“Gyu!” An excited voice was heard over the line.

Sunggyu couldn’t help but smile at her excited voice. It has been long since he called, he noted.

“What are you doing?” he asked as he steered the wheel effortlessly with one hand.

“I am trying out a new recipe.” She sang happily.

“You really love to bake, don’t you?” he teased, earning a cute whine.

“There isn’t much things to do if you can’t be in public.” She said.

He could imagine her sad smile behind the receiver as she said those words.

“Yah-” He was about to scold her but she cut him off.

“So why did our dearest Mr. Kim call at this timing?” she asked.

“Do you have 2 extra tickets to your solo concert?” he asked.

“Of course I do! It’s so rare of you… Who’s coming with you?” she asked.

“Just a friend who really, really likes you. Just give her a back row ticket and a VIP for me.” He said.

“Okay, got it! My cookies are getting burnt, I will hang up first.” With that, Taeyeon hung up and placed her phone on the kitchen table top.

She stared at the heart-shaped cookies which cracked slightly as they got heated.

-

Ahreum looked down on the marble tiled ground and her calves. She secretly looked to Sunggyu’s and realized how his calves were so slim compared to hers. The skinny jeans looked good on him too, she thought. Her random thoughts were disrupted when a man in white robe appeared. He smiled brightly as he offered his hand.

“Hi, you must be Ahreum. My name is Kim Minseok, I am a dietician doctor at this clinic.” He self-introduced.

“N-Nice to meet you.” Ahreum said. 

“Now that both of you have met. I have something on, I’ll get going first.” Sunggyu said.

“Yah, you little punk. Can’t you even say hi to your hyung!” Minseok elbowed attacked Sunggyu by his neck.

“Arraso, sorryyy~ Let go of me hyung.” Sunggyu struggled free successfully and ran off.

Ahreum watched Sunggyu run out of the clinic doors, waving goodbye with his left hand. It was the first time Ahreum saw this side of Sunggyu, she thought. They must be really close.

“Ignore him. If you’re ready, let’s begin our series of tests Ahreum-ssi.” Minseok smiled.

Ahreum nodded and followed him. The tests lasted for hours and Ahreum was so embarrassed when the nurse got her to change into their patient clothes which were really thin. The tests involved her exposing bare parts of her body to Minseok too. She found her fat stomach, thighs and arms disgusting. However, he always had the reassuring smile on. From time to time, he would check on her and ask if she was comfortable. It made her feel better despite being embarrassed. He was professional and really kind. She was honestly glad he was her doctor, not anyone else.

“ Thank you for your time today, Ahreum-ssi.” Minseok smiled.

“Thank you too.” Ahreum said, bowing slightly.

“I will walk you out.” He offered.

Ahreum smiled gratefully and he even waited with her until Sunggyu arrived. Sunggyu got a knock from Minseok for being late and he pouted in response. Ahreum laughed slightly at their exchange. Upon entering the car, the two fell silent almost immediately. Ahreum silently looked to Sunggyu whose gaze was fixated on the road. She bit back the urge to talk. After all, Sunggyu hated noises. The car ride finally came to an end after a 15 minutes’ drive.

“Here.” Sunggyu casually handed.

“What’s this?” Ahreum pondered as she opened the envelope to find a concert ticket in it.

“IT IS TAEYEON’S CONCERT TICKET OH MY GOSH HOW DID YOU-” Ahreum couldn’t contain her excitement upon realizing it’s Taeyeon’s first Seoul concert ticket.

“It’s sold out but I have my ways.” Sunggyu said smugly with a satisfied smile.

“Thank you!! Thank you so much…” Ahreum held the ticket close to her heart.

“In return, promise me you’ll try your best for the treatment at Minseok hyung’s clinic.” Sunggyu laid out the terms and Ahreum nodded her head repeatedly.

That night, Ahreum hugged the ticket to sleep and she fell asleep only after midnight. She was so happy.

