[13]

Like She Could

CHAPTER THIRTEEN; HOW TO OVERCOME.

"To one day find you again"

"Oh Changkyun, what are you doing here?" Somi gently shut the door to her office and walked towards her desk as Changkyun looked up at her with eyes that blinked heavily at her.

"I saw that Hyunwoo had you and Jooheon in his office with him, so I came here instead" He was hiding again, Somi realised, it was something that Changkyun seemed to be doing a lot and it didn't look like Hyunwoo minded Changkyun using his office as a hiding place either, from what she could observe.

"I see," Somi nodded as she took a seat in her desk chair.

"Sorry" Changkyun ruffled his hair and Somi shook her head.

"Don't worry about it" She lifted the lid of her laptop and went back to doing her work in silence.

"Jooheon is gone if you want to go back to Hyunwoo's office, I know you find it more comfortable in there" Somi muttered loud enough for Changkyun to hear her. Changkyun let out a deep breath and stood up, pushing the chair back in. The door creaked as he opened it slowly, he looked back over his shoulder with an exhale, looking Somi up and down with his eyes.

"Are you coming? It's more comfortable in Hyunwoo's office" He asked, Somi's body shot up straight in response and her head snapped around to look at him with eyes growing to a size where they didn't blink.

"Huh?" dropped open.

"Hyunwoo's office, it's more comfortable" Changkyun repeated, Somi looked around, eyes flickering to everything in her office as Changkyun watched her from the doorway.

"Oh, I'll come" She nodded, still confused by Changkyun's sudden proposition. She packed up her things and nestled them into her side, holding them with one arm as she followed Changkyun out of her office.

"What's wrong with my office?" Somi looked back, tilting her head in confusion.

------------

"What are you two doing in here?" Somi looked up from her work, blinking at her boss as he entered his office.

"I thought it was so normal that you wouldn't question seeing us in here?" She answered as Changkyun looked away from the pictures she was flicking through on her laptop.

"Him yes, but you? You have an office of your own" Hyunwoo pointed from Changkyun to Somi and the young woman scoffed, looking back down at the books spread out around her.

"You're never in here so how would you know if I am or not?" She grumbled to herself, Hyunwoo bumped Somi on the back of his head as he walked past her to go to his rightful seat on the other side of the desk.

"Look at the mess you've made" Hyunwoo clucked his tongue at the state that his desk was in because of Somi's things spread across it. Somi promptly ignored Hyunwoo in favour of circling things and highlighting words in her books that she knew would be important later.

"Have you seen this?" Somi asked, picking up one of the magazines and shoving it towards Hyunwoo in the air, hoping that it would be in Hyunwoo's reach without her looking at him to know.

"It's got all the colours and clothing that they think will be in trend this summer" Somi's tone was distracted as she talked to Hyunwoo, more focused on the book she was currently reading through with squinted eyes

"The summer trends?" Hyunwoo clarified and Somi hummed in acknowledgement.

"Some of the others say similar to them too" Somi waved at the books piling up and Hyunwoo sorted through them.

"It would have to be bright colours right?"

"Mhm, lots of whites too" Somi nodded.

"Whites? Dear me" Hyunwoo huffed out, flicking through one of the books from Somi's pile in wonder.

"You mean I'll have to wear white clothes for shoots?" Changkyun looked up from the laptop once again and Hyunwoo didn't blink an eye when he answered.

"If you want to continue this job then you will" He stated and Changkyun huffed.

"I always ake such a mess in white clothes, I don't like them" He frowned.

"You don't do anything to make a mess in the clothes you model anyway" Hyunwoo shot back, making Changkyun's frown deepened as he sunk down in his seat. Somi looked up then as it went quiet, her eyes landed on Changkyun's slouched figure and she pursed her lips, brows scrunching up at the same time. Hyunwoo looked at Somi and smiled at the look on her face.

"Behave yourself would you?" Hyunwoo looked back at Changkyun, who blinked up at him.

