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- Final Chapter -

HyunSeung waited in stoic silence when his best friend’s mouth opened and closed a couple of time before his expression turned into a frown and finally, words blurted out.

“Are you crazy?” - Snapped YoSeob, more gruffly than he had intended, which forced some people who sat near them shot an annoyed glare to the pair.

“To end this issue forever. I could do this. I could do all this. and how I wanted to.” - HyunSeung answered frankly. His voice calm, breaking only at certain point.

“We both know this is not the right way and it may stir many troubles in future. To the worst that HyunAh would be in shock... and...” - Reluctance elbowed as if the baby-face guy needed little consideration to decide whether he should pour out this thought or not - “... this is illegal.”

Blinking twice, HyungSeung softly said - “I know...”

“Seungie...” - YoSoeb reached out his hand to touch his best friend’s hand on the table. His brown eyes were unspeakably sincere as he said. - “You know what you should do in a right way.”

HyunSeung kept his thoughts privately, and all he could do was taking a deep breath and smiled awkwardly in responding to his friend’s wise words...  The decision was easy, but the reality was painfully red-hot. He looked straight to his friend’s assured face, forcing his body to stay relaxed and calm and not so tense... 

They were not aware that at the table not so far from theirs, a small group of young girls were watching them. One girl pitifully said - “Now handsome guys love each other....”

The snow that had been threatening all morning was finally coming, drifting softly downward to cover the land with a silent blanket.

.

..

...

HyunAh was struggling with her rapping part and she was about to doubt the possibility as well as the decision of this collaboration. It’d been so long since the last day of innocence and of course, though she hadn’t created a fantasy that she could immediately do this well but reality soon grew ill and apathetic. Her brain was trained to say things in a hidden way, through words and of brush, and so it’s very hard to give them a hearable sounds.

She contemplated the lyrics as if these ribbons of words could sing for themselves and suddenly, she missed him so much. Roughly 3 hours later, they would join a dinner together at home but then why she missed him this much. Too much that her eyes started to shine oddly with unshed tears.

“HyunAh...” 

When she snapped up, her face was deeply in vulnerable state - “HyunSik, I love him so much... yet I can’t trust him completely... Am I a coward? I’m... so sorry... for everything... but I don’t think I can do this. I can’t sing nor...”

HyunSik stared at her, his mind reeling for what she said was not logical between the first and second part before siting down, squeezing her hands gently and said - “Don’t press yourself too much... We still have plenty of time for you to get used to this.”  

She smiled back to express the gratitude in silence... 

HyunAh traced her own hand-writing on the paper by the tip of her ring finger slowly, the finger was wrapped by a slender golden ring. The gleam of that mental surface reflected back into her eyes, not the beautiful shape but the moments they had had together. This love, somehow, still was a rotten rope that she willingly walk on, up above thin air. A idea popped up in her mind and HyunAh rose up, awkwardly told her friend...

“I think I need to go out for fresh air.” - She said and steps already headed to the door.

Outside, air peppered with light swirling, stinging blades of snow when her feet was sliding on the pavement, but she paid no heed to such thing as snow or cold. Hoped that, perhaps futilely, that it would clean her thoughts and shooed the ghost of her past away.

.

..

...

The sky turned black long time ago and HyunAh still felt no desire to leave this place... The day had been long and wearying, emotionally and physically.

She was sitting on the street alone, watching people passed by her view and disregarded their curious glare upon her weird behavior. Well, it’s not usual to see a pretty young lady, covered in nice white dress, sitting by herself on the pavement and silent. Her eyes didn’t fix on anyone except the kids, who happily clang to their parents’ hand with no worried laughters. And the parents, she deeply wondered that indeed, burdens seldom touched them or they had willingly refused the freedom to father and mother for their bright expression matched their children.

With two hands clutching tightly together, HyunAh thought she was watching herself back to her childhood when her gaze locked on a seem-unhappy mother with her daughter in a faraway corner. Was it real or her memories started to play its tricks, the more she tried to convinced herself with many reassured reasons that having baby was not disaster, the more troubling she deeply felt inside. And she felt it, strongly, the view plucked at her, pinched and teased and tormented her. 

At first, she could easily pulled out a couple of good reasons to have a kid but then the flow didn’t come out as easy as it had been and the young woman panically realized that she’s not completely ready for this role. There’re a lot things she wanna achieve, those bad recollections in the past with her mother and so-called family but above all, HyunSeung loved her, she knew it and already almost could put down her insecurity... until this incident happened. It once more time, against her will, tortured her unsettling being. People always changed and so does love!

