Epilogue

It was a calm afternoon, with birds chirping cheerfully, flowers of vibrant colours fluttering beautifully in the wind, which hinted the vibe of spring. At the upper level of a two-storey café, decorated with vintage-like furniture and accessories, seated two young men next to each other, looking immersed at a clip played at a phone. Both of them donned short, jet-black hair, and had slim figures. The one holding the phone had a small face, doe-like eyes, and small pair of lips. His companion was a bit bulker in builds but shorter in height. While the first man had calmer expressions while watching on the phone, the second man had his eyebrows furrowed the whole time, as if it was his habit to do so whenever he concentrated on something.

At some points of the clip, they would erupt to a muted laughter. Whenever the first man found something amusing in the clip, he would laugh in the ways that his eyes would form eye-smiles, and his mouth left wide open, and laughing mutedly. At times he would go as far as smacking his companion’s body. The companion, on the other hand, obviously did not have the luxury to laugh as long as the first male. He would relieve breathy laughter but most of the time, he let out the ‘ow’ interjections at getting his body smacked continuously by the first male. Both of them had to stifle their laughter the whole time; after all, they were at a café, a public place.

At the end of the humorous clip, they let out a relieved sigh, possibly grateful that the torturous moment of having to stifle their laughter was finally over.

“Oh that was funny,” commented the first male as he put down the phone on the table. He then dabbed the corner of his eyes using his knuckles, dabbing away tears of laughter that had formed when they were watching the clip. “It’s been so long since I watched Running Man. I should watch it again soon.”

“Yeah, tell me about it, Hyung,” said the second male, apparently younger than the first. “You were laughing like crazy. My body…” he trailed off, massaging his right arm that was the nearest to his companion. It had become the major victim of the first man’s smacking during their muted laughter. He tried to reach out to his back too—the second major victim—but his relatively short arms could not do a proper massage. He resorted to just patting it lightly. “It’s really been a while since I got my back smacked by you, Hyung. It really brings back memories.”

The first man apologized in another laughter while patting on his companion’s back. The younger brushed it off, saying ‘nah, that’s fine’.

The older man reached out for his cup of iced latte on the table and took a sip of it. The other man took the phone on the table and went for another search of clips. Again, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

“Hey, is it okay if I join you guys? Is Saemi aware of this?” The older addressed his younger companion as he set his iced latte cup down on the table.

“I’ve told her. No worries, Hyung. She said it’s okay and now she’s on her way here,” the younger one responded. “Hyung, I just remember,” he paused, tapping lightly on his hyung’s shoulder, “Jonghyun recommended this video game to me. I’ve tried it, and I think you should try it too. You’ll love it.”

“Really?” the hyung asked, scooting closer to the younger. The latter now had a clip of the said game ready to be watched on the phone.

Having their backs towards the café’s staircase, they did not realize that the one they were waiting for was now approaching them. Ascending the staircase was a petite lady, wearing a knotted-front baby pink blouse, a pair of light blue denim pants, and a pair of off-white sneakers. She had a small sling blag that was slung from her left shoulder, and a huge camera backpack containing a DSLR and camera gears. Approaching the deeply engrossed male duo, she placed her palm on the younger male’s back and made a surprised sound, “Bba!”

The male duo’s attention on the clip was effectively cut short.

“Saemi-yah!” acknowledged the older male.

“Oh, you’ve arrived!” the younger one remarked.

The lady laughed heartily and placed her camera backpack on the seat in front of the younger male. “I’m sorry I’m late, oppa-deul. The photo shoot was longer than usual today. What are you watching by the way? It seems so interesting that you didn’t even realize I was coming.” She pouted, specifically towards the younger male.

“We just wanted to pass time while waiting for you. Well, Chanhee Hyung hasn’t watched Running Man for a long time,” the younger male replied as he passed the phone to the older male. He purposely did not mention the second clip that they watched.

The older male took the sign as ‘Hyung,-I-don’t-want-to-tell-her-that-I-play-this-game', and immediately changed the subject, “Saemi-yah, I hope you don’t mind that I’m here. I stumbled into Changhyun earlier and he brought me here. I didn’t know you both were planning to have a date outing at this café.”

“No, no, that’s fine. At least Changhyun Oppa wasn’t alone while waiting for me.”

Chanhee smiled at her response. “How was the photo shoot by the way? I heard it was for your final year project?”

Saemi replied that it went surprisingly well, and the models she worked with were pleasantly cooperative. She hoped that the outcome would turn out well. It was a piece of work that she had been working on for a few months after being given a prompt theme by her university supervisor.

“You’ll do well,” Changhyun remarked as he gave Saemi a sweet and proud smile. “Now let’s order our drinks!”

Saemi just realized that there was only a cup of drink on the table, and it belonged to Chanhee.

“You haven’t ordered yours?” she asked Changhyun, looking almost bewildered that the male had not ordered any drinks for himself.

“No, I was waiting for you hehe. Come on! I’m thirsty.”

