Chapter twenty: Goodbye or Happily ever after...? Part 1

Kiseop and I were no longer on talking terms. The person I love was right there but I couldn’t reach him. We were on winter break now, just two weeks before Christmas. I wanted to spend it with Kiseop, but I guessed I couldn’t do that anymore. I sat in my heated room alone. I looked inside my wardrobe and found the lovely dress Kiseop had given me on my birthday just hanging there. If I wore this with stockings then a warm jacket over, it would look very nice. I smiled to myself, but I couldn’t wear this for Christmas, I guessed I’d call home and visit my parents… My phone vibrated, I picked it up from my bed. The caller ID read ‘Kevin’.

“Oh, Hello Kevin.” I tried to sound cheery.

“Hello, ____ where are you right now?” he asked.

“I’m in my dorm, why?”

“Do you want to go present shopping with me and Cindy?” I decided that I should get something for the two of them so I agreed. “Sure.”

I put on my coat with a furry hood, tucked on a rounded scarf, put on my boots and headed out. I arrived at the shopping district, and it was filled with students shopping for presents. I’d forgotten to ask where Kevin and Cindy were, so I took out my phone and rang them.

“Kevin? Where are you right now?” I asked.

“Cindy and I are at the eastern part of the shopping district, where are you?”

“Um...” I looked around and saw a big fountain. “I’m where the big fountain is, umm western part of the district?”

“Okay, we’ll meet at Sunshine Café. You know where that is right?”

“Yep, I’ll see you there.” I hung up and headed towards the Sunshine Café, it would take me about 15 minutes to get there.

I arrived outside the café and looked through the window to see if the two had arrived, but they weren’t and the café was crowded. I sighed and waited for them. I breathed out cold air, puffs of smoke come out.

“My, it is cold…” I muttered to myself.

Five minutes later I saw two bubbly people walking towards me. “Kevin! Cindy! About time.” I pretended to be mad.

“Ah, we’re so sorry to keep you waiting” Kevin pouted, Cindy nodded in agreement. I smiled, “I’m freezing; treat me to a cup of hot choco?”

Cindy’s face lit up, “Sounds good, we’ll make it up to you, for making you wait.”

“Ah that hit the spot.” Cindy smiled in satisfaction, after we had finished our cups of hot chocolate; since it was winter the cafes around the shopping district was always full.

“So where should we go?”  Kevin asked Cindy and me.

“Oh I know a new shop that just opened up, I heard a few girls talk about it in our class.” Cindy smiled, and pointed in the opposite direction. Since I didn’t have a specific shop I wanted to look at, I agreed, and Kevin had no problem tagging along.

We entered the store; it was called ‘Happy Gifts’.

“Hm, how convenient for them to open a gift shop at this time of the year, they sell random miscellaneous things.” I thought.

I walked through the aisle and scanned the contents of the shelves. Cute phone cases, wow I could have really used a new one… I spotted a couple phone case. It was so cute, one female panda and a male panda on the other phone case. I remembered that Kiseop has the same phone as I did so it’d be a perfect fit; I smiled to myself, as I picked them up. My smiled faded as I realised that we weren’t together anymore… I sighed and put them back. I walked over to Cindy and who was examining a make-up brush kit.

“Oh, Cindy,______. Come look at this isn’t this cute?” Kevin called out, holding up a fluffy white bear.

“Oh, that’s so cute.”Cindy beamed putting down the kit and walking over to Kevin, as they both marvelled at the bear together. I looked at the price of the kit; it was a reasonable price, so I picked it up, perfect present for Cindy I thought. I went to purchase it.

“Thank you.” the shop assistant smiled at me. “Would you like me to wrap it up for you?”

“Yes please. But don’t let the girl behind me see it.” I whispered to her, and she nodded with a smile.

“Oh, ____ what did you buy?” Cindy came up behind me, her suddenness startled me.

“Ah, Cindy you scared me.”

“Why are you so scared for?” she smiled.

