A/N: Hi dearies~ So sorry.. I had to let some time pass so I can feel right about the ending. But I didn't so I tweaked it. And here it is..

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I did not see much of Sooyoung after our walk on the beach. There were moments I saw her but it was very brief. It made me a bit gloomy so I hang out at the bar every night, in hopes of bumping into her there. She did not show. I still wanted this vacation to be fun and not all about someone who barely recognizes my existence, so I went doing stuff with Jisoo in the mornings.

 

He was enthusiastic as always and being around him made me forget about this attraction I was feeling for Sooyoung. He was some sort of distraction which sounds wrong but it’s not like he likes me like that. I really do hope he doesn’t.

 

Until I found out that he does.

 

“I have been wanting to tell you that I liked you the first time I saw you on that plane. It took all of my courage to introduce myself to you.…” I tuned out after Jisoo said he liked me. We were hanging out at the hotel’s coffee shop then suddenly, he confessed. This was not how I envisioned my morning would go.

 

“What do you say? Taeyeon?” Jisoo called out. Aside from ‘I like you’, I also caught the words ‘go out together’, ‘when we get back to Seoul’ before I totally spaced out. What does he want me to say?

 

“Uhm… I…” I got cut off by a perky voice from behind me.

 

“Hey you guys! Good morning! Do you mind if I joined you?” Jisoo was about to protest as I looked up and found Sooyoung staring back at me with meaning. I looked right back at her with eyes the size of plates.

 

I got my composure and offered her to sit beside me. She started small talk with Jisoo hid his dismay and started chatting with Sooyoung anyway.

 

When he had enough, Jisoo bid his goodbye and told me that he’ll see me later, to maybe continue our talk. I let out a huge sigh of relief. I turned to Sooyoung and said, “Thanks.”

 

“What for? I thought you would be mad at me.” She said taking a sip of her macchiato.

 

“Why would I be?” I asked back.

 

“I overheard him confess to you. I thought you liked him. I was waiting for your reaction but you looked like you weren’t even listening.”

 

“I wasn’t.” I said, embarrassed. “He’s a great guy. But I don’t feel the same way.”

 

“Which was why I came to your rescue.” Sooyoung informed me.

 

“I’m glad. And I’m not mad that you did.” I smiled at her. “Besides I already like someone else.” Sooyoung studied me while sipping her drink. I coughed uncomfortably and punished myself from within.

 

“You do?” Sooyoung confirmed. “If I recall from all the stories you told me, you never mentioned a special someone.” I stayed quiet, while she pondered.

 

“You’ve got tell me okay? Let’s meet later? My boyfriend has been texting me non-stop, saying he has something to tell me.” Sooyoung took a last swig of her coffee, stood up, and waved goodbye.

 

Great! I have a few more hours to come up with a convincing story about this ‘someone special’ in my life. Please note the sarcastic tone.

 

---

 

Sooyoung told me to wait at the bar near the casino so we could “talk”. But she never showed. I drowned my disappointment in alcohol, which I don’t normally do. But this bartender was buttering me up and being so very social. Maybe that’s why he was hired in the first place. Aside from his drink mixing and flaring skills, his social skills were impeccable. Like, he could talk anyone into drinking. More money for the resort and more tips for him!

 

I could hear myself talking to Mike, that’s the bartender’s name. But I was having an out of body experience. My words were slurred, my vision sort of blurred (woah that rhymes! And woah I’m drunk!). Suddenly, I felt a strong urge to cry. So I probably did. I could feel water on my face. I dunno, maybe someone dumped a cold water on me. Yeah, I’m totally out, so everything went black.

 

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My head was pounding when I woke up the next day. Who knew I would get drunk at this vacation? It was all leading to that path, seeing I ran out of things to do and I was completely head over heels for this woman I just met. I was not a fan of drinking and hangovers were one of the reasons why.

 

“You had fun last night?” A voice said, somewhere. I was still under my sleep haze and I swear I heard someone spoke.

 

“Wha..?” I mumbled, trying to open my eyes to see where I was. I could not see clearly at the moment so I added, “Where am I?” Wow, my voice was hoarse.

 

“Here drink this.” A glass of water was placed into my hand and the liquid goodness soothed my throat like a rainstorm at a desert. I finally came to and saw, “Jisoo?”

 

“Hi?” He cutely said. “You were so wasted last night. I saw you at the bar, so being a good friend, I brought you here to my room.” As he said it, I checked out if I was , scrambling on the bed sheets.

 

“Hey, chill out. I didn’t do anything to you like that.” My racing heart calmed down, and I muttered apologies to Jisoo.