"You always make it sound like you hate your job, other people will take you seriously if you keep saying those sort of things" Hyunwoo chuckled and Changkyun's frown turned into a pout, seeing this, Somi's face scrunched up, even more, bewildered by what she was seeing from Changkyun.

"I just don't like wearing white" Changkyun grumbled.

"And do you think I like hearing a grown man whine?" Hyunwoo retorted, only deepening Changkyun's pout.

"Exactly" Hyunwoo chuckled, Somi snorted, finally realising that the two were just bickering between each other. Somi turned away and stuck her nose back into her books, making Hyunwoo sigh as he too relented to doing the same.

"The real grown-ups have work to do now Changkyun" Hyunwoo smirked and Changkyun groaned at him in dismay, making Somi laugh quietly to herself at them.

------------

"What are we doing here Somi?" Kihyun followed closely behind the young woman as she got out of her car and locked it. They hadn't been to this place in a long time, Kihyunw as starting to think that Somi just felt better off not visiting, but she walked over to the headstone that signified the resting place for his body with no hesitation, not answering him until they were standing in front of it reading the writing they had both memorised years ago.

"Did you think that I wouldn't notice it when you become distant from me?" Somi asked him, avoiding his question with one of her own. Kihyun in a breath and looked away from his headstone to look at Somi instead. Her lips were pursed and her brows were furrowed, gaze serious as she looked at the headstone, displaying a picture of an adolescent that looked no different to the one standing next to her.

"Somi" Kihyun breathed the woman's name out in a heavy breath full of weight, his expression became pained as he looked away from her.

"Is it hard to watch me spend time with everyone? I thought that was what you wanted to see?" Somi inquired in a bitter tone and Kihyun's eyes snapped back up to her face.

"I-Somi..." Kihyun trailed off, Somi looked down, sniffling as she turned her face away from Kihyun. Somi wiped under her eyes and sniffed, looking out at the other gravestones.

"It's not what it looks like," Kihyun told her softly and Somi smiled bitterly, looking at him, letting Kihyun see the tears in her eyes that she had been holding back all this time.

"What's it meant to look like Kihyun? Tell me what you're doing, don't leave me out, it's only making me confused" She begged him, Kihyun's breath was big and heavy with hesitance, showing Somi that he hadn't wanted to tell her what it was that he was actually doing over the span of the past few weeks.

"Don't worry about it then, I'll be the one to be honest this time," Somi turned to Kihyun, hands clasped behind her back as she bit down on her lip, "I'm hurt, I'm hurt that I'm always thinking about you, wishing that you could sit down and have lunch with us, I'm hurt that I look around wondering if you liked one of our jokes, if you caught what's happening, I'm hurt that I walk around at work wondering where you are just to find you at home watching the TV. I'm in pain because it seems you're leaving and I'm not ready for you to go anywhere" Somi nodded, looking back out at the landscape instead of at Kihyun. She stepped back, Kihyun's eyes became unreadable as she looked down at his headstone, smiling bitterly before turning and walking away without saying another word. 

Kihyun turned, eyes following Somi as she went back to her car, leaving the visit to the cemetery as a short bitter one that would be avoided for another long period of time. Somi got in her car and drove away, all without looking back at Kihyun, standing in front of his grave with a crestfallen expression. His fingers twitched at his side and his lip trembled, eyes glistening with tears that would never fall.

"My dearest friend, I'm sorry that what I have to do is hurting you when all I want to see is your happiness above all else" Kihyun's bottom lip trembled as Somi drove out of sight, his shaking fingers clenched into fists and he sniffled, turning to face his gave. He sniffed, wiping under his eyes for the tears that wouldn't fall as he sat on the grass. Kihyun fell into a trance when his eyes landed on the headstone of his grave and he exhaled in a deep breath.

"I wish I had never chosen to end my life, trust me Somi"

------------

"What are you doing back here? Work finished a couple of hours ago, I already sent you home" Hyunwoo was confused by the sight of Somi in her office again, hunched over her desk as if the things on it were all she had in life. Somi grunted as a response and Hyunwoo entered her office, shutting the door behind himself as a second thought in case any of the late workers tried to go searching for him. Hyunwoo made himself comfortable at Somi's desk in one of the chairs and leaned his chin on the arms he crossed on the desk, scooching forward so that he could see Somi's face under her hair that acted as a curtain.

