T W E N T Y – N I N E

Word of the Day – “Sear”

Miyoung emptily watched the dried leaves fly across the garden, some of them brushing past her feet. The beautiful string lights hanging above her surrounding the veranda were barely enough to lighten up her mood.

She stretched her arms straight on either side of her on the bench and kept her head low. It was pretty cold outside but she’d rather freeze than be inside of the house right now. She should have seen this coming. She knew this was going to happen, like always.

Or maybe this time, she almost believed that things could actually go differently.

Of all the recipes she could have chosen, why did she have to pick the one very last one that would inevitably remind her father of the tragedy? For her, it was a piece of very special information. But for him … it was nothing but a sad memory.

She was the cause of that sad memory and it would never change.

Today went so well that for a second, she actually thought that she had done an excellent job. For once, she actually learned how to believe in herself when it came to something that she knew she was the weakest at—cooking. Kyungsoo was there from beginning to end, guiding and supporting her while still giving her the chance to learn on her own.

And it felt so good that … it felt so real.

But it wasn’t.

She was still a disappointment in her father’s eyes. Should she have stayed a little longer and maybe heard something good from him? But what if she did stay but only hear that it wasn’t good enough? She couldn’t risk the thought of hearing that. Not when she’d worked so hard on this one and actually thought it was done well.

She had done well … or so she thought.

“Hey.” A familiar voice made her look behind her. Kyungsoo stepped out of the house and approached her at the bench. Something about his expression told her that he wasn’t too happy right now. Did something happen in there when she left? Were they caught? Did her father find out that they were dating? It had only been two days—it was too soon for this to happen, right?

He sat next to her and leaned down to himself and rested his elbows on his knees. “He hated it, didn’t he?” A bitter smile quivered on Miyoung’s lips. “I knew it. That’s why I didn’t originally want to do it. See?” She sighed.

“Your father said Hwang Jun’s coming over tomorrow to see you. And uhm, he might be inviting you to some party or ball or whatever, I think you’re gonna have fun there. You sho—you should come.” Kyungsoo choked in between words and Miyoung automatically knew he was faking the smile on his face.  

“Hwang Jun?” She frowned. “You mean the hotel guy we met at the cabin? Why?”

What the hell was happening? Miyoung barely even remembered who Jun was so why was he suddenly a part of this conversation? And why would she ever go with a stranger to some party? Or anywhere for that matter? It didn’t make sense at all.  

Especially coming from Doh Kyungsoo himself. Her now boyfriend.

Was this some type of joke? Because if it was, she wasn’t laughing.

“Perhaps, he likes you. He’s interested to get to know you.” Kyungsoo replied curtly.

Miyoung’s mouth fell open in disbelief. “What—you’re done hooking up with me after two days so now you’re pimping me to someone else, is that it?” She scoffed earning a loud groan from Kyungsoo who leaned even lower against his lap and covered his face. “For ’s sake, that’s not it.” He grunted in his palms.

“Then start saying that has actual sense.” Miyoung pushed him on the shoulder. Kyungsoo sat up straight again and looked up at the night sky. “We can’t do it here—.” He groaned and stood up, walking back into the house. Without hesitation, Miyoung followed him in until they were out to the front yard. Kyungsoo walked past his car and her car parked at the driveway, going out of the gates and to the empty sidewalk.

Miyoung trailed behind him, the lights from the lamp posts creating a shadow between their large gap.

Three blocks later from her house, they were still walking in complete silence and she was beginning to lose her patience. “Can you just stop this melodramatic walk-out and just tell me what’s wrong? I need words. There’s no sad background music that’s going to play for us because this is not a ing K-drama, for ’s sake! Stop right there, you , and tell me what’s wrong.” She snapped in frustration.

Kyungsoo stopped immediately and spun on her, staring at her with a pinched expression.

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong is me. I’m the wrong one. I made a mistake of putting you into this when you had better things to do and … better people to meet.” He finally spoke up after a brief moment of silence.

“I don’t believe you mean that,” Miyoung replied with a firm tone. She felt hot liquid forming on the corners of her eyes but she held it in with a raised chin.

Kyungsoo’s eyes darkened even more as he looked away. “Dammit, you’re right. I don’t mean that.” He hissed under his breath but it was loud enough for her to hear it. He looked away and propped his hands on his hips as he huffed out heavy sighs. Miyoung hesitantly approached him closer and nudged him on the arm. “Can you just tell me what happened in the office? What did he tell you?” She asked, calmer this time.

“No, I—” Kyungsoo flicked his tongue while looking down at her. “—I don’t want to ruin your relationship with him, Miyoung.”

“Okay, first of all … what relationship? My dad and I barely have one. What could possibly be worse than what we already have now? Tell me.” Miyoung replied and folded her arms across her chest, patiently waiting for him to come up with an acceptable argument to that. Still, with a persistent frown, Kyungsoo groaned. “Yeah, but it feels like I’m gossiping and making things worse by—"

Miyoung tapped him hard on the cheek making him wince in pain. “Tell me or I’m going to superglue your so you have permanent constipation.” She warned.

Kyungsoo took a step back, his hands curling in his hair. Frustration flooded his eyes as he rolled them back in his head. “Jeez, why do you always have to be so intense with everything—fine, your dad’s trying to set you up with Jun, alright?” he finally burst, his face redder than ever, most specifically his ears. It was evident just how much anger he’d been bottling up inside. “I kne—I knew about it even before I confessed to you in the woods. Your dad told me about it.”

“So that meant you needed to convince me to go to a party with him despite knowing that there’s this setting-up shenanigan? Cause my dad told you to?” Miyoung looked away, her face twisting with disgust. “If he told you to jump on a cliff, would you jump?” She added.

When he didn’t say anything, Miyoung took a step closer, finally catching his undivided gaze. “For once in my life, I actually felt wanted. These past two days, although very short, I’ve felt genuinely wanted. By you.” She dug her finger sharply on his chest. “But now,