Chapter Six – How True Is The Truth?

There was silence in the air, tensing the atmosphere without efforts. Hara’s eyes displayed panic, fearing Seungyeon would find out Jonghyun’s relationship with her.  Does she know?

“What have you ordered?” Seungyeon asked whilst observing the long-list menu.

Hara’s face was completely covered by her long silky hair, and she was looking on her phone as if something important had popped up and she had to ring someone.

“Hara!”

Startled by Seungyeon’s soft scream, her eyes were finally off the phone. “Huh? What did you say?”

“I asked what you’ve ordered,” said Seungyeon, still looking at the menu.

“I haven’t actually looked at the menu,” said Hara, and her phone went buzzing right after.

Her eyes glued onto her phone almost immediately, and worry seemed to overwhelm her. She glanced at Seungyeon, who wasn’t paying the slightest attention to her best friend.

“I.. I have to take this call. Give me a sec,” she faltered as she got out of her seat.

Seungyeon nodded as Hara turned around and walked towards the entrance door. However, suspicions started to climb up her spine, causing her eyebrows to furrow. She eyed Hara as she was outside, walking in small circles as she was on the phone. Something is not right.

A few minutes later, Hara hung up and came back in with a smile pasted on her face. Seungyeon, still suspicious about Jonghyun and Hara’s relationship, decided to ask about the present situation before jumping into the hole of seriousness.

“Wow. That call surely made someone happy. Who was it?”

“A friend from the States. We met up for coffee yesterday and you won’t believe what happened.”

“What?” Seungyeon’s eyes opened.

“Reporters and paparazzi were planning on ruining someone’s life. They started shooting questions at her, trying to make her admit something she didn’t do. Terrible, I know.”

“How could they do that? That is so low,” said Seungyeon. There was something in the tone of her voice, as if she was trying to hint Hara so that she would tell the truth.

“Good thing I was there. They then started egging her and taking pictures. Whatever happened to the kind nature of human beings,” Hara said wisely, not realizing the clue Seungyeon left in her previous statement.

Seungyeon didn’t pay attention to the rest of the story that Hara laid out. Her mind was still thinking about Jonghyun, and she wished she could just open and ask. But she couldn’t; she couldn’t afford to strain their relationship again. Instead, she diverted into a more subtle and softer way of asking.

“So, what is up with Jonghyun?” Seungyeon asked without looking at Hara.

There was a pause. Hara stared at Seungyeon, who quickly realized this and rephrased her question into a statement.

“I mean, you guys have been friends since elementary school right? I’m thinking you know a lot about him more than I do. Like, maybe there’s something that’s happened in the past that’s haunting him,” realizing she was rambling away, she put an end to her sentence. “You know what I mean.”

“Oh, so that was what you meant,” Hara said with a sigh of relief. “I heard he lost his longtime girlfriend in a shooting a few years ago. He blamed himself all these years. He still thinks her death was his fault. What’s sadder is he lost his dad a year and a half ago. He committed suicide.”

“Wow.” That was the only word she was able to mutter. Somehow an eerie and sorrowful feeling overwhelmed her, her heart aching for him. “He never told me.”

“Yeah, he’s a really reserved guy. I’m not surprised he hasn’t told anyone about these personal stuffs that have happened.”

Personal.

As much as Seungyeon would like to think Jonghyun was stressing over work, her guts were telling her there was something more to this story. What was Hara hiding?

°   °   °   °

An hour and half passed by quickly, leaving only half an hour of lunchtime for the two ladies to get back into schedule. The two of them stepped out of the restaurant after a filling meal Seungyeon had decided to pay for. Hara was about to ask Seungyeon what her plans were for the night, but she was abruptly interrupted by a very familiar voice.

“Hara?” The voice sounded from behind.

Both of them were surprised by the sudden call-out, and turned around to see who the person was. The truth was an eye-opener.

“Siwan? What are you doing here?” Disbelief was an understatement.

“My workplace is about ten minutes from here. I graduated five months ago. Got back from New York about a week ago?” He said with an unbelievably cute smile.

Hara smiled awkwardly, and she remembered she had a friend waiting to be introduced to this graduate friend of hers.

“Seungyeon, meet Siwan. Siwan, this is my best friend, Seungyeon,” Hara gestured both hands back and forth as the short five-second introduction took place.

“You guys were friends since high school, I presume?” Seungyeon asked as she extended her hand to shake Siwan’s.

Seungyeon’s natural instinct caused the two to exchange glances at each other, intensifying the awkwardness in the air. Firm on not to make it worst, Siwan proceeded to spill out the truth behind their out-of-the-blue actions.

“We were a thing in high school for quite a bit,” Siwan chuckled softly, trying to make it sound less serious.

Seungyeon blurted out ‘sorry’ after she saw Hara behaving uncomfortably at the fact Siwan had just placed right in front of her. Silence immediately took over the game for as long as five seconds could give, and Hara decided to make for the run.

“We have to go now. It’s nice seeing you again.”

