(Ruth B. - Dandelions) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8a4sUabCUo

"I just wanted some fresh a-air." ShinAe hiccuped. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes wer hazy. Jaehyun eyed the bottle in her hand and noticed it was empty. She had another three bottles sitting next to her; one was empty and the others were unopened. Seeing how she was, Jaehyun recalled she was not good with her alcohol. Four bottles of soju exceeded her tolerance.

Jaehyun carefully lowered himself and sat next to her. ShinAe subsciously moved her legs and had her knees propped up to give him space next to her. Jaehyun stole a quick glance at her and stared out into the horizon. Hues of orange and pink painted the sky.  The sun was setting and it was incredible. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Jaehyun decided to speak up.

"Are you hungry, ShinAe?" Jaehyun asked. Jaehyun was certain that ShinAe has not eaten since lunch time. He has come to the realisation that he knew a lot of her little habits. He knew that if she was preoccupied, she would forget to eat. He knew she had poor alcohol tolerance. He knew that if something bothered her, she would grip onto her bag strap until her hands went red.

"A tad. I think...this filled me up a little." ShinAe drawled and held up the empty soju bottle. She then lightly threw the bottle infront of her and onto the sand. Parting her lips, she let a sigh leave her lips. She combed her fingers through her hair. *Mum, why did you say those things?* ShinAe's hand released the strands of her hair and immediately grasped the other bottle sitting next to her. She tried to twist the cap off, but failed to make it budge.

Jaehyun reached over and took the bottle off her. He unscrewed the cap off with little to no effort, but instead of handing it back to her; he downed the whole content of the bottle. ShinAe gawked at Jaehyun, not expecting him to do that. Jaehyun suddenly got up and picked up her empty bottles. He brought his face close to her's and searched her face. His heart started to ache seeing the evident pool of sadness glass over her brown orbs.

"I'll be right back, ShinAe. Please, stay here." He softly said and patted her head. Jaehyun straightened up and strided away.

ShinAe looked over her shoulder and watched him walk away. Seeing that he was far away, she faced the sea. She smoothed her hand over her face. She felt so embarrassed about her current state, but she needed to drink. She needed something to numb herself. She was more conflicted than ever. ShinAe really thought what she did was right, but after talking to her mother, her mind was more muddled than ever.

10 minute passed and ShinAe was starting to think that Jaehyun had went back despite his words.

Footsteps approached her and ShinAe could hear rustling next to her. She spun her head to the side and saw Jaehyun. Sitting down next to her, Jaehyun crossed his legs and rested a plastic bag on one of his legs. He pulled out a foiled roll, a container and a bottle of water. Jaehyun lifted the lid off the container and unwrapped the foiled roll. "I bought some tteokbboki and kimbap. You shouldn't drink on an empty stomach, ShinAe"

ShinAe shuddered a breath. She was on the verge of crying, seeing him do all this for her. He was too good to her. Here she was, running off without a word to him, not answering her phone when he called, but he didn't get upset at her. Instead, Jaehyun just sat next to her in silence when he found her. He didn't question what was her reason for running. He didn't reprimand her for disappearing. He just asked if she was hungry and went out of his way to buy her food.

ShinAe continued to watch him pull out napkins and chopsticks from the bag. Jaehyun could feel her watching him and raised his head. When their eyes met, Jaehyun almost caved into temptation. He almost gathered her into his arm and tuck her into his warmth. ShinAe looked so somber and fragile. He wanted to protect and reassure her.

"T-thanks, Jaehyun. You didn't need to." She took the chopstick out of his hand and turned away.

"It's nothing, ShinAe." He also looked away, feeling shy from the attention she gave him.

Jaehyun took the initiative and picked up a piece of rice cake and ate it. ShinAe followed and did the same thing. Chewing on her food, she hiccuped and choked. Coughing, her hand her chest, hoping to settle the discomfort. Jaehyun immediately grabbed the water bottle and handed it to her. ShinAe gave him a small bow, expressing her attitude. She sipped the drink and placed it between them.

ShinAe could feel the alcohol slowly take a toll on her and her body sunk deeper into the sand. Her vision stretched along the vast horizon and she wallowed in the sound of the waves crashing into the shore. Feeling her heart ease and the alcohol numb her, ShinAe broke the silence between them. "You probably pieced it together, Jaehyun. Kai...he cheated on me with Yoojung." ShinAe put the chopstick down and crossed her arm over her knees. She rested her chin on it.

Jaehyun slowly rotated his head to look at her. He stared at her in bewilderment. He didn't expect her to share her past with him. It wasn't that he didn't welcome it - it just took him by surprise.

ShinAe took the silence as her cue to continue. "I didn't think he would do that; when he was the one who pursued me to the end of the Earth. I meet him through my high school friend, Chanyeol. They used to go to middle school together." A small, sad smile spread across her lips. She missed Chanyeol; he was an amazing friend.

