"Bom-ssi...? Bom-ssi~? YAH! Park Bom! Pay attention to what I'm saying!"

The brunette beside her could do nothing but blink in surprise at the words of her slightly younger female co-worker, Dara, obviously not hearing her earlier cries for attention, "Aigoo. Sorry Dara-ah. I was just...thinking about something."

Her spunky junior could do nothing but frown at her Unnie in worry, "Thinking about what?" Before the older woman could respond, the younger woman hesitantly continued, "You know, it feels like you haven't been yourself lately. I mean, you were always kind of quiet and all, but suddenly you just seem so... sad. You can tell me anything that's wrong, okay? I think that I give pretty good advice."

At the words, Bom felt a small piece of her twist in discomfort. However, she forced herself to ignore the feeling and smiled at her dongsaeng instead, "Ah, it's nothing Dara-ah. I've just been tired lately. Thank you for worrying about me though. It means a lot."

It was obvious that her co-worker didn't believe her at all, as she narrowed her eyes in scrutiny, before bluntly stating, "This has to be about a boy then." Without even realizing what was happening, the older woman flinched. Quickly noting the slight movement, the younger woman smirked in victory, "Aha! I knew it! Now spill the beans!"

The frown now openly displayed upon her features, Bom could do nothing but sigh, "I really don't want to talk about it, Dara-ah... It's time to close up the shoppe, isn't it? Let's just focus on that for now."

Her dongsaeng shot her a frustrated look, before snatching the cloth that the older woman had been using to clean the countertop from her hands, and blocking her as she attempted to move forward. "Um, I don't think so. C'mon, it must be something bad if it's bothering you this much. It's good to get these kinds of things off your chest, you know?"

Bom bit her lip in thought for a moment, before hesitantly asking, "Has someone ever made a promise to you before... A promise that you considered very, very important to you... but then at the last minute, let you down?"

Dara looked at her friend, trying her best to hide the pity in her eyes as she quietly responded, "No."

In a lame attempt to hide the sudden burst of disappointment that engulfed her at her friend's simple words, the older woman forced herself  to laugh. "See? I knew you wouldn't get it. Really though... I'm fine. Thank you for worrying about me though. It makes me happy to know that you care."

The younger woman grit her teeth in agitation, glare etched on her features, "Oh, come on. You're not even giving me a chance to help you out here. So what if I haven't gone through the same experience? I can still tell you what I think you should do, or what I would do in that situation. And with the level of distress you seem to be at, I think you need all the help you can get, Bommie."

At the sudden usage of the long-forgotten nickname, the older woman felt her heart lurch, and was unable to stop herself from falling to the floor in despair, tears streaking down her face. It was quite obvious that her dongsaeng was alarmed by the way she reacted, as she quickly kneeled down beside her, began fretting over her and shot glares at the people who were giving her unnie strange looks. However, once she turned back to the older woman, there was only pure sympathy shining in her eyes, "I-I'm sorry, Bom-ssi. I-I didn't mean to hurt your feelings..."

Guilt immediately pooled in the body of the older woman, and she quickly waved away the words of the younger individual, "N-No, don't worry about it. You didn't do anything wrong."

It seemed as though Dara didn't believe her words, but she managed to refrain from saying anything by biting her lower lip.

Before she knew what she was saying, Bom had already started speaking, "I-It's just that he promised that he would be back by now... And I've been waiting for him to come back for the longest time. But it seems like he's decided...LIke he's decided that I'm not important anymore and--"

"No, no, no! Don't say that!"

However, the tears were now streaming down the older woman's face madly, "I-It's true! If he had meant his words, he would already be here by now!" She sobbed loudly for a few more moments, before quietly adding on, "I had thought...I had thought that he loved me as much as I loved him. But I guess not..."

Dara regarded her unnie silently, before carefully saying, "Then why don't you go find him by yourself?"

Bom turned her already wide eyes to face her friend, an incredulous expression on her features as she faintly whispered, "What?"

"I mean, maybe something happened to him, so he can't come back for you." Quickly noticing t