Chapter eighteen:

Woohyun’s POV:

I looked at the clock.

1am.

Inyeong should have ended work long ago…

Aishhh…where exactly did that girl go?

I was seriously panicking. I had tried calling her numerous times, well; to be specific, at least 50 freaking times, but I just couldn’t get through.

Why?

Because that silly girl had switched off her phone, that’s why

Where is that girl?

What if she was lost?

What if she was hurt?

What if she got kidnapped, or worse, murdered?

Recently, there were a few cases of murders done by serial killers around Seoul.

The victims were almost ALWAYS women. YOUNG women

 YOUNG women like her

God knows what I’d do if something really happened to her

UGHHH.

Why didn’t I go to look for her earlier? It’s so late now…there’s no one on the streets to help her if anything happens….

What if…

No. That can’t happen. That WON’T happen. Stop letting your wild imagination get the best of you!

Wait. What are you still standing here for Nam Woohyun?

Go out and look for her, you pabo!

Before it’s too late…

I was about to head to the CUBE entertainment building to look for her when the door creaked opened. I took a sharp intake of air.

Standing at the door, to my relief, was none other than Kim Inyeong. She stumbled into the house, looking positively drained out and exhausted.

But otherwise, she looked totally unscathed and safe.

I heaved a huge sigh of relief, releasing all the tension that had built up in my chest

“Where have you been?” I demanded angrily, after silently thanking god for Inyeong’s safe return. “Do you know how worried I’ve been? Why don’t you pick up your phone? You could have gotten kidnapped, lost, or injured! I was about to head out to look for you!”

Then I took a closer look at her face.

Her eyes and nose were red, and her face was paler than usual.

She was trembling, and her shoulders were moving up and down controllably

Her face was wet

Then I realized that she was crying. Like, crying CRYING.

My heart softened at the sight of my Inyeong crying. I immediately stopped yelling at her and ran towards her, giving her a tight hug. She was sobbing uncontrollably, and buried her face in my chest.

I patted her back gently, calming her down. We stood like this for a few minutes, until her breathing slowed down and her shoulders stopped shaking.

Inyeong…she hardly ever cried. She wasn’t one to cry easily, unless she had been badly hurt by someone.

Something must have happened. She must have been hurt. By someone.

And that someone was one dead man.

“Tell me everything.” I practically demanded, after she finally stopped crying, desperate to know the reason behind her rare tears.

She hesitated, and then shook her head stubbornly, biting her lip.

“Come on, Inyeong ah…” I urged her gently. “You can tell oppa anything…don’t keep it all in. Tell oppa and oppa will do everything he can to help you.”

And so she told me everything.

From how she wanted to become Yoseob’s friend

To how coldly Yoseob was treating her, about his unwillingness to socialize with girls

To how she decided to try to break the barrier Yoseob was surrounding himself in

To how he rolled his eyes at her, to how he detested her and shot her looks whenever he saw her

To how he poisoned himself in the dance practice room

To how she found him and alerted the president

And finally, to how he shouted at her in the hospital ward

“Is he right, oppa?” She croaked, her voice hoarse and dry from all that crying. “Am I annoying? Am I a busybody?”

“No, absolutely not.” I hugged her even more tightly, reassuring her.

To tell the truth, when she was telling me about how badly she wanted to be Yang Yoseob’s friend, I was panicking inside.

This was why I was so against the idea of her becoming a dance trainer. I had been worried since the first day she took up the job. I was afraid that she might get too close to Yang Yoseob, and that she would remember him, or he would remember her, and that they would fall in love again.

I was afraid. But it wasn’t just fear of being exposed.

It was the fear of losing Inyeong.

And that couldn’t happen

It couldn’t

I had become too attached to Kim Inyeong.

I liked, no wait, LOVED her. Yes, I really did

I loved her too much

In fact, I couldn’t live without her

I swear I couldn’t

And I couldn’t bear to see her with Yang Yoseob again

I didn’t think I would be strong enough to handle it.

So when she told me about how Yang Yoseob was so cold to her, I relaxed a little, mentally heaving a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness

Wait…

But his unwillingness to socialize with girls…

Was it because of Inyeong?

Probably so. I could imagine why he was doing that. He was remaining loyal to Inyeong.

He still believed that she was alive

He still couldn’t let her go

I couldn’t imagine how he would react if…

If he ever knew the truth…

And that gave me all the more reason to hide her from him

Because he still believed she was alive.

Which meant that he was still looking for her.

