A/N - Second new chapter of the night. And guess what~ More cute ThunderxIU moments!!! Yes, yes, yes!!!! Love the two of them, so their love is going to be slow and sweet. Just like I envision it to be~

Also, this marks the start of the third arc: the Guilt arc. There's been a slow progress in the last few chapters, but this one marks the beginning of the real drama. Not just about Cheondoong's past, but about a lot of unanswered questions you might have had. Such as who was Chae-rin's male lover from the past, why has Mir experienced the painful side of love and kekeke, whether or not Thunder and IU will end up together~ 

Most of all, as the arc name suggests, its the arc that spills a lot of painful secrets. Enjoy the drama~

Guilt arc~

Chapter 14 – Guiltily, I fall in love

Cheondoong POV

I had started a habit of afternoon jogs ever since the other mblaq members began to follow me around the house with their intense glares. It was a little unnerving and I could still feel their prickly stares on my skin. 

So on the pretense of exercise, I went out for an afternoon jog. I jogged aimlessly with music in my ears and the pumping of blood under my skin. But all I could think of was her dark eyes connecting with mine, the dark shadows that hid half of her face…that face…which-

“Park Sanghyun!” came an irritated voice from right behind me. I skidded to a stop and twisted around to glance at the owner of that voice.

And I saw a face that was exactly the same as the one which haunted my dreams.

She strode angrily over with one finger in the air and stopped right in front of me. Her face so similar to hers, her eyes so familiar to hers and her cheekbones, her lips and her nose were ones I had memorized. I stood frozen in fear.

“Sanghyun-ah!” Ji-eun scolded me and pulled off my headphones. “Why haven’t you contacted me?!”

I blinked as she knocked me out of my living nightmares. “Uhh, IU.” I floundered.

She puffed her cheeks, trying to look imposing but ended up looking even more adorable. “I told you not to call me by my stage name!” she rebuked me once again.

I scratched my head. “Mianhe Ji-eunnie.” I corrected myself. “I was just a little…stunned…by your appearance.” I bowed again in apology.

Ji-eun seemed to calm down and she let out a soft sigh. “Still, you haven’t been contacting me! You promised!”

I had in fact, but her face was so scarily similar to hers that I couldn’t bring myself to do so. “Mianhe.” I said again. “It’s just…”

Ji-eun tilted her head, but seemed to accept that I couldn’t tell her why. She lifted one small hand to my face and placed it there. I in a breath at the act of familiarity.

“Are you okay?” she asked in a gentle voice. “You seem so thin and so…pale…” She circled me, investigating every angle of me. “Have you not been eating much? Or sleeping much either?”

She took one step away and scanned me from head to toe. I felt myself flush from her sharp eyes. “Ji-eun.” I gulped. “I’m fine.”

But she wasn’t having any of it. Ji-eun frowned, grabbed my hand suddenly and dragged me into the park. I recognized it as the same park where I had first run into her. My favorite park where I came to play on the swings any time I needed some alone time. She pulled me over to those blue swings and sat me down.

“Ji-eun?” I asked hesitantly as she walked over to the bench where her guitar lay. But she refused to answer any of my questions. Instead she sat on the other swing and slowly swaying back and forth, she began to sing to the tune of her guitar.

For that few minutes, I simply drank in the sight and sound of her.

She’s not the same person, I told myself. Even so…should I…still be here…still be sitting right beside her?

“Sanghyun.” Ji-eun said suddenly, letting the guitar harmony drift away. “You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong or what’s worrying you.” She tilted the swing so that she was facing me. I did the same and looked at the face I thought I had memorized so well, but then realized it had changed since the last time I had saw her. Her cheeks were narrower (she had lost weight from the hard work of her schedule), her eyes were ringed by soft dark circles (the result of lacking sleep), but her lips were the same: still full and of a gentle pink color.  

She placed the guitar on her lap and reached out to touch me again, but this time with hesitant hands. “I just don’t want you to forget about me.”

I covered her hand with mine. “I don’t.” I admitted. “I think about you every day.”

She smiled sweetly at my confession. “Then don’t run away.” She laced her fingers with mine and held me in close.

I leaned into her shoulder as I had done weeks ago, inhaling her sweet cinnamon smell and feeling more peaceful than I had in days. She may look exactly like the girl who haunted my dreams, but her expression and her voice and her scent was all different. It felt like home to me and I wanted to stay there.

“I enjoy our times together.” Ji-eun said close to my ear, one hand my head. She didn’t seem to mind the fact I was sweat-streaked or that I was acting too familiar.

“Do I have the right?” I whispered, confessing to her my inner-most fears.

“Of course.” She said simply, easily. “No one has the right to deny you the time to enjoy yourself. No one.”

I smiled into the fabric of her shirt. I opened my mouth to say something but suddenly her phone beeped.

I leaned away.

She gave me an apologetic gaze and pulled out her phone. “Sorry,” Ji-eun glanced at me, “I’ve got to get back. I’ve got a schedule at 3.30.”

I let my swing fall back into its original position.

Ji-eun stood up and packed her guitar away carefully, her hands skimming the varnished wood before zipping close the fabric as if it were a baby. I thought then that she was just going to wave and walk away.

Indeed, she waved and turned. I didn’t want to watch her leave just like everyone else had so I turned my face and looked at the bushes on my left instead. I watched a small butterfly land on a flower, its delicate wings glittering under the afternoon light.

I heard her footsteps echo and though I told myself not to look, I couldn't resist peeking one last glance. I raised my head to see her go. But as I did, my lips brushed her.

Ji-eun jumped back three steps with shock. “O-oppa…” she squeaked. I froze in my swing as well. I had thought she was leaving the park. Instead, she had walked back with her guitar strapped firmly to her body and leaned down to...to...do what?

“I-I only wanted to give you…a…” She tried to get the words out but instead blushed a bright red color.

A goodbye hug perhaps?

I couldn’t help but stare at her embarrassed gestures which were the most adorable thing I had ever seen. Her face was bright pink, her lips pressed together and her hands fluttering. I shut my open mouth.

“I-I…” she tried to speak again. Then she decided to do what she had initially intended to do. She stepped forwards swiftly and kissed me gently on my cheek.

“Contact me, oppa.” She whispered and then quickly fled.

So it had been a kiss on the cheek, huh…

I blinked and touched the spot where her soft lips had touched my cheek, still remembering that gentle feeling. 

She called me oppa.

I grinned.

She was just walking out of the park entrance when she turned around and gave me a pointed look. “You better text me, oppa.” She warned and vanished around the corner.

I laughed. This was the first time in months that my heart had felt so full. I pulled out my phone and sent her a message. It read: Tomorrow, same time at the park. I’ll bring ice cream.

I put the phone away and put back on my headphones. But I could still remember the echo of her sweet voice, the touch of her gentle hands and lips. The text message might be nothing more than friends talking, but to me it felt like a promise already.

A/N - Kekeke, cute fluffy moments. Love them the most!!! Comment, comment, comment! Next chapter: more sugary sweet stuff as well~ With a hint of darkness of course ^^

@ buenaxoxo - Kekeke, a mystery huh~