"Somi? You never stay back this late, at least not that I know of" Hyunwoo peered at her curiously.

"Are you implying that I sneak into the office to do more work after hours?" Somi muttered, telling Hyunwoo that she wasn't happy.

"I don't know, do you?" He asked her and Somi shook her head, making her hair wave side to side.

"No" She grumbled and Hyunwoo's smile became soft.

"You're sad" He pointed out.

"And you're still not good at comforting people" Somi pointed out in retort to his statement.

"Aren't I?" Hyunwoo's head tilted to the side and Somi hummed.

"But I noticed you're sad, so don't you wanna talk about it?" Hyunwoo asked her and Somi shook her head quickly.

"Not really, I would prefer a distraction" She answered quietly and Hyunwoo tapped his hands on the table.

"I was going to get a late-night snack before I saw you, so why don't you come with me? I assume that you're not gonna be leaving for a while yet?" Hyunwoo's head gave another tilt once he was standing up again and his eyes blinked at Somi curiously as she looked up at him.

"I don't think so"

"Right, then let's go, there's a little convenience store just around the other side of the block that's still open at this time," Hyunwoo told her and Somi pushed herself onto her feet with her hands planted on her desk.

"Let's go" Somi smiled, though it was done sadly, making Hyunwoo cluck his tongue.

"You still like ice cream?" He asked her, grabbing her by the hand as they walked out of her office. Somi looked down at their joint hands and nodded.

"Of course I do"

"Well there is this really nice brand of ice cream that this store sells, you should get some, you'll really like it," Hyunwoo told her, pressing the button to beckon the elevator as they stood there, watching the numbers roll by until the doors slid open and they entered the elevator.

"Are you always here this late at night?" Somi asked Hyunwoo, trying to take her mind off the fact that Hyunwoo was still holding her hand, they all used to do it growing up, so maybe it must have still felt normal to Hyunwoo, Somi couldn't tell.

"Most nights, some times there is enough done for me to go home before the sun disappears" Hyunwoo shrugged his shoulders with a chuckle.

"Why didn't you tell me?" SOmi looked up at him and Hyunwoo raised a brow.

"I would have stayed back and helped if I knew there was so much for you to do," She told him and Hyunwoo smiled.

"I'll remember that next time I feel too tired to do any work" He teased and Somi frowned at him.

"Hey, I didn't say I would do all the work for you"

"No?" Hyunwoo mused and Somi shook her head.

"No" She confirmed.

"Aw, what? I thought you enjoyed being treated like my assistant by the others?" Hyunwoo niggled and Somi glared at him, showing Hyunwoo that she wasn't impressed.

"I hate it, honestly, do none of them think I'm trying to do my own work around here? I don't just take the photos, do they know that?" She questioned and Hyunwoo's smile was teasing as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe you need to tell them that," He advised, "or don't and keep doing more of my work for me," Hyunwoo told her, earning a slap on the arm from Somi.

"Hurry up, I want this ice cream you told me about" Somi walked out of the elevator first when the doors opened and Hyunwoo jogged after her out of the building, using his long legs to catch up with her.

"This way, Hyunwoo waved Somi to the left when she went right and Somi looked back.

"Hm?"

"This way, it's quicker," Hyunwoo told her and Somi huffed, turning on her heels as Hyunwoo snorted at her.

"Why didn't you tell me that before I started walking the wrong way?" Somi pouted. Hyunwoo's finger prodded her forehead and Somi grimaced.

"You shouldn't have gone ahead without me"

"And now look, you're taking me down a dark alleyway, you want me dead don't you?"

"Oh please," Hyunwoo laughed, "as if anyone would try and kill you. You would talk their ear off so much that they run away instead of finishing the job"

"You're an , don't tell me when you're staying back late at work, I want you to do all the work yourself now" Somi shoved Hyunwoo away from her but he was back by her side in the blink of an eye.

