His instincts tell him that he’s still near, lingering around the hospital area. Picking up the broken pieces one by one, while telling people that he’s still fine. He scurries around the hospital lobby, searching for that one face that he only met weeks ago, that he had hated, but now feeling sorry for him. He didn’t leave the hospital; he’s still waiting with a broken heart.

The sudden rush of cool air that greets his skin as he walks out of the hospital makes his senses tingle. He walks towards the one destination that he’s sure he’ll meet the man; the hospital park. There he is, slumping against the bench. Seeing him in that state, it makes the doctor feels blameworthy.

“Congratulations,” Daehyun greets him first, without even turning around.

Yongguk doesn’t know what to reply, so he just asks for his permission to sit beside him. Daehyun shrugs, so he takes it as his permission is granted and proceeds to settle down. “That’s not a reason to congratulate me.”

“She picked you. You won. That’s what you wanted, right?”

“I never wanted to win this way, I expected that she would pick you.”

“Stop pretending as if you’re an angel. You’re happy that she chose you, aren’t you? So stop pretending as if you’re regretting her decision.”

“Believe whatever you want to, but I honestly thought you would win. I should have stopped you from making that request, so it’s partly my fault.”

“It doesn’t matter now, does it? I have to let her go. Take care of her, would you? Her heart… Please take care of it. Never break it because it was once… Sooyoung’s. Do it as a favour, yeah? Maybe you were right, I expected Sooyoung instead of Jiyoon. I can’t believe we actually fought over her, but in the end you won. I was so positive that I would win over you; it just shows how immature I still am,” he laughs. His eyes show that he was waiting for Jiyoon to come running after him instead of the doctor that has been treating her for so long. He stands up, wipes his hands on his pants and extends out a hand. The sitting doctor looks quizzically at him.

“We should at least shake our hands before saying our goodbyes.”

Both of them shake their hands, and soon after only Yongguk is left with his thoughts at the park. There are other patients walking around, assisted by nurses by their side. All of them smile as they pass the doctor, but he can only manage to nod as his thoughts are all jumbled up. Everything’s happening so fast… So that’s it? 

If he had stopped Daehyun, would things turn out differently? Would they do anything to win over Jiyoon, so that one of them would gain the rightful place next to her?

Daehyun walked away, Yongguk won. 

But he doesn't deserve it, does he?

...

The atmosphere in the dining room is quiet, and Mrs. Bang senses something happened between the two young adults. Even the twins notice something, as they finish their plates without making any noise apart from the clinking of cutlery against their plates. Yongguk's face is tight as he digs through his bowl of rice, while Jiyoon doesn't even touch the food in front of her. Both of them don’t look at each other, minding their own business, lost in their own thoughts. 

"I'm not feeling very well, so I have to excuse myself. I'll be up in my room," Jiyoon states. The sound of her chair scraping against the floor is the only sound in the room. None of them stops her. 

The image of Daehyun keeps appearing in her mind, bugging her. She doesn't want to remember him, but she can't help it when the picture of his sullen face keeps coming uninvited. 'Go away...'she wants to scream at the image, but at the same time she wants to beg him to never leave her. 'Strange,' she thought.

The good thing about her room is the balcony, and that means she can stare at the stars at night. Not tonight, as looking at the stars means remembering the short period she had spent with Daehyun. 

...

"Soojin, Soomin, go to your room. Don't disturb Jiyoon eonni, okay?" Mrs. Bang instructs the twins. Hearing their mother's serious tone, they know they have to follow her instructions. They go away, and she's left with her son in the dining room. Empty plates, apart from Jiyoon's, are spread across the table but the both of them know there are far more important things to talk about rather than cleaning them. 

"What happened?" Mrs. Bang knows her son well, but sometimes she can't guess what is going through the doctor's mind. 

He recounts the whole story, and Mrs. Bang listens attentively. After he finishes telling the story, he looks away, as if ashamed. 

"Love is a funny thing, Yongguk. When you think you don't have a chance, love comes and tells you otherwise. You think you own it, but it proves you wrong. Love is powerful; most of the time people can't control it. And that, is what destroys them." 

"So what you're trying to tell me, is?"

"You can't expect anything when it comes to love. Just let it be." 

"Does that mean I haven't won, yet?"

Mrs. Bang pulls out a tissue from the tissue box and wipes . "Did you know what she did yesterday?" She doesn't answer his question; instead she directs a question at him. 

After a few seconds of pondering, the doctor shakes his head. He's too busy worrying about Jiyoon's condition to even think about what she did that might had caused her to faint. He's curious, but something tells him he doesn't really want to know the answer. 

"She went out with a man I believe is Daehyun. I know because I saw her getting into his car. I saw him, and your description of him fits perfectly. I don't have the power to stop her as she's a grown-up and she's allowed to make her own decisions. She came back carrying a lot of shopping bags, and soon after Soomin found her unconscious. Do you think that if she doesn't have feelings for him, she would risk herself by going out with him for half the day? She must've been so exhausted that she fainted. She knows she'll face the risk of being unconscious if she gets too tired, but she still chose to spend time with him. Women lie easily through their teeth, but their actions will tell you about their real feelings. She might say that she's fine but in reality, she's broken inside. She might say that she's satisfied, but truth is she's not."

"She's lying about her feelings?"

"That's what women do best."

"She likes Daehyun?"

His mother keeps silent for a moment, hesitant for the first time. She doesn't want to break her son's heart, but it's the truth, she knows it. The truth always hurts.

"Yes."

Yongguk clasps and unclasps his hands; somewhat uneasy over the 'lecture' his mother had given him. Plus, the information he just received about what Jiyoon did yesterday, pose a thousand questions. What did they do? Did they just go around shopping, or did they do something else?

"How far are you willing to go for her?"

"As far as I can manage."

"Do you really love her?"

"I..." Does he? "Yes." 

"Unless you really love her, you might as well forget about her. It's going to be a tough feat trying to change her heart." 

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Hello! So I decided to change the foreword/synopsis a little bit, so you might want to check it out. This story might be unexpected in the next chapter and onwards, so please anticipate it a lot :) Also, I was thinking of making a poster for this story, but I didn't have time to do so (although I'm not really good at editing I will try...) Thank you for staying up until here (to both silent and active readers alike!)