“So when are you going to tell me something about yourself Daesung-ah?” Min Ah said while walking next to her new friend and on their way to Daesung’s car. At the end, despite all the barriers on her heart, she had decide to give Daesung a chance into her life, but that didn’t meant she was confiding everything on him, she had decide to let life take his course, so even if they have being spending more time together, it didn’t meant she was ready to let him in just yet.

Two weeks had already passed since her mom’s surgery and Daesung was picking her up at the hospital after her usual Sunday visit, because he said he was bored and wanted to hang out, but to be perfectly honest, he was just using this for an excuse, because whenever he wasn’t with her, he felt lonely, like a part of his life was missing.

“There isn’t much to tell Min Ah-ah” the boy said while giving a goofy eye smile.

“There has to be something, I mean you already saw me cry my eyes out two times and despite that, I only know a handful of things about you, like what do you do for a living, who are your friends and how old are you, I feel like you  are holding back things on me”.

“Well, I’m not that interesting guy after all, I mean I have spend practically my whole life next to the guys and Sun Hi, so many of my stories are revolving them and we are pretty boring” he said while starting the car.  

“But I mean, you must have dated or must have someone you like” Min Ah said while changing the radio station on Daesung’s car and stop when he heard Smile Again by Winner “Ah, I really love this song, the lyrics are amazing” she said and started humming.

Daesung smiled listening to her; it was a breath of fresh air seeing her opening up, being so carefree around him.

“Yes it is, actually that’s something I’ve being meaning to ask you Min Ah-ah, for the whole 2 months I have met you, I haven’t seeing you smile even once, why is that? I think I just saw you chuckle a couple of times” Daesung said with his eyes glued on the road.

“Not telling… I have my reasons for that” Min Ah said lowering her head.

“Aren’t we friends? After all, I did see you cry out in front of me two times already” Dae said while teasing her a bit.

“Not fair, those times I couldn’t help myself to show you my weak side and you where the one that came to me, not the other way around” Min Ah said while slightly pouting.

“Arasso, I won’t tease you with it” Daesung said while parking out the car.

“But still, don’t change the subject, is not fair, I really want to get to know you Kang Daesung-ah, I mean someone that can be as equally as stubborn as I am, must have had something happen to him”

“Arasso, ok, that’s fair enough, let’s talk inside, we are already here after all” he said getting off the car and getting into the small restaurant he decide to take Min Ah that night. That’s how they usually spend their free time, eating, having coffee or just chatting.

They got seated and order, Min Ah begin ordering her usual mini banquet of things, something that Dae was shocked at first, specially by the fact of how much this girl could eat, but after all, he wasn’t judging, he knew that sometimes Min Ah only had one or two meals a day, that’s why he kept on pushing on taking her out to eat, he felt this was a way he could support her.

“So, who did hurt the almighty Daesung-ah’s heart that he is so reluctant to talk about it?” Min Ah said with a bit of a mischievous look on her eyes.

“Actually, to be fully honest, you know her, is Sun Hi” he said bluntly and immediately Min Ah chocked with the water she was drinking.

“Mwo? You like Sun Hi-sshi? But isn’t she dating, I mean, isn’t she engaged with Choi Seung Hyun-sshi, your hyung?”

“I don’t like her, but I used to like her, I liked her for almost 4 years, but it wasn’t until her parents past away that I muster up the courage to confess” Daesung said while looking down on the table, he felt embarrassed sharing this story, it was one thing having the guys seeing this and another thing sharing it with someone new.

“So, what happened?” Min Ah said, after getting herself together from the shock.

“We dated for over 2 months, but I knew she wasn’t interested in me, she have been in love with hyung for almost 7 years and I was just getting in the way of their relationship” he finally let out.

“Daebak… you are truly something else, letting go of someone you like for the benefit of her love life. Are you an angel or something like that? Ani, you are a saint…” Min Ah said being truly shock to this confession “I mean not everyone will be sharing this kind of history just like that”.

