Sunggyu stared at the ceiling, in hopes it would calm his throbbing head. He worked in a publishing company, and he had proofread far too many novels which boggled his mind, making him less expectant of what would happen in reality. However, what just occurred completely blew his mind away. The world was too small for him at that time. Sunggyu knew, deep inside him, he wasn’t simply protecting Suzy. He was protecting himself, as well.

Not long after, a text message arrived. It was from an unknown number—the very same one Kim Myungsoo used.

Meet me in the restaurant where you picked your sister up. I will explain everything. You at least deserve that much. We can meet tomorrow, at three in the afternoon.

He let out a sardonic scoff, and proceeded to work once again.

<:>

“Why are you staring at me like that?” Sungjong asked, as he took a bite from his strawberry shortcake Mrs. Bae baked. They were sitting in the living room, with the television to drown the silence. Sang Moon was upstairs, playing video games while Suzy’s parents were busy in the garden. Sunggyu, as usual, went to work. Every summer the two friends would never fail to visit each other for at least once.

“You could have at least lied,” Suzy muttered.

He smirked. “Listen to what you’re saying, Suzy. I had no idea you went somewhere else and used my name as an alibi.”

Silence.

“Who were you going to meet, anyway, that you’d go as far as lying to your brother? You’re the type of person who would never do that, after all.”

Suzy breathed in deeply, and she started to explain what had happened. From the random phone calls, to the greetings, to the aliases, to the deep conversations which finally led to them meeting.

There was a long pause, and Sungjong broke it by asking, “Did the two of you meet?”

“No,” she answered, the sadness evident in her voice. “Sunggyu oppa caught up with me before that even happened.”

“Then that’s good.”

Suzy froze, and she could only stare at her friend with watery eyes. She couldn’t seem to find the strength to question him.

“I understand how you feel,” Sungjong began. “But what you did—going there alone and meeting a complete stranger for the first time…Suzy, there’s this huge possibility he might be a dangerous person. That’s Sunggyu hyung’s point.”

“But he’s not,” she defied, careful not to raise her voice. “If you get to talk to him you’ll see just how much of a nice person he is.”

He didn’t reply, because he knew she had more things to say.

“People don’t give other people a chance,” she carried on. “That’s why some get lonely. We trust too little sometimes, and it’s sad.”

She swallowed back her tears, and let out a deep sigh.

“Are you done?” Sungjong asked calmly.

“I am,” she answered.

“Are you sure?”

“No.”

Two looked at two, and something broke inside of Suzy. She began to cry. It was the quiet kind, and Sungjong let her be. He took the remote resting on the coffee table, and shifted to another channel.

Suzy was still crying when Sang Moon went downstairs to get food. His eyes widened and alarmingly he asked, “What happened to noona?”

“It’s the show we’re watching,” Sungjong answered. “It’s really sad.”

Suzy let out a tiny nod, and this gave her younger brother a sense of reassurance. He dashed for the kitchen, grabbed whatever food he could take, and ran upstairs again.

When it was quiet, and when Suzy had finally calmed down, she said, “I won’t be able to hold conversations with him anymore, and that’s what hurts me the most.”

<:>

Myungsoo didn’t receive any reply from Sunggyu, but he went to the restaurant all the same. He waited, and waited. The clock six, and nobody showed up.

He did the same thing the very next day, and the day after that.

Soon, summer turned to fall. He still kept on waiting.

And he realized that he missed her.

"Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.
Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others."
- Colossians 3:12-13

It's quite a short chapter. Thank you for the amusing comments. It's nice to see you speak your mind out concerning the characters in here.