Fourteen.

Falling.

Cho Kyuhyun almost back pedaled when he saw her standing there inside her boutique, her head lowered and she looked like she was heaving breaths slightly. Slowly, she lifted her head.

He saw her tear stained cheek.

He resisted the temptation to rev his car back to life and get the hell out of her sight.

He’s been cowardly enough for avoiding her these past few weeks. He decided it was time to put his cowardice to an end. She didn’t deserve this.

He got out of the car. She still had her eyes closed.

But then they fluttered open.

And flared at the sight of him watching her from the outside.

He held her gaze for a while. He didn’t realize how he had missed those hazel colored eyes until they were right there in front of him.  

They were beautiful.

They were b with unshed tears.

Seyoon tore her eyes away from him. He could see, clear as a day, how she was battling with herself inside. Which side was she going to take? Her brain or her heart. Her hands entwined together. She was trying not to tremble at his presence.

She finally made the resolve and turned around, heading off further inside.

Out of his sight.

Kyuhyun blinked. It was as if he was day dreaming and suddenly his sweet dream was pulled out of his grasp. He felt lost. Suddenly the hollowness inside his chest was becoming more and more noticeable to him.

Before he could figure out what was happening to him, Seyoon emerged from the french door of the building with an umbrella shielding her from the rain. She held it out in between them when she reached him, so he was no longer standing in the falling drops of water.

He didn’t even realize it was raining.

He didn’t realize many things until he was stood in front of her right now.

He was headed here with a million thoughts preoccupying his mind. Most of them had something to do with the girl before him.

Seyoon avoided his eyes the entire time.

She missed him. But she didn’t think looking into his eyes right now would be bearable to her.

“You’re going to catch a cold.” She whispered.

She missed him. So much that she still cared, so much that it worried her when she saw him standing out there in the rain.

So much that she pushed all the pain aside just so he could have an umbrella over his head.

Because he’s going to get sick.

Her eyes searched his face.

Would he have done the same if it was her who was standing in the middle of the rain instead of him?

The voice at the back of her head reminded her of his absence for the past three weeks.

It reminded her about the moment he became closed off, the moment where she felt like she was hanging at the edge of a cliff, and she just lost the one and only thing she could hold onto.

She was free falling, and she realized no one was there to catch her.

She just had to wait for the impact when she hit the ground.

Hard.

A cold hand wrapped itself around one of hers that was holding the umbrella, startling her. He was steadying her trembling hand.

She bit her lip as she watched his hand tighten around hers.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice almost muffled by the sound of the rain.

Silence. She knew he was watching her, she knew he heard her. His gaze bore into her skull.

“Where have you been?”

Another silence answered her question. She let the pause stretch for a few minutes before she decided to cut it.

She shook her head lightly. “You know, the night when you were drunk, you asked me this question. This question that took me by surprise, that brought me into realization.” she smiled a small, bitter smile as she reminisced, “Have you ever been in love, Seyoon-ah?”

She only heard his breathing.

“My answer to that question was I didn’t know. I said I didn’t know. That was my reply. At least on my mouth, it was. But in my heart,”slowly she lifted her head and met his eyes. His blank, unreadable eyes. “In my heart, the answer was more definitive. It’s a yes. Yes, I’ve been in love. I am in love. Which was scary,” she watched as emotion started swirling in his eyes before he closed them, “because I’m pretty sure my answer would have been, No, I’ve never been in love... but that was before I met you.

“It was scary because I met you, and then got to know more about you, only for about a week, and suddenly, the moment that question escaped your lips, my heart decided that my answer would be, Yes, I’ve been in love. I’m in love now.”

Her free hand clutched the fabric of her skirt.

“I don’t think it was love at the first sight. Because at the second sight, the third sight, fourth sight, and every other sight of you, I just kept falling more and more in love...” she swallowed, “With this guy.”

She felt his hand pull hers slightly toward him, even though his eyes were still closed shut.