"I'm just gonna keep calling until you answer me, and then when you don't show up at the office, I'll bring all the work to your place. I'll even sit in your bed and do my work if I have to"

"Stay away from my apartment" Somi growled at him.

"Come to work when I tell you I'm staying back late then!" Hyunwoo shot back.

"No, you don't deserve my help anymore, forget I even offered!"

------------

Somi covered with her hand as she yawned, staying at the office for so long last night had really effected her energy levels the next day, she didn't know how Hyunwoo had been doing late night work by himself for so long. Doing so for just one night had left her exhausted and she was struggling to stay awake in the office.

"Did you not sleep last night?" Somi hummed, ignoring the eyes of Kihyun that she could feel burning into her back as she answered Changkyun.

"I went back to the office and helped Hyunwoo with a few things, we ended up staying later than we planned to"

"No wonder you seem tired" Changkyun muttered, more to himself in thought than to continue a conversation with Somi, so she didn't answer.

"Wait, do you hear that Changkyun?" Somi reached out for Changkyun's arm on instinct to stop him in his place. Changkyun went rigid and his brows furrowed, not hearing what Somi was hearing.

"What is it?" Changkyun asked. Before Somi could answer, two people came storming towards them at full speed. Somi gasped and Changkyun jumped into action the moment he realised they were being targeted. As Changkyun rushed to their defence, Somi screamed at the top of her lungs in hopes of someone hearing them.

Somi grunted when big hands wrapped around her arms. Her eyes squinted and she fought to keep them open so that she could see who they were fighting against.

"Give us your money and we won't hurt you!" Somi couldn't see the face behind the mask. But whoever it was forcing their body to overpower hers was breathing heavily in her face. She kicked her legs out and flailed her arms in the tight grip locked down on them, refusing to give in. 

Someone else ran into the alley, following the sounds of Somi's screams. They ducked, narrowly avoiding Changkyun as he kicked his leg. The bag they were carrying was swung and collided with the back of a large body towering over the cowering female. The action evoked anger in response and the weight of the body on Somi was lifted as the one in the mask turned to attack the one that had swung at them. 

Somi used the brick wall behind her to bring herself back to her feet. Her eyes instantly went to Changkyun and she exclaimed, running forward without a second thought when the other mans weapon glistened under the sunlight. She was able to take the attacker by surprise and give Changkyun the chance to knock the knife from their hand. But she was thrown into the wall as a consequence. Pain shot through her body as Changkyun yelled out in anger at the man. His attacks became wild in order to defend both of them as Somi slumped to the ground, unable to get back up with the pain she was in. Her eyes became unfocused, coming in and out of being able to see as she tried to blink the returning blurriness away. They landed on the person that had come to their aid and they widened upon being met back with a frantic gaze, the other person stock-still from shock.

"Down here!" More men came running towards them as Somi shakily raised a hand, pointing a weak finger.

"Hyun-" Her ar fell limp as the other person cried out, back hitting the wall as their hand covered the fresh gash across their abdomen. Somi's eyes rolled to the back of her head, losing sight of the world around her as it all went black.

------------

"Somi" Changkyun jumped to his feet with a gasp but he was beaten to Somi's side. Minhyuk took Somi's arm, supporting her weight as Jooheon rushed to her other side, pushing her drip on wheels along so that she could move. Changkyun sunk back down in his seat and sighed heavily, watching as Jooheon and Minhyuk helped her walk towards them.

"Hey guys" She smiled at the group around her.

"Does the doctor know you're up?" Hyunwoo came running down the hall with his phone in hand.

"I got here quickly as I could" He panted, taking one look at the people around him.

"I don't know who to check on first" He admitted as everyone stared at him.

"I'm alright" Somi nodded with a smile. Hyunwoo looked her up and down before dropping to his knees in front of Changkyun, hands automatically cupping his cheeks, much to the other male's distaste.

"Don't worry I'm fine" Changkyun pushed Hyunwoo's hands away but it didn't stop him from worrying about the younger male.