Changhyun stood up and placed his palm behind Saemi’s back, trying to cut off Saemi’s ‘why haven't you ordered?’ While they were descending the staircase, Changhyun diverted Saemi’s attention by saying that the café served Nutella shake, a sweet drink that Saemi would love. Saemi retaliated that she was having a diet that time, so she wanted a cup of juice instead. Changhyun playfully chimed that he would take the Nutella shake and then make Saemi feel jealous. He inevitably earned a side-eye look from the lady, which meant along the lines of ‘how could you’.

Chanhee smiled at the scene. Seeing Changhyun and Saemi’s warm interactions with each other made Chanhee feel proud as Changhyun’s close friend.

Though, he could not help but get reminded of a certain young woman. And that was when Chanhee’s smile slowly faded away.

Hyun Ae.

Chanhee used his paper straw to swirl his drink, getting the cubes of ice clinked against one another. The movement of his hand became slower, however, and soon enough, his hand stayed still. His eyes started to lose their focus, and his mind was brought to recall what happened three days ago. It was during his and Changhyun’s circle of friends’ monthly get-together, specifically at a conversation that he had with the oldest male of the circle, Minsoo.

“I’m out, I’m out!” Chanhee shouted in defeat. He had been running around the futsal field for almost 15 minutes now. “Jonghyun-ah, replace me!”

Without retaliation, the youngest male in their group of friends stood up from their bench. He waited for Chanhee to step out from the futsal box for him to play in the field.

Chanhee was breathing heavily. It had been a while since he had a physical activity so he was running out of stamina quickly. He downed a bottle of cold water, and in a matter of seconds, the whole drink was gone. Then, he grabbed a can of isotonic drink from a portable cool-box before sitting on their bench next to Minsoo. Chanhee took a look at the older male, noting that Minsoo did not look like he had broken a sweat.

“You haven’t substituted anyone, Hyung?”

Minsoo simply blurted out a nonchalant ‘nah’. In fact, he was leaning on the wall behind them, and slightly slouching to his right. He did look disinterested to join their physical activity.

Chanhee noticed from the start that his older friend seemed to be preoccupied with something. It was as if that ‘something’ was bothering him and he was deeply thinking about it. Chanhee decided to stay quiet and give some room for the older to have his thinking space. He proceeded to just sit silently and wiped his sweats off of his face and hair using a towel.

“Chanhee-yah,” Minsoo suddenly called. Chanhee hummed in acknowledgement, signalling the older that he was listening. “Do you still remember Changhyun’s girlfriend?”

Chanhee raised his eyebrows slightly at the question that it made him stop wiping off his sweats. He placed his hands and the towel on his laps. He did not expect the question coming from Minsoo, since he was aware that Minsoo had seen the girl a few times before.

He responded to the question nonetheless, thinking that the older might have forgotten her name, “Saemi?”

There was a streak of recognition across Minsoo’s face. “No, no, no. Not her,” he frantically interjected while raising his hand a little bit, obviously not expecting the name as the answer. “Changhyun’s ex-girlfriend, I mean,” he clarified, even placing an emphasis on the ‘ex’ word.

“Ah,” Chanhee briefly acknowledged, “Hyun Ae?”

“Yes, her. Geez, I never really learnt her name,” muttered Minsoo.

Chanhee did not totally blame Minsoo. Even both Byunghun and Jonghyun recently admitted that they had never seen Changhyun’s former girlfriend.

Chanhee paid the matter no heed though, as he proceeded with the main question of the topic, “What about her?”

“She came to the store two weeks ago.”

Apparently, Hyun Ae was a frequent customer at the store where Minsoo worked at as a part-timer.

“She was offered a scholarship to New Zealand,” Minsoo continued.

“And?”

“She accepted.”

There was a brief silence before Minsoo slowly tapped his foot in a calculated manner, a habit that he did every time he was thinking deeply. It was a habit that Chanhee found endearing, despite the older’s lazy appearance. But somehow, at that moment, he didn’t like where the conversation was headed.

“She wasn’t hot,” the older male began, “nor was she gorgeous like Byunghun’s girl. But she’s likeable, so I don’t really mind having her as our ‘sister-in-law’.” Minsoo was playing with the seam of Chanhee’s towel by then. “But I’m still wondering why Changhyun broke up with her.”

He was silent again.

Chanhee, however, did not miss the older male’s side-eyeing him—the slight peek that he was able to catch from the corner of his eyes. He could tell that his older friend was seeking an explanation from him.

Choosing not to answer the silent request, he crouched down to his shoes and pretended to tend to his shoe laces, which were in fact, were already neatly tied. Technically, Chanhee did not see the need to remind Minsoo of how miserable their friend in question looked like after his breakup with a certain twin-dimpled girl. Chanhee didn’t feel the need to feed Minsoo on how rash the decision that Changhyun made when he found himself a replacement to the girl.

Minsoo took the sign of refusal and pursed his lips. He could tell that he would not be able to get any information from Chanhee about Hyun Ae and Changhyun. Then again, maybe it was not the right time.

Minsoo went on talking, “Anyway, if it wasn’t for Daniel, I wouldn’t have known that the girl who frequented the store was Changhyun’s girlfriend. You were there too, right? He said something about a volunteer work that you guys joined that day.”