“Here you go miss.” The shop assistant handed me a cute bag with a ribbon on it, I looked inside the bag and saw the wrapped present in it.

“Is everyone done here?” Kevin asked. Cindy and I nodded, the three of us walked out of the shop and walked around for a bit longer. Cindy and Kevin walked in front, and I lingered behind them. It was getting dark, and the shopping district at night was very pretty, the last time I’ve been here at night was with…Kiseop. I shook the thought out, when I walked past a flower shop.

“Oh...” I was about to call out for the two, but they disappeared into the crowd.

“Hm... I’ll just stop by here to get a present for Kevin.” I entered and a bell jingled as I opened the door, the shop attendant smiled at me.

“Would you like any help miss?” the elderly woman asked.

“Um, my friend really likes flowers. I’m not sure what to get them.” I told the woman.

“Hm... do you know what particular flower this person likes?” she asked

“All kinds of flowers.” I looked around, and saw a book. “What’s that book for?”

“Ah, that’s a special book for people to press flowers.” I thought it was a really good present so I decided to take it.

“Then I’ll take one of those please.” I picked one with a nice tree design on it, it looked very eco friendly. 

“Thank you miss, I’ll wrap it up for you.”

I walked out of the shop feeling satisfied.

“Oh… I should get myself a present… I think I worked pretty hard this year.” I walked and walked, but couldn’t find anything I wanted. I soon came back to the shop where I saw the phone cases. I entered and the same lady greeted me.

“Welcome back.” She smiled. I nodded and smiled back. I went back to the aisle where the phone cases were. I picked up two unconsciously, and purchased them. It was quiet when I returned to my dorm. Kiseop must still have been practicing… It was late so I washed up and went to bed.

The next morning, Kevin called me out to the school garden, he had realised that I wasn’t as cheery as I was a couple of days ago and asked me if anything was wrong. I thought it was the best to let some of my problem out so I told him, in the middle of telling him, tears started to fall.

Kevin’s P.O.V

I noticed that ____ wasn’t her usual self. Hearing her explain what had happened made me feel like she was the strongest girl ever, so I gave her a hug. I couldn’t bear to see her cry.

“Kiseop, you better debut, or else I won’t forgive you for making her regret her decision, she’s also hurting… it’s not only you. Whatever ____’s decision is I’ll stick by it, and be positive no matter what.”

Kevin’s P.O.V end

Hye Ri’s P.O.V

Kiseop’s effort seemed to decline ever since ______ broke up with him, he kept messing up. We didn’t have much time left to practice. This had to be perfect in order for both of us to successfully debut.

“Kiseop, pull yourself together! It’s almost time for the graduation concert and our time to debut. You won’t if you keep this up…” I told him, stressing the fact that we were here to follow our goals, and not let other things distract him, like her. I grimaced at the thought of ______.

“…” Kiseop didn’t reply and left the practice room.

“Yah…” I sighed. I took a big sip of my water and began to practice again, this time by myself.

A few days later, Kiseop worked really hard, he pushed himself to the point of exhaustion.

“1….2…. turn. Step 2 3…” I slowly paced my step, Kiseop doing the same, Kiseop suddenly stopped.

“Kiseop… Kiseop?” I shook him slightly “Kiseop, are you alright?” my tone getting slightly worried, as I said the last word, he collapsed onto the ground.

“Yah! Kiseop, get up!” I tried to wake him, I saw a girl walk past.

“Excuse me! Please get the school nurse. Quickly!” I told her urgently, she nodded and ran to the direction of the nurse’s office.

“He has a slight fever; the fever will be gone by tomorrow, but make sure he gets lots of rest. I know it’s almost time for you guys to debut and the concert is just round the corner but you guys still need plenty of rest.” The nurse informed me.

I nodded in silence… this was my entire fault, I should have told him in a softer tone. I bowed as the nurse exited. I was in Kiseop’s room, watching Kiseop’s peaceful sleeping face. I grabbed a wet towel and patted his forehead, he weakly grabbed my wrist.

