Everything stopped.

In that moment, the only thing visible to her was Myungsoo. She watched as he crouched down and held her hand, checking to see if she was okay. A million emotions were going through her head right now, but not a single word could make up for what she was feeling right now. She felt like such a fool for crying when Myungsoo wasn't even shedding a single tear, but for some reason she couldn't stop. 

She stood up and wiped the tears off her face to see Myungsoo properly.

The only thing she could see on his face was concern and fear. How she missed that face and that voice, he would never know. But none of that mattered. She had a million questions to ask him, and even then- it probably wouldn't be enough. 

"You.. you're alive." she barely managed to say a word.

Myungsoo nodded and grinned slightly. 

"You were living in Korea the entire time.." she paused. "How could you not find me once..? Do you know how much i looked for you all this time? I stayed up every single night just to call you on the same number hoping that you would pick up. I visited your house every single day hoping that you would be there, so that i could at least see you.. or hear you once. The past six months of my life were a living hell, knowing that you were alive but didn't bother to find me.. or contact me once. I missed you so much.. why-"

Before Jieun could continue, Myungsoo grabbed her wrist and embraced Jieun tightly into his arms.

His hug seemed to make up for all the pain and grief she experienced the past six months, just like that. Her heart was so fickle. She was planning to stay mad at him for a long time, but a single hug dissolved her emotions like magic. His warmth was the same, exactly like she remembered. Nothing about him changed at all, and although six months may seem short for some, for Jieun- it was longer than a century.

He released her from his embrace and looked directly into her eyes. 

"I.." he paused to wipe the tears off her cheeks. "missed you too."

 Jieun followed Myungsoo inside the grandiose door. Jieun wasn't even surprised anymore, because she was so used to Myungsoo and his riches. The place was a little smaller than the mansion, but still seemed too big for him to live alone. She could feel the coldness travel through the corridor of the house as he welcomed her in. The first thing she could see was the window wall that occupied the big living room. The window presented the entire view of the night city, much better than the view at the mansion. 

Myungsoo seated Jieun on the couch and brought a small banana milk for her. 

Jieun watched as Myungsoo cleared off all the pictures,cameras, and the thesis statement papers from the coffee table and hid it inside his work-room. Jieun felt a sense of guilt expecting Myungsoo to have looked for her when he was so busy with his own career. She glanced at Myungsoo who smiled brighter than she had ever seen before. Up close, she could see his dark circles poorly covered with a bad concealer. 

"I'm sorry," Myungsoo sighed. "I'm such a bad person for making you wait so long."

Jieun was silent.

"I tried to reach you, but they stopped me. They put restrictions on your specific number and attached guards everywhere i went. For the past six months, the only route i've been making is Jeju island, school, and home."

"Why..? Why would Mr.Kim hate me so much?"

Myungsoo was silent. 

"Well," Myungsoo paused. "Father's company has been running down the past few months. Must be because of his old age, Father's been making mistakes lately.. He breached one of the contract terms and lost alot of money this time.. and you know, gossip spreads. During those times, Mr.Lee happened to appear and demanded that Father pay his debt back.. The money that my father borrowed to start the company years ago.."

Jieun could only listen silently.

"My father.. doesn't hate you Jieun. " Myungsoo assured. "I'm pretty sure that after this hardship is over, he'll.. return everything back to normal." 

Jieun glanced at Myungsoo.

"What about.. Chanyeol..?" 

Jieun could see the pint of disappointment arise from his smile when she mentioned his name. He wrapped his hands together and sighed, unwilling to talk. Seemed as he was still not very fond of his brother, even if they were countries away from each other. 

"He's.. in America right now." Myungsoo nodded bitterly. 

"You don't have to hide it Myungsoo," Jieun said quietly. "I already know."

He stared at her. 

"I just want to know.." she traced. "Is he.. for real?"

Myungsoo opened his mouth to talk, but stopped. 

"Yes," he nodded. "You may not believe it, but he was the one who demanded that he marry Suzy right after graduation. I don't know how, but his heart changed Jieun. I don't want to break your heart, but.. he moved on. He moved on to Suzy; he loves her now."

Jieun couldn't believe the words coming out of Myungsoo's mouth. She was certain that he was lying; he had to be. Jieun couldn't , wouldn't forget about Chanyeol during the period but he had already moved on? 

"You're lying," she shot back. "Chanyeol wouldn't do that." 

"Wouldn't he?" Myungsoo questioned her. "You know Chanyeol just as much as me Jieun. When he sets his mind to it, he does it no matter what. If he really loved you, he would have made a way to contact you no matter what. But.. he didn't."

Jieun shook her head left and right, refusing to believe any of this. 

"I'm sorry,"

Myungsoo stammered at the sight of Jieun on the verge of tears. He stood up and shifted beside her, slowly wrapping his arm around her to comfort her. She leaned on his shoulder and began to sob relentlessly. She didn't want to believe anything that Myungsoo said, but it sounded true the more she thought about it. It felt as if a million needles had punctured her heart, so deep that it was almost irreversable.

I can do better than him, Jieun.

Myungsoo her soft hair and closed his eyes. 

He missed everything about her, and it felt so good to have it back.

---

"How's it going back home?"

Myungsoo asked as the two got in the car, ready to drive Jieun home. It was 12:00AM, and he was glad to be with her at the start of a new day. He wished everyday could be like this, but he knew he had to fight for it. It pained him to see tears in her eyes, but it pained him more to know that those tears were for the guy whom he hated to despise the most. He let out a soft sigh and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"It's nice," she grinned. "I can help out my father more now."

"When you first left, it felt so empty."

Jieun was silent.

'I was afraid if i stayed in that house any longer, you'd continue to linger in my head and that eventually, i'd miss you more."

"Myungsoo.." she glanced at him.

"I know," he chuckled hopelessly. "you love him more."

An awkward silence wrapped over the two. Myungsoo stopped at a red light and averted eyes with Jieun, staring at the front. He was too afraid to look into her eyes, scared of seeing the look of rejection again. He knew already that her heart wasn't with him.

"But i really.. really like you."

Jieun stared at Myungsoo whose face began to go red.

"I'm going to try really hard.. I'm going to make you feel the same way about me."

Myungsoo's eyes attended behind Jieun, and a sense of panick arose his body as he saw the two people approaching from afar.

With a small frown, Myungsoo grabbed Jieun's wrist and pulled her close to him. He gripped her head and crashed his lips against hers. He felt his heart pound like crazy, but what was even more nice was the fact that she wasn't pulling away. 

He stared with the corner of his eye as he watched Chanyeol cross the road, holding the hand of Bae Suzy.