“Don’t think so low of yourself Lina; you’re perfect the way you are.”

“Then why do I feel like this?”

“So I can remind you that you’re just being tricked; so I can tell you that you’re perfect and beautiful.”

She quietly chuckled at his words, her eyes down on the floor with her hands still holding herself up on him.

“Let’s get you back to bed, hmm?”

She nodded her head and pulled herself away to pick up her cane only to be stopped by Mir who picked it up himself before stretching out his hand to her. She looked down at it before lifting her head back up to look at him, waiting to see what he wanted; he gently took her hand in his and approached her before bending down and lifting her up as he had placed his arm behind her knee and her back, leaving her to hold him by his neck.

“Sweeping me off my feet again?”

“Always.” A tender smile appeared on his lips at the end of his soft whisper, and started walking back to her room where he placed her on her bed. After letting her go, he stood up, hesitant on what to do next but seeing her pushing herself to the side, leaving him space and looking at him as she pulled her covers away; he walked back to the door and turned the lights off and made his way back where he climbed up and laid down as he pulled her up against him, letting her comfortably settle in his arms.

Soon enough, she had fallen back to sleep while he was still awake, his hand gently caressing her back.

Again, he was finding it hard to fall asleep all because of what had just happened earlier, questions popping in and out of his head. His main concern though was focused on the correspondence they had maintained through these years without even knowing that he was talking to his best friend all along.

He dropped his head down at her and watched her sleeping face, his hand lightly trailing the skin across her cheek. He was slowly starting to fall in a daze, his eyes wandering from one aspect of her face to the other; she was looking so peaceful compared to when she was awake, driving him to think that maybe dreaming was her only escape from how her life turned out but after remembering the words Mrs. Choi told him, he was starting to think otherwise.

“I need you to get you out of here… You deserve better than this Lina. I’ll offer you anything you need.”

His words were just a mere whisper, not able to keep his thoughts to himself, but that’s what drove Lina to wake up without opening her eyes. She heard what he said, leaving her to have her heart pinched.

‘I’m just a country girl Cheolyong-ah… I’m not meant to stay with you.’

Morning came and faint noise from the kitchen was what woke up Mir and Lina from their slumber. A quick strike of panic took over the girl as she tried to get herself out of her bed, leaving Mir confused about her abrupt movement.

“Grandma!” Understanding the worry that had paralyzed her, he calmed her down as he placed his hands on her shoulder, earning him to have her eyes set on him. “Lina, Lina, stay here, I’ll go check on her.” With her chest heaved up and down from the breaths that were coming out of , her head was nodding unconsciously to his words.

He got out of bed and walked out of the bedroom towards the kitchen where he saw Mrs. Choi who seemed to look like she was preparing breakfast. The quick peek over, he went back to his friend who was sitting up with that worried look on her face.

“She’s preparing breakfast. Why did you jump up like that?”

“I was just worried. My grandma is ill… I just want to make sure she was okay.”

He nodded his head and sat next to her, a smile on his lips. “Slept well?”

“Better than I’ve ever had actually… Thanks.”

“Why are you thanking me for?”

She shrugged her shoulders, her bottom lip slightly sticking out as she gazed at him. “I’d like to think that you had something to do with my good night sleep. Hungry?”

“Mhmm.”

Out of the room and into the kitchen, Lina made her way to her grandmother as she greeted her good morning before taking over the cooking, leading the old lady to take her seat by the table with Mir.

Once the food was done being prepared and they were down to finally eat, the only conversation that was being held at the table was between Lina’s grandmother and the boy, leaving the girl to quietly listen while stealing glances towards her friend, in front of her.

“So, Cheolyong! How has life in the city been treating you, hmm? I heard you became a big star~”

Lina couldn’t help but stifle a smile when she saw the shyness in Mir’s facial expression as he looked down at his plate before he glanced back up at Mrs. Choi. “Yea, it’s been good.”

“And you must have a line of girls at your feet! Look at you, such a handsome young man~ Don’t you think he looks handsome, Lina?”

The one in question, almost choked on her bite leaving her to roughly cough at the sudden surprise question from her grandmother. She gulped down half the glass of water she had before looking back at the old woman with a shocked-scowl expression on her face, leaving the boy to sneak in a smile on his face. “Grandma!”

“What? I was just asking!” This left Mir to finally laugh at the little family quarrel only to receive a glare from Lina making him quickly die down, his head dropping down to look at his plate. This left Mrs. Choi to let out an amused chuckle of her own seeing the interaction between these two; she softly patted the back of Mir’s hand, gaining his attention.

“Don’t worry about your girlfriend, she’s spirited; that’s very good for youngsters your age.” Finishing off with that same chuckle, both Mir and Lina locked eyes for a moment before she broke off the contact, calling out to her grandmother. “Grandma… he’s not my boyfriend, it’s Cheolyong, remember? Bang Cheolyong.”

