Woo Jiho || Zico

“We’re going to be late for rehearsals,” Kyung complained as he stared out of the window with a bored expression.

“I’m not that one who woke up late,” Jiho muttered, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel in annoyance.

Kyung let out an annoyed grumble. “Why did you even decide to drive through Gangnam? You know just how much traffic there is here.”

Jiho kept his mouth shut, worried he’d say something horrible to the whiny male.  He didn’t even know what motivated him to take a different route to work, let alone drive through the gridlocked streets of Gangnam. There were other ways to get to the studio, but for some odd reason, Jiho had woken up that morning, determined to drive through the business district. The reason? Even he didn’t know.

“Great. The others are already at the studio. We’re going to be late,” Kyung repeated, shooting Jiho a look.

Jiho, on the other hand, grit his teeth together, preventing him from spewing curses. Jiho was extremely irritable today, probably a result of another sleepless night. He didn’t know why he couldn’t sleep; he’d just kept tossing and turning, but insomnia prevailed. Kyung’s incessant whinging wasn’t helping to ease his frayed nerves. Jiho didn’t know why he was feeling this way. A faint memory tried to invade his mind; a familiar face threatened to overcome his thoughts, and yet, he couldn’t remember. Jiho began to speed up, pressing his foot down on the accelerator. Soon, the car was weaving through traffic at record speeds.

“Slow down Jiho,” Kyung stuttered, gripping his seatbelt.

“You were complaining just five seconds ago,” Jiho snapped.

“We’ll get into an accident, idiot.”

Jiho ignored him and continued to accelerate. He spotted a traffic light ahead, and it was still green.

I can make this, Jiho thought confidently and stepped on the gas, making the expensive sports car jolt forward.

“Jiho, slow down,” Kyung repeated, eyes widening in fear.

I’m almost there, Jiho thought, unconsciously leaning forward in his seat. The lights flashed yellow as the car was only a hundred meters away. Almost there…

“Jiho, look out!”

Kyung’s yelp jolted Jiho out of his day dream, and his eyes landed on a couple who had begun crossing the street.

Idiots, Jiho thought. The lights are still yellow. He looked up and saw that they were red, and that his car wasn’t making any move in slowing down.

.

He slammed his foot on the brakes, and the car screeched to a halt just a few inches from the couple.

“ing hell Jiho, what’s your problem?” Kyung yelled.

The guy at the middle of the crossing had his arms held protectively around the girl, who was cowering behind him in fear. Jiho tuned out Kyung’s lecture regarding the safety of those around him, and more specifically, his own safety. He was transfixed by the girl at the crossing. She was familiar, to a point where a strange feeling tugged at the bottom of his heart. Then, the girl peered over the guy’s shoulder, scowling directly at Jiho, and then, realization flooded the both of them. She instantly recognized who he was, as he suddenly remembered why he couldn’t sleep the previous night. It all clicked inside his head. She was the face he’d kept seeing last night, and his memories of her had flooded his thoughts. Jiho felt as if someone punched the air right out of him, and everything else in him for that matter. He couldn’t breathe. It was getting harder and harder to see. After all these years, she was the last person he’d ever expected to see. Yet there she stood, just as shocked as he was, and he had almost run her over.

“Miyoung, wait up! Let me explain.”

Jiho struggled to catch up with the girl he had just broken up with not even five minutes ago. He took her slap to his face without a single flinch, expecting it as much as the tears in her eyes. What he didn’t expect was the terrifyingly painful expression in her eyes. They were in the middle of the busiest section in Gangnam, where he had decided to break the news to her. He hadn’t really thought it through, however, as their spat had passersby looking on with both caution and interest. She him just before the pedestrians’ crossing, her face livid with anger and rage.

“Explain what?” she hissed, ignoring the concerned stares from those trying to escape the chilly winter wind. “You just broke up with me.”

“I want to explain why,” Jiho replied feebly, shrinking under the girl’s intense gaze. He was a whole head taller than her, yet he felt as small as an ant.

“Why? Frankly, I don’t care why. But you know what Jiho? I have a theory,” she said scathingly.

He stood dumbfounded, completely taken off guard by her abrasive behaviour – this wasn’t the same sweet, innocent girl he’d fallen fore. She was stronger, braver. Then again, he couldn’t blame her for being so aggressive. He did just end their two year relationship.

“It’s another girl, isn’t it?” she accused, jabbing her finger at his chest. “You’ve met someone else, haven’t you?”

For a second, Jiho couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Had Miyoung just accused him of being unfaithful? She knew better than that, right?

“No, it’s not another girl,” Jiho replied with a shaky laugh.

“Then what? What the hell happened that you suddenly decided to break up with me? Am I not good enough for the mighty Woo Jiho? Am I ugly? If you don’t tell me why you decided to break my heart, I will hate you forever.”

“Miyoung, you idiot, it’s not because of any of those reason you just said. You’re beautiful – the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met. You know I love you, I always will.”

