Where is she going? Why won’t she answer my pleas for her to come back? Regret is filling me everywhere. Why did my mouth let those harsh words pass through them?  I had no idea she’d leave like that... And the way she looked before she turned around... The pained look in her eyes... All the guilt is killing me.

“Jieun. Come back!” I keep repeating over and over again, running around like a fool, lacking of an exact destination. From the corner of my eye, I can see people staring at me. Some are shaking their heads disapprovingly at the sight of a single person shoving through people while others are smiling with admiration. I’m not content with putting on a show for the particular onlookers but in this circumstance, I really don’t give a damn.

Where can she be? What if something bad happens to her?... An emotional celebrity placed in a busy area is no good. Especially with all those reckless drivers around. This is all my fault...

Suddenly, my eyes catch the familiar sight of a red flap flying around in harmony with the wind. Didn't Jieun have on a red scarf?

I push through more people, mumbling out excuses and apologies until the whole scarf comes into full view.

“Jieun!” I say, forcing the wearer of the scarf to turn around so I can see it’s face.

“Huh?” Instead of a girl staring up at me with puppy dog eyes,it is an old man with confused, squinted and beady eyes.

“Oh sorry,” I mumble before letting him go and continue on running down the busy street. Where would she go? A famous star wouldn’t want to be caught in public... She’s probably somewhere less populated.

I explore the unfamiliar area a little longer with the unfortunate discomfort of hearing women screaming out sale prices or men walking up to me with fliers in their hands. I’m making all these u-turns and crossing many streets until I find my way to more placid surroundings. The hunt is finally over when my legs carry me over to the same alley where I found the girl last time she escaped my grasp.

Standing still in front of the narrow passage, my eyes take in the sight of the rather petite woman, plopped down on the ground with her arms wrapped around her knees. Even with her head buried in her arms, that brown hair, small figure and cutesy choice of a coat, pair of boots and red scarf is enough for me to be able to tell it’s her without seeing her face.

Her head comes up immediately when I call out, "Jieun!" and I catch an alarmed expression on her face when she sees me walking over. She tries to make a break for it again but turns back around reluctantly, realizing that there's a dead end blocking her way. I feel a slight smile flicker across my face for a second, seeing her clumsiness but that disappears as fast as it appeared when I see her shaking body.

She lifts her hands up with her arms extended. “Do - don’t cu- come closer... Please...” the strain in her voice sticks out to me. The way her hands quiver as they desperately try to keep distance between my body and hers makes my heart feel like aching.
“Jieun,” I cautiously say, remembering where my sharp tone got me last time. "Don't be scared. I won't do anything to you." She doesn't even look up. "Please..."

Even with my pleads, the fragile girl won’t look up at me... Does she really not want to see me that much?

My nerves are getting impatient with each second that passes. Those dazzling eyes... I need to know if they’ve recovered yet. The image of her sad eyes won’t stop their appearance in my mind, making me feel even worse. I can’t bare to keep remembering her like that. Especially knowing that I’m the one who caused her to be like that...

“Do you dislike me?” I ask.

She shakes her head.

“Then why won’t you look at me?”

Silence passes. I can't take this anymore...

Completely disregarding what her request, I approach her, trying to close the gap between us.

“Look at me”

“Back off...” her supposed to be tough voice comes across as weak. But unfortunately, this selfish, obsessive need to see her eyes is growing inside my greedy heart, preventing me from carrying out the simple request.

I hesitantly extend  my quivering hand, nervous but eager to see her face.

I can feel her shudder in response to my touch upon her small chin. The strands of her hair fall back as I lift her jaw until  her face is finally revealed. Our eyes  make contact for a second, making my heart jolt, and then she jerks her head away again. But in that second that our eyes met... I swear I saw water forming in them... Is she... About to cry?  Did my harsh words inflict that much pain?

“Are you... about to cry?”

She jerks her face away from my hold, “No...”

“Then why are your eyes so watery?...”

“It’s the wind...” she says, rubbing her eyes now.

“Then let’s go inside somewhere...” I say, grabbing her cold hand again, causing her to flinch.

“No..."

“Come on, or you’ll get sick again. I won’t touch you anymore...” I bargain, releasing her hands.

She hesitates before giving a final nod.