"When did you all get here?" Somi asked, all of them looked exhausted as if they had just run a marathon to get to the hospital.

"I've just sat down because they wouldn't let me in your room," Hoseok told her, chest rising and falling in deep breaths.

"You guys" Somi clucked her tongue. Jooheon moved to sit down again, the lack of presence at her side revealed a hidden figure that Somi hadn't noticed yet, sitting quietly on his own the entire time. Somi's eyes grew in size and fell open, muttering the mans name.

"Hyungwon" She breathed out and Hyungwon continued to look her up and down.

"You woke up quickly" He stated and Somi nodded, swallowing when it caused her head to thump.

"They said it was nothing serious" She answered and Hyungwon nodded.

"He's been here waiting for you to wake up this whole time" She heard Kihyun whisper, her eyes searched for him automatically to find that he had taken the empty seat beside Changkyun. She blinked, looking away as a lump of guilt formed in . Somi looked at the protective hand Hyungwon held in front of his abdomen and swallowed once more, looking up when Hyungwon shook his head.

"Don't" He told her simply and Somi looked down.

"How did you all know to come?" Changkyun asked, breaking the silence. Hyunwoo stood up, stepping away from Changkyun as he cleared his throat. Jooheon pointed at Hyunwoo and Minhyuk and Hoseok pointed at Jooheon, who shuffled in his seat in discomfort.

"Right" Changkyun almost laughed and Somi bit down on a smile that was quick to disappear when the tense atmosphere returned.

"Miss Han?" Somi turned, looking at the doctor that was waiting for her by the door to the room she had just left.

"Yes?"

"If you  would follow me back to your room, we can get you ready to go home if you would like?" Somi nodded, she looked back at the group one last time before turning away. For the first time in a long time, they all looked whole through her eyes and she didn't know when she was going to see that again, because it felt far from being whole.  

------------

"They don't want you to stay overnight?" 

"The doctor said he examined my head while I was out, it's nothing that needs to be monitored" Somi shrugged.

"Are you sure?" Hyunwoo asked again.

"Yeah, if anything, shouldn't those two be staying back?" She gestured to Changkyun and Hyungwon instead. Hyungwon glared at her and Somi rose an eyebrow at him in response.

"Are you that mad you got hurt because of me?" Somi asked challengingly and Hyungwon scoffed when Hyunwoo put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"If I had known it was you it would a be a different story" Hyungwon muttered under his breath. Hoseok threw Hyungwon's arm off of his shoulder and stepped away from him.

"Huh?" Somi blinked at Hyungwon, not catching what he had said.

"Are you alright Changkyun?" Hoseok asked Changkyun who walked with a limp.

"Yeah" Changkyun nodded, face pulled into a wince. Hoseok wordlessly helped Changkyun to support his weight so that he could walk out of the hospital in less pain.

"Did the police come?" Somi asked suddenly and Minhyuk gasped.

"They did!" He exclaimed and Somi's eyes snapped towards him.

"And would you believe that the people that jumped you also broke into my house? They finally caught them because of you not dying easily" Minhyuk told her.

"Are you ever going to stop being so insensitive?" Jooheon asked Minhyuk who looked at Jooheon up and down.

"At least when I am it's because I'm stating facts, not ruining other peoples lives" Minhyuk bickered and Jooheon glared at him.

"Did we have that long deep chat for nothing?" Jooheon asked him and Minhyuk shook his head.

"No, I'm just bitter about it still" Minhyuk bumped shoulders with Minhyuk.

"He's right you know," Kihyun spoke up and Somi glanced to her left.

"Neither of you was going down, they were big guys" Kihyun muttered and Somi shrugged her shoulders.

"At least we got out of there" Somi breathed out and Hyunwoo hummed.

"Do you need a ride home?" He asked her and Somi sighed.

"My cars still at work" 

"You can come with me then"

"Can we get food though?" Somi blinked up at Hyunwoo. Hyunwoo huffed, shoulders slumping.

"Is anyone else hungry?" He asked the group and sounds of agreement were made as hands shot up.

