CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The resort trip had finally ended and to make up for the absence of their classes during the week, homework and assignments were doubled. Eunji stretched, almost finished with her 10,000 word essay due the next day. If she was the Eunji before, she wouldn’t even take a second look at the pile of sheets on her desk and lazily do what she wanted. But now, all she wanted was to occupy herself in so much work, nothing else could fill her mind. No pain. No problems. No love. No Myungsoo.

Her grades got higher, she paid attention in class, her text books were actually put to use and she actually liked it. Maths problems were easier to understand and easier to solve more than her own problems so she wondered why she didn’t like it before.

She rotated her shoulders before she continued writing her last paragraph, forcing her eyes to stay open. When she completed her essay, she trudged down the stairs, wanting a glass of water to keep her awake for the rest of her assignments. As she was about to turn towards the kitchen, the doorbell rang and she furrowed her eyebrows. She wasn’t expecting anyone though she changed her direction and moved towards the door. The doorbell rang again. And again. And again. Eunji frowned, "IM COMING." She flew the door open and glared, not even caring if the person was a complete stranger. To her surprise, it was just Wonho.

"Finally you open the door. Geez, what took you so long lady?" he ruffled her hair and let himself inside. "Yeah, sure. Come in," Eunji said sarcastically as he plopped himself on the couch. Eunji joined him and the two sat in silence. "Aren't you going to offer me anything?" he told her.Eunji rolled her eyes, "You know your way around. Get it yourself, lazy ." Wonho placed a hand to his chest, pulling on a hurt face, "Ouch. Hurts much."

Eunji glared at him, "What are you doing here anyway?" He made a face before folding his arms behind his head, "Nothing much. Was bored so I decided to come here."

"Don’t you have homework?" Eunji asked him. He nodded, "But you know us. We don’t do those." Eunji kept silent, making Wonho look at her in surprise. "We don't do those, right?" he asked her. Eunji looked away, "Well, lets just say I decided to change that part about me." The couch sunk slightly and she knew Wonho was looking at her in disbelief. "Wow," he stood up, hands over his head, "Jung Eunji does her homework. What kind of miracle is this?" Eunji laughed, pulling him back down, "I want to get into a good university, okay? Don’t judge."

Wonho stood up again, a hand over his mouth, "She wants to go to a university. Oh my god. Who are you?" Eunji scowled at him and he chuckled, slinging an arm around her neck, "What's with the sudden change though?" Eunji shrugged, "Heh. Guess I'm actually growing older." Wonho nodded before taking a side glance at her, "Not cause of anything else?" Eunji shook her head before she noticed the change of tone in his voice.

She looked at him, "What do you mean?" Wonho removed his arm from her neck, "You know. It seems weird for you to suddenly change like that." Eunji furrowed her eyebrows, "Is it wrong?" Wonho looked at her, "No. Not at all. But its not like you at all. Even growing up doesn’t happen that quickly."

She straightened, "Okay. Seriously, what are you implying? Tell me. It's not like you either to beat around the bush." Wonho averted his eyes from her, a barely audible sigh escaping his lips. Eunji continued to stare at him, waiting for his response.

"This changing…" Wonho finally started, making Eunji's eyebrows raise at the pause, "Is it because of Myungsoo?" Eunji immediately looked down, feeling something fill her again. Wonho kept silent, wanting for her to talk.

"Was it obvious?" she finally spoke, looking up to him. Wonho had to chuckle, "Nah. You're just an open book to me."

Eunji smiled bitterly, "He's trying. Shouldn't I be too? And besides, he seems happy with her."

"Just don’t regret it," Wonho muttered. She looked at him, "Huh?"

"I said don’t regret it later on." he said louder.

"I wont regret it." she stated, more to herself than him. Wonho tilted his head, "Are you sure? No one can tell the future. I didn't." Eunji gave a curious look to Wonho, "What? What do you mean 'I didn't'?"

