Chapter 13 - Realisations.

“Tell me again why am I doing this?”

“Because you’re my best friend and you love me!”

Minzy can only roll her eyes at Eunmi’s reply. What she said is true, though. Eunmi is indeed her best friend and she really does love her, to the point that she would do anything for the girl. Just like what she is doing right about now, for example. 

Eunmi had banged on Minzy’s door earlier this morning, startling the poor girl out of her slumber. Of course, like a normal and sane friend would usually do, she panicked and could have not helped but think that her friend was probably in some sort of trouble. She even thought of the worst, like maybe she was going to tell her that she was dying or something. But to her utter and pleasant surprise, the older female was smiling brightly at her as soon as she opened the door as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

Minzy did not even have the chance to fully process everything in her head when Eunmi suddenly dashed into her kitchen and began unpacking some groceries. Heck, she was practically still half asleep to even notice the handful of plastic bags she was carrying. And the next thing she knows, she is now sitting in a cab with Eunmi, on their way to delivering lunchboxes that they have prepared themselves (or should I say, that Minzy has prepared mostly by herself, with only very little help from her so-called best friend) to Yongguk’s office.

“Why don’t you try talking to Yongguk? Maybe he could help.”

“I did but it was useless. That stupid, ugly bastard is determined to make my life miserable!”

Minzy cannot help but laugh at her agitated friend. Fate can be quite funny at times. Who would have thought that the man you dislike so much could probably be your only way to getting a step closer to your dreams. And that is exactly what is happening to Eunmi right now. Himchan is her indirect key to graduating, whether she likes it or not.

“Don’t worry, everything is going to be just fine,” Minzy says to Eunmi with a reassuring smile.

“I hope so. I really do hope so.”

***

“You’re ugly!”

“You’re loud!”

“You’re stupid!”

“You’re annoying!”

“Argh! I shouldn’t have come here!”

Eunmi and Himchan have been doing nothing but trying to get into each other’s face, yelling like lunatics for the past half and hour ever since the two ladies have arrived. Not even Yongguk could stop them this time. He really could not understand why the two could not just forgive and make up. The thought of setting the two up has totally flown out of the window by now.

Frustrated, Eunmi stomps her way out of their office, slamming the door shut as she leaves. She does not even give a damn about the numerous pairs of eyes that are looking at her direction, obviously judging her behaviour. All she cares about right now is to get out of the place as soon as possible and calm her exasperated heart down.

“That was low, Himchan,” Yongguk shakes his head at his best friend in disappointment before going after his cousin.

Himchan plops himself down on his chair and sighs. Did he really go overboard this time? It would be a lie to say that he is not getting tired of this because he is. But he really tried to be nicer to Eunmi. It is her who seems to be so unwilling to get along with him. He cannot really blame her, though. He has been nothing but a jerk to the girl. If he could, he really would want to turn back time and redo everything.

“So you guys built this company from scratch?” a soft female voice brings Himchan back from his trance.

He was too deep in thoughts to even realise Minzy’s presence in their office. The girl has noticed the distressed look on his face since the cousins left the room and she knew that there was something bothering his mind. But instead of asking him directly what was wrong, she decided to start off with a rather normal conversation so as to avoid any awkwardness. So she has asked him about their company.

Himchan’s face immediately lights up at the mention of the question. The company is like his and Yongguk’s baby. They have worked really hard to get to where they are now and he would never trade it for anything in the whole wide world. B&K Music is the outcome of their sweats and blood, of their undying determination and passion. If someone were to ask him what he is most proud of in his life, it would definitely be this company.

“What you guys are doing is really great. You know, helping others achieve their dreams, that’s just so admirable,” Minzy comments sincerely causing the guy to chuckle to himself.

“Nah, it was all Yongguk actually. If he hadn’t knocked some sense into this useless brain of mine, I wouldn’t even be standing here today.”

“Don’t say that Himchan-ssi,” Minzy retorts almost instantly with a very firm tone, startling the male a bit, “I’m sure you also played an important role in developing this company. I may not have known you for long but I can tell, from the way you talked about it, how much this company means to you. Besides, you said yourself that you’ve worked hard to be where you are now so don’t you ever dare question your abilities and position here. If anything, this company wouldn’t even exist without either you or Yongguk.”

Himchan is a bit taken aback by the girl’s kind words. Nobody has really ever said that to him so he cannot help but feel relieved and somewhat special. Now he knows why his best friend is crazy for her, even though Yongguk is still quite oblivious to his own feelings, which he thinks is so stupid.

“May I ask you something?” Minzy asks again with such a serious tone.

