“Yah, why are you crying? I’m sorry!” Suho was in a state of panic.

A hand reached out to wipe away the tears on Soo Hee’s face. She looked up to see Suho’s troubled expression as he carefully wiped away the tears that won’t stop falling.

“Aish! I’m so sorry!” Suho took a step back and started to dig into his pockets when they both turned to the right to see a stomping giant coming towards them.

“Suho, you bastard!”

Suho quickly evaded Chan Yeol’s fist as he stumbled backwards with a shock. Baek Hyun and Tao were trying to restrain the taller man from hitting him.

“Chan Yeo-”

“You made her cry!” Chan Yeol shouted as the said man tried to escape from the tight grip of his friends.

“Oppa, calm down! He didn-” Soo Hee tried to explain to which Chan Yeol just turned a deaf ear to.

“Let me go!” Chan Yeol shouted, making Baek Hyun flinch and let go while Tao remained with one hand tightly gripping Chan Yeol’s arm.

“What the is going on here?!”

Everyone stopped to glance at a pissed off Kris. Soo Hee looked at the gang leader with pleading eyes, silently telling him to do something to stop the fight that’s about to happen. Getting her message, Kris turned his gaze at the other members.

“Xiumin, get Suho out of here. Tao, let Chan Yeol go.” Kris commanded with a stern voice.

A loud slap made Soo Hee cover in shock as Kris’ right hand came in contact with Chan Yeol’s left cheek. The latter just stood there quietly, as if already expecting the punishment, with his head down while the slightly taller guy glared at him.

“Keep it together, Park Chan Yeol! You know what Suho is going through. It’s not his goddamn fault! And you have no right to be a part of their problem!” Kris yelled at her cousin while pointing a finger at her for a split second.

Chan Yeol remained as he is – head bent like a puppy being scolded by its master. Kris sighed and signaled for Soo Hee to leave with Chan Yeol. Soo Hee lightly grabbed her cousin’s hand and tugged him away. Like a kid, she led Chan Yeol towards the school park where they both sat on a bench. Silence engulfed them and only the chirping of the yellow birds and the light spring breeze could be heard.

“I-”

“Chan Y-”

They both looked at each other and laughed softly before Soo Hee noticed Chan Yeol’s expression turn serious.

“Suho had amnesia.” He whispered, but it was enough for me to hear. The new information brought her by surprise, rendering her speechless as her eyes found its way towards her feet which she swung to no particular rhythm. He forgot about me. I was just a stranger to him earlier. Soo Hee could feel a depreciate laugh escape .

“Then why can he remember you guys and not me?”

It took Chan Yeol a moment before he finally answered.

“He couldn’t remember anything at first. He was in a car accident when he went to the States and he was in a coma for a couple of days. When he came to be, he couldn’t even remember his own name.” Chan Yeol explained as he stared up at the leaves of the tree that provided them shade.

“His amnesia is temporary though. He’s starting to remember some details. He forced his parents to take him back here, Korea, so he can fully recover his memories. He’s started to remember us one by one, but-”

“He still hasn’t remembered me.” Soo Hee cut him off.

“I’m sorry, Soo. Now you know why I kept Suho’s arrival a secret from you and why I was against you visiting him.” Chan Yeol had his head hung low.

“Oppa, it’s not your fault.” Soo Hee shook her head in console and placed a hand on top of his head.” She felt happy and grateful that Chan Yeol cared for her a lot, but she couldn’t shake off the gloomy feeling now lingering in her chest.

It was painful to be forgotten or never remembered by the person you love. Soo Hee could only think of two reasons as to why Suho hasn’t remembered her yet. One: she was never important enough to be remembered. Two: Something inside Suho is choosing to not let him have any remembrance of her because he has found somebody else to replace her. Either option would only end up with a teary-eyed Soo Hee.

“What are you gonna do?”

Soo Hee froze. What was she gonna do?

“I don’t know, oppa. I honestly don’t know.”

Forget and move on.

“Maybe I should just take up Jae Hee’s advice.” She shrugged.

“And what would that be?”

“Forget and move on.” Soo He tried to sound brave and nonchalant but she knew that she failed when Chan Yeol finally looked up to meet her gaze with his unsure ones.

“Can you? I mean, he might remember you soon.”

Soo Hee shrugged her shoulders weakly and laughed sadly. Maybe Suho will remember her. Maybe he won’t. She sighed for the nth time as she gazed at the mid-afternoon sky.

“Maybe, maybe not.” She remarked softly.

“Soo Hee, I-”

“It took me five months and that painful incident earlier to make me realize that maybe I’m just wasting my tears on him, oppa.” Her voice cracked as unwanted started to flood her vision.

“T-that maybe, he was never the one for me to begin with. Tell me, Yeol…” Soo Hee looked up expectantly at Chan Yeol.

“Would you go and leave the person you love, crying, when you know that you’re the reason for her tears?”