He rested his head back, smiling a little before talking,

"I liked you. A lot."

Eunji's eyes widened, "W-What? D-Don’t talk nonsense, oppa." Wonho raised his eyebrows, "You don’t believe me? Well, you've always seen me as a brother so I understand." He looked towards Eunji and chuckled at her disbelieving expression, "It's true. I never told you but you were the reason I left for a while. Before that, all I did was tell myself that you were the one. That whenever things never went my way, it was because fate was waiting for the right time. I continued trying to find one sign to tell me, but nothing happened. I was foolish thinking fate would show me that I wasn’t wrong and I regret not taking actions myself."

Eunji had tears in her eyes by the time he finished and Wonho panicked. "Y-Yah. Don’t cry. It's over now. I'm over it." Suddenly, he felt tight arms wrap around his neck as his shoulder dampened. He heard sniffling before Eunji's voice spoke.

"I-I'm sorry I didn’t notice. Y-You probably h-hurt a lot." Eunji stuttered, her tears trickling down her face. She never liked the people she cared about to get hurt more so when she was the reason. She can put up with any pain in the world, but when it came to the people she loved, she couldn’t handle a second of knowing they were in pain. Wonho pushed her away gently, wiping his thumb across her damp cheek, "Idiot. It's over. You’re the one in pain right now and you care more about what happened in the past. I'm fine. Really."

Eunji wiped her tears, sniffling before she felt a nudge on her shoulder. She looked up and met eyes with a smiling Wonho. "Even though trusting fate so much times is foolish, trusting it once is a wise choice."

Eunji blinked, "What?"

"What I'm trying to say is that maybe you should give you and Myungsoo just one chance. If fate decides to be on your side, continue fighting for him. If it doesn’t, then... it's not supposed to happen." he told her. Eunji looked down, thinking about what he said.

"What if… What if it isnt supposed to happen?" she spoke softly, "What-… What am I supposed to do then?"

Wonho patted her shoulder, "It's your choice really." Eunji looked at him with helpless eyes.

"Just think about it," he stood up, "Anyway, I should go. Promise me you'll do the right thing? I really don’t want you to regret these things." Eunji stood up, grabbing on to his wrist, "But what if it does happen? W-What about Naeun?"

Wonho sighed, turning towards her before flicking her forehead, "Think about yourself for one. Just once. Not about anyone else. Naeun needs to have downs in her life as well. She cant have you protecting her forever." Wonho still saw the hesitation in her eyes and he pulled her into a hug.

"It's your life, Ji. Your only one. So, please be happy." he kissed the top of her head and pulled away, "I'll let myself out. Rest."

As soon as the front door closed, Eunji dropped down onto the sofa, closing her eyes. More thoughts than possible spun around in her head and she rubbed her temples, not even caring about the long forgotten homework still sitting on her desk upstairs.

It was Eunji's birthday. One would think that a birthday would be music, junk food, dancing and every single friend at one place. But not for Eunji. Her birthdays would just consist of her, the stars and Myungsoo. She looked forward to it every year, but, just like everything else going on in her life, this birthday was different. It was the day she dreaded. The day she would just like to get over with so she could dig herself into a hole and never come out. The day that she chose to trust the one thing she never relied on: fate.

It was 7 at night and Eunji stepped out of her house, not bothering to lock it afterwards. She took one look at the building she had lived in her whole life and memories filled her mind. Heading towards the usual place she'd celebrate her birthday, Eunji's grip on her bag tightened. Her confidence had all disappeared and her hands were shaking in nervousness. But she knew she needed to do this. She had to do it. It was the only way to know whether to continue or not. Taking a deep breath, she quickened her strides towards the direction of the place.