 

“Don’t worry about it.”

 

“Really, sorry to have bothered you but I have to go to my room now.” I tried to stand up but I still felt woozy and lost balance. Jisoo caught me before I splatted onto the carpeted floor.

 

“At least let me help you to your room.” He said, and I agreed.

 

When we came to my floor, I saw someone standing in front of my room. That body and height could only belong to Sooyoung. Jisoo’s arm was around my waist where her eyes were fixated. And if I wasn’t mistaken, I saw a flash of anger in those brown orbs.

 

“I’m glad you’re here. Can you help us out?” Jisoo handed Sooyoung my key card. Without saying anything else she fed it to the door lock.

 

“I think I’m gonna be fine now. Thanks Jisoo.” I gratefully said. He gave me a small smile and he was gone.

 

Sooyoung was still standing at the door way looking at me but I didn’t want to say anything to her. I was mad that she wasn’t there last night despite saying that we would hang out. I wasn’t sure if friends get angry this way with their other friends when they don’t show at appointments but I knew that the reason I was furious was because she broke my heart. Even if she didn’t intend to.

 

I entered my room without looking back. I headed towards the bathroom to freshen up, hearing the door behind me close. I assumed I was already alone, so I took my time inside the bathroom. After I was done, I was surprised that Sooyoung was still inside my room pacing around. I slowly approached her to see what she was up to. Clearly, there’s something going on. “Sooyoung.. Are you okay?” I called out. I could not believe I was the one asking her this after what she ditched me last night.

 

She turned to me with determined eyes, as if she were convincing herself to do something. We were a few inches apart, standing awkwardly at the center of my room, when I felt her hand grab the side of my face. I stood there frozen, denying that this was actually going to happen, so I just watch as her face comes closer to mine.

 

All of a sudden, I felt the softest touch of her lips on mine. My eyes flutter closed, my whole body shutting down at the contact. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, leaving a warmth and tingle that I would later crave to experience again. Soon after I kissed back, it was over.

 

Realizing what she had done, Sooyoung and I flew apart and I expected her to leave. Instead, she was unmoving in front of me, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. “I’m sorry.” She automatically mumbled; confusion and regret evident on her face. She was breathing hard as a side effect and as for me, I noticed that I stopped breathing for the longest time.

 

I only had the chance to truly study Sooyoung after the kiss cleared my hangover-ed brain. I saw that her eyes were red and puffy. She was probably crying before she came here. She was also fidgeting with something on her fingers and when I looked, it was a diamond engagement ring. My heart felt like it was ripped right out of my chest.

 

“He proposed.” I stated than questioned, ignoring the thing that just occurred a few seconds ago. She nodded. “Is that why you didn’t show last night?” She nodded again. “And you said yes.” It took all of my willpower to hold back the tears. I haven’t even had the chance to savor the feeling of Sooyoung lips on mine, and now this?

 

I fought the urge to scream in frustration so I cleared my throat, composed myself, and continued. “So, what’s the matter?”

 

“I’m not sure if I made the right decision.” She avoided my eyes at all costs. I sighed, addressing the elephant in the room. “Is that why you kissed me?” My voice was toneless. Sooyoung didn’t answer.

 

I just managed to let out a quiet ‘right’ under my breath, trying to hide the betrayal and welling up anger inside my chest.

 

Sooyoung sighed and said, “Now I am sure I made the wrong decision.”

 

I threw her my best taunting look so she could stop beating around the bush. “I came here to uhm... aside from doing that… She blushed at the statement. “I actually wanted to tell you something…”

 

After a deep intake of air, she grabbed my hands (which made my heart speed up by the way) her own, clammy as she spoke quickly, “I have been with Kyungho for 8 years now and yesterday was our anniversary, maybe that’s why he proposed. I had a feeling he would. I knew I will be engaged to him after this trip and to be honest, I was not jumping up and down in excitement. I was dreading the thought but I eventually accepted it… until you came along.”

 

“What about me?” I was trying to make my heart calm down because I might not hear Sooyoung’s exact words if it’s loudly banging inside me.

 

“I have been asking myself that same question every day since I first laid eyes on you at the airport.” What she said was a total contrast of her actions right now when she averted her gaze from me. “You captivated me. I thought you were kind of short, but beautiful nevertheless. I instantly had a crush on you.” My cheeks heated up at the confession. My ears seemed to be deceiving me. Did Sooyoung actually feel the same way as I did?

 

“I shrugged it off since I thought I’d never see you again but here we are.” She continued. Somehow, the distance between us shortened once again. “The thought of you makes me go crazy. Especially when I found out you’re staying at the same resort. It made me so excited that I could still see you in the next few days.”

