Capter 3: Confrontation.

Seohyun found it hard to believe there was a pair of doe eyes staring right to her eyes.

“Seo…hyun?”

When she heard her name being called, her consciousness still refused to accept it as the reality.

“…Yoona?”

When that name slipped from her own mouth, she knew it was all real.

Neither of them moved. Albeit the cliché, the time were literally stopped for them whilst the time of the world rolled forward leaving them trapped in their own silence. Erratic steps and hustle bustle of shoppers around them bother them not. Their eyes were too focused to each other’s frozen figure.

Yoona’s eyes twitched as a familiar masculine figure approached them—or to be more exact, approached Seohyun.

Seohyun slid her grocery bags from Yoona’s motionless hand and handed it to him. “Kris, can you take the bags to the car and wait there, please?”

Kris nodded and left, not before throttling a piercing glare to Yoona.

“Seo—“

“How many years have passed?”

Short and sharp. Yoona was rendered into silence by that curt question; much alike to an animal got its throat slit.

“Five years.”

Seohyun let her own lips answered, letting the answer echoed from her oral cavity to the depths of cavity in her heart. Five years. Five years that gone, a span of time that gouged a croaking hole in her life.

Seohyun brought forth her eyes to clash with Yoona’s . Those deer eyes looked tarnished with tiredness. Clouds of emotions inside those orbs, she could recognize few; happiness, anxiety… fear and guilt? When those caramel pools turned into a maelstrom of unspoken sentiments, Seohyun needed those parched lips of Yoona to move and interpreted it, summarizing them in words so she could understand. She waited for a say to be uttered.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Time was up and not even a single alphabet spoken. No time extension could Seohyun give as she found herself hurled to Yoona’s body, nestled to her stiff shoulder.

“Five years! Five years, you jerk! Haven’t you ever imagined how it hurt when you left me behind?” Seohyun balled her fists and pounded Yoona’s upper chest hard. Her eyes emptied the tears that dammed on the rim of her eyes, dampening the older’s humid-smelling jacket.

Not even Seohyun’s strong continuous hit to her chest disturbed Yoona’s disturbingly steady breath. Every pain the pounding fists delivered, her nerves barely sensed the pain. Yet her ribcage hurt so much from her own heart’s erratic beat. The steady air flow on her lungs suffocated her as Seohyun’s muffled sobs didn’t found a pause.

Slowly, Seohyun’s breaths calmed into soft whimpers left. Yoona braved her numb body to wrap her arms tenderly around her lithe waist.

However, a pair of hands pushed her shoulders away gently before she could wrap an embrace.

“Yoona…”

The eyes brimmed with tears met with the shocked and confused ones.

“I’m sorry but…”

But? No, please don’t say anything! Yoona’s heart pleaded incessantly, knowing from how Seohyun looked away, the continuation of words would be something Yoona dreaded to hear.

 “…Five years were too long to me to endure, Yoona,” the chestnut-haired woman mumbled with eerie calm. “No. I’m not that weak. I could’ve overcome it all in those five years, if only…” she stared at Yoona with blazing emotion behind her wet eyes. “If only you didn’t go for that stupid random mission and never give me any sign of your existence! No one, not even other ex-auxiliary agents, not even NIS knew where the hell you are! I tried to patiently waiting for you, until the point I believe you’ve been dead already!”

“Wait… A mission? W-What mission, Seohyun?” Yoona asked unintelligently.

Five years of her own traceless disappearance, a mission she never knew about, Seohyun thought she was dead; it was too much for Yoona’s bewildered heart.

Seohyun’s damp eyes went wider in disbelieve before her teeth gritted. “How could you Im Yoona!” she shouted, not caring the attention of the crowd she’d attracted. ”I can’t believe you try to act innocent after vanishing to the thin air for five years! You don’t know how big the hole you make in my life, in Luhan’s life, in our famliy’s life when you were away!”

“I…”

No! I‘m not trying to act innocent! I don’t know if I’m really the guilty one but I’m confused with all of these! Please help me Seohyun!

How Yoona really wanted to scream those words of her heart’s cry, setting free from imaginary dredge that blocked her windpipe to bellow her confusion.

Seohyun recomposed her staggering breath, wiping the remaining evidence of tears on her face. “You don’t need to say anything, Im Yoona. Good evening.” She bowed her head stiffly and turned around completely backing Yoona.

Run, run after her, run and try explain everything and make her understand; that was her mind’s command. Yet her body went to a silent rebellion and did a motionless strike. If you can’t run, at least tell her to stay; that was the further order her brain issued. Even when she wanted to shout her lungs out, begging for Seohyun to stop, her voice box suddenly acted like a rusted machine.

“Before you go after me, you should know that Kris has filled that hole.”

Those words were enough to nail both of her feet to the ground. Her whole being refused doing any actions; disobeying any of her brain’s commands with the exception of staring helplessly at how Seohyun blended with the crowds and slowly but sure slithered away from her field of vision.

Xxxxx

Seohyun was one of some peers who walked in daily routine with long stride and more frequent footsteps than most average people. For the sake of efficiency and punctuality, she would say.

Seohyun was walking fast with long stride and hurried pace; she might as well looked like about to run. Neither for efficiency nor punctuality, but for something else. Something else that made her chest throbbed in metaphysical pain. Maybe that something also made her unaware how fast she was reaching where her car was parked.

Kris leaned on the driver door, looking at her with wary eyes. Seohyun didn’t miss that, but she deliberately chose to ignore it, opening the car door before seating herself on passenger seat. Sighing, Kris got on the driver seat of the red-painted Hyundai Tucson.

“Joohyun?”

“Just drive, Kris.”

Kris started the engine and let the machine rumbled softly. But he let the car unmoving. He took his moment to take a look on her face; the prominent anguish, the unshed tears that dwelled in her eyes were too much for him. His hands left the steering wheel and made their way cupping her cheeks gently. He pulled her closer and kissed her tears away.

“Whatever that happens, I’ll be by your side. I’ll never leave you alone” He mumbled softly, brushing his lips gingerly on her cheeks as his attempt to give her a sense of assurance. I’m here while she’s away. I’m by your side while she leaves you behind.

Such loving combination of calming gesture and words that Seohyun herself felt obliged to reply. However, her heart was too tired. Yoona’s unprecedented appearance taxed her heart too much to return Kris’ act of affection. All that she could offer to him for now was a scratch of hollow smile.

Either Kris was dismayed with her lacking response or not, the car was still moving anyway.

Xxxxx

Cursing at the top of her lungs and crashed her fist to the wall.

Slumped to the floor and became a miserable heap of crying flesh.

Yoona expected herself to do either or both.

Neither of her predictions happened. Instead she was sitting at the couch, calmly sipping a glass of water. Her eyes ghosted aimlessly around her flat. Her breath came in easy pace, as if her uneventful reunion with Seohyun hadn’t ever take