She headed towards the back of the park where large bushes stood. Without a second thought, she walked right through them, a part of it already cut out and covered to form a secret entrance. She was met with a large, empty space that they called their own. Under the night sky, the old Christmas tree lights that were supposed to be thrown away hung all around the surrounding bushes. Cardboard boxes with spaceships drawn on them lay around, forming a small second wall. Old toys that they had brought as children still inside a treasure box that was covered with drawings of random pictures. Two toy swords still stood by the far wall and scenes replayed in her mind of her and Myungsoo play fighting in the middle. She never knew the meaning behind why Myungsoo had always chosen this place to celebrate her birthday. She'd never take a second look at the objects she possessed as a child and would just focus on being with him.

But now, she understood.

The place was filled with their childhood memories that they could never physically go back to. They were innocent and had no clue about the problems that lay ahead as they grew older. Myungsoo wanted her to go back to that one time where her smiles were real. Where every mistake was just pushed away like nothing. Where the world never looked so complicated. He wanted her to just think of that, and just that on the one day it was all about her.

A blanket lay in the centre of it all and next to it was a basket full on candies and chocolate that would last them the whole night. The corners of her lips tugged upwards before the ringing of her phone interrupted her. She took the phone out and answered the call once she saw the caller ID.

"Wonho oppa?" she spoke. "Hey. So, are you going with it?" he asked her. Eunji sighed, sitting down on the blanket, "Yeah. I mean, there's nothing to loose, right?"

"Well, there's quite a lot of things, but you know. Don’t worry about it," he tried to lighten up the mood and it worked when a grin formed on Eunji's face. "Oppa! Seriously, don’t scare me more." Wonho chuckled before the only thing heard was each other's breathing.

"Don’t regret it, okay?" Wonho finally said. Eunji hummed in response, "I just hope what's right happens today." Eunji could hear Wonho sigh.

"Yeah. Me too." Wonho answered, "Anyway, good luck."

"So, I'll see you soon?" A sad smile appeared on both their lips as he spoke.

"Hopefully." Eunji answered him honestly.

"Bye, Eunji." he bid.

"Bye."

The line ended and Eunji looked at the phone in her hands, hoping with all her heart that what does happen today, was what was meant to happen.

Myungsoo waved goodbye to Infinite as he walked out of Woohyun's house. He jogged to his car, the idea of celebrating Eunji's birthday never left his mind the whole day and now, it was that time of the day. He took out his phone and was about to call her when he remembered their yearly deal. No contact the whole day until they see each other.

He pouted slightly, slipping his phone back into his pocket only to have it ring. He took it out and saw the caller ID, immediately answering it. "Oh. Naeun-ah." he spoke before his eyes widened at what he heard. Naeun was continuously coughing through the phone and he started panicking.

"Naeun. Naeun! Naeun, answer me!" he shouted. "O-Oppa. C-Can you buy me medicine? S-Sorry to trouble you but-" Another coughing fit was heard and Myungsoo stepped out of his car, running towards the nearby pharmacy. "Naeun! Naeun! Breathe slowly. I'll be right there." he told her, buying the medicine. Naeun gave him a quick yes before the coughs started again. Myungsoo hung up, ran back to his car and started it, immediately stepping on the accelerator and speeding through the roads towards her house. 

He knocked of her front door multiple times, his heart beating fast in nervousness. No one answered the door so he pulled the handle, grateful it wasn’t locked. He ran to grab a glass of water before heading towards Naeun's room quickly, water spiling as he did so.

He opened the door to her room and saw her wrapped in her blanket, coughing repeatedly as she looked up. She was pale and sweat was dripping down her face. He placed the cup down and took another blanket from the cupboard, wrapping it around her. Without any words, he gave her the medicine followed by the glass of water and guided her to lie down. He placed a palm on her forehead and felt her temperature. It was definitely higher than normal. He tucked her in properly and her hair.

"O-Oppa. I'm sorry. I d-didn't m-mean to t-trouble yo-" "Don’t worry about it. If you worry, your fever will go up. Just rest, okay?" Myungsoo told her as the latter nodded in response.

