths to do so.
Every time she even saw a glimpse of him from the distance, she would escape towards the opposite direction.
Even in the library, she would find secluded areas that only she would know about and stay there for long periods of time.
It wasn’t as she hated Myungsoo, but was rather scared of the thought of liking him. It wasn’t even the fact of liking him that scared her; it was because she was afraid that she was influenced by the idea of fate. She didn’t think that was fair to him. To Myungsoo.
So even if she was just a little enamored by him for reasons unknown, she wasn’t going to act upon them. Instead she forced herself to remove any of those thought from her head.
But that was going to take a while. And that is why she avoided him.
However with Myungsoo, it infuriated him to no end. Every time he would approach her, she would disappear faster than light. And even with his persistence, she would always seem to flee right when he thought he had her in the grasp of his hand.
He didn’t know why. And he decided that he needed an explanation. But with Soojin’s successful attempts to vanish whenever he came to view, he knew he would have to step up his game.
So he ambushed her.
He remembered seeing her schedule once. It was lying on the table she was working on, and he happened to glance at it before she shuffled it away.
But that one time was enough. Unfortunately for Soojin, who had realized that he was looking at it and tried to hide it before he could remember it, Myungsoo had a decent memory. And that was an understatement.
If he remembered correctly, Soojin had a physics class today at nine in the morning which ended at ten.
So Myungsoo casually waited outside the Science Building at the nearby bench. He pretended to be engrossed in a book, but he was also keeping an eye out for the black-haired girl.
And when ten o’clock rolled around, a sea of people rushed out, indicating that classes were let out.
And even amongst the mass, Myungsoo immediately saw her.
She had her headphones plugged in. Her green backpack hung on one shoulder, and she wasn’t even paying attention to the world around her.
Even with her eyes fixated on the small device that played music, she easily maneuvered around the crowd.
Myungsoo quickly stuffed his book into his black backpack and rushed behind everyone else. He squeezed through some people, muttering small apologies when he accidently ran into some, until he was right behind her.
He smirked a little of how oblivious she was right then. He figured he could follow right behind her, and she still wouldn’t notice. He had the urge to touch her hair which shined softly in the light, but held back.
Instead he held down on her backpack, which resulted her uttering a small yelp and her falling backwards into his arms.
A scowl was already forming on her face, but Myungsoo was breaking into a grin because of her easily predictable reaction.
Soojin automatically pushed off whoever pulled on her backpack and turned to see the person responsible for it.
When she saw who it was, her face immediately turned into astonishment and fear and she looked at the ground.
She heard a scoff and she peeked at Myungsoo who was clearly annoyed by her expression. She tried to find the easiest and fastest way out of this situation.
“Um. I have a class in about ten minutes. So if you excuse me,” she mumbled, suddenly turning to leave.
He grabbed her arm and narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “I know for a fact that you don’t have another class until one o’clock. Don’t you dare lie to me,” he growled.
Soojin looked at him and then at his hand which was still tightly grasping her arm.
“What… what do you want?” she finally managed to stammer out.
“I want some answers,” he stated firmly and began to drag her somewhere quieter.
She shuffled behind him, a million thoughts racing through her mind. But she had a good hunch of what Myungsoo wanted to ask. And she dreaded it.
He sat her down at one of the forest green chairs that were scattered in front of the food court. The green umbrellas which were situated at every table cast a shadow on Myungsoo’s face which gave him an even darker look at his already frustrated face.
It was dead silent as Myungsoo glared at Soojin while she avoided his stare.
He finally sighed and softly said, “Why?”
That caught her attention and quietly directed her attention to him.
He continued, “Why are you avoiding me?”
Soojin stared at Myungsoo, his feelings directly reflecting in his dark-brown eyes. Feelings of dejection and confusion and sincerity.
Feelings that were too much to handle for Soojin that she had to look away.
“Because I’m scared,” she whispered.
He frowned, “Scared? Of what?”
She shook her head. “I… I can’t tell you.”
And how could she? How could she tell him that she was scared of falling in love with him? That she was scared that if she did that if would be fake. A fake love that seemed real. How could tell him that?
“Are you scared of me?” he murmured quietly, a slight quiver in his voice.
“No! No,” she protested swiftly. “Not of you. Of me.”
“Of yourself? That doesn’t even make sense. How does it all relate?” he frowned.
She laughed bitterly, “Nothing makes sense anymore.”
Myungsoo could sense the hesitation in Soojin’s expression. Whatever that was bothering her, she had no intent on telling.
And it made him all the more curious. But he wasn’t going to force her. He let her tell him on her own. He could wait. He was a patient man.
“It’s fine. You don’t have to explain,” he voiced out.
Soojin looked gratefully at him, her unspoken feelings thanking him.
“But! I want you to promise something. Something in exchange for not asking you anything,” he declared.
“What is it?”
“I want you to promise me that you won’t avoid me anymore. Unless you give me a good reason why. And if something is bothering you, tell me.”
He looked her straight in the eyes and said, “I suppose what I’m trying to say is to trust me. Even when you doubt yourself, even when you don't want to tell me, trust me. I won't ask; I won't probe. Just don't avoid me so blatantly.”
Then he smiled cheekily, “I mean, aren’t we friends?”
Soojin stared at him in absurdity and laughed.
“Well?” he asked.
She scoffed, “Fine. If it’s something I can tell you, I’ll tell you. And won't avoid you unless I have a good reason why.”
“Good,” he nodded. “One more thing. I want to see your phone.”
She looked at him in surprise. “Um. What?”
“Phone. Hand it over,” he commanded, making a hand motion indicating so.
She hesitated and slowly dropped her phone in his outstretched hand.
He quickly fiddled with it before immediately handing it back.
She inspected on what Myungsoo had done. The first thing she saw was the to-do list that automatically showed on the front screen had a bullet point reminding her to “Tell Myungsoo how awesome he is.”
She rolled her eyes and continued to check what else he had done. Because she was sure that wasn’t just it.
And indeed it wasn’t. Because as soon as she was about to go in her contact list, her phone vibrated indicating that a text came through.
And from someone named “My Soulmate”.
She looked up and across at Myungsoo who was already grinning like a cat.
“My Soulmate? Really?”
“That is what allowed us to meet. And even if it isn’t true, I like to think that it’ll be like an inside joke between us.”
He pointed at her. “And don’t you dare try to change it.”
She looked back down. “Then am I the same name under your phone?”
“Yep. 'My Soulmate'. How cheesy. I like it,” he laughed.
“I don’t,” Soojin muttered under her breath.
He looked at her in amusement. “ it up because there is no way I’m changing it now.”
Soojin sighed and just smiled.
Somehow Myungsoo knew how to make such a grim conversation brighten. And with that ability, she was able to breathe a little easier.
She was glad that he respected her decision not to tell him, not that it was easy to say considering that the topic was about him.
Would she tell him in the near future? She wasn’t sure about that. Possibly if she managed to understand what Myungsoo meant to her.
But she definitely felt closer to him.
And those feelings that made her scared, she determined to force them down.
Even if meant hurting herself in the process.
Because it wasn’t as if she hadn’t done it before.
A/N: Sorry for the late update guys. I had finals which always makes me cry. Why must you exist?!
Ahem. Sorry. But I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. See you next time!
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