She shook her head, unhappy with his answer. “No, that’s not what I want to hear. Why are you breaking up with me?”

With a sigh, Jiho knew he could no longer hide the reason from her. “I signed up with Stardom Entertainment. You know that company I’d always told you about? They scouted me. I’d been training with them for a year now, but I didn’t know how to tell you. I’m going to debut in a few months.”

Miyoung felt as though she had been hit by a truck. Not because she was shocked that Jiho had signed with a company – she had always known about his talent in rapping, in fact, she had always told him to pursue his dream of becoming more than an underground rapper. She had always been supportive of Jiho’s dreams, always there pushing him towards his goals. What surprised – and angered – her was the fact that Jiho had left it until now to tell her. She had been the one who accompanied him to his rap battles. She was always there for him, and he only decided to tell her now?

“Why?”

Surprise registered on Jiho’s face. “What do you mean ‘why’?” he asked. “I’m debuting in a group soon. I’m going to make it big, Miyoung.”

Again, Miyoung shook her head. “That’s not what I meant. I know why you want to do this. I’ve always known – I’ve always been there for you, I’ve listened to your dreams. I just want to know why you’re breaking up with me. Why you’ve only decided to tell me the news now. Why?”

Jiho smiled, wanting nothing more than to take her into his arms. Yet he knew she needed to move on. “I don’t want to drag you into this world. I don’t deserve you – you deserve a normal, happy life. If we stay together, you’ll be dragged into all these scandals. I don’t want that for you. I want you to move on.”

She let out an exasperated sigh, rolling her eyes at his speech. “You really are a cocky, self-centred , aren’t you? Jiho, I love you. I would jump in front of a car for you, you know that. I don’t see why we need to break up. I will go around the world and back just for you. I don’t care about rumours or the bull that idols have to put up with – for you, I would put up with anything. Don’t you see that?”

“That’s the thing Miyoung. I don’t want you to put up with all this crap. You deserve better. I love you too, and I’ll do anything to protect you.”

“By forgetting about me,” she nodded, a scowl on her face. “Sure Jiho, if that’s what you want. I’ll forget you too. I would fight for you Jiho, but since you’re pushing me away, I’m not going to. Have fun with your life.” With that, she began to cross the road along with several other pedestrians, not looking back at Jiho’s dumbfounded expression.

“Miyoung!” he called, peering over the heads of those around her. “I’ll always love you. I will never forget you.”

He saw her turn back, and for a moment, he thought she’d come back to him. He was wrong.

“ you, Woo Jiho. I hate you.”

The last thing he saw was her middle finger raised above the crowd. He smiled. Even though it hurt him more than anything to let her go, he needed to. She deserved better.

Miyoung hated Jiho. She loathed him with all her heart. Months after their break up, she would still yell at random objects, pretending that they were Jiho. She’d swear, kick, and throw wild punches at the air around her. She loved pretending to hate him, even though she knew she still loved him.

True to his word, Jiho debuted with his group no less than four months later. Block B. She said the name with a certain poison in her tone. No matter how much she wanted to dance along to their song and sing along to the addictive tune, she forced herself to hate them. Yes, she hated the group, especially their leader. She didn’t have a good reason as to why she hated them – she just did. Probably because of the fact that their leader had mercilessly broken her heart on the streets of Gangnam. Zico. She laughed bitterly at Jiho’s chosen stage name. She hated everything about him – his stupid stage name, his ridiculous outfits, his insane rapping, everything. The thing she hated the most? The fact that she couldn’t take her eyes off him every time he performed.

More months passed, and the hate that Miyoung felt slowly began to dissipate. She was getting used to the fact that Jiho had moved on with his life. He was happy with his career, happy with his band members, happy with life. She figured that if he could move on, then so could she. She would move on, be happy with her life, and most importantly, be happy for Jiho.

Soon, she found herself buying all the Block B albums, and happily listening to their music. She found herself turning on the television and cheering along with the other fans as Block B performed. She could no longer hate Jiho – he had achieved his dream, the same dream he’d told her over and over again every time he had spent the night with her. In some way, she was glad he was able to reach his goal, even if it meant he had to sacrifice his relationship with her.

Yet, somewhere in her heart, there was still a sense of regret, a sense of incompletion. She should have fought for Jiho that night at Gangnam. She should have proved her love for him; she shouldn’t have given up so easily.

“Miyoung, Block B are making a comeback next month!”

Miyoung felt her heart deflate slightly as she continued folding clothes in the living room beside her younger sister.

“You know Mieun, you could help me with the chores instead of fangirling over Block B.”

Her younger sister poked her tongue out, flipping through the channels on the television. “Aren’t you excited? Didn’t you miss Zico?”

Miyoung couldn’t help but smile slightly at the mention of his name. It was as if she had a secret that no one else knew. “I don’t really have time for them.”

“But didn’t you date Zico? I mean, Jiho?”

“Yeah, a year or so ago. That’s a long time ago.”

“Oh right. It doesn’t matter, you have Hyunkoo anyway.”

