Trust
Never stopped loving you
Sojin POV
"Oppa..."
My eyes scanned the boy standing beside Dongwoo. He had short black hair with a defined jaw line. A small, yet noticeable smirk was being played on his lips and matched the fierce aura he gave off. He was taller than Dongwoo by far, possibly as tall as Sungyeol, if not, taller. His dark brown eyes pierced through the cold winter air and darted from face to face as though he was looking for someone. Soon his eyes caught my gaze and kept it there as though he were scanning me. His eyes were mysterious and made me curious about what I would find if I continued to stare.
I took a step back, shaking my head. He can't be back. He couldn't. Not now - not ever.
Without another word I ran as fast as my legs could take me. It was all too much. The walls constricting my heart of love were finally down. I couldn't let him walk back into my life and ruin what progress I had already made. Everything I had built came crashing down in one split second.
Turning the corner I pulled open the first door I saw and was enveloped into the dark and eerie atmosphere the empty room held. Sliding down the wall, I embraced my legs and buried my head in my hands.
Not only did the darkness grant me silence and the peacefulness needed to help me think, it also offered me the security and protection of the unknown that were to appear in my life after today.
---
No One POV
Everything seemed to freeze in place - except for the few birds which flew from branch to branch on the willow tree which was currently a factor in keeping most of the snow off from the group of baffled boys.
The confusion they were feeling was shown through the glint in their eyes - why did Sojin run away? What was so bad that she had felt the need to escape?
The only possible explanation they had for Sojin's sudden action was their newly found friend. But why did she act like that? The boys knew Sojin very well and she was never someone to judge another based on their outer appearance. She knew that more than anything.
So they could only conclude that the two shared a part of each other's past. But what was so bad about it for Sojin to set off like that? these thoughts were the only thing running through each of their minds. They were so caught up on the puzzling behavior of their close friend that they had momentarily forgot about the whole purpose of the previous, short conversation they had.
That was until a rather calm looking boy who stood awkwardly behind Dongwoo cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the group of boys.
"Oh! I'm sorry" Dongwoo said in a soft, distant voice. His eyes mirrored exactly what he sounded like; gentle yet filled with concern. His eyes didn't meet anyone else's but instead stayed glued on the path Sojin fled down. "I'll leave you with Sunggyu hyung for a minute, I need to check up on her." He hastily spoke before quickly leaving back down the path he had came from.
Dongwoo sounded empty, just as empty as when Sunggyu muttered an 'ok'. But no one picked up on the boy's troubled self, in fact everyone was too engrossed in their thoughts that they didn't even pay attention to what Sunggyu was saying. Heck, they didn't even introduce themselves until their eldest hyung had to make a not so subtle jerk with his foot to get their attention.
"Uh, well this is awkward. I'm sorry about them, all of them." Sunggyu meekly apologized sending a glare towards all of the boys. That small but scary gesture was all it took to snap the boys out of their trance. And just like that they forced the worrying thoughts about their dear friend out of their mind and focused on trying to befriend their hyungs classmate.
---
"Jinnie, be careful! I don't want you to get hurt."
Sojin giggled at the older boy's concern, "Don't worry oppa, I'll be careful." She smiled and continued to climb the tree that stood taller than the others in the park. The small girl's look of determination was unmissable as she reached each branch with her scrawny arms.
However one branch just happened to be located that little bit higher than the others. Not going to give up no matter how impossible it seemed - something she learnt from her mother - she stretched her arm out as far as she could. Just barely being able to touch the branch, she bent her legs and sprang herself up just a little, enough to be able to wrap her hand around the thick branch.
Although, climbing trees was never going to be easy she wasn't going to let one little branch defeat her. She was too busy celebrating over her achievement to notice her other hand which was wrapped around the trunk lost its grip and before she knew it she came plummeting back down to the ground. But instead of feeling the uneven grass against her back, she was being clutched onto by two warm arms encircling her petite waist.
With wide eyes, Sojin tilted her head up and faced her savior, a warm grateful smile playing on her lips. She let out a shaky 'Thank you' before wrapping her two arms around his neck.
After making sure she had calmed down, the young boy carefully set her down on the ground, his eyes never leaving hers. He bent down that little bit and placed his hands on her shoulders to keep her steady.
"I'm sorry oppa" she whispered as she averted her gaze to her scratched and bruised hands. "Are you mad at me?"
The boy let out a sigh "I'm not mad at you," he gently rubbed the tears that slipped out of her brown eyes away "I care about you that's all."
"Sojin! Sojin-ah!" Dongwoo shouted as he ran past the different classrooms he knew Sojin had classes in. This whole thing messed up his mind. It was ironic how it took all those weeks to finally get Sojin to open up to him, and how in a matter of seconds those efforts had gone to waste.