 

“So, that time when you sat with me at breakfast was not a coincidence?” I asked. She responded by shaking her head. “I actually went to you even though some tables were already available. You were too distracted by the view to notice.” I snickered a little because I was indeed distracted by the view. If the view meant Sooyoung.

 

“I was unusually happy whenever I bump into you. All of a sudden, I was making all sorts of excuses to Kyungho just to see you.” I could not believe what I was hearing. It didn’t feel like that from my point of view at all. “Some of my excuses were lame so I just settled by watching you from afar. When I can’t take it anymore, I’d go to my room and cry a bit.”

 

“I tried avoiding you, after that time I got drunk and left. Then I found out you were hanging out with that guy. God, I was so mad.” Sooyoung clenched her fist at the statement, while I was still trying to grasp the situation. If I was dreaming, I swear no one wake me up.

 

Sooyoung told me that Kyungho was not really a jerk but often times, he ignores her a lot. As I’ve suspected, he was a rich guy who always gets what he wants. Sooyoung told me he wasn’t always like that. When his mother died, and his father forced him to inherit their company, that’s when his attitude changed. Sooyoung truly loved him at the start of their relationship, but soon realized that he only loved him like a brother. She tried to get out of the relationship more times than she could count but seeing Kyungho miserable hurt her. And since, no one understood the guy more than her, she chose to stay by his side.

 

“I’m so sorry to hear that.” I could not think of better words to say. I just feel bad for the both of them.

 

“Yeah…” I swiped my thumb back and forth on her hand and I felt her tighten her grip on mine. It made me smile. Funny, we were already seated on my bed, and I didn’t even notice.

 

“If you don’t mind me asking, what brought this on?” Sooyoung shot me a questioning look. “I mean, why are you telling me this now?”

 

“Oh…Well, I didn’t really ditch you last night. After Kyungho proposed, (my heart twinge at the word) I immediately went to see you. You were passed out I asked the bartender what happened.” Oh no…

 

“He said that you were heartbroken because the person you ‘liked’ didn’t show up… because they were probably having with their boyfriend… and you didn’t have a chance right from the start…” Sooyoung carefully rehashed the story to me and you could totally fry an egg on my cheeks coz they’re burning hot.

 

“That was downright embarrassing. Mike is so ugh!”

 

“He’s so easy to talk to right?” Sooyoung amusedly said, while giggling a little. I buried my face on my hands. “Hey, don’t be embarrassed.” She took my hands on hers again. “If you didn’t tell him, I wouldn’t have known. And I wouldn’t be here telling you these stuff.”

 

“Then why was I in Jisoo’s room?”

 

“Uh yeah, he was walking around conveniently and Mike asked him to bring you upstairs while I was getting a call from Kyungho. Sorry.” Her pout after the apology killed me and I had to kiss her so I did.

 

She closed her eyes, as I did so I decided that it was the best choice I made next to this vacation.

 

We broke apart a few seconds later, exchanging shy glances at each other. “So what happens now?” I planned not to bring that question up but I couldn’t stop. Can you blame me if I was dying to do things with her now that I know she feels the same way about me? By things I mean couples stuff not… the other thing. Or that is an option too…

 

“I don’t know. I can’t break the engagement.” My breathing suddenly got labored, like I’m having an anxiety attack. I closed my eyes so I could compose myself yet again, but the feeling was not going away. “I can’t leave him yet. I don’t want to break his heart.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. A few minutes ago, I was ready to accept the thought that this woman would be a big part of my life. That I had a chance with her and I’m determined to take it. But hearing those words from made me boil with anger, my mind rejecting any rational thoughts.

 

“So you’re breaking mine?” I retaliated.

 

“Taeyeon, please.”

 

“Just go.”

 

---

 

I was out of that resort the moment I was done packing my bags. I know I had a few days left but I’m not gonna spend my time in that place where it was magical and dreadful at the same time. This vacation brought more heartaches than I had in my lifetime. It was a good and wrong decision at the same time.

 

I still didn’t get why Sooyoung confessed to me if she wasn’t gonna be with me. What sort of logic was that? I had the strong feeling she only did it because she heard Jisoo do it first. The hardest part was I could not stay mad for long. I already forgave her for breaking my heart, keeping my hopes up, and well, sort of ruining my vacation. It’s not like I’ll ever see her again.

 

And I didn’t…

 

It’s been almost three years after that escapade. I hadn’t taken a vacation since, in fear of things repeating itself. I tried dating other people though, to forget her. Apparently, it was harder to move on than to look for a decent person to date. Or I haven’t met anyone at par with her yet.

