"Why didn't you tell him to stop acting nuts?" Shouted Taeyeon furiously. As much as she wanted her best friend to start anew, she wanted it to be normal for her, which, unfortunate to say, Sungmin's advances were not.

"I told him already," Kyuhyun defended himself. "Every time you tell me on the phone, I always tell him not to."

"Then why is he still acting like a nut?"

"Because he acts on his impulses. He is infatuated, you know. Your little friend is like cannabis for him. Something that he craves," snapped Kyuhyun. He pulled off his hair exasperatedly. That shut Taeyeon up.

Tiffany, noticing that her sweetheart's was disturbed, stepped towards her and sneaked her hand around Taeyeon's right upper arm.

"Easy," she cooed. "Sunny knows how to handle this. And if they are meant for each other, they will work it out somehow. If they are not, there is nothing we can do anyway. Let time answer for them."

Taeyeon stared at Tiffany's warm orbs.

"You're right," She gave up finally and threw her eyes around. She saw her group of friends with their curious pairs of eyes, staring back at her. If only eyes could speak, their eyes were saying that they were interested to what was going to happen between the two. She was too, of course.

Meanwhile at the park nearby.

"Hey!" Sungmin shouted, as he was striding wide. "Hey, Sunny! Stop for a while!"

He was chasing the petite girl past the central fountain which took shape of a little cherub with water jetted out from the pointed arrow laid on its bow.

"Sunny, wait! Hey!"

Sungmin kept chasing and shouting, yet without avail. The tiny woman kept running away. It was until the two were at the other gate across the park that Sungmin managed to catch Sunny by her wrist and stopped her from her sprint. Both were panting and out of breath, while the passerby turned their heads at them with apparent curiosity and expectation of something interesting. Which was a very human thing to do, being nosy, although it was much resented.

"Your speed is no joke," Sungmin started between his gasp for air. He could care less about the other people staring at them.

Sunny shot her deadly stare at him without saying a word. Sungmin who never expected that side of her were looking dejected and rejected.

"Listen. I am so sorry for what happened," said Sungmin. "I didn't mean to. It happened just like that. I am sorry. I didn't think."

"Yeah, you clearly didn't think," said Sunny coldly as her eyes drifted from his eyes to her hand in his grip. "Now if you'll let go of my hand."

"Oh, sorry," said Sungmin flustered. "And I'm sorry for what happened just now. I really am."

Sunny folded her arms in front of her chest. She barely nodded. Not forgiving, neither unforgiving.

The chill evening breeze blew, sending light-weight dry leaves on the ground fly following the direction of the wind.

"I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable with my behavior. And as much as I want to act normal, I-I have to admit, it's difficult when you are around," He started. Sincerity was shown in his eyes. "I know we rarely talk and we might be awkward around each other. But trust me, I like you for some time already."

Sunny stayed silent. She had anticipated his feeling for her, yet never did she anticipated a confession. Either she thought that he wouldn't dare to do it, or she thought there were no reason for him to confess, given that her body language showed that she rejected him.

"So... What do you expect me to do with that?" She asked slowly, being completely ignorant.

"Um... N-nothing I suppose?" He answered awkwardly. His hand on his head, fixing hair that didn't need a fix since he applied a good deal of wax that morning. "I just want to... let you know. That's all."

Sunny was nodding unconsciously before snapping out of it and answered matter-o-factly, "Umm.... Thank you, really. But I cannot return your feeling. I just..."

"No. Don't feel sorry, really. I am the one who should say sorry," Sungmin cut. "Now, how about I walk you back to your apartment?" He asked, trying to reduce the awkwardness.

"I-I can walk myself," Sunny declined. She felt uneasy at the thought of uncomfortable silence they were about to share should she allowed him to walk her back. She rubbed her left upper arm with her left hand in the same attempt to brush off the awkwardness.

"Can't...I?" He asked feebly. "This is going to be my last attempt. After that I will never come close to you anymore."

Not that time will allow anyway, he talked to himself.

Sunny seemed to be weighing his request for a split of second before finally nodding to his proposal. They walked in awkward silence down the street, passed another lot of shops, before stopping in front of a white decent apartment, which rent was quite pricey for an ordinary university student.