"Kai was persistent and stuck by me like glue. He would be there after all my classes. He was there after all my exams. He was outside my dorm in the peak of the morning and he would be there in the darkening night. He always made sure I ate. He always made sure that no one would bother me. He made sure I was always safe and I started to feel safe around him." ShinAe took in a deep breath, somewhat afraid of what she was going to say. " And I...I started to develop feelings for him. I wanted to give him a chance because he seemed so genuine and ...faithful." ShinAe whispered the last part. Her eyebrows furrowed, feeling hurt by the reality of Kai. Jaehyun watched ShinAe carefully and unknowingly teared up from the sight of her hurting. Rubbing his eyes, he tried to hide it. *Stop it, Jaehyun*, he chided himself. Jaehyun didn't pity her, but he feared she might feel that way if she saw his tears. He was genuinely hurting for her. ShinAe was too lovely for the world. He wish he could take all of her pain away.

ShinAe's hiccuped stopped but she was beginning to feel tired. "I thought that if he was like this with me before a relationship, it was a reflection of how he would treat me in one." Shutting her eye, she rested her cheek on her arm and turned her head in the direction of Jaehyun. "I was stupid though. My judgement was wrong. After a year, he was distant. I was starting to feel like a burden around him, but I stayed regardless. I thought he was just going through a hard time because he was doing his first year of interning in the hospital. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and stayed by his side. I thought.. if I was with him through tough times, he would come out of it and return to the Kai I loved..." ShinAe trailed off, not wanting to continue.

"I was wrong again." Her voice shook and her heart started to ache. The alcohol losing its numbing ability, the more she spoke. "He didn't go back to the caring Kai I knew. He continued to blow me off. I would wait for him to come home from his shift, but he wouldn't be back until the next day. I was stupid though. I gave him excuses. I told myself 'he was an intern and the hospital needed him', but it wasn't the case. Time after time. Day after day. Night after night. I waited for him like a lovesick idiot, but he was..he was with Yoojung." ShinAe's lower lip trembled and she had to clench her eyes shut to prevent tears from falling. It was the first time in a while since she has opened up about what happen. When she first knew she did tell Eunhee, but not in detail.

Not like this.

It was the first time she has ever told someone how she really felt. Speaking of it in detail now, was so raw and painful. It was like the first time she found out all over again. 

"Yoojung was my friend since high school. It was always ShinAe, Eunhee and Yoojung. We got along.." ShinAe's eyes fluttered open and got captured by Jaehyun's set; rendering her speechless. Biting her lower lip, ShinAe changed position and went back to resting her chin on her arm,"..so well. I didn't expect her to go behind my back and see Kai. The whole time, I treated her like the sister I never had, but she treated me like the enemy. There were signs of her seeing Kai behind my back, but I dismissed it. I didn't want to believe the negative speculations. I really believed she would not do that to me. I was telling myself over and over, 'people are wrong' and 'I knew them best'. I had his coworkers come up to me and tell me they saw them together. I brushed it off and gave them excuses. I was so naive. I had too much trust in them." The urge to cry grew and ShinAe pushed her tongue to the roof of to stop herself. She shouldn't cry over old wounds, but she couldn't help it. The memories are incredibly painful.

"You should've seen the way I found out, Jaehyun. I felt like I was one who was intruding on their relationship. It looked like the people who I thought were my friends, knew all along and hid it from me." ShinAe chuckled thinking about what happened.

ShinAe was walking back to the apartment she shared with Kai. Since it was still early, she decided to stop by Kai's favourite restaurant.

It was Kai's birthday today.

Sadly, he had work and couldn't get the day off. He was working a long shift that started in the afternoon and finished late into the night. ShinAe wanted to surprise him at work and bring him food from his favourite restaurant. She bought a new watch for him and she was so excited to show him.

Standing at the restaurant, she looked at the menu outside and smiled. * I hope he's taking it easy.* Entering the store, she approached the counter. She pulled out her wallet and held onto it. ShinAe patiently waited for the owner to come, who was currently tiding up the area behind the counter.

"Sorry, give me a minute." The owner apologised.

"It's okay. Take your time." ShinAe smiled. She couldn't wait to surprise him at work. It was making her jittery.

While waiting, she looked around the restaurant. She loved this restaurant. This was where Kai took her on their first date. He said it was his favourite restaurant and wanted to share somthing he enjoyed with her, because she was his joy.

"Another one, Kai ! Take a shot, birthday boy! " ShinAe's blood ran cold. She froze up and her breath shuddered. *No, it couldn't be.* ShinAe was afraid to turn her head in the direction of the voice.

"C'mon sweetie. Take a shot. It's your birthday!" She recognised the voice. *She wouldn't..*

"Take it, sweetie. If not, I won't give you your gift." It was Yoojung. The voice from before, belonged to Yoojung.

A painful lump grew in ShinAe's throat and her nose tinged. ShinAe's heart cracked so loudly in her ear, she could barely hear the people around her. She shakily turned to the direction of the commotion. Her eyes travelled to the group of people on the table against the wall. She tried to steady her eyes on the couple sitting in each other's embrace.

Yoojung sat on Kai's lap and leaned her head against his while laughing. Kai murmured something in her ear and she lightly slapped him.

ShinAe's vision went blurry and her hand began to tremor vigorously. She was struggling to inhale and exhale because her chest was so tight. She spun her heel to leave but her hand knocked into the person entering the restaurant. Her wallet fell to the ground and a few coins fell out. ShinAe shot to the ground and tried to pi