 

Sometimes I wonder how she’s doing, just to torture myself once in a while. I bet she already married Kyungho, they already have kids, living in a very luxurious house; whilst I am married to my work, although the pay is good, but it wasn’t filling the empty void in my chest.

 

I guess that’s how life’s gonna be for me for a little while. I learned to just focus on what’s in front of me, to get by each day and slowly, Taeyeon disappeared from my thoughts.

 

Currently, my thoughts are being occupied by this big gala my company organized for the success of my department’s project. The bosses upstairs insisted on honoring me tonight but I refused. I told them to honor my department instead of me alone, because I didn’t do all the work by myself.

 

“Congratulations again Ms. Taeyeon. You are currently the greatest asset this company has.” I tried not to blush at my boss’ words. He still insisted to talk to me like this, albeit in private, I appreciated the gesture.

 

“You gotta do what you gotta do.” I just said in response.

 

“You know, other companies had been insistent on meeting you but I refused. I don’t want you to be pirated under my nose.” I snorted. “Except for this one. I had no choice but to introduce you.”

 

My face scrunched up in curiosity. “What do you mean?” As if on cue, my boss brought someone forward from the fancy crowd of people. Not just anyone. Someone very, very much familiar.

 

“I couldn’t say no to my own daughter can I?” Mr. Choi, my boss, chuckled.

 

I could swear the wind was knocked out of me when I saw her looking so elegantly beautiful in that gown. Her hair was shorter now when I first saw her but she still looked amazingly perfect.

 

“I’ll leave you to it Sooyoung.”

 

“Thanks, dad.” Sooyoung smiled at her father who was now socializing with some other important looking people. The tall goddess stood in front of me, a knowing smirk plastered on her face.

 

“So…” She started. I have yet to say anything. “You are the famous Ms. Kim.” Her figure was getting closer and my breath became erratic like it always does when she’s around. “You know, I’ve heard so much about you from my father. He never shuts up about you. I just thought, hey, maybe my dad likes younger girls, but when he told me he was throwing a party for you, that was another story. I came to see who’s got my dad so smitten. And he was right you’re brilliant and beautiful.” I stopped myself from being affected by her playful words. She can’t just burst into my life so randomly!

 

She suddenly became serious, “You left without saying goodbye.” I averted my eyes from her and it automatically landed on her hands.

 

“Where’s your ring?” I casually asked.

 

“What ring?” She feigned innocence. “I don’t have any ring.”

 

“Sooyoung…” I said, starting to feel like an impatient idiot. She seemed to sense my distress.

 

“I didn’t get married to Kyungho. In fact, I broke up with him a month after the engagement.”

 

“But you said…”

 

“Yeah he was devastated but I told him the truth. I told him that we are not gonna be happy together and that I was in love with someone else.” Sooyoung was closer to me now more than before. The familiar smell of her perfume made my head light that I couldn’t think straight.

 

“It took me three years to find you. And all along you’re just here, working for my dad. I’m glad I took the time to check my dad’s Facebook account. He added me for a year and I only accepted it a week ago. I saw your picture on one of his ‘office buddies’ album. I cried when I saw you.” She chuckled at her own story.

 

“So, you’ve been by yourself all these years, like you wanted?” I confirmed.

 

“You still remember that?” She asked in disbelief.

 

“Of course, I do. I still remember everything even if I told myself I’ve already moved on.” Sooyoung had a look of relief on her face.

 

“I’m glad because I don’t plan on losing you this time.” She said with authority.

 

“Do I not get a say in this?” Sooyoung was taken aback and she seemed like she was about to cry if I said yes to her next question. “By any chance, are you seeing anyone?” She continued.

 

For dramatic purposes, I paused for a long time and Sooyoung was about to walk out of the conversation. I pulled her back to me and said, “I have been working non-stop for three years to forget you and look where it has brought me.”

 

“I guess the universe is telling me something don’t you think?” I asked her and the look on her face was priceless.

 

“Do you wanna go ditch this party and go on a date with me?”

 

“You’re crazy.” I teasingly said. “You want to have a date with me now? Wearing this gown?”

 

“Yeah, we can go to the movies. You’ll be the most beautiful overly dressed girl there and I’ll buy you popcorn.” She said her face inches away from me and it’s taking all of my strength to not kiss her.

 

She then tilted her head so she can whisper in my ear. “I want to make out with you in the dark too. Is that okay?”

 

She needn’t say anything more. 

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A/N: That's a wrap! Until next time...

~geumanhaeyo