"So..." Sunny started, breaking the quietness looming above them along the short walk.

"So... You're here," Sungmin continued her word. He stared into her eyes which were reflecting him on its glassy surface. "... You can go in now."

"I'm going in," Sunny confirmed. "Thank you for walking me anyway."

"No need. I should be the one to thank you. Good bye," Sungmin nodded his head.

"Bye," Sunny answered awkwardly before turning on her heels and walking through the sliding glass door.

He stood behind the door until her figure disappeared into the corridor inside before he turned around and walked back to his own apartment.

Upstairs, Sunny punched in the security code number into her unit, making the door go bing before she opened it and slipped inside. Throwing herself on the fluffy sofa, she rubbed her forehead unconsciously.

"What's going on that makes your head throbbing?" Asked Taeyeon lightly, making the latter jumped in her seat. She decided that it was best to not mention about what had happened in Sungmin's apartment.

The shorter of the two spun to see her best friend was leaning against her bedroom door frame, watching her in concern.

"Can't you make any noises beforehand?! You want to send me off for heart attack, don't you?" Sunny grumbled.

"Why would I? I will lose the fun I have," Responded Taeyeon. She made her way towards Sunny and plopped herself down on the sofa on the right of Sunny's. "So..."

"So what?" Sunny was being defensive but keeping it under control.

"So, where have you been? Took you quite long to come back home."

"Somewhere. And I'm not telling you," She added quickly. "Where's Fany? Doesn't hang around tonight?"

"No. I tell her not to," said Taeyeon.

"Why?"

"I don't know," she shrugged her shoulders. "Just in case you don't feel like being disturbed, perhaps."

"Who disturbs me, you mean? Fany?" The shoulder lenght hair girl asked. "Never. Why on earth do you have such thought?"

"Because I am fully aware how noisy and nosy my girlfriend can be." Taeyeon grinned. All of a sudden, she hoisted herself up and plunged herself to Sunny, their faces were just two inches in front of each other. The latter jerk and scooted back a bit. "You sure you're okay? You can talk to me, you know."

"Y-yah!" Sunny was stuttering in panic. She unconsciously brought her hand up to cover Taeyeon's face. "Yah! You can keep your advances to yourself, Kim Taeyeon! I'm not into women!"

Taeyeon blinked behind Sunny's hand, her mind caught up before she let out a gagging sound from . "Eurgh.... You're dirty little thing, Lee Soonkyu... I won't in a million years make a move towards you. It would feel like ."

Sunny removed her hand to see Taeyeon shuddered upon her own words. That made the shorter chuckled, knowing that her long time best friend envisioning the scene in her head.

"You're right. It is totally completely disgusting. Now if you care to move away from me," she added, shooing her pal by fanning her hand in front of Taeyeon's face.

The latter pulled back and settled properly in her seat. She turned her head to the left and glanced at her shorty best friend.

"You can talk to me about anything anytime, Sunny-a," Taeyeon repeated, implying something deeper than Sunny's encounter with Sungmin.

Somehow, she knew her best pal was still holding on to something hurtful in the past. That was the major reason she couldn't move on, yet she couldn't help if Sunny wouldn't tell. And God knew how hard it was to make Sunny open up about that issue.

"I know. I just can't. I'm sorry, but not now, Taengoo," apologized Sunny as she stared straight into the blank LCD TV right in front of them.

*

Sunny stared into the ceiling as she laid still on her comfy bed, although it was well past midday. It was the next Saturday after what had happened on the twister mat.

Usually Taeyeon would already nagged her about coming to the gathering, but not that day. She left earlier saying she would go grab some lunch with Tiffany before coming to the gathering. That was all, no persuasion whatsoever, no insisting.

The girl with small figure rolled to her side, facing the closed door of her room. She was thinking. Actually she had been thinking for the whole week about what was happening to her actually; about why she found it hard to forget the past and to open up to a new love. And she got the answer.

She couldn't forgive herself, that was it.

She heaved a deep sigh while hugging her bolster tighter. Another memory surged up. A memory that was repeating itself that entire week.