When she got to the part about how Yang Yoseob shouted at her, I had mixed emotions. I don’t think I had ever been so torn in my mind.

On one hand, I was furious. How dare he treat Inyeong like that? After all, she HAD indeed saved his life. How could he shout at her like that? How could he break her heart like that? How could he? No wonder she was heartbroken. For goodness sake, none of this was her fault! He was the one who attempted suicide in the first place!

On the other hand, I realized I could use this situation to my advantage. I could take this opportunity to tell Inyeong to stay away from Yang Yoseob forever, so I’d never have to worry about them becoming close ever again.

That was wrong. Taking advantage of the situation like that.

I knew it was. But I had no choice, if I were to get away with the mess that I created.

I started it, and there were no exits

There was no such thing as turning back, or giving up

“Listen, Park Eunmi.” I told her, trying to drown out the cries of my conscience.  “If Yang Yoseob decides to treat you like that, if he tells you to stay out of his life and affairs, you stay out of it. If you continue trying to be nice to him, he’d just find you even more annoying, and he’d think you’re desperate.”

“You can’t let him think that way.” I continued on. “You can’t let that jerk have any more reason to hate you. You’re better than that. Don’t waste your time on him anymore, okay, Eunmi? You can’t let him hurt you again. I won’t let him. From today onwards, promise me one thing, okay? Keep your head up, and forget all about him.”

“Ignore him. Treat him as coldly as he treated you. You can’t let him have the satisfaction of putting you down. You have to stand up for yourself, and show him that you aren’t some pathetic, desperate little girl, okay? Promise me you’ll do that, Eunmi ah.”

There. I did it.

And I felt bad.

Really really bad.

Why am I doing this again?

She looked up at me, and I could see a look of determination in her red eyes.

Then she nodded.

“I won’t be pathetic. I won’t be desperate. I’ll show him…” she murmured.

“Now smile.” I chuckled, and tickled her playfully. That caused her to crack a small smile, which made me smile in turn as well.

Oh yeah. Because of that. That smile. That sweet, beautiful, dazzling smile. From that beautiful, amazing, perfect girl.

“Good girl! That’s the smile!” I grinned. “Now go wash up and sleep. It’s Saturday tomorrow, right? Oppa will bring you to the movies, ne? And we can get your favourite ice-cream after that, okay?”

She brightened up. “Ice-cream and a movie? Gomawo, oppa! You sure know how to cheer me up!”

I chuckled. “Now go to sleep.” She nodded and headed off.

Then I felt another pang of guilt.

I knew why Yoseob attempted suicide like that

I KNEW the reason

It was probably because of Inyeong

He was probably tormented with the guilt of losing her, and after seeing Inyeong (or Eunmi) again, it was probably aggravated.

He was probably tortured by the thought of Inyeong, so much that he wanted to end his life right there.

He was probably blaming himself so much, he decided that he didn’t deserve to live.

To think, he was THIS close to losing his life.

Thank goodness he didn’t die, or it would have been my fault

If I hadn’t hidden her from him, she would have been reunited with him, and he would have probably been very happy now

But I just couldn’t let her go

Kim Inyeong was a drug, and I was addicted to her

Badly

I couldn’t live without her

I chose this path, and so I would have to continue down this path selfishly.

I know. I’m the most selfish person in the world. But couldn’t I just continue to be selfish?

I’m sorry, Yang Yoseob. I really am.

But I just can’t let her go…

I just can’t…

Please, just forget about her already…

I’m begging you…just let me have something I really want

Just once…

I promise I’ll treat her well…

------------

ANNYEONG MY LOVELIES :D

heheh here's a really long update for you guys, to make up for my recent inactiveness (: The chapter was a whopping 1700 words, so I hope you guys enjoy it kekeke (: I swear it literally took me one hour to edit and polish this whole chapter up because it really the first time I wrote it >< So here you go! Hope you guys like it :D

Anyway, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE COMMENTS LAST WEEK! (: they really made me smile (: You have no idea how much they mean to me. And thank you for all the upvotes and the subs and the comments gahhhhh! I just can't thank you guys enough! I LOVE YOU GUYS SO SO SO SO MUCH! :D 

I guess that's it then, will be updating soon, maybe on Sunday? (: School's starting on monday, so I won't be that free anymore >< But anyway...

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE, COMMENT and UPVOTE (if you can kekeke - you'll need at least 100 karma points to do that >.<)

KAMSAMIDA <3