He hated it - all of it. He hated how vulnerable she looked. How despite her tough look the glint of fear in her eyes was more noticeable than ever. He didn't want her to feel broken or lost anymore. He wanted her to tell him what was wrong and not shut herself from the world.
All he wanted was for her to be in his arms so he could shield her away from whatever she feared.
He ran straight towards the music department. Sojin had stated on various occasions that no matter what she did, music would always be her refuge. That was why whenever she was stressed about an upcoming test or her Woolim Entertainment audition, they would always count on her being in the dance studio playing the piano or singing her favorite song.
Without any thought, he opened many doors only to close them with a heavy heart at the sight of an empty room filled with untouched instruments. Taking a deep breath he counted his luck that she would be in this room, the last room. Otherwise where she was would be an open ended question without any real answers.
He pushed open the big oak doors which led to the auditorium, the place where he had first laid his eyes on her. He frantically ran past the different rows of seats set evenly apart from each other. All hope vanished once he had realized that there was no one here except for himself.
His eyes darted around the room once more just in case he missed something, until they landed on the small storage room door by the side of the stage, something he had missed all those times he'd been in here.
As though his feet were compelled, Dongwoo arrived in front of the wooden door. Wasting no time he pulled down on the silver door knob before instinctively turning to his left in search for a light switch.
After flipping the switch he quickly scanned the room slightly squinting due to the sudden brightness the room offered. And there in amongst the various brooms and mops was the girl who had stolen his heart.
"Sojin..." he breathed bending down to the said girl. She slowly raised her head, tears dripping down her cheeks, shocking the boy. He wasn't used to the girl who was always bubbly around him break down in front of his eyes. The last time he saw her cry was on their first date when she was verbalizing her pained past - something he vowed to never see again.
Every tear that fell brought nothing but sadness and guilt to Dongwoo. Sadness because of the pain it brought to the only girl that mattered more than anything to him. And guilt because of his broken promise he made to never let her shed a single tear ever again.
"What's wrong?" he asked concern flashing in his eyes. But as the minutes went by the concern vanished and was soon replaced by a look of desperation. He silently pleaded for her to open up to him and let him in on her troubles. But he knew he could only ever ask so much of her, he knew his place and concluded that if she trusted him enough she would tell him.
Her eyes searched his face as though she were having an internal battle with herself . She didn't know whether telling him what was bothering her was the best decision. What if he got involved? It was already bad enough that she had dragged him into her life and was dating him at that point.
If there was ever a time when her damned father would come back into the picture she didn't know if she could fully protect him or not. Leaving him in the dark was her way of shielding him from the truth and the fact that the only thing his new classmate had to bring was drama. Right now her life was as peaceful as ever and she didn't need new troubles and old faces to be effecting that.
She took in a shaky breath and tried to block out all of the battling emotions "It's nothing."
Her answer only seemed to devastate the young boy. All it gave him was the confirmation that she didn't trust him yet. And this only dampened his mood. Why couldn't she understand that she didn't have to go through everything alone. What was so hard about accepting that she had people around her that cared about what she was feeling?
"You can tell me anything, you know that right?" Sojin nodded, wiping her nose with her sleeve. Dongwoo breathed a sigh of relief. At least that was a start. He brought his hand up to her cheek and wipe the freshly fallen tears from her cheeks.
"Don't worry about it" She sighed fiddling with her fingers in her lap.
Dongwoo sighed, "But I do worry" he paused tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"I care about you that's all."
Sojin visibly stiffened at that sentence which brought many unwanted memories back. Those memories which she had managed to lock away. The ones which deceived her and made her believe that she had at least one part of her childhood which was perfect. But nothing was perfect - nothing.
She wanted to be open and feel the warmth of his comfort like the one she had experienced that time by the Han River. She wanted to have someone listen to her feelings, she didn't want to be independent anyone. She didn't want to be in pain by herself anymore. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't bring herself to trouble Dongwoo and possibly bring danger to him. She couldn't risk it.
Trying to rid herself of the conflicting emotions she was feeling, she brushed off Dongwoo's hand off her shoulder and abruptly stood up. Then without a second thought she ran out of the door, leaving behind a hurt boy.
Letting out a frustrated sigh he turned to the wall beside him and let out all his frustrations on it. He felt useless that he couldn't rid her of her worries and the string of emotions it brought with it. He promised to make sure there was nothing but smiles on her face.
But instead of ensuring her eyes were kept dry, she was breaking right in front of his eyes and he couldn't do anything to stop it. He felt useless.
If only he knew that those tears were only the first of many.
---
A/N:
So I have noticed that I write faster when I'm writing something with a lot of drama.
Wow, 2014 is off to a good start!
So... Who do you think the boy is? Any ideas?
Anyway, Thanks for reading.
Let me know what your thoughts are about this chapter or the story in general. I love the feedback.
Thank you ;)
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