“Ani, nothing of the sort” Dae said blushing a bit “And it turn out for the best at the end. She and hyung have being dating for the past two years and now they are even going to get married; so it was clear that I wasn’t the one for her or her for me”

“Sorry to have ask, but how did you manage to remain friends with her after that” Min Ah said, she was really intrigued with him.

“At first it wasn’t easy and even if it shocks you, Seungri was of great help, he came to hang to my place and just help me to get my thoughts organized, he kept dragging me out of my apartment and force me to keep on going in life and after all, at the end of the day, my friendship was more worthy for me that my broken heart and pride”.

“Well, to be honest I wasn’t expecting for Seungri to be of great assistance, he is always goofing around and to be honest, kind of getting on my nerves, thankfully he stop with the flirting”

“Yes, the maknae can be a bit of a pain when he sees a pretty girl, especially one that doesn’t pay attention to him, you are the first one after Sun Hi to have set him in his place in all the time I have being his friend” Dae said laughing a bit.

“Well, thank God that is in the past, but going back to the main topic, I’m surprise about you Daesung-ah, to be honest, it takes a true man to recognize that pride is stupid and that there are other things more valuable than that at the end”

“Humm, thanks?” Dae said scratching the back of his head and then their food arrive the table but that didn’t stop him to keep talking “So I told you my story, now I want to hear yours, I want to know about this geseki Kang In Ho, what did the bastard did to you that you ended up like that the other time?”  Daesung said really piss off at the memory of the bastard that had made Min Ah cried last time.

Min Ah knew that she had to tell him the truth, after all he had come clean with her and despite her fears, and she felt she needed to talk to someone about this, after all she had being struggling alone with it for a long time.

“To be honest, it was really complicated” she sighed, playing with her chopsticks and begging to talk “I met him when I was 17, when everything was ok back at home; he was my sunbae at high school, I was kind of close to his group of friends so we started to hang out but it wasn’t until I reach my first year of college, that we became close. We found out we had many things in common and his parents had divorce a couple of years before, so when my mom got sick and my father left us, he became a shoulder to lean on for me. It was a hard time for me, I had to drop out of classes and started working to support me and omma, so many of the so call friends that I had at that time left my side. But he didn’t, he kept on calling me and always being a close and loyal friend, despite all the things that were going on in my life”

Daesung sat still eating while he was listening to the girl in front of him, the one that finally decide to open up. Min Ah continue talking.

“He used to help me out when I had to commit my mom to the hospital the first time, even getting to the point of coming to the hospital and waiting outside for me, he knew how hard all of this was for me, he even help me out when I had to move out from my old place, through all of this we truly became close friends to the point I started to develop feelings for him, which I consider it was mutual, because he acted really lovingly and he became my whole source of strength”

Daesung just nodded and look straight to Min Ah, he could see she was having a hard time, but he didn’t dare to stop her.  

She continued talking “It was around the time I turn 21 that he begin to acted differently, we had already being friends for almost 4 years, during that time I decided to confess to him and he didn’t reject me, he in the other hand became more loving and caring for me more that the way he used to be in the past. But just a couple of months later, he began to stop calling me or to reply to my texts, he said he was busy with classes, which I understand, after all he was finishing up with his major, and to be honest since I didn’t had that opportunity to study to begin with, I just comply to his excuses. I on the other hand, was busy tending to my mom and working 3 part times at that time, so I just shrug it off and kept on going.

One day I got a called from him, so I was excited since it was long time since we hang out, I even asked to leave early from work that day. I met him at our usual spot but I felt like he was a bit cold towards me, I just let it go, thinking he was probably busy and tired. He grabbed my hand like he usually did, but when we got out and bump into some of his college friends he immediately let go, like if he was embarrassed of being seeing out with me. I just try to ignore it, telling myself to not over analyzed things.

This kept on happening every time we managed to see each other, but this dates became scarcer through time. Soon after, I spend most of my time alone and without any reply to my calls or texts. It hurt me, especially since my mom became very ill again at that time and that’s when I had to make the decision to make her come to the hospital once again, but this time for an indefinite time”

“I see, so what happened after that?” Daesung said but he was kind of seeing the outcome at the end.

