5

A Failed Plan

CHAPTER FIVE

“Baekhyun, could you please excuse us?” Kris urged his friend.

“Kris, I know what you’re thinking. And I can only tell you this is going to end badly.” Baekhyun advised with a worried expression.

“Just trust me. I know what I’m doing.” Kris smiled reassuringly.

Baekhyun sighed at his stubbornness and left unwillingly.

Seohyun smiled at Kris and hoped that he would initiate the conversation. But he didn’t; he just smiled back.

“Kris, I wanted to say that I’m sorry.” She said reaching for his hands, across his desk.

“I’ve already forgiven you.” He pulled away.

“I want us to go back to the way we were.” She lowered her eyes as she went straight to the point.

“We can’t, things are different now. My feelings for you; they’ve changed,” he answered sincerely, “I’ve changed.”

“I won’t accept that. I know you’ll change your mind when I tell you why I left. I know we’re going to be together again.” Seohyun insisted eager and hopeful.

“It doesn’t matter what your reasons were. I don’t love you anymore. I don’t think I ever did. I’m sorry if I made you feel like you needed to come explain yourself to me. You didn’t need to do that.” He went around his desk and placed a reassuring hand around hers, “Whatever reason you had, I can understand it. I know you. And I know you wouldn’t have taken the money if you didn’t have to.”

“You have to believe that I regret everything. I really wish I hadn’t left.” Seohyun mumbled, tears flowing down her cheeks.

“Don’t cry. It’s ok. I’m not going to judge you. I’d actually like it if we could be friends.” Kris gently wiped off her tears.

“But I don’t want to just be your friend!” She yelled, tears flowing down faster.

“I’m sorry, but a friendship is all I can offer.” He replied apologetically.

Seohyun understood that her melodramatics weren’t going to get her anywhere and decided that resignation was her only option, for now.

“Alright,” she wiped off the remaining tears, “But promise me we’ll be closer than ever. As friends I mean.”

“But you’re going to have to do me a favor first.” Kris playfully smiled.

“Anything!” Seohyun responded without thinking.

* * *

Kai got off the treadmill sweating profusely and walked over to a section of the gym where blue mats were scattered and stacked. In one of them sat a lovely blonde girl, who was just as sweaty as he was, doing her usual stretches.

“Here, let me help you.” Kai got a hold of Hyoyeon’s foot and started massaging it, gently.

Hyoyeon smiled and watched him work his magic. But Kai decided to playfully pinch the heel of her foot.

“Ouch!” She wailed. “What was that for?”

“For not smiling for me; I haven’t seen that smile in over a month.”

“What are you talking about? I smile for you all the time.” She retorted, pulling her feet away from him.

“No! Not since Kris came back.” Kai spoke, his voice b with frustration. “You still love him don’t you? I don’t see why or how after he abandoned you.”

“Stop it.  I don’t want to talk about him.” Hyoyeon started to get angry.

“It just angers me that he still has control over you.”

“No he does not.”

“Hyoyeon, he has complete control over you. Look at you. What happened? You were beginning to smile. I could see you enjoying life again. You were beginning to forget him. Suddenly he comes back, and you’ve just reverted to that frigid, calculating person that you transformed into.”

“I just want him to pay for everything he put me through. I’m not going to be played a fool again.”

“If you didn’t love him, you wouldn’t care about making him pay. Just let it go. Revenge isn’t good Hyoyeon.”

Kai inched closer to Hyoyeon. He used his hands to cup her cheeks and reeled her face close to him. When her nose was just grazing his, he whispered to her. “I can help you forget him if you’d let me.”

 Kai gave her a kiss at the bottom of her right cheek, the edge of his lips barely pecking the edge of her bottom lip. That was the closest he had ever gotten to giving her a kiss on the lips and the closest he would ever get.

He tried leaving smoothly, but there was a terrible red blush settled on his cheeks as he left the gym.

Hyoyeon sat, rethinking his words, but she couldn’t accept him. Her need for revenge was strong. Kris needed to feel just a little bit of the humiliation she had felt when he decided to run away. She wasn’t going to let it go that easily.

* * *

“Ok, now remember our plan. Just small hand touches, nothing beyond that. I don’t want her thinking there’s actually something going on between us.” Kris explained to Seohyun.

“Kris, are you sure this is going to work? If she really doesn’t love you, then I don’t think she’s going to get jealous, or show any signs of anger. I think this plan is pointless. We should just go out together; just the two of us.” Seohyun suggested.

 Kris laughed.

“I already made it perfectly clear that you and I are only going to be friends and my plan is definitely going to work. If anything we’ll confirm her feelings for me, she’ll realize how harsh she’s being to me when she sees that our marriage is being threatened by you.”

Kris heard the front door beginning to shift. Hyoyeon entered the living room and froze when she saw the couple, looking very intimate sitting side by side on the couch.

