-12

Chapter Twelve
"Don't push me away, Hee Young. I'm doing you a favor."

28th of May 2014

"Why do you keep checking your phone, Min? Is there something wrong?" A woman's voice entered Minseok's mind, making him snap his head from his handphone underneath the table as he nervously smiled at his mother - how did she...? "N-No! What makes you think something is wrong?" He shoved his phone away, his hands occupied with chopsticks and bowl of rice to reach over for a piece of grilled meat but his mother's hand were quick and sharp to stop him with her own pair of chopsticks. "You're lying to me..."

He swallowed, hard. His eyes were blinking at her as he tried to laugh it off, "M-Mom, you're freaking me out."

And his mother could only sigh, still not letting this go just like that. When she knows something is wrong, something is wrong.

"You know you can tell me anything... Is there somewhere you have to be now?"

Seeing that there was no way he could shake his mother off him, he put his chopsticks back down on the bowl, his body leaning back against the chair with a quiet sigh that made his mother frown. His mother copied his actions but her face evident with worry as she stared at her son. Why did he look so sad? It looked as if he was going to crumble down and she hated that. Not when she knows how strong her son truly is.

He bit his lower lip and pulled out his phone where his finger hovered over her contact number, wanting to call her and ask her how were things but he couldn't do so. He stared at her name, and then at her phone number as he muttered, "It's the spring dinner today..."

His mother nodded twice slowly, giving him a sign that he could go on to say whatever he had to say but even she could see that something was holding him back to say what was at the tip of his tongue. "And... I was supposed to be Hee Young's date."

His mother's lips parted - no wonder... her heart spoke up. He gave up a chance with her to see me, my son... stupid.

She reached over to lightly tap his head. He gasped and lifted his chin only to put his phone aside where he gawked at his mother. "Mom! What was that for?!"

She stared at him in disbelief - there was no denying that she was touched that her son would give up that chance but chances like these don't come very often for him - especially with a girl like Hee Young. Being almost invisible to her for a few months and suddenly becoming the world to her within those months, meant a lot to Minseok and his mother understood that very well. Being almost in this twisted bittersweet love he has for her for almost a few years now, his mother could only ponder upon why was her son stupid sometimes.

"Then you should've went! Take the suit, keys and drive back now!"

He shook his head with a hushed sigh, "I can't, mom."

It was her turn to gawk at her son, "You have a driving license, young man!"

He parted his lips to argue back, "I really can't!"

She furrowed her eyebrows, "And why the heck not-?!"

"She has another date!" His voice echoed in the whole apartment as he slightly raised his voice at her. Even she was shocked to hear that, but her heart could only waver to see so much sadness in her son's eyes as he uttered those words. She could see how glossy his eyes were, how much he was on the brink of crying but he held it in - he could only see her once a month and he would never want to show her the weak side of him that she already knew had existed.

As much as she didn't want to admit it, her son was very strong emotionally that it amazes her sometimes.

She pressed her lips together after mumbling softly, "What...?"

His head gave two small shakes, "So don't ask me to leave especially when she asked me to already - at least let me feel loved at home."

In the next, he had pulled out a smile, "Besides, I don't want to see her anyway. I see her everyday."

His mother got up from her seat, making Minseok hurriedly reach for his chopsticks just to stuff a piece of meat in his mouth. He noticed how his mother was coming closer, which urged him to chew on the meat with a happy grin, a fake one. He thought he made it clear, he thought that his words could trick his mother but really, did he really think it would work? She is called his mother for a reason and that reason is very evident when she could already tell he doesn't mean what he had just said because she knows.

She knows that even with him being able to see her everyday of his life, he'd want that very much.

"M-Mom! Let's just eat! Your cooking is the best!" He chimed with the food in his mouth, bits of it flying out but it didn't stop him to try to stuff more food inside his mouth that couldn't possibly take in more food. His mother frowned as she stood beside him, reaching down to pull the chopsticks from his hands as he chewed his food slowly with his breaths becoming more shallow - why was it so blurry now?

"You don't have to pretend here, Min..." His mother's voice echoed through his ears, wrapping it around his heart and the moment he felt his mother pulling him into her loving, warm embrace, he had lost it. The silent tears streamed down his face as he clutched onto her. The evident sobs that made his mother's heart crumble as she held onto him. A hidden message that the two of them acknowledged; he was not ready to let go of the only girl he loves so much.