Chanhee could feel that the older was about to speak again when Daniel’s voice could be heard from across the field. “Minsoo Hyung! Could you please stop lazing around and replace Jin Hyung here? You haven’t even gotten a single sweat out.”

Minsoo grunted, for having his ‘investigation’ cut short, and also being forced to enter the futsal field. Despite the reluctance, he stood up anyway and did a simple warm-up, waiting for Jin to step out of the futsal field.

Chanhee was aware that Minsoo meant well.

Reluctantly, he got himself reminded of an encounter that happened three years before. It was the day of the volunteer work that Minsoo mentioned earlier. The night after the volunteer work was the first time that Chanhee and Daniel had a proper face-to-face meet up with Hyun Ae. Daniel had made a short trip to Minsoo’s convenience store, stumbled upon Hyun Ae there, and decided to bring her to their usual hanging out spot. Chanhee, who went straight to their hanging out spot while Daniel went to the store, was not exactly pleased with Daniel’s decision. He felt even more baffled when Daniel suddenly opted for a walk with his dog, leaving both Chanhee and Hyun Ae seated together.

He remembered that Hyun Ae tried initiating a conversation with him, possibly trying to break the ice between them, but he was rather cold to her. Hyun Ae, seeming to grasp the fact that Chanhee was not up for any conversation that moment, remained silent afterwards. She was seated to his left, with a distance between them; had both her palms propping her at either side; and her feet slowly moving in circular motions in the air, reflecting the awkward vibe between them.

“Please understand, Hyun Ae-shi.” Chanhee recalled saying that to her. “Changhyun hasn’t completely moved on from Aeri yet. He might be dating you right now, but his heart isn’t with you.”

He remembered saying that coldly, without looking at the addressed girl. In fact, he had made sure that he never made a proper eye contact with her; from the moment Daniel brought her to their hanging out spot. He straightened his gaze to his front, fixing it on Daniel’s silhouette, which could be seen walking with his dog by the riverbank.

He could tell that Hyun Ae was listening.

To be honest, he did feel guilty for shooting the girl down just because she was in a relationship with Changhyun. But Changhyun was his childhood friend—almost like his real younger brother—and watching his younger friend’s agony upon being left by Aeri almost broke his own heart. But definitely, Changhyun’s decision on getting a replacement in such state was not commendable as well.

Back at the café, Chanhee was snapped out of his trance, and realized that most of the ice cubes in his latte had shrunk, diluting the drink a little bit. He resumed swirling his drink using the paper straw before taking a sip of the drink.

Looking at Changhyun and Saemi now in the queue in front of the café’s counter to get their drinks, Chanhee honestly felt proud. It had been six months since both of them went out. They were from the same university; Changhyun was a one-year senior to Saemi. It was Saemi who asked Changhyun out. Changhyun, of course, was hesitant at first, possibly due to his past romantic relationships. He felt flustered that a lady confessed to him, and he did express that he was not looking for a relationship at the moment. Saemi was patient though; she agreed to be friends first, and see how it went. Changhyun even asked opinions from his friends regarding Saemi—Chanhee included. Changhyun finally opened up and accepted Saemi as more than a friend. It could be seen that Changhyun sincerely loved Saemi, and he also received the same from Saemi. It was evident from the way they looked at each other. It was not cheesy romantic, more like they genuinely cared for each other. Chanhee could tell that Changhyun appeared more mature when it came to romantic relationships—he became more rational compared to when he was with Aeri and Hyun Ae.

Chanhee sipped on his latte again, getting reminiscent of what happened three years ago.

Of course Chanhee felt happy for Changhyun and Saemi now, but he could not brush off the fact that Hyun Ae was once in the equation too. Chanhee inwardly admitted that he might have appeared as the bad guy in Hyun Ae’s eyes. It did seem like he was the one who forced Hyun Ae to leave Changhyun. He also acknowledged that Hyun Ae did nothing wrong, in fact, it was Changhyun’s fault to begin with. But in all honesty, he could not stand seeing how both Hyun Ae and Changhyun engaged themselves in an ironic bind, where Changhyun was still deeply infatuated with Aeri while ‘dating’ Hyun Ae.

Once again, trailing his eyes towards the lovely duo Changhyun and Saemi, Chanhee whispered to himself, wishing the best for his childhood friend, “Be happy now, Changhyun-ah.”

He then looked out the window near him, and whispered another name, sincerely, “and you too, Hyun Ae-shi. I’m sorry.”

[A / N]:

I am proud to say that Deeply Rooted is now finished! It was a roller coaster ride, and I am super happy that I can finally conclude this fic as a completed one. That major hiatus in the past six years was so enormous though, lol. Talk about a writer's block uwu. But hey this stay-at-home phase really helps my writing a lot. Maybe I only needed a solitude.

Anyway, I have decided to upload a backstory of this fic, this time told in Hyun Ae's eyes. Is it necessary? I am not sure haha. But I have made a vow to complete the fic as well. Please pray for me!

Thank you to all who have been reading and supporting Deeply Rooted! Your comments and feedback are highly appreciated. I love all of you <3

Posted: 14/04/2020, 07:05