Hyoyeon scoffed at the two and continued her way up the stairs.

Kris’s voice stopped her halfway through the steps. “I cooked today. I hope you can join us.”

Hyoyeon smiled slightly, she definitely could not miss this. This would be the perfect time to bring his morale down, while also keeping an eye on him, to discover what he was playing at by bringing his ex-girlfriend into their home.

* * *

“So in the end you did manage to get your full-ride scholarship.” Kris emphasized Seohyun’s recent achievement.

“Yes. I got accepted into a very good school. I’ll be joining their Engineering program in the fall.” Seohyun gleamed.

“I hear that’s one of the more difficult departments to get into. But with your brain, I’m sure it was a breeze.” Kris reached for Seohyun’s hand and held it tightly. Seohyun turned her palm towards Kris’s palm, so that their hands would intertwine.

Kris looked over at Hyoyeon to see if she looked even a little bit jealous, and grew disappointed that she wasn’t even looking at him or at Seohyun play out their charade.

His gloom became even bigger when he noticed that Hyoyeon had barely even touched her food. She looked distraught, as her face looked away from them with her left hand propping her chin up.

She looked awfully bored.

“Hyoyeon, did you like the food?” Kris asked interrupting her from her thoughts.

“The potatoes are undercooked and the meat is tasteless.” She said calmly, looking at Kris with insulting eyes.

Seohyun snickered at her comment.

Kris sat still in his chair, but Hyoyeon had wounded him deeply.

 He had worked really hard on the meal to please her, but those small meaningless words she said about his dinner hurt like daggers piercing his heart.

“Well, it’s been a lovely dinner. I’ve really had fun, but I have to go to sleep now.” Hyoyeon voiced sarcastically.

“Hyoyeon, wait!” He yelled while trying to contain the distress in his voice. “Since, neither of us have decided to take this marriage seriously, I really do think that we should be free to at least date who we want, secretly so people won’t gossip.”

“That’s fine by me.” Hyoyeon got up and pushed in her chair.

“Fine! Then, I think you should know that I’m going to start dating Seohyun!” Kris blurted out bitterly, but that was never meant to be part of the plan. It had been caused by Hyoyeon’s obvious indifference.

“Whatever. Just don’t disrespect this house.” Hyoyeon looked at him and spoke in a low-key voice, making the situation seem something harmonious.

Kris’ plan had failed miserably.

Hyoyeon had shown no signs of jealousy or anger. She had agreed compliantly to an affair between him and Seohyun, indicating to Kris that Hyoyeon truly didn’t care about him.

 This made Kris furious.

Once Hyoyeon had disappeared from their view, Seohyun let out a happy sigh that she hid from Kris, and decided to speak up.

“See, I told you it wouldn’t work. If anything, your make-hyoyeon-jealous plan is going to backfire.” She paused. “Do you know what you have just done? You’ve practically pushed her into the arms of another man.” Seohyun mocked him.

“Just, quiet, please. I don’t want to hear it. Let’s go. I’ll take you home.” He led Seohyun out the door and took her home.

When he got back home, he sat at the dinner table alone, his hands interlocked under his chin. He breathed hastily in the dark room as he thought about what Seohyun had said. She was right. He had made a big mistake tonight.

 He practically told Hyoyeon that she could date whoever she wanted. He just hoped Hyoyeon wouldn’t actually decide to follow his advice.

During the duration of four weeks, before he had even made his failed plan with Seohyun, he had watched Hyoyeon carefully around the house.

At first it was just a simple attraction for the beautiful blonde.

Later he grew enamored with every little single detail about her.

He specially cherished the moments she had to herself, when she thought no one was watching; how she wasted them out in her precious garden; the way her gentle aura poured from her soul as she took care of her blood-red roses like they were children of her own.

 Hyoyeon may have looked cold on the outside, but Kris had learned that on the inside she was but a ray of sunshine.

He also discovered that he loved living with her. Although lacking maintenance and housekeeping, Hyoyeon was enough to keep the house warm and cozy. This would be something that Kris would forever be grateful for.

 Kris always looked forward to arriving home and enjoying her food and her bright smiles, even if they were never specifically aimed at him.

He knew the happiness she emitted was never made for him, usually directed at her plate, for a dinner well- made. Nonetheless he savored each and every one of her smiles.

He liked to dream that one day, her smile would belong to him.

It didn’t take long for Kris to realize that he had truly and deeply fallen in love with her. In fact he was ready to admit it to Baekhyun, before they got interrupted by Seohyun at the office.

But, just now, he realized that he was moments away from losing the love of his life.

Terror was noticeable in his face even in the dark atmosphere of the dining hall, fearful at the thought of Hyoyeon leaving him. And as the clouds outside cleared, another crescent moon barely illuminated the room to show tears glistening down Kris’ cheeks.