"You were pretty heavy." He commented as he took the seat opposite her. The chair opposite her on the field was occupied by him as she narrowed her eyes at him - how did he find her here? She remembered vaguely of Kai carrying her back to her dorm but the question of how he got in and why he even bothered to tuck her in boggled her mind but she decided to let it go. She couldn't bear to question too much or her brain would explode - she wouldn't be able to think about all the questions she wants to know the answers to without losing her cool.

So she decided to just ignore it.

But now the question would be how did she find her here? And why would he even find her? It was indeed a Saturday and there were no classes today. She felt like if she was going to coop up in her dorm, she felt like it could suffocate her. Minseok wasn't here anyway - he was back home with his mother and as much as she would 'love' to go back to hers, she'd rather not. Hee Min was busy with work so that just leaves her to be alone. Listening to music was the best way to go but considering how loose her earphones were in her ears, Kai's voice managed to slip into her mind.

She stared at him for a moment, deciding to take off her earphones where she tilted her head to the side, "What are you doing here?"

He smirked, shaking his head as he leaned forward, "No 'thank you' for my good deed yesterday? No token of appreciation?"

She scoffed, rolling her eyes at him, "I never asked you to carry me back to my dorm."

He gave her a boring look, "You're crazy. Unbelievable, really."

She stood up with a sardonical smile, "And you're out of your mind."

As she walked away from him, he shot up from the table with a finger pointing at her, "Aren't those lyrics from a song?!" She shrugged mindlessly, waving a hand behind her back as she walked back towards the campus. He looked at her in disbelief but decided to react quick as he caught up beside her where he took one piece of her earphones to put it in his ear where he couldn't hear anything. He furrowed his eyebrows before he looked at her, nudging her by her arm, "There's no music."

She nodded, "That's true."

He frowned, "Why?"

She clicked her tongue, glancing at him, "I wonder that too."

There was this hidden message in his voice, as if she really didn't know why she was wearing earphones when there wasn't any music playing. As if she didn't know what's the reason but she did. Man, she knew it so well. "What?" His head bobbed forward - clearly, he was clueless. She shaked her head and pulled her earphones away from him, shoving them into her pocket along with her iPod, "Nothing." She tugged on her jacket, "Just nothing..." With that little gulp she let him see, she brushed past him as she entered the campus, making her way back to the dorm with him standing behind her - dumbfounded.

His feet nudged him to take a step forward, attempting to go after her but a voice jerked him up from the back. "Kai!"

He hissed, clenching his fists as her figure disappeared from his sight just like that - he was too slow. Sighing, he looked over his shoulder only to let that exasperation fade away - his face replaced with a grin instead. "Hey, Mr. K." He lifted his hand to wave at his teacher, turning his body around to greet him properly. Mr. Kang chuckled, walking towards Kai with a hand already patting Kai's shoulder the moment he stood in front of him face to face. "How's your relationship with Hee Young coming along?"

Kai looked over his shoulder again, her figure was definitely gone. Even with that, he somehow manage to smile at the thought of what could happen tonight. He faced forward with a different smile. One in which, made Mr. Kang curious just looking at Kai's facial expression. "So far... so good. I guess you can say we're at the stage of not killing each other anymore."

Mr. Kang laughed, shaking his head as he lightly tapped Kai's head, "That seems to be good progress. Keep it up, brat."

Kai snarled, "I'm not a brat."

"That's what you claim to be." Mr. Kang cooed, retreating his hand away from Kai with a thoughtful look. Kai raised his eyebrows, his hand at his head earlier where he rubbed the spot Mr. Kang tapped lowered down, "What's with that look?"

Mr. Kang could only smile, "Don't give up on her, Kai."

Kai blinked at Mr. Kang in confusion, "M-Mr. Kang, what-?"

"It's been a long time ever since she came back with so much passion. Although she hasn't begun her practice with you yet, I could see the passion building up in her - something I've been missing in a long while. Don't let that fade away. As well, for you, Kai. You two need each other."

Even though Kai didn't say anything the momemt Mr. Kang said that, even after Mr. Kang turned around to walk away back to wherever he came from, Kai knew that deep down in his heart, somewhere in there a voice had just whispered...