"You c-can go, oppa," Naeun said, "You probably have p-plans." Myungsoo straightened, remembering that he still needed to go to Eunji. He looked at Naeun's weak state and softened. He couldn't leave her here alone. "I'll leave when you fall asleep." he smiled at her and Naeun nodded, grateful for his help.

When Naeun fell asleep, Myungsoo placed a new glass of water on her bed side table before leaving her house.

He was late.

2 and a half hours late to be exact.

And by the looks of the pouring rain, guilt was about to eat him up whole.

Eunji hugged herself, the rain pouring down on her making her soaking wet. It's been almost three hours that she'd been waiting, two of which, she waited whilst getting wet by rain.

Yet she still stayed.

Her eyes were locked into the secret entrance and all she wanted was to see Myungsoo walk through them and show his sweet smile. She didn’t even notice that her breathing was becoming uneven and that she was shivering under the cold. All that was on her mind was wanting to see whether her best friend would walk through that entrance or not.

Myungsoo sped through the streets, the trip to Naeun's house making the place even further than usual. "Please, still be there. Please." he repeatedly whispered to himself as he kept switching lanes. Eunji occupied his mind more than the road rules right now and the drops of rain falling heavily onto his windshield didn’t help one bit. He took a left turn and immediately regretted doing so.

Traffic jam.

Eunji was hugging her knees as her temperature rose. The rain continued pouring and she didn’t even bother to find shelter anymore. She was already wet anyway.

That was it. She trusted fate and fate had showed her she wasn’t meant to be with him. All she wanted was to see whether Myungsoo would come through that entrance before midnight came and there was no sign of him. Eunji stood up, her whole body numb and weak. The phone she had been clutching this whole time still in her hands. She unlocked it and read the time.

11:58pm

Two minutes. Just two minutes to see if he would come running through that entrance. Just that one sight that could make her decision change completely.

She read the time again and her breath hitched at the back of as her knees bucked. She fell to the floor and unexpected tears forming in her eyes. Myung… Please…

11:59

Myungsoo hit his palm on to the drivers wheel, activating his horn to the unmoving line of cars in front of him. He checked the time. 11:59. He was later than ever.

Not wanting to take any of this, he swiftly made a U-turn, earning him horns from other cars. But did he care? No. He stepped on the accelerator and sharply turned right, Eunji the only thing on his mind. He took another sharp right, quickly spotting the clock change into 12:00, only to see the brightest lights flash before his eyes before everything went black.

12:00

Eunji felt her world crash down. That was really it.

She stood up, taking one more look at the now wet memories around her. She slowly walked towards the large cardboard box near the entrance. Pushing it aside, it revealed the black suitcase, packed with all her belongings. She reached into her bag and took out the small white envelope that contained her plane ticket.

Destination: California

She took a deep breath and made her way out of the secret place, making her way towards the street to find a taxi. Once she was safely seated inside the car, she looked up at the cloud filled sky. No stars were in sight and Eunji had to look away to remain composure.

The city lights of Seoul passed by the windows and a bittersweet smile appeared on her face. Since fate had showed her that they weren't meant to be, Eunji needed to leave for a while. Just so she can come back, ready to face the reality she had to believe.

What Eunji had no idea of was that she had left her phone in the park. That it was continuously ringing, the missed calls pilling up.

What the seven boys calling her didn’t know was that she had left. That she was long gone and she wasn’t about to look back so soon.

But what no one, not one soul, knew... was that fate had a different plan.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: /steps into unpoppable bubble and shields head/. 

Dont kill me! I know. I know. But it might/might not get better.... :/ 

Anyway, longer chapter so I'd appreaciate comments. :) I fail at writing angst... >.< Please excuse the retarded attempt at trying to make the story sad. XP

Subscribe and Comment! ^^

(Please tell me the reason I stan them. [Especially the dork who's supposedly the visual])