Title: The Window
Pairing: Kim Minseok (Xiumin) & Jung Eunji
Written: October 10, 2013
Words: 1,465
Inspired by: Blind Improvisation - Yiruma
Requested by: chicky21
Author's Note: Hey there! I decided to squeeze in a one shot before going back to homework and all. I honestly believe this one shot is one of my best works ;_; I don't know...it may be confusing, but I'll give my small analysis at the end of this one shot. Hopefully you guys enjoy this. ^^

☁☁☁

There was a barrier that separated the beautiful from the ugly ducklings.

He decided to break that barrier one day while looking out the window of his small home.

This woman walked by every day before the sun falls behind the tall mountains. Her head would be hanging down slightly while her dark brown hair flowed naturally with the soft wind. Her bangs would flow up slightly and her eyes would glance down to watch where she’s going. She would wear a white buttoned shirt with the sleeve rolled up halfway and her denim jeans hugging her legs.

She was breathless, he thought.

However, this man on the other hand, was also handsome. But society shunned him by calling him: different from the rest. He lost weight just to fit in to society only to be called a stick in return.

Kim Minseok, you’ll never find true love if you continue to stay quiet. You need to lose some weight, man. Why are you always out from school? You’ll give a bad impression if that keeps happening.

Those thoughts haunted him for days which turned into weeks which turned into months and then turned into years. He took those comments as a base and continued to stay motivated. However, no matter how many times he tries to improve, he still doesn’t get accepted.

It’s illegal to fall in love with someone higher than you…physically, mentally, and economically.

He wanted to change that.

Day by day, he saw that same woman pass by his house by herself. He wondered how such a beautiful woman could be walking by herself. Why didn’t she have company? Wouldn’t girls like her have a whole bunch of friends and possibly a lover? But most of all, why is she walking through the poorest part of town?

He sat by his window with a blanket covering his lap and legs. With a novel settled on his lap, he continued to watch out the window with a cup of coffee on the table beside him. He found tranquility by sitting there while watching time pass by.

One night, he noticed that the woman wasn’t walking by. Maybe she’s sick, he thought, or maybe she’s out with someone. Just as he was going to turn his attention back to his novel, his eyes caught the girl strolling across quite quickly.

Intoxicated men would always lounge outside their homes during night and these were one of the nights where it could be classified as crazy. No wonder she was quickening her pace. He stood up slowly from his chair and walked out of his home, seeing some of the men approach her.

The lady stopped in her pace and held onto her bag strap, her head hanging down as usual. She muttered not a word and only stared at the ground. Minseok approached the group and stared at the men and they slowly retreated back, some of them spitting out their own saliva onto the ground.

Ugly fool, one of them men murmured as they walked away, their beer bottles glued to their mouths.

She stood there and looked up slowly, her eyes meeting the other. She was even more beautiful up close; he contemplated as he took in her facial features. It was gentle yet had an appearance of a strong independent woman.

“Thank you,” She said as she smiled warmly at the male. She was entirely opposite from him. Her voice was pleasing and her expressions were friendly. Minseok on the other hand could only bow his head and crack a small smile.

“Please get home safely,” He muttered as he bowed his head again before walking back to his own home.

The next morning, Minseok woke up early as usual. He made his strong coffee and retreated to his chair as usual. Instead of a novel that he always had resting on his lap, he grabbed a small notebook and a black pen deciding to write down some notes.

It took the whole afternoon for him to write in half of the book. He looked out the window once again and admired the beauty beyond the small town. However, he did not notice the female walking. Instead of her passing, she approached the door and knocked on it gently. His head snapped towards the door and he stood up, making his way to the door.

Minseok-ah. Don’t ever open the door to strangers—especially high-class people. They just want more of your money and they take advantage of you. His mother would always say that.

He’s breaking that barrier once again. He opened the door and his eyes widened to see the female once again. She held a small box and looked up at him, “Hello.” Her smile was bright and it was deadly. He couldn’t help but let his smile be wider than the night before.

“Thank you for last night,” She continued as she extended her arms out with the box. “I made these pastries as a thank you gift to you. By the way, I’m Jung Eunji,” She introduced herself.