"Yes. I need her."

She flipped her hair back from her shoulders, exposing part of her collarbones but covering her back. Her fingers inched down to straighten her sleeves on her elbows before she went back to patting her dress that floated up until her knees. She took in a deep breath before facing forward to her reflection - why is she doing this in the first place?

She felt this light kick in her gut. Why does this dress feel so familiar...?

As she looked over her shoulder, a gasp emitted from . Her parted lips could only usher in a quiet voice, "D-Dad...?"

He chuckled, his bright smile shining so bright to her eyes as he whispered, "You look beautiful, princess."

She blinked at him through the mirror, her breathing getting shallow. She was suddenly becoming weak at the sight of him - at the sight of the person who loved her the most in her life. She wanted to say something else, she wanted to question so much, but she could only call him out again, "Dad..."

"Those who make you angry are not worth your time. Don't vent your anger out unnecessarily and remember that he who decides to accompany you today is the person you can trust."

She furrowed her eyebrows, "Kai? Are you talking about Kai?"

With the nod he gave, and that smile he let her see, she shook her head, "You can't possibly mean he's t-dad!" Her voice ended up going up a volume with her eyes going wide when suddenly his image disappeared. She snapped her head over her shoulder with her lips still parted, eyes getting teary as she wanted just a little bit more time. This happens once in a long while. Every now and then she'll be getting the privilege to see her dear father she missed so much. Usually he'd show up at the important times like during that time she cried for him in her dorm alone on her birthday, like that time she nearly wanted to take her life away, like that time she was so lost in life - he was there to show up every now and then to make sure he could keep her going emotionally.

Although he wasn't there physically, she was still so thankful for this.

At least he was doing something; unlike her mother.

She scratched her head with a sigh, "What the hell..." She was now confused, frustrated even as she stared at her own reflection. She nearly got the shock of her life when her phone started vibrating on the bedside table. Her head turned to look at her phone screen lighting up with a name as she walked towards her phone. She gulped with a bit of nervousness spreading in her veins but answered the call nevertheless, "What?"

"I believe we agreed to meet in front of the campus at 7.30p.m." His cocky voice sang over the phone, obviously out to bite her.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes to the clock, "I know, who said-." She cursed, slamming her phone off when she looked at the time. She was already late to meet him out by the campus.

He smirked when he heard her response but lightened up nevertheless as he put his phone back into his pocket, "Thought so." He clicked his tongue with a grin, his hands rubbing together before he patted his jacket over his lean body. He exhaled heavily, shaking his head as suddenly his self esteem dropped down like that - why was he feeling so nervous, now? At a time where he was supposed to feel the most confident considering this was one of his 'killer' outfits, where was his confident self?

He put his hands in his pockets with a sigh, "Just breathe... She'll come down any minute, you'll bring her to the dinner and then it'll be done."

His smile faded as he groaned with his head falling back, "... what if it doesn't go well?"

His eyes opened where he stared at the sky, getting immersed by the natural beauty it possessed that he didn't realize the footsteps being made towards him. The moment he heard a click entering his ears, he looked over his shoulder only to widen his eyes when she was already making her way towards him hurriedly. The way her hair flew as she came towards him, her dress floating by her knees, her curves that were emphasized with this dress along with the slight blush she applied on her cheeks - it seemed so effortless for her to look this amazing.

He swallowed, hard as his hands clenched in his pockets - this already blew him away.

Damn... His mind cooed with a low whistle, his eyes still locked on her as she becamse breathless standing in front of him. She raked a hand through her luscious hair, making him blink at her because of how beautiful she looked - he didn't even know his mind could make an analysis this detailed about a girl before.

She waved a hand in front of his face, "Kai?" She was too fidgety about this to even notice his looks - they were late, for crying out loud!

"O-Oh! Right!" He snapped out of it, pacing towards his own motorcycle where he swung a leg over to sit comfortably. He looked at her, motioning her over with a hand and considering the limited time they had, she didn't even think twice to follow his cue where she sat behind him. "Nice ride." She commented, causing him to smirk as he turned around to hand her a helmet that matched her dress, "Nice dress."

She took the helmet with scoff, "Nice tuxedo."

He narrowed his eyes at her, thinking of a better come back but she put her helmet on, urging him to do the same, "Try to get a nice parking by hurrying up!"

