❝chapter03;
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                                   "It's all in the past."

“Long time no see, Park Ji Ae.” Kai’s words made Ji Ae stare at him in disbelief.

After 4 full years, she finally saw him. The man whom she first fell ever so deeply in love with; the man who made her heart skipped whenever he smiled; the man who was the reason for her first heartbreak.

“It’s really you.” She spoke softly, unable to find her own voice.

Kai looked handsome and charming as hell, as always. Ji Ae chided herself as she found herself admiring his good-looking face. How can she lie to herself? He has never failed to catch her attention with that chiselled jawline and perfect looking lips of his. It’s been exactly four years, and here he was, standing in front of her. She had only thought of him sometimes when she missed him terribly, or whenever she had a bad day and she recalls the past whenever Kai would take her in his arms and soothe her hair.

Before Ji Ae said anything else, Kai grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her through the crowd of people. His touch on her skin made her heart jumped faster as she pushed away thoughts that made herself drawn to him. But she couldn’t lie, she missed his touch, terribly. She let herself get dragged by him till they reached one of the quieter alleys at the back of the club.

The alley was tight and small, which made both of their bodies closer to each other. Ji Ae could smell the scent of the perfume he was using, it was identical to the same one she bought him during one of his birthdays. It made her feel nostalgic. He still smelt the same. It made her miss him even more, even though he was just standing a few inches away from her.

Kai remained silent as he studied her face. She was still as beautiful as he had remembered. To think that after 4 years of searching high and low for her, he had finally found her. His heart was about to burst in excitement upon seeing the girl he had been wishing to see so badly, standing infront of him. He had mixed emotions within him, knowing that he had messed up big time the last time, he was certain to some extent that she wasn’t that pleased about meeting him again.

He could see it in her eyes.

“You grew thinner. Are you eating well?”

She looked up to face him, her eyes meeting his. She could tell that he was nervous too. “I’m doing okay.” She managed to say.

“What are you doing in a place like this? You hated clubs.” Kai’s tone changed as he became more serious, “If I had not stepped in just now, god knows what he would have done to you!”

“Thank you for saving me just now. But I must go.” She replied hastily. Ji Ae didn’t know whether she could continue her conversation with him. It was just too much for her to handle. Before she could step away, she felt Kai’s hand on her shoulder, stopping her from leaving.

“Ji Ae, can we talk? Please.”

“T-There is nothing to talk about.” She avoided his piercing gaze, her eyes fixed onto the floor.

“You haven’t answered my question. What are you doing in a place like this?” Kai turned to face her, “Since when did you start clubbing?”

His questions made her flinch. Did he think she was still as innocent as ever? For god’s sake, she’s a mother herself now!

“I’m not obliged to answer your questions, Jongin.”

“Can you please not act like this? That bastard had his hands all over you, and you couldn’t do anything! He was about to you, for Christ sake!” Kai raised his voice, which made Ji Ae backed away from him.

“I can protect myself, alright? Thank you for your concern.” Ji Ae replied harsly. She hated the way he was belittling her. And why was Kai getting mad at her? Who should be the one who’s mad? What gave him the rights to be mad at her?

“Stop lying.” He retorted and placed his hands on her shoulder. Closing the distance between the two of them, Kai leaned closer to her, looking at her closely with those dark brown orbs. She swore that her legs were about to give way, her knees getting weak the moment she had eye contact with him. She's sure he knows that he was driving her crazy.

“Park Ji Ae, where have you been all these years?” Kai whispered, “I have been looking for you all this while.”

Ji Ae heard the desperate pleas in his voice. Honestly, she had to fight the urge to jump right into his arms and lean against his warm chest, telling him how much she had missed him all this while they’ve been apart. But it would be just wrong.

“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.” Kai admitted.

“Jongin,” She finally spoke, “Please don’t..”

“Now that I finally found you after all these years, please don’t push me away. Let me make it up to-“

“I-I’m sorry,” Ji Ae interrupted him, “We can’t just go back to the past. No, we can’t..”

“Why not? Are you.. seeing someone now?” Kai asked and noticed her expression changed. He hated to ask, but he needed to know. Kai prayed that she would shake her head and tell him no. He wouldn’t know how to react if she told him that she has been seeing someone all this while.

“No.”

A part of him felt much relieved. Kai couldn’t help but smile a little, but stopped when he noticed her chewing on her lower lip. He knows she’s anxious. She always did that whenever she was nervous.

“It’s just not right.” Ji Ae looked up to face him, “You can’t just re-appear 4 years later and.. and we can’t just act like nothing happened. We can’t. I can’t.”

Ji Ae found herself stuttering on her words. Hell, of course she missed him all these years! But no, she told herself that she shouldn’t be easily shaken by him once more.

Kai nodded as he took in her answer, “I understand what you mean. I’m just.. sorry. I'm sorry I ed up.”

“It’s all in the past, Jongin. Let’s just move on.”

Kai watched as Ji Ae slipped away from his grasp and disappeared amongst the crowd. Her touch leaving his fingers made him feel a same familiar feeling that made him sick. Sick to his stomach. It was the same feeling he felt 4 years ago, the moment he saw her walked away from him. And in that moment, he knew he screwed up. 

“Let’s just move on.”

Kai knows she didn’t mean what she said. Move on?

How the hell can he, when Park Ji Ae’s the only one who has been running through his mind during all those sleepless nights he had. He knows that she was lying when she told him to move on. He could see it in her eyes.

He knows that she couldn’t have possibly given up on them entirely.

All he knows now is that, he’s going to do whatever he can to call Park Ji Ae his again. 

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till next time! 

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