The older male only nods as a sign for her to proceed. Minzy sighs, contemplating her next action but decides to just go ahead and ask, “It is a part of your job to help someone reach their dreams, am I right?” Himchan once again nods as a yes, looking at the girl with much concentration and curiosity, “Then why did you refuse to do the documentary? You know, it has always been Eunmi’s dream to become an acknowledged filmmaker and this project is very important to her for it helps determine the next step to reaching her goal. She is a very talented artist, Himchan-ssi, and if you would just give her a chance, you would see how gifted of a person she actually is.”

Once again, Minzy manages to astonish the man with her words. Everything she has just said makes sense and it makes Himchan wonder why he behaved the way he did, himself. Thinking about it, it is actually quite childish of him to refuse Eunmi’s proposal on doing a documentary on his and Yongguk’s journey to success merely because of the stupid little fight between them.

He has always reminded himself to never mix personal matters and work together but why couldn’t he do the same with Eunmi? Moreover, as annoying as she can be, she is still a normal person. Just like their clients, she is someone with hopes and dreams, and she deserves just as much help and attention as the others. But did he even ever consider those factors? Nope, never. He had blindly rejected her offer without any particular reason.

Only then Himchan realises how unfair and immature he has been. After much thought, he now knows what he is going to do next. So with a soft smile on his face, he gets up from his seat and heads outside to look for Eunmi. But what he witnesses once he steps out of his office is rather unexpected and kind of breaks his heart a little.

Eunmi is crying in her cousin’s arms.

With a heavy heart, he steps closer and pats her shoulder lightly. “Eunmi-ssi, I am so sorry for being such a douchebag to you for the past week. And I am also sorry for what I did in front of the café. Everything was my fault but my pride got the best of me. I am not trying to make that as an excuse, though. I’m just… I’m just really, really sorry. And about the project, I am more than happy to do it.”

Eunmi immediately stops crying and lifts her head to see the owner of the voice. She blinks her eyes a few times, not quite sure if she were dreaming or not. Did she hear that right? Did Himchan just apologise to her? No, this cannot be. This must all be a dream.

“Ow! Oppa, what was that for?!” Eunmi shrieks when she suddenly feels someone pinching her cheeks rather roughly.

“It’s not a dream, Mimi. If that’s what you’re wondering,” Yongguk chuckles as he pulls away from the hug and pushes the girl towards Himchan, “Go on, you guys still have a lot to talk about.”

A red hue is slowly beginning to appear on Eunmi’s face but she manages to maintain her composure and not let the man who she hates the most, or more like hated, see the weaker side of hers. She sticks her tongue out at her cousin with a fierce glare before turning her gaze to Himchan, who seems to be staring at her rather intently, making the blush on her cheeks deepens.

Minzy and Yongguk just observe the pair from a close distance, both donning a satisfied grin on their faces. They could hardly believe that the day that the two enemies would talk to each other civilly would arrive this quickly.

“Thank you. You’re still ugly, though.”

“And you’re still the same ‘ol annoying Eunmi.”

Or… maybe not. Of course, Minzy and Yongguk should have known better than to expect those two to stop their silly bickering that easily. But at least, they have finally made up for good. Hopefully. Just keep your fingers crossed that they will not start a third world war in the near future.

“Hmmm… I don’t mean to interrupt but uhh, may I know whose lunchboxes are those?” Daehyun asks out of nowhere, startling his bosses and the two beautiful ladies.

“Ah, I’m really sorry. I almost forgot but these are actually for everyone,” Minzy replies with a smile as she begins handing out the food to each and every employee, “Eunmi eonnie and I personally prepared them. It’s nothing much but I hope y’all will like it!”

“Thank you so much, Minji-ssi, Eunmi-ssi. Any homemade food is good food in my dictionary so don’t worry, I will definitely enjoy this! Right, guys?” Daehyun turns around to his colleagues and all of them nod their heads eagerly in agreement, “Thank you once again for the food, Minji-ssi,” he adds with a playful wink.

“You’re welcome.”

Meanwhile, Yongguk is glaring at the two individuals’ interaction, more particularly at his male employee. How dare he flirt with his boss’ girl so openly like that, huh? Wait a minute, what was Yongguk even thinking claiming Minzy as his woman! They are just friends and therefore, he does not have the right to call her his. But still, he cannot help but feel a little bit jealous.

“You’re being too obvious, hubby,” Himchan elbows his friend slightly, teasing him.

A bit flustered that he has been caught red-handed, Yongguk just rolls his eyes at the younger male causing the latter to laugh. It is so obvious that Yongguk was murdering Daehyun with his eyes just a moment ago and now, he is acting like a teenage boy who has just been struck by the cupid’s arrow, all blushing and whatnot. How cute!