“I was working part time as a waitress at a family restaurant, one afternoon I saw him come in with one girl I haven’t seen before in my life, I just toughed it was a friend and to be honest, I have never being the jealous type. I went to get their order and smile the moment I saw him, I was truly happy to finally catch a glance of him, but he simply ignored me and the girl he was with ask him if he knew me since I look at him in a different way, he just said: “Ani, how can I know a simple waitress? I mean, you know I only like smart professional girls like you” I simply tried my best to hold myself together and finish serving them; but he had hit a low blow, he knew how much I was eager to study, how much I miss having my old life and how much I hated having to work part time jobs that I didn’t enjoy at all”

“The bastard did that?” Daesung said while making a fist with his hands, I mean one thing was being mean but another thing was humiliating her knowing her circumstances.

“Yes and it wasn’t all he did. I remember it was the beginning of summer and I was walking my way back home after visiting my mom, he looked at me and purposely ignored me, for me that was it, I was done with all that crap, so I grabbed into his arm and demand him to know what the hell was going. I was going crazy trying to know what I had done wrong or what had happened between us. He just chuckle and let go of his arm and told me: “What business do I have with a loser that drop out of college to wait tables?” I face him telling him that none better than him knew why I had done all of those things and he told me “That was your mother’s problem for being weak and you are just like her, I’m sick of listening to your complains, to your ing about your father, to the many times I had to wait for you outside the hospital and having to cheer you up, I’m sick of it, I’m sick of us, and I’m done with you” I don’t have to tell you how much that hurt me, since that time I never saw him again until two weeks ago when I met him at the coffee shop” Min Ah finish up telling and was fighting hard with the knot she felt in the back of .

“No wonder that the bastard was acting all mighty with you, I’m so sorry that you had to went through all of that and especially alone” Daesung said apologetically and grab Min Ah’s hand and gave it a gentle squish.

“yes, it was quite the shock for me back then, and that was the main reason I decide that I was better off alone, I even thought that was something wrong with me, maybe I was too needy, maybe he was right and I complain too much, or that I was just wasn’t worthy of having a friend. That’s why I stop trying to make friends, why I just stop wanting to smile. To be honest, it was a long time since I felt like opening up to someone”

“Don’t you ever think yourself to be unworthy, he was just a bastard that wasn’t worthy of your friendship. You are a good friend Min Ah-ah, you always took care of the small details that you think none ever will notes, like how you always have everything ready for Sun Hi when she is busy, or how you treat Seungri in a decent way despite how much he gets on your nerves, because you know he is a good friend of Sun Hi and mine. You always are worrying that I don’t drink too much coffee and that I finish up my meals and the most beautiful quality that you have, is how you where willing to put your ambitions and dreams aside to take care of your mother, only someone with a kind hear like yours could have done something so unselfish and not even regret about it”

Min Ah was deeply moved by Daesung’s words, she had hoped for so long that someone said those words to her, that she was worthy of having someone’s friendship and that all her sacrifices in this life were worthy.

“Kamsamnida Daesung-ah, despite the fact this is my first time telling this story to someone, I don’t feel like crying like I always do whenever I thought of it, thanks for letting me open up to you, I feel some kind of relieved after sharing this with you” she said and finally realize that Daesung still had her hand into his, she slowly try to remove it, but she just felt the grip tightening and she felt somehow kind of happy about it, so she kept her hand still.

“I mean it, he definitely wasn’t worthy of you, but I’m grateful that you consider myself worthy enough for you to share your story with me, I know it must have hurt you remembering this things, but I promise you this will be the last time you will have to share it and that you will never feel that way again. Thanks for sharing this with me” Daesung said while smiling to her and holding her hand even tighter.

Min Ah felt grateful that he had opened up her heart to let Dae in and He felt that he was slowly crumbling down the walls in her heart.