Miyoung sighed happily at the thought. A year had passed, and she could safely say that she had managed to move on. She had met Hyunkoo a month ago at university, and she had never felt happier. Well, happy enough to slowly forget about the pain of her break up with her first love. Jiho was her first love, but that’s all he’d ever be. They had both moved on with their lives, and now, they were nothing more than strangers. She was content with Hyunkoo, and somehow, she had accepted the fact that Jiho may have already forgotten about her.

“I wonder if he even remembers me,” she whispered to herself. She laughed, removing the thought from her mind.

“Miyoung, look!” her younger sister exclaimed, pointing at the screen.

She smiled, seeing Jiho happily performing with his friends. It doesn’t matter that he doesn’t remember me, she thought. He’s happy now.

Jiho held the two cups of coffee in his hands, trying his best not to drop them. He slowly made his way to the bench where Miyoung sat, still slightly shaking from the fact that he’d almost run her over a few moments ago.

“Here,” he said, handing her a cup. He placed the other one beside her and sat on the other end of the bench.

“Thanks,” she replied, clutching the cup tightly.

“How are you?” he asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

She laughed after taking a sip of the steaming beverage. “You almost ran me over, and you’re asking me how I’ve been?”

He scratched the back of his head, realizing how stupid his question sounded. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”

She shook her head, moving closer to him. “It’s okay, it could have happened to anyone. I’m just glad you didn’t turn me and Hyunkoo into road kill.”

Jiho turned to where Kyung and the guy Miyoung had introduced as Hyunkoo stood. Both had managed to come to an agreement, and now, Kyung had somehow befriended Hyunkoo. Hyunkoo turned his head to look at Miyoung, shooting her a bright smile when she caught his eyes. Jiho noticed the way she returned his smile with the same brightness, the same happiness.

“He seems nice,” Jiho commented.

She nodded, a dream-like expression on her face. “He’s good to me.”

Jiho nodded, remembering the way Hyunkoo had selflessly thrown himself in front of her to protect her. “How long have you been dating?”

“Six months next week.”

“You got a haircut?” He pointed to the short bob that she now sported – a drastic change from the long flowing locks she had when they were dating.

She ran her fingers through her short hair. “Yeah, I just felt the need for a change.”

Jiho nodded, and he realized just how much she had moved on with her life. When she had said she’d forget him, she really meant it. There she was, in love again and happy with someone else, and he hadn’t moved an inch. Seeing her today made him realize that he was still completely in love with her. How he’d prayed each night that she would still continue to wait for him. He would have looked for her again, he would have done all he could to be with her again.

“How are you Jiho?’ she asked, and he felt his heart crumple at the sound of his real name.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve heard that name,” he admitted. “I’ve been okay.”

“You’re a celebrity now. All these hit songs, and all you can say is ‘I’ve been okay’?” she asked, raising her eyebrow at his frankness.

“Not much has changed. I’ve dyed my hair, I’ve produced songs, but I’m still the same Jiho that left you that night. Everything and nothing has changed. My feelings are still the same.”

“Jiho,” she began, gripping the cup tightly.

“I know, I know. I shouldn’t be saying things like this. How stupid do I sound?” he laughed, but she could tell there was a sense of regret in his voice.

“You’d think that of all places we’d meet again, it wouldn’t be by this crossing in Gangnam. Remember when I said I’d jump in front of a car for you? I didn’t actually think that that would happen,” she said, a nostalgic look in her eyes.

“I let you go that night because I wanted you to be happy. And you are. You’re happy.”

She looked him in the eyes, concern etched on her face. “But are you happy Jiho?”

“I don’t know.”

And Jiho really didn’t know if he was happy.

“You deserve to be happy. You deserve it. Jiho, I know that I’ve moved on, and I know that everything’s changed, but you will always be my first love. I have never forgotten about you, not once. I still love you, Jiho, but I loved the old Jiho. You’ve changed, you’ve grown up into a man that I’m proud of. That’s enough for me.”

“Jiho, it’s time to go,” Kyung called, approaching the two with Hyunkoo behind him.

“It was nice to see you again Jiho,” Miyoung said with a smile, and it was true. It was nice to see him again after all.

“Yeah, even though I almost hit you with me car,” Jiho replied sheepishly.

She laughed. “Maybe we can meet up again without you actually injuring me. You can introduce me to Block B. I’m a big fan.” She held out her hand, and he took it, smiling at the familiarity of her touch.

“See you around, Jiho.”

With that, Miyoung left him once again, her hand held tightly by someone who loved her as much as Jiho did. By the same crossing that she had left him at. How ironic.

“So that was your ex-girlfriend huh?” Kyung asked.

“Yeah.”

“She seems like a nice girl. Her boyfriend’s a pretty good guy too. Bummer you had to break up with her.”

“Yeah, but she seems happy. She looks good.”

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Based on Verbal Jint's song You Look Good. I suggest you guys check it out if you haven't already - I'm in love with the concept and the lyrics. (‘∀’●)♥