“______, don’t leave me…. I love you so much.” He whispered.

“Kiseop, I’m not ______.” I told him.

“I can’t forget about you, every single day without you is so hard to bear. I need you…” Kiseop fell back asleep. After what I had heard… I had an uncomfortable feeling in my heart.

“Why do I feel bad, breaking them up..?” I muttered to myself. It was getting late, so I made sure that Kiseop would be alright while I was gone. I thought it was time to head back to my dorm. As I closed Kiseop’s dorm door, ____ came in. Our eyes met; she had a confused look on her face. “Kiseop’s got a fever… I’ve looked after him for half a day already, just check up on him from time to time.” She gave a stiff nod and I headed back to my dorm.

“Once Kiseop fully recovers, I’ll tell him… I’ll tell Kiseop the truth.”

Hye Ri’s P.O.V end

I walked into Kiseop’s room to check on him once Hye Ri had left. Kiseop was asleep, I looked at his peaceful expression. I walked closer and knelt down beside his bed and gently his hair.

“I’m sorry, Kiseop…” I stayed with Kiseop for a few more hours until I looked at the time, it was 1AM; I guess I needed some sleep too. I felt his forehead; his fever had died down, which put me at ease. I got up and went to bed.

I woke to the sound ringing sound of my alarm. There was only more day until Christmas and I remembered that I hadn’t wrapped Kevin’s present properly yet. I slowly dragged myself out of bed and walked over to my desk to start wrapping it, placing the present nicely onto the wrapping paper happily humming to myself. “They’re going to love my present.” I smiled to myself.  I opened my drawer to get a pair of scissors when I saw the couple phone case. The smile on my face fell slightly. I picked up Kiseop’s case. “Why did even buy it…?”

My phone rang and I jumped a bit. Startled, I picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Morning ________!” Cindy’s bubbly voice greeted me. Hearing her happy voice lifted my spirits a bit.

“Good morning Cindy.”

“Tonight there is going to be a class Christmas party, do you want to come?”

“Don’t we have a whole school one tomorrow?”

“Yeah, but this is special, because this is a class one. Everyone knows everyone so it won’t be awkward.”

“Haha, alright, I’ll come.”

“7:00pm tonight okay? Kevin and I will come get you.”

“Okay. See you then.” I hang up.

I put my phone down and looked at Kiseop’s phone case as well. Taking the scissors out then closing the drawer I continued to do the wrapping. Once I was done with the present, I went to wash up. When I got out, I went into Kiseop’s room to check on him. He was still asleep, he must have been really tired. I heard someone knock on the door. I walked out and opened the door; it was Hye Ri.

“How is Kiseop?” she asked in a worried tone.

“He’s fine, his fever died down.” I informed her; she gave me a nod and let herself in walking in the direction of Kiseop’s room. I had no place there so I got changed and went out. I spent some time alone in the garden, reflecting on this year. The few months I spent with Kiseop were the happiest. He wasn’t the arrogant or mean guy I thought at first. I smiled as I remembered other things. Kiseop was sweet and caring, hardworking…

I looked at my watch, it was 5:30pm. I didn’t realise that it was that late already.  I hadn’t even eaten yet.

“I’ll grab a bite to eat then get ready for the party tonight.”

 I got back to my dorm at 6. Hye Ri must have left. I went to check on Kiseop, he must have been awake at some point to wash up because his clothes were different. Not wanting to waste time, I went to get ready. I looked through my wardrobe for something pretty to wear. “No luck…” I muttered. My eyes wandered to the dress Kiseop gave me, I hadn’t worn it yet. I was going to leave it for a special day… Shaking my head, I picked up a dress my mother had sent me a few months ago. The dress was elegant, it had a butterfly collar and cute rounded cuffs on the end of the sleeves the colours on the dress were a purply-red with little tints of orange. I put on a headband for a finishing touch.