-

Weeks later…

“You can do it, Park Ahreum!” Ahreum told herself for the umpteenth time between gasps.

She forced herself to run harder, faster as she clenched her fists tighter. She could feel the muscles in her legs burning and the fats trembling with every step she took. She could feel every ounce of oxygen being squeezed out of her lungs as she gasped for air. The thought of giving up keep popping up but she brushed it away and pressed on with clenched teeth. Finally, the treadmill counted down to 0. She collapsed on the ground, gasping for air. Ahreum smiled as she gave herself a pat on the back. She has been running diligently every single day. Lying on the ground with her t-shirt against her sweaty back, she smiled. A sense of satisfaction swept her from head to toe. It was an indescribable feeling.

“You are doing well, Ahreum-ssi.” Minseok praised as he looked down at her scale.

“Thank you.” Ahreum smiled brightly.

“Don’t overwork yourself, alright?” He patted her shoulder and she nodded.

Minseok showed her the weight charts and told her to keep up the good work. Ahreum had lost almost 10 kg over the past weeks by following strictly to Minseok’s diet curriculum. It felt like a good start. A huge first step towards her dream, Ahreum thought. Although Sunggyu didn’t say much, she knew he was satisfied with her results too. It made her feel like trying harder. She didn’t want to disappoint Minseok and Sunggyu. Most importantly, she didn’t want to disappoint herself and Myungsoo.  

Ahreum was walking back to her apartment from the clinic. She looked up at the trees. The leaves swayed rhythmically with the music of the wind. Unconsciously, she outstretched her hands in an attempt to catch the leaves.

“I will grant you a wish if you catch a falling leaf.” Myungsoo said with a big smile as he walked backwards.

Ahreum felt tears well up in her eyes when she caught a leaf in her right palm.

“How have you been?” she directed the question at the leaf in her hand, as if it would send her message to Myungsoo.

She hated to deny but she missed her best friend a lot, a lot. And it didn’t help that he hadn’t been updating his photo blog these days. She wondered if anything was wrong but Sunggyu had forbidden her from contacting anyone. As part of the contract, she had agreed to start afresh. She sighed.

Ahreum took a few more steps as she played with the leaf in her right hand. Then, she sighed. Turning around, she found herself running in the opposite direction to the nearest bus stop. Hopping onto a familiar bus, she could feel her pounding heart in her ribcage. Ahreum walked on a familiar path, passing by their old neighbourhood playground and the convenience store at the end of the street.

Ahreum stared at Myungsoo’s house and suddenly, she thought she heard a familiar voice. She quickly hid behind the wall. Cautiously, she peeped in the source of the noise to find Myungsoo with 3 others. They were laughing happily at some joke Myungsoo cracked. Ahreum knew she was supposed to be happy for Myungsoo. After all, he found new friends to hang out with. He was no longer friends only with a loser like herself and he looked happier. However, deep down inside, Ahreum felt hurt. She felt replaced. She thought Myungsoo would have missed her too. Wiping the stray tear off her cheeks, she started running down the streets. Sweat trickled down her forehead together with her tears. From the corner of his eye, Myungsoo saw a retreating figure. It almost resembled Ahreum, he thought.

“I must be seeing things again.” He shook his head.

“What’s wrong?” Woohyun asked and he shook his head, “Nothing’s wrong.”

“Let’s go to the internet café to play games!” Dongwoo pumped his fist in the air.

“Call!” Hoya and Woohyun chimed in.

“Call!” Myungsoo followed suit, pretending to be excited.

He wondered if he sounded unnatural.

Author's Note: 
I am sorry the new update took this long TT
I was actually thinking hard on which ending path Ahreum should embark on thus this chapter got delayed.
I've got it all sorted and planned out so things would be smoother from here onwards.
Thank you for patiently waiting and I hope you'll enjoy the upcoming chapers^^ <3