"I need to tell you something," He said carefully in somber tone and sorrowful expression. They just came back from their date and were sitting in his car.

Her heart sank at the way he talked. Please... Not now, she said to herself. However, silent was engulfing them, for he seemed unable to find his voice.

She silently observed his boyfriend. How he twitched out of anxiety, how he kept sighing as if something heavy was put on his shoulder. Well, it was heavy.

Exhaling a held breath, she timidly said, "What are you gonna say?"

He sighed again. "It's- its- .... Argh! Why is it this hard?" He slapped the steering wheel in front of him. His frustration is apparent.

Sunny waited for him to calm his nerves down. She was simply stayed quiet and observed him, a the while her heart was sinking for she knew what he was going to say although he had not said it yet.

"It's... Um... You know Jean, right?" He started. "Well... I... um... we..."

"You cheat with her, don't you?" Sunny asked, more like confirmation.

He snapped his head at her in surprise as she managed to steal his words out of his mouth.

"How... do you... Well... yea..." he stuttered in shock.

Sunny repressed an ironic smile as tears rolled down her cheeks. She quickly wiped it off her fave and put a poker face. I should be the one in shock, she said to herself. But no, she wasn't.

"You know what? A girl's instinct is strong," she replied.

He looked up at her warily, "So, what should I do?"

Sunny inhaled heavily. "It's up to you. If you ask me, I want to fight for this. But again, it's up to you," She stated.

It even amazed herself how she was calm this entire time, although there was a war going on in her head. Perhaps it was because the guy beside her, who at that time, seemed fragile despite his manly appearance. Perhaps it was because the guy beside her, who seemed unable to think rationally because his emotion had took control of his mind. Perhaps because of this guy beside her, who invoked a sense of protectiveness in her.

After being quiet in short contemplation, he asked her silently, "It can't be possible to have both of you in my life, can it be?"

Sunny turned her head at him. She looked into his eyes in disbelief. How could he ask something like that? She wondered.

"No. You have to choose. I bet that girl doesn't like it that way either," she answered. She thought that referring the girl who stole her happiness with 'that' would somehow lessen the truth, for she reminded herself that she was not significant to her.

"No. I've talk to her and she says fine," He said, being entirely oblivious of his proposal.

It shut her up. In her mind, some questions were swimming. Is she out of her mind? How could someone normal thinks so? How could he be so selfish anyway? Is this the person she knows all this time?

She suddenly felt light-headed that she needed to rest her head on the headrest.

"You have to choose either me or her. You can't have us both."

"I don't want to lose you," He said quietly.

"But you don't want to lose her either," she added. His quietness was the answer for her. "So?"

"So?" He asked her back. "I don't know."

Sunny sighed. She pulled herself straight again and looked at him right in his eyes. The dark orbs looked guilty and confused.

"Do you want to give us a chance?" asked Sunny.

The guy nodded his head.

"Then you should try to stop contacting her and focus on us?" She said rationally.

He nodded his head once again, but in her heart, Sunny knew that it would gonna be a tough effort for him.

Sunny shuddered at the old memories. She sure had buried it deep. But perhaps, because it was only buried and not dealt with, the memory came up again so easily. She automatically pulled up her cover up to her neck, although she didn't really feel cold.

She laid there in the protection of her comfortable bed for some more hours. And only came out when she saw the sky beyond her window had changed colors.

The tiny built woman had barely stepped into the kitchen when she heard Tiffany and Taeyeon conversing in low voices over two cups of coffee.

"So, that's his decision? He gives up and walks away?" Tiffany asked. Sunny heard a soft thud sound of mug colliding with their wooden dining table.

"Well, to be honest, I'll do the same thing if I am in his position. She's a hopeless case. No matter how hard we try, she just can't move on," Taeyeon reasoned. "I know that he's kinda weird, to say the least. But perhaps he was just too desperate to find a way into her heart which seemed to be made of impenetrable steel."

When Tiffany didn't respond, Taeyeon added, "I can imagine her living celibacy now. Being a nun, for one."