“I keep falling deeper for him... I love the way he talked. I love the way he walked. I love the way he smiled, the way he smirked... I love how he was the smart one while I was the dumb one. I even love the way he always teased me about it. And it didn’t help that he gave me kisses, hugs, company, and... sometimes I think... I think I mistook his action as... affection. Sometimes he looked like he really cared.”

A drop of tears escaped her eye. She wiped it off with the back of her hand but the next drop, and the ones after that, started soaking her cheeks. Her breathing had turned into soft sobs.

His eyes slowly opened. She quickly averted her gaze to his shoes.

“It was beautiful. Wonderful. I felt like I was floating,” her gaze involuntarily moved back up his face, and into his eyes. “Until suddenly I was falling. I was shut out.”

She bit her lip when it began trembling too hard. Her heart squeezed in her chest.

His hand moved toward her face, to wipe her tears. But she decided to build up the invisible armor around her and backed away a step. She shook her head again.

“With that said,” she brushed away her tears with her own free hand, “I wish you would just... stop giving me mixed signals like this. Give me explanation of why you’re here after pretending that I didn’t even exist for the past three weeks. Don’t just stare at me like that. Don’t hold my hand like this. Because I might misunderstand this one, too.”

Maybe deep inside, she was hoping for him to make an excuse.

No, I wasn’t pretending that you didn’t exist.

No, I’m not trying to shut you out.

No, you didn’t misunderstand anything.

I’ve just been really busy at the hospital.

I’ve been busy doing some project with my friend.

Hell, even ridiculous excuses like; I’ve just been busy running away to the North Pole for three weeks, would do. She would try to believe him.

His eyes were pleading. But he didn’t say a word.

He wasn’t excusing himself out of anything that she said.

A pained expression crossed over her face before she closed her eyes shut, unintentionally making tears run like rivers on her cheeks, feeling her insides crumble right at that moment.

“I’m going back inside. Keep the umbrella.”

She began pulling her hand out of his, but his fingers only tightened around hers. He took her by surprise by tugging her – not so gently – toward him until she was flush against him. His arms quickly slithered and wrapped themselves around her.

She inhaled the familiar scent on his shirt. And sobbed harder at the fact that she missed him.

She missed him.

So much that she was probably opening herself to another heartbreak by not even trying to escape his embrace. But she was too far gone to even care at the moment.

What happened after that didn’t really register in her head. Seyoon only knew that he held her there in his arms, right in front of her store, under the steady rain, but shielded with her umbrella.

She only knew that he kept holding her hand the whole time; when he was driving, when he helped her get out of the car, when they were riding the elevator up to his floor.

What happened didn’t really register in her head.

Until they were stood in front of the door to his apartment.

Her legs didn’t budge when he opened the door and started pulling her inside. Her hands became cold.

The last time she was there, it had been when Kyuhyun suddenly had this tall fence around him. It had been when they were kissing, laughing, and suddenly he refused to even look her in the eyes.

A look of guilt momentarily passed his face. He probably knew what was replaying inside her head. Gently, he tugged on her hand until she followed him inside.

He sat on the black couch and pulled her toward him until she fell sideways onto his lap.

Alarmed, Seyoon started to get off his lap. But his hands held her in place. It created goosebumps on her arms.

Carefully, she watched him watching her.

“What are you doing?” she asked softly, her eyes guarded.

She didn’t know why she asked. He hasn’t even spoken a word to her, but she hoped he would answer her anyway.

He finally did.

“I’m charging you. I’m charging myself.” He told her, his voice as soft as hers.

Her eyebrows wrinkled at his answer.

“These past few weeks have been tiring for both of us. You’ve been tired running away from the mob of paparazzi that seemed to be always around you, attacking you with cruel questions, waiting for you to eventually get fed up and scream your anger off at one infuriating journalist, and make it to the headline as some high, stuck-up, volatile heiress,” she looked away from him, knowing how true it was. “I know that’s not going to happen, but you need charging anyway.”

“And why would you need to be charged?”

“Because I’ve been depriving myself from I’m Seyoon.” His answer came quickly without a second thought.

Seyoon’s head slowly turned back toward him until she was staring at him square in the eyes with her huge, hazel ones. Her gaze didn’t deter him.