Hara poked Seungyeon from behind to cover her scheme of getaway, which Seungyeon was able to interpret and understand. Before they could turn their back on Siwan and run as fast as they could, he said something from the bottom of his heart.

“Keep in touch.”

How long have I not heard this voice?  

Again, Hara gave another smile, this time genuinely. Somehow she was happy to see him again. She never stopped loving him, but things were different for him. He’s probably moved on.

Sitting alone in the cafeteria, Jiyoung checked on her phone almost every five seconds just to see if Kyungsoo decided to give in and contact her. All it showed was her lock screen wallpaper, which was a peaceful far away island.

She sighed, Was he serious about what he said?

Rubbing her forehead rather roughly, she groaned. “Why is this happening?”

“You seem stressed,” said an unfamiliar voice coming from behind.

A tall guy with black hair and fair skin stood there, both hands occupied by the size of his tray of food. He smiled, “May I sit with you?”

Naturally, Jiyoung nodded and gave an uncomfortable smile. Her eyes went everywhere as she was hit by her nerves. She had never seen this guy around school before, and he was good looking.

“I’m sorry to ask, but I haven’t seen you around before?” Jiyoung asked politely, worried that he might take that as an insult.

“Oh, I am new. Hyungsik is the name.”

“I see. I’m Jiyoung. Nice to meet you.”

Placing his backpack on the chair next to him, he sat down and simultaneously said, “So, tell me. People say I have good ears.”

Jiyoung peeked at his unusually shaped ears, and chuckled quietly. They probably meant funny ears.

“I don’t mean that physically. What I’m trying to say is, I’m a good listener. Who knows, I might even have the answers to your questions.”

Answers to my questions? “What?”

Jiyoung looked at Hyungsik in an earnest way. A lot of things crossed her mind at once, leaving no space for calmness and security. She felt a sudden but gentle blow of cold air, sending shivers down her spine. Hyungsik, who was gulping down his tremendous amount of food so quickly like there’s no tomorrow, noticed Jiyoung’s far thoughts.

“You must have a busy life,” said Hyungsik with his mouth full.

“Pardon?”

“You seem to be constantly having complicated thoughts,” said Hyungsik as a matter-of-factly.

“Why would you say that? How would you know?” Jiyoung asked, unsure of her feelings, surprised or upset.

He let out a small laugh and shook his head, wiping the bread crumbs off the corner of his lips as he swallowed the bread itself. “Easy, I’m an aspiring psychologist, counselor, whatever you want to call it.”

Jiyoung paused, squinting her eyes in doubt. “You’re not from around here, are you?”

“Did you send someone to check on my background?” He joked, opening his can of coke and downed it.

“You want the truth? You just don’t sound like the people around here.”

“Well done. I was born and raised in London. My parents are Korean, but they work in London so they fly back and forth every half a year. I decided to come and see how different the cultures are. You are the first friend I have made since touching down, unless you don’t see me as a friend yet?” Hyungsik said with his right eyebrow slightly raised higher than the other.

That made Jiyoung feel slightly amused. She stood up straight, extending her hand to offer a handshake to formalize and acknowledge the friendship she was about to make.

“Hi, Mr British. My name is Jiyoung. Nice to meet you.”

Surprised at her sudden offer, he stood up and shook her soft gentle hand. He smiled at her and looked into her hazel eyes. He knew he was somehow attracted to her. “I’m Hyungsik. Pleasure to meet you, Jiyoung.”

The sound of cars sweeping by in the city could be heard even from miles away. The street lights and lampposts were dimmer than usual, due to the recent thunderstorm that electrocuted two people, sending them straight to hospital beds. There was a hint of lemongrass and chrysanthemum in the night air, however the source was nowhere in sight. Gyuri and Hyunjoong walked at the same, slow but steady pace. There wasn’t any conversation made by either. It felt as if the air was dry and dead, and no effort was made to change that.

Gyuri stopped walking as she realized they had arrived at her house. Reluctantly, she lifted her head up slowly to make eye contact with Hyunjoong. She couldn’t make it. He reminded her too much of her deceased fiance, and she was afraid to mistake his twin brother for him.

“Thank you for sending me home. I’m sorry for today.” Gyuri said without looking.

“Don’t apologize. I completely understand.”

Suddenly, there was a sound of converse shoes rubbing against the rough surface of the road, speeding towards their direction. It stopped when he was three metres away from the duo.

“Hyunwoo?” said a male with a high level of disbelief in the tone of his voice.

“Seungho, this is Hyunjoong, Hyunwoo’s twin brother.”

Seungho couldn’t take his eyes off his best friend’s twin brother, who looked exactly like his best buddy. Hyunjoong could only smile, awkwardly, and offer a handshake.

“It’s late. I better get going. Nice to meet you.”

After exchanging smiles, he left the scene into a grey area. Seungho looked at Gyuri, still shocked at what he had just witnessed.

“Have you been waiting long?” Gyuri asked.