Mrs. Choi quickly turned her head to look at her granddaughter, a slight surprised look in her eyes that also showed a glint of concentration, as if she was thinking about something. “Oh! Is it the same boy you went to the city to see a few months back? When you went to Seoul?”

Evading the question, she quickly got up from her seat to walk to the counter where she opened one of the cabinets to take out a small bottle filled with medications. She knew that Mir was staring at her and she knew that he was confused; she didn’t dare to look him in the eyes and tried her best to stay focused on what she was doing.

“It’s time for your medication Grandma… Here, take this and don’t forget your water.”

The old lady did as she was told and once she was done, Lina helped her up, leading her towards the living room where she picked up her knitting kit. “Do you want to stay in the living room or go out on the porch?”

“The porch would be nice dear, a little quiet with the ducks and morning birds would be very nice.”

“Okay, let’s go then.” As she was helping the lady out, Mir was left still in his seat trying to recapture what had been said about Seoul. Did he miss something or was it another secret that he didn’t know about Lina? Then again, just like she had said, Mrs. Choi was ill so he thought that she might have confused some facts, but a deep feeling inside of him was telling him otherwise and that made him want to know the truth.

Once Lina came back to the table, she picked up the finished plates wordlessly, like a robot moving from the table to the sink, filling it up with the dishes. As she was about to reach the boy’s plate, he quickly stopped her as he grabbed her by the wrist, making her stand frozen, still without looking at him.

“Lina… What did your grandmother mean by the one you came to see in Seoul?”

“Ah, you heard that…” She bitterly chuckled to try and make it seem as if it wasn’t a big deal. “You know she is sick, don’t pay attention to everything she says.”

“Lina, she may be ill but I don’t think she’d speak out something like this for no reason at all.” Hesitant, she slowly lifted her gaze to look at him, a gloomy face hitting her brown orbs straight into his. He got up and loosened his hold on her, giving her the chance to completely break away from him, picking up the plate to place it into the sink, her back facing him.

“Lina, please tell me. What was your grandmother talking about?”

“J-Just forget about it! It’s not important.”

“It is to me!” She grasped the edge of the counter so tight, her knuckles were starting to turn white, her palm imprinting the pattern of it. She heard his steps approaching her and shut her eyes when she felt his hands on her arms, delicately holding her. “You came to see me, didn’t you?”

Speechless, her head gave him the answer as she nodded, biting down her bottom lip to stifle the cries that wanted to suddenly come out. “Please…” His pleading didn’t help. The way he spoke, his breath tickling her neck, sent waves of frissons down her spine making her quietly gasp, her lips slightly parting for the air to sink in.

“Lina, I know you’re hiding something from me but… You don’t need to, I’m here for you.”

‘Then where have you been these past years?’

She couldn’t speak the words out because the outcome would’ve been ugly. Instead, she simply turned around and breathed out. She couldn’t get out of this one and simply gave in; asking him to take a seat, she sat down next to him and took a moment before speaking up.

“Last year you had that album coming out… the one with all the neon lights pictures and hmm…”

“Last summer?”

“Y-yea. Around that time, I had enough money to afford a trip to the Big city so when I heard that your group was doing some kind of event where you get to sign stuff for the fans, I thought that… I would pay you a surprise visit.”

“What stopped you?”

“I c-couldn’t go through with it.” She dropped her head down, evading the look in his eyes. “I don’t believe you. Look me in the eyes Lina. What stopped you?”

“I-I got hurt… and then I gave up. I took the bus to Seoul and I was waiting in line to get inside the venue where you were but… because of m-my l-leg I got pushed aside and got hurt so I ran back home.” Speaking about that day left traces inside her mind, the images coming and going as they pleased, which ached her heart. A bitter chuckle escaped from her lips as she had her eyes down the table, a bland look on its surface. “Because I was so weak, and apparently in the way, I was pushed and fell… I got laughed at. That day, I swore I would never leave the village ever again. I haven’t before and I’m not planning on leaving in the future.”

She lifted her head up, eyes wet from tears, her voice shaking as it broke her sentences.

“I’ve never felt so humiliated in my life, I never thought that people could be this mean and… I couldn’t understand why I even did this. Who am I to even waste your time while you’re living the perfect life in the city… I’m just the country girl… Not even able to afford to go to college. I’m pa-”

“Beautiful.” He wiped away the tear that was rolling down her cheek as he spoke out in a stern voice. He reached out to take a hold of her hand between his and softly her skin; his heart broke hearing her story and it left him helpless to try and figure out how to comfort her.

She stared at him, her heart filled with anguish, sadness and slight confusion on his insistence. “Why do you keep saying that?”

“Because it’s the truth.”

“It’s not. You’re just saying that-”

“Because it’s the truth Lina.” He squeezed her hand, showing her a smile that could help soothe the pain she was feeling. “I don’t feel beautiful Cheolyong. How can you see it when I can’t feel it?”

“Get up, I want to show you.”