“You know you changed a lot after you met her,” Woohyun said. They were all sitting on the coach. They tended to have these chats every once in a while.

“Really? How so?”

“You’re not as shy. You seem happier if that’s even possible. You seem more open to people. I don’t know. You just seem a lot more different, don’t you think so, Hoya?”

“Yeah. But it’s not in a bad way. Just different.”

“I didn’t notice. It’s her. She just makes me so happy. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve loved someone? Forever.”

Woohyun chuckled at his friend. He remembered how much Dongwoo liked the girl from his dance academy. He also remembered how heartbroken he was when she left Dongwoo. “I know, man. But now you’ve got her. Hold on to her.” There was no response, so when Woohyun looked over his shoulder to check on Dongwoo he saw that his friend was already soundly asleep sprawled across the coach.

“I’ll go get a blanket,” Hoya offered. Hoya was just as happy for Dongwoo as Woohyun was. Dongwoo deserved someone who could make him as happy as she did, he thought.

The next few weeks were uneventful. The couple went on dates and such and got into arguments frequently, usually over the smallest of things.

“Let’s just watch something else. I don’t want to sit here for 2 hours watching someone else’s love story,” she complained.

“No. You should become girlier.” He didn’t mean it like that, but it was too late to take it back when he realized what he said. “I’m sorry—“

“I didn’t know you thought of me like that. Well sorry I can’t be like other girls.”

---//---

“Come on, Dongwoo. Just this once?” They were in class, but she was getting bored and wanted to leave.

He put a finger over his lips, indicating for her to be quiet. She groaned quietly and laid her head on the table. She tried so hard to get involved in the class discussion, but it was just not interesting to her. She turned her head to look at Dongwoo, who was focused on scribbling down everything the professor was saying. She pouted and poked Dongwoo’s arm.

“You’re no fun.”

He refused to stop taking notes. Frustrated, he tore out a piece of paper from the back of his notebook and wrote a note. “If you really don’t want to be here, go by yourself. I’ll meet you after class.” She read the note and sighed. “I’ll just sleep,” she responded.

After class, she refused to talk to him and took the bus home even though Dongwoo offered to take her home.

Little arguments like those started piling up. They had their good days, but they were just so different. Sometimes, she just wanted to go to a party with her friends, but Dongwoo wanted her to stay home saying that those parties were “dangerous.” She enjoyed a can of beer or a bottle of soju (Korean alcoholic beverage) every now and then, but Dongwoo would suddenly become a health teacher and lecture her about the consequences of alcohol. Whenever Dongwoo caught her even taking out a cigarette from the box, he would snatch the cigarette and the box and throw it away, leaving her infuriated.

Sometimes, she would beg Woohyun to go to a party with her, knowing he couldn’t live a weekend without a party. She would ask him not to tell Dongwoo about it, but Woohyun had a habit of calling Dongwoo when he got drunk and spilling the beans every single time. (“I hate you,” she snarled at Woohyun, who flashed her a cheeky smile and shrugged, as Dongwoo dragged her out of the party.)

For awhile, everything was working out well. They talked it out and decided that they both had to make sacrifices to make the relationship work.

“I’ll try to stop drinking. And smoking.”

“Promise?”

“I’ll try. That’s as much as I can promise.”

“Will you also promise to cover up a little more? I don’t like how some guys look at you.”

“I’m not a baby. I can wear what I want.”

“Well, you’re…” He hesitated a little before he went, blushing as he said it. “You’re my baby!”

She was slightly taken aback. She knew Dongwoo liked the cheesy stuff (which she believed Woohyun taught him) but was always unprepared when he was so straightforward about how he felt.

“Fine. I’ll try to wear more conservative stuff. Happy?”

“Yes. Very.” And she could tell he was satisfied with her answer because he had his goofy smile plastered on his face. (The very same smile she fell for.)

“What about you, Mr. Jang Dongwoo? What are you going to do for me?”

He pondered about it for a few moments, trying to brainstorm what she was always complaining about. “I will spend more time with you instead of my books. I will try to go to more parties with you. I will stop nagging so much. And I will stop being so cheesy.”

She nodded and patted his head. “That’s my good boy.”

And so for awhile, everything felt new and fresh again. Every date felt like the first date, every kiss felt like the first kiss, every phone call felt like the first phone call.

Until one day. It was a rainy day, a gloomy and dreary day. And no matter how many times Dongwoo called her or texted her, she wouldn’t respond. He went to her apartment and sat in front her door for four hours, but she never showed up. He was terrified.

“Where are you!?”

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It's a little shorter than other chapters, but here it is~ WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! ba-bum.