10.

It takes Junho a while before it really hits him, before the realisation really sinks in. So Eun might never want to be in his life anymore, she might just leave. It almost burns him down and instead of  returning home, he gives the driver the address of So Eun’s apartment.

He impatiently taps his shoes against the floor, looking at the floor where it is stuck every five minutes. Once the doors slide open, he rushes in and almost knocks down a few people on their way out. Junho presses the familiar button, feeling butterflies in his stomach as the lift begins to move upwards. After what feels like an eternity, the lift finally settles and there’s a faint ‘ding’ when the doors slide open once again.

Junho chews at his bottom lip as he cautiously knocks on her door. Normally she’d open right away, or at least there’d be an ‘wait a sec’ if she was in the middle of something. Today, though, nothing but complete silence greets him, sending him all these goosebumps. He knocks again and waits, but there’s still nothing.

It continues like that for the next hour, him knocking, him waiting and eventually ending up in him begging her to answer the door so that he can explain himself. Feeling defeated and hopeless, he leans against her door and slowly slumps to the ground, thinking it might not be such a bad idea to wait- she has to come out anyway.

//

The sound of high heels clicking against the marble floor startles him. Junho’s head shoots up and he rubs his eyes wearily, wondering how long he’s dozed off. Someone is approaching and he gets up awkwardly, clumsily dusting off his clothes. The footsteps suddenly come to an abrupt halt and Junho tilts his head to the side out of curiosity-

So Eun stands there staring at him, her bag falling to the ground. She takes swift steps towards him and throws her arms around his neck.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She keeps mumbling, her voice shaking all the time.

“No, I’m sorry. I should’ve told you the truth. I shouldn’t have lied.” He responds, putting his arms around her to return the hug. He breathes in and out and feels like a heavy stone that has been clenching his heart just left.

So Eun softly pulls away from the hug and looks him in the eye.

“I realized how stupid it was when I got home. I took a cab to your dorm and waited. No one was home and I thought you were not opening the door because you hated me.” Tears start rolling down her cheek and he reaches out to wipe them away with his thumb.

“That’s absurd.” He says, laughing softly at how tears are still b over her eyes. “But just to make you feel better, I was feeling quite miserable waiting for you here too. We’re even.”

There’s a smile tugging at her lips when he finishes his words. An awkward silence falls between them for a moment until Junho decides to break it.

“Aren’t you going to let me in? Honestly, where are your manners Miss Kim?” Junho jokes, stepping aside as she fishes the key out of her bag and unlocks the door.

“Just as a reminder,” So Eun blocks his way suddenly, crossing her arms in front of her with eyes narrowed at him. “next time, you tell me when you date someone.”

“I totally will. You wouldn’t mind a date of three huh?” He says cheekily, taking a step to his left to avoid her shove. So Eun chuckles slightly to herself, feeling relieved that they’re now back to normal.

(Even years later, things simply don’t change. They’d still sometimes get into fights over trivial things or due to absurd misunderstandings. But at the end of the day- when it probably matters the most- they’d be smiling and laughing all over again.)

9.

As ridiculous as it might seem, So Eun always comes first in his list. Whether it is for a day out or just because she needs him. There’s this weird pull she has over him that makes him choose her over and over again. (And it’s not like there’s a real reason for it because he’s tried to figure out why but nothing ever sounds plausible enough.)

He remembers rushing out of the dorm in the middle of the night because he heard she was taken to the hospital due to a break down that happened on set, he remembers cancelling an important appointment because she was feeling particularly depressed that week, he remembers stopping by her apartment every other day during the time Kim Bum started dating Geun Young just to check up on her. It has always left him in awe- the way he was so protective over her well-being. 

Even now, as he’s riding up the elevator to her flat. She called him this morning, once again in a bad mood and Junho being Junho simply couldn’t go out on a date leaving her all alone with her depression. So instead of showing up at the restaurant on time and all dressed up, Junho called off the date with Hanna (they’ve been dating for a couple of months now) and went straight to So Eun to make sure she feels better.

He doesn’t know which is worse- the fact that he’s always there when she needs or the fact that he doesn’t have a single clue as to why being there for her is a mandatory thing. One thing he knows, if there’s anyone standing by her at the end of the day- it’s him.

8.

[Breaking News] Kim Sang Bum and Moon Geun Young call it quits!

The news are all over the web and on the front page of almost every magazine, even the television drags it into their news. So Eun feels nothing, not sad nor relieved.

Bum’s been calling her for days, leaving her endless messages. He wants her back and begs her to forgive him. She doesn’t pick up his calls, she doesn’t answer him at all.

When going through a break up people will be so confused that they will do everything to fill the void, to replace that one person. So Eun used to be willing to do everything for him, but not now. Now she thinks more for herself and lives her life the way she wants it.

It’s weird that everytime she thinks of Bum, Junho pops up in her head. It’s so natural that she wonders how it actually happened. How he went from being a friend to someone much more important.

7.

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