I went to check on Kiseop, he was still asleep. I went to pour him a class of water, and left it on his bedside table. As I walked out of Kiseop’s room, there was a knock on my door, it was probably Cindy and Kevin. I went to quickly grab theirs presents and opened the door. Both of them greeted me with a smile.

“Wow! You look beautiful.” Kevin smiled at me.

“Thank you.”

“Mhm, the dress looks really pretty! So are you all ready?”

I smiled, “Yep. Oh and here.” I handed the two their presents. “You can’t open them until tomorrow.” I laughed, they nodded.

“Thank you. We have something for you too!” Cindy smiled, and handed me a small box. “You can’t open that until tomorrow.” She poked her tongue out, I giggled.

“I also have something.” Kevin added in, also handing me a medium sized bag. “I’m sorry, I didn’t have time to wrap it up for you.” I couldn’t help but look inside it, it was a stuffed toy. “Oh! It’s Totoro! Thank you!” I smiled at him.

“So shall we go?” Cindy smiled, I nodded.

Hye Ri’s P.O.V

It was Christmas day; I put on my coat and left for Kiseop’s dorm. I arrived at Kiseop’s dorm and took a deep breath before knocking on the door. Finally having the courage to knock, I solidly knocked three times. A slight pause and the door gently swung open, it was Kiseop. He wore a bright smile on his face then shifted to the side to let me in. Forcing a smile, I greeted him like I usually would.

 “Good morning Kiseop! And Merry Christmas. How are you feeling? Do you feel still sick?” I shifted my gaze around the room to find that Kiseop was alone in his dorm.

“Morning and Merry Christmas, yeah I am feeling much better. Thanks Hye Ri.”

 I nodded awkwardly. “Ah, let’s go out for a bit, I bet you’re sick and tired of staying in your dorm for a few days.”

Kiseop nodded slowly, confused by my abrupt decision to go out.

I led Kiseop to the far end of the school’s garden. It was a plain area, a clear space with just grass and trees lined up in a row, boxing the area in. There was a wooden bench in the middle and an old water fountain. This was where we used to hang around happily when Kiseop and I were still newbies at this school, when we had no place yet, as the whole school was flooded with talented seniors pushing us around. I smiled at that precious memory of the two of us sitting happily on breaks. “There was no pressure on us then…compared to now, debuting is everything.” I thought. I looked at Kiseop, he had a smile on his face too. Breathing out the cold wintery air, I started to get to the point.

“Kiseop…”

“What is it?”

“You aren’t smiling on the inside, are you?”

“Why do you say that?” Kiseop looked at me. “I am perfectly fine.” He said in a slight angry tone.

“Don’t lie. I know you are very hurt inside. I know that you miss ____ a lot!” I bursted.

“How did you know…?” He had a confused look on his face, he hadn’t told me that ____ had broken up with him…

“It was me… it was because of me. That’s why she broke up with you.”

“What?”

“It was my fault! I told her to break up with you. I told her that she was being selfish. I told her that you were putting all your dreams on the line for her, but in fact I’m the one who was selfish. I just wanted you to stay by me…”

“Hye Ri…”

“You can hate me as much as you want, I deserve it. I know how much _____ means to you. Seeing you hurt so much, kills me… I’m sorry.” Instead of saying something hurtful, Kiseop hugged me tight.

“Don’t cry Hye Ri. I don’t hate you…”

I stopped crying a little. “Go look for her. It’s Christmas day. Anything could happen.”

Kiseop gave me a nod and started to run, I watched him leave in the direction we first came from. I sighed, wiping away my tears and headed back to my dorm.

Hye Ri’s P.O.V end

Hello it's HimeDesu, I'm sorry that I haven't been updating, when I should. It's just that I had lots of homework and was away, I hope it will keep you satisfied that I put 2 parts of the ending :D. My friend wanted me to upload immediatly so here! I hope you enjoy it, My editor and I put lots of thought into writing the final hehe. Enjoy ♥