There was sadness and understanding in Chan Yeol’s eyes as he held the poor girl close and shushed her as tears finally poured down her already-fragile face. Soo Hee sobbed uncontrollably in Chan Yeol’s arms as the latter tried his best to calm her down.

Soo Hee was too engrossed in her own demise that she failed to notice the bitter tears that occasionally fell on her head, nor did she pay attention to the almost-silent sobs of her comforter.

~mylovewillprotectyou~

Soo Hee found herself sitting on the same bench again.

After yesterday’s incidents, Chan Yeol took her home and assured her that everything wil be alright. Soo Hee closed her eyes and held her untied hair down as a light breeze passed by. It was club period and Jae Hee took off to attend a meeting with her club while Ha Ra had to look over her club’s preparations for the upcoming school festival next month.

Guided by the light from the lamp, Soo Hee adjusted her glasses as she read through the biography of Anne Frank. She was so into her reading that she didn’t notice someone knocking on her balcony window until the slight creaking of the hinges made her whip her attention to the knob that was turning by itself. Scrambling to her feet, she grabbed the nearest object she could reach, a hanger.

Slowly creeping up to the balcony window, she tightly gripped her only weapon as she watched a shadow behind the curtains. Pulling one side of the thin material, she let out a battle cry and swung the r side of thehanger at the intruder before stopping in mid-air and realizing who was on the other side.

“What are you doing here?!” Soo Hee whispered worriedly as she fully opened the window.

Suho stood outside the balcony dressed in a thick cashmere coat and black jeans. His hair was ruffled and the coldness of the night was evident as he had both hands in the pockets of his coat and his breathing was visible in the autumn night. He was obviously freezing yet, his smile was still warm as summer. Soo Hee instinctively wrapped her arms around herself as a cold ind made its way inside the room.

“I think its best if I come in.” Suho chuckled hoarsely.

Soo Hee hesitated. No guy has ever been inside her room with the exception of her father and cousin. She would never let just anyone in. Anyone. But Suho was not just “anyone”. He was her boyfriend. Boyfriend. She blushed at the thought, deeming herself as unable to get used to the fact that this handsome and angelic creature was her boyfriend. Her lover. It was just to good to be true for a simpleton like her.

“Soo Hee?”

Soo Hee snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Suho who was already shivering from the cold. Flustered and embarrassed, for making him wait outside, she grabbed the arm of his jacket and ushered him in before closing the window.

“Cozy.”

She stared at Suho’s back as he removed his coat while looking at every corner of the room. Awkward. Suho was now in his gray, long-sleeved turtleneck shirt which hugged his upper torso comfortably, allowing Soo Hee to view his lean but muscular figure. She blushed when Suho turned to look at her with a smile gracing his features.

“Cute.”

Cute? She looked at him, baffled, before realizing what he actually meant. His eyes were scanning her from head to toe and for pete’s sake she was wearing her baby bluepajamas!

“Yah!” Soo Hee pulled her robe off the rack and hurriedly put it on while Suho just chuckled nonstop.

“I like it here.”

“Oppa, do you know what time it is?!” Soo Hee asked him to which he just shrugged. He dipped his chin, as if in deep thought, before replying.

“I couldn’t wait.”

Soo Hee looked at him, confused. Wait? For what? She was about to open to ask when he took something out of his pocket. She gasped at the little figurine of Ariel, the little mermaid, glowing in her darkly-lit room.

“Oppa, I-”

The clock on her lamp desk let out a chime. It was already midnight. As if entranced by the soft, continuous chime of the clock, Suho and Soo Hee both stared at it until the sound stopped.

“Happy anniversary, Soo Hee.” Suho looked at her with his most charming smile, his perfect white teeth glistening in the dark. He gently took her hand and placed the figurine on her palm.

“It’s been officially one month since you came into my life and changed it. A month since I asked you out. I just couldn’t wait for tomorrow so I rushed here.” He had a tint of pink on his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his neck. 

Soo Hee was touched and at the same time, guilty. Their anniversary never once popped into her mind. She had no idea there were “monthsaries”. So much for being insensitive. She felt her heart clench as she looked at the precious figurine. She didn’t even have something to give to him and now…

“I’m sorry. I don’t have anything to give you.”

Shame was eating her up as she turned to face the floor.

“Oh! It’s fine! I wasn’t expecting anything, just that you’d continue to stay by my side. Cheesy, I know.” He laughed nervously.

“Well, maybe this can make up for it.”

With all the courage she could muster, Soo Hee stood on her tippy toes and planted a soft peck on his lips. The soft brush was enough to turn her mind into frenzy and she couldn’t hold back her blush as she stared at Suho’s shocked expression. Maybe she overdid it a little? So embarrassing.

“What was that?”

Soo Hee looked at him, shocked. Was Suho mad? Oh no.

“M-my f-first kiss.” She stuttered. Great.

“Can I have another one?” Suho was smiling up to his ears when Soo Hee stared at him in surprise. With one reach of his arm pulling her by the waist and a soft whisper of ‘Best. Present. Ever.’, she found her lips crushed against his soft ones in a passionate kiss.