Chapter 40: "Beneath the Surface of Lies"

Chen's Pov




"I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures I took." I said with a smile. "Well you always take the best photos Chen." Min Hee gushed. I walked over to the door. "I guess I should get going now. It's raining pretty hard outside." I observed the weather from the nearby window. "Yeah it's getting late too. Drive safely hyung." Kyungsoo said. After exchanging my last goodbyes I ran to my car, trying to dodge the cold raindrops bucketing from the dark sky. The rainstorm didn't clear up as I hit the road. If anything it got worse to the point where I couldn't even see through my window. A sigh escaped my lips. I knew there was a sharp turn coming up so I tired slowing down but due to the hectic weather my car wheels only slide around on the soaked pavement. I pressed my foot on the brakes and skidded to a rough stop. I slowly looked up to see if I had hit anything or anyone. Through the waterfall running down my blurred window, my eyes could make out a figure in the middle right in front of my headlights. Panic aroused me as I quickly grabbed my umbrella from the back seat and jumped out the car.



My heart dropped when I found a soaked young lady sitting on the ground. "Yay! Miss! Kwenchana?" I ran over to her and sheltered her with my umbrella. "Miss did I hit you? Do you need to go to the hospital? Are you badly hurt?" I asked worriedly. She slowly raised her face and looked up at me with swollen red eyes. Was she crying? "Are you okay?" I asked again. This time my voice dropped an octave after seeing her depressed mood. "Here let me help you to my car." I stood her up and lead her to my vehicle. Luckily there weren't any cars around so I didn't cause traffic. The car ride was a bit awkward I'm not going to lie. Frankly because I didn't know her and I had no idea why she was so sad. I felt like I wasn't in the right situation to ask her why she was crying so I just abandoned the itching question.



"I'll go get some towels so you can dry up and keep warm." I told her once we arrived at my apartment. She only nodded and proceeded in taking her soaked flats off, laying them neatly next to my sneakers. I came back after about two minutes to see her standing in the same spot while observing her surroundings. "You better dry yourself up before you flood my entire apartment." I attempted to crack a joke just to lighten up the mood, but it seemed as I failed because she only whispered a gentle thank you. I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. "Well um come warm up over in the living room. I'll make you some tea so you don't get sick." I strode over the kitchen to prepare her drink. She hesitantly took a seat on my couch. I saw her wipe her cheek before tucking her wet hair behind her ear. What was making her so sad? Sad to the point she was crying in the middle of the road. I shook the questions out of my head. I couldn't ask her because I didn't know her like that. Besides I shouldn't push my nose in other peoples business. "I hope you like green tea because that's all I have." I set the cup down on the coffee table in front of her. "Gomawo" she whispered again. I cleared my throat. "You can speak comfortably to me..but uh..what is your name miss?" I asked slowly.



"Kim Jung Ah" she spoke a little louder but it was still pretty quiet to me. "Kim Jung Ah." I tried her name. "Pretty name. I'm Chen." I gave her a light smile. Jung Ah nodded a hello. "May I ask are you really okay? Before she could answer the doorbell rang. We both looked up. "Wait here. I'll be right back." I walked towards the door and opened it. "Hello hyung." Kyungsoo smiled back at me. "What are you doing here at this hour?" I asked a little surprised. "Can I come in at least?" He asked. "Oh yeah of course" I opened the door wider so he could get through.





D.O's Pov





I stepped into his apartment and slid my shoes off only to spy a pair of black female flats on the floor. "Do you have company over?" I asked. "Huh? Oh I guess you could say that." He replied. I shrugged and walked over to the kitchen counter. "You left your camera at my place so I thought I should bring it- Jung Ah?!" I exclaimed when my eyes landed on the female sitting in the living room. She turned around at the sound of her name and looked just as shocked as I was. "D.O?" She questioned. "Wait...you two know each other?" Chen eyed me. "Well yeah. She's Min Hee's best friend and we went to high school together." I explained slowly, still wondering why on earth Jung Ah was at Chen's house. "But hyung why is she at your house?" I asked. "I was driving back home after visiting you and I found her in the middle of the street." He explained. "In the middle of the street? And it was raining?" I asked. Chen nodded. I sighed heavily and closed my eyes for a brief moment. "Damn you Kai. How could you treat her like that?" I thought. My thoughts got heavy and weighed my head down. "I'll take Jung Ah back to my place. Thanks for bringing her here hyung." I set his camera down on the counter and walked over to a confused a Jung Ah. "Kaja." I gently took a hold of her arm and lead her out. "Bye hyung. Thanks again." I said. "Uh well no problem." He replied.



I opened up the door for her and she slowly slipped into the car without a word. I sighed heavily. She must feel completely broken on the inside. I felt really bad. The car ride was heavy with emotions. I knew she was trying hard to keep her tears in. I rubbed my temples with one hand, eyes concentrated on the empty road in front of me. I heard her silently sniffing. "Why kai. Why? You could've let her go gently." I thought. Sighing again I reached out and patted her shoulder comfortably. "Kwenchana Jung Ah. Kwenchana." I thought. Those words I didn't dare say out loud. I would be lying to her if I told her everything was okay.