“I haven’t. I’ve only been here for about ten minutes. Are you okay?” Seungho noticed her puffy eyes and was immediately worried about her.

“After what just happened? No, I am not okay. I feel like it’s eating me up. The truth. Why did he not tell me he had a twin brother? Was I not worthy of his trust?” Her voice rising as each word came out of her lips, clearly disappointed and heartbroken at the fact that when it came to Hyunwoo’s family, she knew nothing. Tears were escaping her tear ducts as fast as they possibly could, and she didn’t try to stop them. Seungho embraced her like he always did whenever she was upset, but this time it was different. This time, her emotions were heightened and out of control. I’ll always be here for you, Gyuri.

…………………….

“Do you want to talk about it?” Seungho asked carefully as Gyuri made him a cup of Oolong tea.

“Not tonight,” she placed it on the table in front of him and sat down.

Tired and the least energetic would be words closest to how Gyuri appeared to be. Seungho could feel the pain she was feeling, as if they shared the same mental mind. She sighed.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I’m just exhausted and I don’t have the strength to face the world anymore.”

“Don’t keep it to yourself. Tell me, what’s the matter?”

His stern face was far off from what she wanted to see at this hour. Waiting for her answer was a huge challenge for him. Both held their breaths for as long as ten seconds, killing the air between them.

“Actually,” said the both of them at the same time.

“You go first.” Again, both interrupted each other.

Before Seungho could say another word, Gyuri had said what she wanted to say.

Her eyes were shut, but her mind wasn’t. She had been contemplating about the incident that happened earlier at the bakery she owned. What would have happened if Lay and Hara weren’t there? She would have possibly suffered some major injuries. The more she thought of what happened, the more insecure she felt.

Nicole sat up straight, and gave out a sigh of fear. Next to her phone was the piece of sticky note she had been given by Lay. Her hand reached out for it, and her eyes on the digits. Slowly, she picked up her phone and typed in the number. Her heart beat pounded.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Lay? It’s Nicole. I’m sorry for the late call.”

“Oh, it’s alright. I wasn’t asleep anyway. What’s the matter?”

There was a long pause after his question was out. She was debating whether to tell him how she was feeling and why she was calling. She had always put on a strong front, but it was different this time. She was scared and she could barely hide it.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”  Lay said with genuine worry in his voice.

“It’s nothing. Sorry to bother you.”

“Are you worried about what happened yesterday? Those people were jerks.”

Again, Nicole kept quiet. Her words were stuck in , and they couldn’t make their way out of no matter how hard she tried.

“It’s just that... I’m scared and I don’t know what to do. I thought I could forget, but it’s easier said than done.”

“I know it’s a difficult time for you, but you have to stay strong. I will stop those rumours, I promise. Have a good night sleep. It’s late.”

Hearing his words assured her. At least she knew now she wasn’t going to face this alone. He was the first person she had ever met who actually made her feel safe. But why would Lay give such a commitment? Why would he promise? They were not close friends, they were considered to only be acquaintances at this stage. She closed her eyes, and slowly she was no longer restless.

                                                                                               ………………………………………

The city was once again busy, with pedestrians crossing roads and cars zooming pass buildings. It seemed like another ordinary day in “Our Shared Paradise”, except that today there were no customers at all. People would walk in, notice the name of the bakery, and leave without even giving Nicole a chance to welcome them. All thanks to the media.

Ding-ding. The tiny bells jingled for the umpteenth time, but Nicole did not hold high hopes. Lazily, she said hello without turning around and went on to clean the coffee machine.

“I don’t feel welcomed at all. Is this how I’m supposed to feel when I’m in a bakery-café like this?”

As she recognized this voice, Nicole turned around to see a smiling Lay standing just in front of the counter. He was wearing a checkered shirt with the sleeves folded up, a pair of skinny jeans and black shoes to match. In his hand was a letter, neatly put into an envelope without a label on it.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize it was you.”

“Good day so far?”

“Could have been better. I guess everyone took my words in when I was last harassed,” said Nicole, trying to crack a joke which wasn’t funny to herself.

Lay glanced at the item he was holding and handed it to Nicole, “Here.”

“What is this?”

“I see you need a little help around. So I’m hoping you would hire me.”

Surprised at his sudden application, she stared at him, not knowing to accept or reject him. She had always managed the bakery by herself, and she wasn’t ready to accept an employee as she feared history would repeat itself.

“I don’t know about this. I’m not prepared to hire someone yet.” Nicole said truthfully.

“I’ve had a part time job at a café in the States for quite a while. I’m a qualified barrista, or at least I think I am,” Lay joked.

Nicole was touched by his little action. She knew she’d be safe with him around. She accepted his application under one condition, “You’re my colleague, not my employee.”

Lay chuckled as Nicole made it clear she didn’t want an employer-employee connection. Before he could say another word, his phone rang. His expression changed when he saw the caller ID, answering the phone call with care. It didn’t last long.

“What happened?” Nicole asked as he hung up.

“My sister’s gained consciousness.” Thank God.