Eunji. What a beautiful name. He gladly accepted the box and smiled, “Thank you. I’m Kim Minseok.” They stood there in silence and she suddenly broke it. “Well, I guess I should—‘” She started, but Minseok quickly cut her off. “Would you like to come inside?”

Eunji smiled lightly and nodded, walking inside his home.

They sat across each other by that window, both of them admiring the view from outside while talking about themselves and relating to each other.

As the months passed by, Minseok grew weaker.

Minseok, you need to take care of yourself. Don’t starve yourself and make sure to eat a lot. His mother said when he was young. Sadly, he stopped using that advice when he got to his young adult stages. He grew awfully sick most of the time which was the reason for him to miss school majority of the time.

“Hey, Minseok, drink the soup,” She begged as she held the bowl in her hand. Minseok lied down on his bed with three layers of blankets over his thin body. He tried to reach out to her but he couldn’t have the strength to.

He loved Eunji’s prescence in his home. She brought warmth and comfort—something that he needed to fill in the empty space. He gently laid his hand out with his palm facing upwards, “Eunji…” He murmured as he gestured her to lean closer.

As she did, his hand weakly reached up to cup her face, “Don’t ever change.” The words shocked her as she stared at him. “Stop talking nonsense…” She whispered as she laid her hand on top of his.

“Take the book with you and read it when you have the time…” His voice grew tinier and weaker as his eyes tiredly stared at her.

“And always know—that I grew to love you within these past months.”

Two months later, Eunji passed by Minseok’s house. No one was there. The man who used to sit by his window—was gone. She wasn’t able to pass by that house to see his calm exterior anymore.

That was the only reason why she passed through that town—to see Minseok reading and staring aimlessly outside.

Eunji walked towards the window and placed her hand on the cold glass. She took out the book from her bag and looked at both items back and forth. Emotions flooded inside her. Her hand clenched into a fist as she hit the window softly, “You didn’t break it…Why Minseok? Why didn’t you break it? You had the strength to…” She laid her forehead on the window and clenched the book harder as she closed her eyes, clear drops dripping from her eyes.

She stood there for a long time until the sun was about to set. From there, she walked home to her extravagant home.

She sat by her window on the chair, the book that Minseok wrote resting on her lap. She stared outside and reached out to touch the window gently.

Eunji, why do you walk through that dirty town? It’s not fit for a girl like you to walk through there. Do you know how many dangerous people there are?

Eunji hung her head down and stared at the book, a tear falling down on the page.

There is a barrier between the beautiful and the ugly.

I really thought I broke it,

But in reality, I only walked around that barrier.

I took a shortcut.

I should have tried harder…

I’m sorry, Jung Eunji.

She sat there, staring aimlessly out the window until her eye caught a male walking by. He looked peculiar as she never seen him around her area. He was simply…handsome.

Analysis:

This one shot revolves around society and love. There's a small part of how people perceive society. The rich are the rich and the poor are the poor. Back then, many only saw people from their appearance and social status. Minseok went through his appearance and how society perceived him. He lost that weight and yet he was still blocked from society. Eunji at the end was told to not go to a certain place because of how that place looked. For example, some may see some cities as immediately bad and most of us have never visited that place before.

However, the window plays a huge part in this. The window acted as a barrier of social status and love of two different people. That's why Minseok looked through that window every day. That's why Eunji placed her hand on the window. The window was a barrier and it was never broken. Minseok said he walked around the barrier. Not only literally did he walk around the window, but he avoided to break down the window and just go towards Eunji the first moment he saw her.

People are so afraid of approaching people of different statuses because we're afraid of what they'll think of us.

The reason why I made Minseok pass away? To show how society has an affect on people. He lost that weight because of society and society drove him to become ill. 

The ending is to show a cycle of love and how this barrier can never break between two classes.

A part of the barrier can break if two people breaks them down together. When two people of entirely different classes get together, part of that barrier breaks down. But there are still people out there who place that block between different people. 

oh my gosh i hope i didn't confuse you guys OTL