She fought against her primal terror as she squeezed her eyes shut to not have to travel back to unpleasant memories. Then something warm and calming touched her, and she felt a familiar sensation of reassurance... but her eyes not yet dared to open and confirmed it. However, her heart started to loosen and she was able to breath. 

A pair of warm and strong arms slid about her trembling body and gathered her tightly in his embrace. She accepted it and the soft voice of him invaded her ears, saying - “It’s not good to be out here in this cold.”

The young man tightened his embrace once more, buried his face on her shoulder and she could sense his heart was throbbing vibrantly underneath those fleshes as if there’s a wild and frantic animal that was crazily trying to hop out of. 

“Let’s go home.” - He said

“HyunSeung...”- She said, voice sank down as if the wind blew the rest away with it.

“If I couldn’t guess where you at, then I should not call myself as your other half, should i?”- He said and smiled melancholy.

“When you didn’t back home on time without any call to inform me... and you phone is out of reach. I was very worried. I admit, HyunAh, that fear was not only about your safety but also your existence in me. I’m afraid that you took time to consider about being with me or with... him. After everything, you’re still one step further than my reach however I strived to stretch my arms to you...” - Hesitated in some seconds to gather more strength, his stiff, strain and weary voice again filled her heart - “You’re not the first woman I fell for but you’re the only person that made me feel so authentic. With you, my weaknesses are free to reign. It’s hard to define our relationship but you’re all over me like a wine-stain shirt I can’t abandon.” 

Her hands gently touched his back as her words escaped - “I’m sorry... I shouldn’t do this... but... I’m sorry...”

He didn’t answer and loosened his embrace for their forehead could meet.  

He ran his thumb over her smooth lips and stopped at the corner, honestly said - “Such a strong woman like you, you always make me feel like someday, you’ll disappear without a words..”

Happiness was not easy to find out, let’s the past be her experience to shape her presence and future, not becoming an invisible entity that dulls the bliss she’s deserve to have. The sorrowful flashbacks still heaved inside, but she could think now, could ride out in control of her emotions and past ghosts, not they in control of her. 

Their eyes met. In his eyes that day, she saw honesty, utter honesty and her lips curved into a faint smile. Long time later, when recollections touched her mind, HyunAh still remember crystal clear that that day, she chose possibility over certainty. The possibility of being happy over certain defeat.

“I love you, Jang HyunSeung.”- She said, her cold palms cupped his face, gaze hastened on each other.

No more word could be sounded for his lips affectionately found hers.

“Let’s go home. There’s one thing I wanna show you in my workshop and beside... I’m soooooo hungry.” - She said happily and HyunSeung’s eyes widened as comprehension dawned as he spotted a flicker in the depth of her beautiful eyes...

.

..

...

5 years later...

“YAHHHHHH! HYUNRI! Don’t touch it!”

“YAHHHHHH! Not that either!”

“YAHHHHH!! Don’t pull Yanggege’s tail!!”

“YAHHHHHHHHHHH”

YoSeob grasped his phone furiously to make a call to his best friend, who had dumped this little brat in order to have lovely vacation with his beautiful wife somewhere... luckily, still in South Korea.  

Meanwhile at somewhere...

HyunSeung’s phone only could sing its classical song in 5 seconds before a manly hand cruelly threw it to the wall nearby... the poor phone, so, sacrified itself after 3 years in very devoted serving. Poor soul, if it had.

Seconds later, HyunAh’s phone started to vibrate and when it was about to suffer the same fate, its owner frantically prevented by shouting out loud and snatched it from her husband’s hand, right before he could wrapped it 2 seconds - “No, HyunSeung. No! I’ll turn it off.”

HyunSeung annoyedly watched his wife hastily turned the phone off and when the screen laid dead, sensual sounds dominated the room again....

At the same time at YoSeob’s house....

“What the ...... YAH! JANG HYUNSEUNG! KIM HYUNAH!”- He shouted to the phone after realized that both phones of his friends were out of reach... and from the corners of his eyes, he saw...

“YAH! JANG HYUNRI! DON’T FEED HER CHOCOLATE!” - He exclaimed loudly

“Why? Papa said dark chocolate is healthy!” - The 4 years old girl looked at him with her big doe innocent eyes.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH”

-The End- 

Author’s note: Phew.... Finally... When I first started to compose this story, honestly saying, there’s nothing specific in my head for the plot. everything was simply as two people, living in the same house and found the love between soulmates. No twist, no heart-clenching moment... I thought so... In fact, before every chapter, I always had to try to find something to write down, which interesting enough yet logical.

I wanna say thank you to lovely readers that supported me along the way, even when they though I dropped the story in roughly 2 months between chapter 5 and 6. Thank you so much.