"Hey. That's categorized as an insult to one religious system, you know," Tiffany corrected her girlfriend. Judging by her tone, Sunny could imagine her friend frowned at her girlfriend.

"Sorry, I don't mean to. What I mean is, if she is going for celibacy because of a sacred calling, then it's not my place to tell her off. I feel proud of her, then. Perhaps. But if she is being one because of that git... Well, she's plainly stupid then. He is unworthy of such sacred act."

Tiffany didn't answer, but Sunny could imagine that she nodded her head or doing whatever gesture related to that in agreement.

"By the way, his graduation day is coming near," said Tiffany. "Do you know what he's planning to do after graduation?"

"I heard Kyuhyun and him talking about being a junior PR and marketing strategy staff for a major automobile company."

"Which one?" Tiffany asked.

"Not so sure, but I think it's Hyundai."

"Woah. Nice catch! That means, he will be traveling in and out of the country often?"

"Well, being a newbie staff, I think it will take some time for him to be a nomad for his work. But who knows," stated Taeyeon, while the other party nodded her head.

"So... It will be a dead end for both of them. Sunny and him, I mean. There is no more chance..." Tiffany let her sentence hanging.

"Again.... Who knows," repeated Taeyeon.

"That's bad, though. I kinda approve them together. You know, they are so cute together. Something in their faces scream soulmate," stated Tiffany with a hint of smile in her voice.

"Nah... I think you are just interested in them because they both have the baby faces you don't have," teased Taeyeon.

"Yah!"

The two of them kept chatting in the kitchen, being oblivious to Sunny's eavesdropping. On the other hand, the latter kept minimum voices all that time. She didn't want her friends to know that she overheard.

As the topic of conversation changed, she tiptoed back to her room, calling off her need to quench her thirst. She was feeling somehow crestfallen upon learning a piece of information, but she shrugged it off.

*

She was looking out of the coffee shop while dazing off at the busy street. Her mind was obviously elsewhere as she was rotating the paper cup if hot latte in one hand and dabbing the keyboard of her black laptop idly with another.

The corner of her eyes caught a couple with hands around each other's waist. They seemed unaware of their surrounding. The guy sometimes stole some kisses from his girlfriend, and she rewarded him with a sickening smile every time he did the affection display.

Actually, not that the scene was sickening. She just couldn't stand it. Such scene made her recall the one month she and her previous boyfriend went through after the heartbreaking revelation. Like how hard she tried to salvage the sinking relationship, and it made her stomach churned.

She shook her head as an attempt to shake her memory off. At the same time, a group of people walked into the coffee shop, chattering in a rather loud noise.

She quickly snapped her head in their direction as she heard a distinctive high and whiny male voice. However her search was in vain as she saw nobody but a group of youngsters she didn't know of. She had mistaken the voice.

Sunny shook her head once again, yet this time it was in disbelief. How and why do I think of him? She muttered.

It had been six months after their last encounter. The encounter that made him retreated from her life. And during that period, Sungmin proved his words. Never once did he contacted her, never once she met him. Not once, not even a chance.

For her, it was both a relief and regret. As weird he was during the time she knew him, he was nonetheless her amusement. Not in negative way like he was only there for her fun or some sort, but she couldn't deny that sometimes, he managed to bring back her smile with his antics.

Now what am I thinking? Forget him and focus on your resume now! She told herself as she was once again dipping her head low behind the screen to continue where she left of.

=============================================================================================

Author's note:

Hi! Hi! How've you been?

Sorry if the update was kinda short this time. Work is getting harsher (makes me wish that I shouldn't have coming in every other day ;p), but I'm still trying to weave this story.

I know I've been such a snail in writing this. So, I'm sorry (again)!

I'll try to update faster, but this is not a promise.

 Oh, and you might think such person like Sunny's ex exist is the weirdest thing ever. Perhaps you might think how such character which seems to walk out right from soap drama exists. But trust me, that kind of person does exist :)

As for now, it might be nice to see your feedbacks on the story. So, be sure each of you leave a comment down in the box.

Thanks so much, and until the next update!

Ciao ^^

PS: And by all means, Missy, I pass the baton back at you. Yep, you 😜