With that, he didn't hesitate to wear his helmet before taking off like she had told him to.

"Just make a left turn and the hotel will be on the right."

"Got it." Kai replied quick, swiftly making a left turn where roughly he could see the hotel coming nearer and nearer. He slowed down his pace, "Where do I park?"

She looked left and right with a small frown, "I'm not too sure. It's been ages since I-I mean... I don't know."

Kai heard that uncertainty in her voice, but decided to just let that go for now, "I'll just park at the side."

She snorted, "And if you get a parking ticket?"

He shrugged, "If it's a female, I won't have a problem. If it's a male, you better be good at talking."

She lightly used her elbow to hit his back. He could only shake his head with a tiny grin as he parked the motorcycle nicely at the side, not parking the entrance and not blocking the pathway as well. He took off his helmet, still not messing up his hair as he looked over his shoulder where she had gotten off the motorcycle. As she took off her helmet, her hair landed on her shoulders perfectly where she ruffled her hair up once with a hand before looking at him with a smile she was unintentionally giving him. His lips parted, blinking at her in partial awe - there was no way she and Hee Young are the same person.

There was no way.

"Are you going to stare all day? We have to go in now."

Yeah, this was definitely Hee Young.

"Wait." He halted her the moment they were by the doors of the ballroom. She furrowed her eyebrows and glanced at him, "What?"

She was thankful that they were late because now everyone was inside the ballroom. There weren't anyone waiting outside by the entrance and it seems like not even the usual people she'd see standing outside the ballroom were present - today could be her lucky day. It just might be. He extended his arm with expectance but she only narrowed her eyes at him. He used his eyes to point at his arm, "Link arms with me."

She let out a quiet scoff, "And for what?"

He gave her a boring look, "I'm your date for tonight - it only makes sense you'd link arms with me."

She seemed hesitant and it seems like that wasn't enough to make her move her arm.

"If you can't even link arms with me, I don't know how the hell you'll be dancing with me."

She rolled her eyes at him, biting the insides of her cheek before she came closer towards him where her arm linked with his. He tugged her over to bring her closer, a smrik on his lips before he pushed the doors open to lead them in. He didn't even realize that she was already holding her breath the moment they stepped into the ballroom that suddenly grew quiet. She simply kept her eyes to herself, avoiding the looks she got from the people she would call her 'relatives'.

Of course they were smiling.

But were they sincere?

She could already sense from a mile that it was not at all. She'd rather see their honest, ignorant looks rather than seeing them try to fake a smile for their dear life. She knew she wasn't welcomed here - and she would gladly leave but since she was here, she might as well show her face to her mother and her 'father' before she left.

"Once they see me, we can leave." She whispered as they walked deeper into the ballroom, her arm tensed around his and he noticed that. He gave her a squeeze with his arm, "You're so tensed up - relax. It's just a dinner."

She scoffed softly, obviously not appreciating the looks she got as they made way towards an empty table, "To you, that is... To me, it's..."

He could hear how she was reluctant to tell him anything, but with another squeeze he gave her, she managed to continue, "This is hell to me. I don't even want to be here."

They unlinked arms as he pulled a chair for her to sit before taking a sit beside her, "And why not?"

She shrugged, placing her hands on her thighs with her eyes lifting up to take a moment where she locked gazes with everyone staring at her, "Take a look around. Tell me that's a face you would want to see welcoming you here." He followed her gaze to see how everyone was looking at her - it was as if they didn't want her to exist at all. He somehow felt like he was he shield today despite everything they've been through. He felt like he should protect her, and...

"Maybe they're just, jealous?"

She turned her head to give him a look that bored into his eyes, "Jealous of what?"

He used a hand to motion it to himself, "That you have such a hot date."

She lightly shoved him away with her hand, his cocky jokes did make things a bit better, "You're so full of yourself."

It has been merely thirty minutes since the spring dinner begun but the sight of her parents couldn't even be seen - it's like they weren't going to show up. Kai offered to get some food but she was so stubborn to reject every single time. Not until he got up and nudged her over to the refreshment table where they could get some drinks, standing one side by the large pillar with a drink in their hands as they remained unseen to most of everyone. Well, until her parents got here, that is.

