That night, I had trouble sleeping once again. My heart was beating abnormally fast after coming in contact with Hyukjae after so long. I was deadly confused and it was as if world war three was happening within me. My mind was willing me to steel my heart, to forget him, to be aloof to all his concern. On the other hand, what was left of my heart was a mere puddle. It melted. I couldn’t resist Hyukjae oppa any longer. Although I knew that what I have done, breaking up with him, was right, I was still deeply in love with him. I don’t know how to move on. And he wasn’t giving me a chance to. Before I could even remove myself from his life, Hyukjae oppa had reached out, pulling me back in again. My break up with him was quite an unsuccessful one. I sighed. I had about three more days in Japan with him. The first day had been disastrous enough; I don’t even want to think about what would happen the next few days.

And then there was Donghae. After that incident, it seemed it didn’t deter him from continuing to shower affection on me. He was always on hand, wanting to help me carry my things when we went shopping earlier on. He even made sure that I was eating well during dinner. He probably knew that my heart was still a little attached to Hyukjae oppa yet he didn’t hold back his concerns for me. I sighed. I didn’t know what to do already. After his confession, I have been trying my best to not hurt Donghae’s feelings and trying to make him feel better. Though I keep reminding him that I didn’t have feelings for him, I couldn’t help but constantly make sure he wasn’t uncomfortable or awkward during this trip. Was I just making up for my guilt?

The next morning, I was woken up by my phone. It wouldn’t stop ringing and I grabbed it to get Taeri screaming down the line, getting me to wake up. That girl ought to grow up. I forced myself awake and began washing up. After I was done dressing, I opened my door, all ready to go down to the lobby to get breakfast when I spotted a brown haired guy leaning against the wall opposite my room door. He looked up when I opened the door.

“Good morning,”he greeted as he stood up straight.

“Why aren’t you downstairs with the rest?”I asked, ignoring his greeting.

“Old habits die hard. I’ve been leaning against the wall, waiting for you to arrive ever since we had our first conversation,”he shrugged nonchantly.

“But it stopped when I moved in,”I couldn’t help but retort as I jabbed the button for the elevator.

“That’s why I decided to pick up the habit again,”he replied.

“Suit yourself,”I crossed my arms.

Hyukjae oppa merely chuckled as we made our way to the rest who were already seated, eating breakfast.

“Good morning,”Donghae immediately greeted while giving me a cup of coffee.

“Good morning, thank you,”I smiled as I took the cup from him.

“The eggs are excellent. Would you want some? I can get it for you,”Donghae wiped his mouth, all ready to stand up.

But a hand landed on his shoulder and he was forced to sit down.

“Serving Haemin is my job, Lee Donghae. So, just sit down and have your breakfast,”Hyukjae oppa gave him a smile while patting Donghae’s shoulder.

The table fell silent and we watched the two of them have a battle with their eyes.

“Besides, you don’t even know what she likes to eat,”Hyukjae oppa muttered before walking away.

“Wow…that was abit…strong,”Hyun-na commented.

Taeri was still in shock and couldn’t even bring herself to utter a single word.

“Don’t mind him. He can be a jerk sometimes,”I tried to smile.

“Nah, I perfectly understand him,”Donghae brushed it off.

“Well, Hyukjae does have an advantage over you. He knows Haemin like the back of his hand,”Hyun-na nodded her head.

“That’s why they are perfect for each other,”Soobin smiled.

“Stop it,”I nudged her.

“Soobin, I hope that you would stop misunderstanding me. I’m not trying to break them apart. If they ever get back together, I’ll be the first to give my blessings,”Donghae finally spoke up.

“But that doesn’t mean you don’t have feelings for Haemin,”Soobin hissed.

“Because I think she deserves more than what Hyukjae can give. But if she chooses to be with Hyukjae, it’s fine by me. I just want her to be happy,”Donghae replied.

“You guys are talking as if Haemin isn’t around,”Taeri cut in.

“Yeah, stop it. Hyukjae’s coming back,”Hyun-na said as she cut a piece of bacon.

“Here you go,”Hyukjae oppa said as he placed a plate in front of me.

On the plate were scrambled eggs, French toast, bacons, sausages and baked beans.

“And these,”he said as he placed a cup of orange juice on the table along with a bowl of mushroom soup.

“All your favourite,”Soobin looked over with envious eyes.

“The rest aren’t to your liking so I didn’t take any,”Hyukjae oppa said.

“But I can’t possibly finish all these,”I looked at him as he sat himself opposite me.

“That’s where I come in. I know you hate to waste food so I’ll take your leftovers. Eat up,”he said with an amused smile.

I opened my mouth to speak but he beat me to it.

“Eat it up before it turns cold,”he reached out to get my soup spoon, urging me to take it from him.

I sighed and began drinking the soup that he brought over. And that was how breakfast was like. I couldn’t even finish half of the food he brought over and he ended up finishing it all up for me. Just like old times. After breakfast, we went walking along the streets. With Hyukjae oppa leading the way, we explored Tokyo. Chatting while we walk, the tension from breakfast had vanished. But all of a sudden, Hyukjae oppa stopped walking and came towards me. He kneeled on one knee with his back facing me. I immediately knew why. I debated whether to proceed. But he turned to look at me, urging me to hurry up. Although I hesitated, I still went up to him to let him piggyback me without a word. I wouldn’t be able to continue walking, that I was sure of it.

“Did you hurt yourself?”Donghae asked, surprised at why I was suddenly on Hyukjae oppa’s back.

“No, there’s a cat in front. She’s afraid of cats,”Hyukjae oppa simply replied.

“So, that’s how you avoid cats on a date,”Soobin nodded her head in fascination.

“When she’s with us, she screams and crosses the road to other side!”Taeri blurted out.

“KWON TAERI!”I shouted while glaring at her.

“Oh, there it is,”Hyun-na smiled at the cat as it approached us.

“We’ll meet you guys in front,”Hyukjae oppa told them as Taeri started to squat to be on the same level as the cat.

With me on his back, Hyukjae oppa brisk walked as fast as he can towards a café at the end of the street. It was there that he let me down before opening the door of the café, gently pushing me in as he blocked my view of the cat. As soon as I entered the café, I heaved a sigh of relief before trying to calm my breathing.

“You okay?”he asked as he my hair.

Shocked at his action, I backed away and he widened his eyes in shock at my action.

“Don’t…touch me,”I closed my eyes tight.

“Alright, alright. Just sit down here. I’ll get you a drink,”he said as he pulled a chair out for me.

Without any word, I sat down and he went off to queue for a drink.

Kim Haemin, you’re in deep trouble, aren’t you?

And my head was right. I know myself too well. I was falling for Lee Hyukjae all over again despite the fact that I’ve been constantly reminding myself of what he had done.

You gotta hang on. Don’t be such a weakling.

“Here, drink up,”

His voice startled me and I looked up to meet his brown shining eyes. I turned to face the mug on the table.

“What’s this?”I asked.

“Vanilla tea,”he simply replied.

With that, I could imagine the big grin on his face while I kept staring at the drink. Why was everything working to his advantage? I sighed before taking the mug, slowly inhaling the smell. My lungs expanded as I breathed the smell in and I couldn’t help but smile. Nothing calms me down better than a vanilla tea and Lee Hyukjae knew it.

End of Chapter

DarkAngel