"No thanks" Hyungwon growled, turning and walking away from the others.

"Majority rules!" Jooheon exclaimed, grabbing Hyungwon's arm before he could escape.

"Everyone but you said yes so we're going to eat!"

"I said no thanks" Hyungwon snared, trying to free his ar from Jooheon's grip, only to wince.

"And now I'm saying stiff " Jooheon snapped back.

"This is going to be interesting" Changkyun sighed, having Hoseok hum in agreement.

"Let's hope the food stays on our plates this time"


Hello everyone,

Firstly I apologise for going MIA out of nowhere, I didn't mean to just leave this story without any warning, I've just been so caught up in my personal life that it was hard to get online and post this update.

So I'm still here, still updating and I won't be giving up, I was just struggling for a little bit this week.

Anyway, finally, we have all eight members together! Did this come as a surprise for you?

I'll do my best to post the next chapter on time, so I'll see you then!

Like this story? Give it an Upvote!
Thank you!

Comments

You must be logged in to comment
xxlovemejsyo
#1
Chapter 4: WOW WOW
aonani_k
#2
Chapter 20: Oh gosh! So I finally finished the story. Just wanted to say I totally shed some tears because of the last two chapters, but I'm so glad I read your story. It was nice seeing the group back together again and their process of forgiveness and reconnecting. Not going to lie, Somi is much more forgiving then I am, but I really like how it took time and really honest conversations for them to involve each other in their lives once again. But also...Oh gosh! this ending couple!!! I love it! I totally do! (Just like in Blood Haven with ShowNu in the end....I.... seriously.... liked her with him in Blood Haven....but like also with JooHeon.... I'm just....yeah hahahahahahahhaha so happy yay a couple!!!) Thanks for sharing this story with us. Take care and stay safe!
aonani_k
#3
Chapter 21: Yay! OMG! I'm happy to know you're working on a new story! I have to be honest, I've been avoiding reading the last chapter of this story because I didn't want to say goodbye to it. But now that I know you're doing something new, I'll definitely get around to reading it this week. So happy to hear from you. Take care. Can't wait to read your new story, which by the way I really enjoy deck stories so yay! :)
thenamesmeep #4
Chapter 20: I'm not gonna lie I'm highkey crying. I know he would have to leave but dang bro this hit different. This was an amazing story and I loved it. I look hella forward to your future works!
DolphinWorld
1977 streak #5
Chapter 20: I still can't believe that I have completed the story. But I have a question. I thought Kihyun left but then she saw him again at his grave? Anyway, I had fun reading the story and I liked that there was no particular romance line.
Also are your other Monsta X Stories similar too? Like no romance lines like this one? ^^
DolphinWorld
1977 streak #6
Chapter 19: Right when you are having fun at their bickering and stuff, the chapter hits you up with the feels. And I can't believe there's only one chapter left to read. Will be back later to read that.
DolphinWorld
1977 streak #7
Chapter 18: Wait! They got stuck in the freezer in the past? But how could that happen? I'm confused. Also why Hyungwon wasn't getting the ice cream himself? I was confused at that too. Anyway, can't wait to read more. Will be back later ^^
DolphinWorld
1977 streak #8
Chapter 17: Hyungwon can see spirits too? That came as a surprise. I mean, I was thinking Somi would be the only one who could do that. Anyway, since I realized I'm close to the end of the story, I don't want it to end anymore. Nonetheless, will be back later to read more ^^
DolphinWorld
1977 streak #9
Chapter 16: This chapter was funny, them showing up at his house and all acting child-like and bickering. TBH I groaned a little when I saw the word count but once I started reading the chapter, it didn't really bother me anymore. Also, you spoke about the quotes in your a/n. Are those quotes written by yourself? Anyway, will be back later to read more ^^
DolphinWorld
1977 streak #10
Chapter 15: Well, more than them all being together, I'm surprised at how they got attacked. I have so many questions. I mean who are they? And who was their target? Why did they attack them and so on. Hopefully all these questions will be answered in the following chapters. So can't wait to read more. Will be back later ^^