Hyukjae oppa flew off to Japan while I had nothing to do again that day. Though I did not stay bored for long because my clique called me up for a gathering. They suggested eating dinner together to release their stress from their work and I agreed. It had been long since I was actually out of the house. As Hyukjae oppa wasn’t in town, I got to drive. Although he was the one who bought the car for me, Hyukjae oppa wasn’t fond of me driving and preferred that I take a taxi or call our freelance chauffeur who drove him to business meetings. After parking my car, I made my way towards the restaurant and got a table for the four of us. I waited for about twenty minutes before Kwon Taeri appeared.

Dressed in full formal and short curly hair, Taeri stands out from the crowd thanks to her height. Taeri works as a finance manager at a bank.

“Sorry, I’m late! Where’s the rest? Late too?”Taeri asked.

“Yeah, they left me a message earlier on since I couldn’t answer their call,”I replied.

“You drove here?”Taeri asked wide-eyed.

I nodded my head and she whistled immediately.

“Oh, wow. Is Hyukjae in a good mood or what? He actually let you drive?! Unbelievable,”Taeri raised an eyebrow.

“He’s out of town, idiot,”I replied as I took a sip of iced water.

“No wonder,”she nodded knowingly as she too takes a sip of her iced water.

The door to the restaurant opened and walking in was Park Soobin in her smart casual attire with her long curly hair bouncing as she walked. Soobin was a manager at an engineering company.

“Sorry for being late! Are we ready to order? I need to eat,”she said.

“Hyun-na isn’t here yet,”Taeri replied.

“Where is she?!”Soobin asked while looking at her watch.

“Should be here any time soon! OH THERE!”I pointed towards the door.

In came a lady dressed in a dress with brown coloured hair. Jung Hyun-na is a teacher in a kindergarten. She came over to our table and sat down. The four of us were from the same class all the way through high school and they have known me even before I had gotten together with Hyukjae oppa. They were the ones who have seen me grow into the young lady I am today and they are the ones whom I confided in whenever Hyukjae oppa and I fight. (Yes, although he is the best boyfriend in the whole wide world, there were times where we disagreed with each other)

“Do your classes end that late?”Taeri asked.

“No but I went home to dress up a little for our date,”she winked.

“Let’s order first!”Soobin called for a waitress.

We placed our order and began talking. The three of them began ranting about their work life and telling me about how difficult little children or clients can get. While I just sat there, absorbing what they had to say. I had nothing to contribute, after all.

“Yah, Haemin, you really should come out and work. You must be bored to death,”Hyun-na nudged me.

“Exactly! That’s what I told her!”Soobin clapped her hands together.

“All you do is go online and shop shop shop. I know Hyukjae doesn’t even care but seriously?”Taeri raised an eyebrow.

“Guys, we’ve been through this before. It’s not like you don’t know how he is,”I sighed.

“You can’t just keep giving in to him! Look at him now, Haemin. He doesn’t even know what you’re doing right now! He’s neglecting you and restricting you,”Soobin shook her head.

“Why don’t you ask him whether you can work as his personal assistant? You’ll have something to do and you can spend some time with him,”Taeri suggested.

“Nah, you all forget how egoistic Hyukjae is,”Hyun-na rolled her eyes as the waitress came with our orders.

“Don’t say that of him,”I frowned.

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. But you really should think of something to do. You’re just wasting your time away like that,”Hyun-na patted my back.

“Try and talk to him,”Taeri smiled.

“If she ever sees him. They stay together but they can go days without seeing each other,”Soobin shook her head in disapproval.

“I will try and talk to him tomorrow, alright. He’s free this weekend, I think,”I replied.

“We’re not trying to put you down but we don’t want to see you wasting your life away. You’ve got a degree and a bright future, you know that? And please shout at him if you have to. He hasn’t been treating you well,”Soobin smiled.

“I know,”I nodded.

Since Taeri was in a good mood, she ordered red wine to go along with our meal and we drank to our heart’s content, though I did limit myself to a glass or two since I was driving. We sat and chatted till the waitress came over to tell us that they were closing and we walked out. We bade each farewell and arranged to meet next time. But once I opened the front door, my smile disappeared. I was met with a dark apartment. It was me, myself and I alone again. I sighed as I shut the door and took off my shoes. I made my way to the bedroom and got ready to shower.

As the showerhead sprayed water on me, I thought of my conversation with my clique. They were right. For six whole months, I was just drifting along doing nothing. Moreover, I was mostly left to fend for myself. Hyukjae oppa’s concern for me was at rock bottom and he didn’t even care for me that much. When he first started working, he had been the one calling me during lunch break to ask whether I was free to meet him. But as time went by, he took over the company from his father completely and got busier as well. That was why he suggested that I move in so we could at least see each other every day. And we do. He sees me every day when I’m sleeping and I rarely ever saw him. I sighed as I walked out of the shower after changing into my pajamas.

“You just got home?”

I lifted my head to see Hyukjae oppa standing there with his briefcase on our bed. His tie has been loosened and the first two buttons were ed.

“Yeah, I went to eat dinner with the girls,”I explained as I went over to the vanity to do my skincare routine.

“Did you drink?”he asked and I glanced at him through the mirror.

“Taeri was in a good mood and ordered some wine,”I explained.

He merely nodded and went off to shower while I carried on with whatever I was doing. Seeing as how I had nothing much to do, I climbed into bed and switched on the television in our room. Hyukjae oppa got out of the shower and hurriedly dried his hair. He switched off the bedroom lights and climbed in next to me.

“Switch off the television. I want to sleep,”he said as he snuggled on the bed.

Doing as he said, I switched it off and shifted myself into a lying position and turned to my side to face him. In the dark, I could make out that his eyes were closed.

“Hyukjae oppa, do you have the day off tomorrow?”I asked softly.

“Erm,”he responded without opening his eyes.

“Can we spend some time together? We don’t have to go out,”I said.

But there was no response from him. It was dead silent in our bedroom.

“Hyukjae oppa,”I whispered.

He just laid still.

“Hyukjae oppa,”I called out a bit louder than before.

But there was still no response. I sighed and turned to lie on my back to look at the ceiling. Though he was just next to me, I felt like we were miles apart. It seemed as if eight years wasn’t enough for me to know how to get to him. 

End of Chapter

DarkAngel