“I do care about you, Seyoon-ah. So much. Don’t even once think otherwise.” Seyoon searched for honesty in his words. She found it at every inch of his face. She heard it in his voice. “And if you still need explanation of why I suddenly showed up at your store earlier, it’s because I missed you. I’ve been missing you. So. Damn. Much.”

She bit her lip, letting her gaze fall to where she was playing with her own fingers on her lap.

She tried to think about what to reply to that.

But she couldn’t.

She finally decided, “I can’t think clearly when you’re talking like that, staring at me like that, with me sitting on your lap.” Her hands started peeling his that was placed around her waist, but he wouldn’t budge.

“I’m not finished charging yet.”

“I have so much to say,” she tried meeting his eyes again, “So much that my brain is now this close to bursting to pieces. But I can’t even think of any now.”

“Don’t think about anything at all then.”

“I have to.” she exhaled a trembling breath. “This is ridiculous, but I’m a fool when I’m near you.”

“This is ridiculous, but so am I.” His gaze deepened, boring into her, making her swallow. “When you said I was the smart one and you were the dumb one between us, I couldn’t help but think about how untrue that was. Considering how I’m always a complete dumb when you’re even within ten feet radius from me. It’s hard to think straight when I’m with you.”

She stared at him for a moment, looking like she was in a serious mental battle.

“Tell me which one I have to believe, Kyuhyun, your actions or your words? I can’t decide myself. Because they are the complete opposite of each other.”

Cho Kyuhyun fell silent for a moment. He saw her eyes fill with anxiety.

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and at the simple movement, her resolve slowly caved.

It was dangerous, how he could affect her like this.

“We’ll talk later tonight. I have a Gala to attend this evening, and I know you do too.”

Of course. Everyone included in the upper class of Korea was invited.

“Oh... right,” Seyoon murmured to herself.

“Be my date.” He said with determination.

Involuntarily, Seyoon smiled at how it wasn’t even a question. She smiled at how he didn’t give her the room to say no. Because even with her heart at stake, she knew she wouldn’t be able to refuse him anyway.

A few hours later, Seyoon was ready. She was dressed, made up, her hair styled to perfection with a curling iron. It cascaded down her back and around her shoulders. She had put on a coat when she answered the door, meeting Kyuhyun who was picking her up as her date.

Who had his jaw on the floor.

Seyoon laughed softly and blushed under his attention.

He shook his head to clear it up. “I can’t even begin to say how beautiful you look tonight.”

She smiled when he offered his arm to her, wondering how this moment reminded her so much of her prom night – although this one was so much more beautiful and meaningful to her – when just a few hours ago, she was bawling her eyes out in his arms and on the sidewalk.

She felt his eyes on her the entire time they rode the elevator down to the basement, felt her heart betray her when it started beating irregularly.

It felt like it’s been years since she felt her heart beat this fast, even though in fact it had just been three weeks since the last time she heard her heart in her ears.

Kyuhyun opened the door for her and helped her inside, before rounding the car to the driver’s side. He had just inserted the key into ignition when he patted his pockets.

He sighed. “I forgot the parking card. I’ll be back in a minute?”

She nodded at him, smiling. He smiled back at her before getting out of the car and running back toward the elevator.

It was silent in the car, only the soft sound of the machine could be heard. She shifted her feet when she felt the strap of her high heels dug into her skin. She bent down to unsnap and re-fasten it, but before she straightened her body back, she saw it.

The small, pink colored card under her foot. It looked like a card that would have been tucked in a flower bouquet.

She picked it up and read the familiar hand writing in it.

It felt like a hand was gripping tightly onto her spine.

Her body ran cold almost immediately. Her eyes had finished skimming along the words.

Her trembling hand fell to her lap, and she stared at the dashboard before her, her eyes wide, aghast and unblinking.

To: Nana

You seem happy from the outside, but I know you’re just confused. You may want to reconsider your decision.

When you’re done, when you’ve come to realization, I’ll be here waiting for you.

I love you.

-CK

Don't hate Kyuhyun or me, please >_<