“She’s a keeper, Yongguk,” Himchan voices out in a more serious tone this time, gaining Yongguk’s attention, “I know that you’re still recovering from a bad break up but as your best friend, I wouldn’t want to see you lose such a wonderful woman in your life either. Minzy is a really great girl and I am grateful to have gotten a chance to talk to her even for just a few minutes. Because in that short period of time, I think I’ve gotten to know so much about her. Those few minutes were long enough for me to know that she would be the right one for you, the one who would help mend that broken heart of yours. And I know that you like her too. I’ve seen the way you look at her, Yongguk. I’ve seen how your eyes twinkle with happiness, with admiration, with passion and most importantly, with love. Just like the way she looks at you. Trust me, that girl is so into you. No matter how hard she tries to hide it, her eyes show it all. You would be such a fool if you didn’t notice the spark in her eyes whenever she looks at you.”

And Bang Yongguk is far from a fool. It does not take a genius to know that Minzy likes him. Of course at first, he was not quite sure if she was treating him nicely because she was just being friendly or because she really liked him. A part of him did not want to put his hopes up too high for he feared he would get hurt again. So he told himself that Minzy was just being the kindhearted girl she is.

But now, after hearing what Himchan has said, he is more than sure that the girl indeed has some feelings for him. He was not just imagining things because Himchan has noticed it too. Not only that, he has also come to realise that he, too, has feelings for her and how much Minzy means to him. It is a bit crazy considering the fact that they have only been friends for a little over a month but then again, love is crazy. Like people say, it comes when you least expect it.

“I am not asking you to jump right in front of her and propose or anything. I just hope that you would acknowledge your feelings for her as soon as possible before everything is too late. Such a kind and beautiful girl like her, I am pretty sure there are hundreds or even thousands of guys waiting in line just to steal her heart. I mean, if you weren’t my hubby, I would totally ask her out. Like, now!”

“Don’t you dare!” Yongguk immediately retorts, elbowing his friend quite harshly.

“I said if, Yongguk. If,” Himchan whimpers in pain.

“Sorry, dude. It was reflex.”

Himchan is about to continue teasing his lovesick friend when suddenly, Minzy’s panicked voice echoes throughout the room. Both Himchan and Yongguk immediately turn towards her direction. She is talking to someone on the phone and whatever it is they are talking about, it must be really important because her skin has turned so pale as if she has just seen a ghost or something. It irks Yongguk so bad to see the pained expression on her face.

But what exactly happened? Who is she talking to? What are they talking about that the glint in her eyes has completely disappeared and is replaced with that of worries and fears?

The room falls really silent as everyone’s attention is fixed on the girl talking on the phone. Eunmi, who is standing right in front of her, looks at Minzy with worried and confused eyes. It is as if she knew what is going on but at the same time she did not. After a while, Minzy finally ends the phone call. She remains silent for a moment, just staring blankly at her phone screen before murmuring something to Eunmi and rushes out without even looking back or saying goodbye.

“What happened?!” Eunmi recognises the worried tone in Yongguk’s voice and sighs, knowing that the man could have probably sensed something is not right.

“F-family emergency.”

Although she is aware of Minzy’s family situation, she does not know every detail of it. Minzy is not the type to talk about her problems that openly. Of course, she has told Eunmi quite a bit but that was only one time and that was it. They have never talked about it ever again. Family is like a taboo word so they usually avoid the topic. And knowing her best friend, she has probably not told Yongguk anything about her estranged father. Hence why her reply came out as a bit of a stutter, unsure if she should be telling him about it or not.

Yongguk, on the other hand, is not that ignorant to not notice the hesitation in Eunmi’s voice. He knows that the girl is hiding something and judging by the sound of Minzy’s shaky voice just now, that something must have probably been negative. Something bad must have happened for her to react that way. She really seemed disturbed and fragile.

There is nothing he wants to do more than to be there for her, to tell her that everything is going to be all right. She has done the same for him before and this time, it is his turn to repay her deed. And most importantly, he wants to show her that he genuinely cares.

So without hesitation, he leaves his cousin, his best friend and all his employees behind to run after – whom he is now 100% sure of – the love of his life.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Author's Note: I know the flow of this story is quite slow, I'm sorry. :/ But things will get more exciting in the next chapters, I promise. And there will definitely be more drama! So I hope you're preapred for it! Nyehehe. And oh, sorry if I don't update that often because I am currently busy with Eid and everything. So I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Upvote, comment and subscribe~ ^^ Love ya!

Story by: afagyel | Poster and background by: Tomoe Graphic Shop