"So... how come you don't talk to the people around here? Aren't they your relati-" His voice trailed off when he saw how she looked at everyone before looking back at him, "Relatives, you mean?" She finished his sentence, earning a silent nod from him. She shook her head with a hushed sigh, "I'd rather not."

"They seem nic-"

"Don't judge a book by it's cover." She mumbled quietly, her eyes glancing at him before she looked around to see the same people she despised for a long time now - it's a wonder how she didn't lose her cool to just give each and every one of them a slap across the face. Kai on the other hand, really kept his lips shut. He knew that now she meant seriousness and there was no joking that he could sense the anger in her voice as he heard her loud and clear. He cleared his throat softly, his elbow nudging her, "Tell me about them."

She started off by looking at the woman dressed in a pastel purple dress, one that was laced with white at the hem of her dress that covered up until her kneecaps. She motioned Kai closer, in which, he obliged by taking a step before he dipped down to lower his ear to her lips as his eyes focused on her along with Hee Young. "She's cheated on her husband several times now. And she thinks her husband doesn't know but really, he knows, too."

His eyes widened, questioning back, "How do you know?"

She scoffed, "I've seen it with my own eyes."

He shrugged it off, shaking his head where he used his head to point ahead of them where there was a man dressed up in a nice suit, a tie to complete it all with his hair pushed back. He seemed to be in his mid thirties - he had good looks for a person his age. "What about him? He looks decent."

"He's a con man." She muttered under her breath, making his eyes grow wider compared to a moment ago. His head snapped at her, almost gawking, "What?"

"He doesn't look like one, huh?" She was amused by the reactions Kai gave - they were so unpredictable.

"Well, if you don't like looking at them, do you at least try to join in the conversations? Maybe they're not as bad as they look." He tried reasoning out the best way he could.

"I don't listen to the little chatters around here." She stated simply, her back leaning against the pillar with her eyes staring at the live band playing from a distance. Kai frowned, sensing that tone in her voice. She sounded so sad... why?

"Why not?" He took the courage to ask but she only shook her head with a tiny smile, "They're not worth my time... or my feelings." She muttered the last part under her breath but it seems like he still managed to catch that no matter how soft she thought she was. He looked around him where he could notice how there were so many eyes on them - that's when it had made sense to Kai when he finally paid attention to what they were saying, it seems like Hee Young has her reasons for acting this way at this kind of dinners. He heard their voices, filled with disgust as they muttered quiet mockeries aiming at her. And to be competely truthful, he didn't like it one bit.

"Look at how much she's grown."

"Do you think she still talks to her parents?"

"I hear she came alone. That boy is merely just a person her mother got to come with her - how usual of her."

"Yeah, doesn't she have a boyfriend?"

"Heck, she'd be lucky to have friends."

With the little glare he had in his eyes as he stared at every one of them, he quickly let that look evaporate as he looked back on her with his lips parted to say something but she had already cut him off, "I know." He furrowed his eyebrows, his eyes focusing on her to see that she had her fists clenched but she easily let her fists release as she looked up to him with her voice whispering, "I can hear them, too..."

There was this sudden change in her voice - this tinge of sadness he managed to catch as he stared at her. He gulped nervously, eyeing her carefully as she had her eyes locked down to the ground.

And that's when it hit him across the face like a train.

She... was also human. No matter how cold, how bold and how confident she can be - there are limits to that. No matter how much she flaunts and claims that she 'doesn't need anyone', silently, she's begging for someone to just show them that they are brave enough to be there for her. No matter how strong she claims to be, no matter how much she tries to display a strong image, there will be a time where it'll all start crumbling to pieces and down to the ground.

Finally processing all this in his mind, he didn't waste any time to step closer towards her, taking that glass away from her hands. Her eyes went wide a little, looking at him with a soft, "Dude..."

He hushed her, putting both his glass and hers back on the table before he moved to stand behind her, his arms naturally going around her waist where he pulled her close until she turned around to allow him press his chest against hers. Her eyes went wide as she lifted her chin to lock gazes with him, he was already looking down on her. Her arms were at her sides, hanging there desperately as she looked at him curiously. This wasn't part of what was supposed to happen at all.

This wasn't supposed to make her heart skip a beat, but it did.

"Don't push me away, Hee Young. I'm doing you a favor."