Chapter 31:

Jiyong’s P.O.V

My hands tighten on the steering wheel when she asked about my feelings for Kiko. I didn’t expect that. Do I love Kiko still? I didn’t think about her once, these past few months. Mainly because I am busy writing songs and seeing her most of the times but the question is, do I still love her?

She chuckles but not the merry one. “It is fine. You don’t have to answer.” She smiles at me, a genuine one or not, that is what I don’t know. She then looks back again at the road with a distant stare.

“Jihye,”

“Shh,” she hushes, “I don’t want to talk about it and ruin my day.” And that is the only thing she spoke before being silent again for the rest of the ride.

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“Hey!” The owner of the coffee shop, Woobin, greets us.

Oh! His girlfriend is the girl staff in the store. That is surprising. They don’t look like a couple when they are in the work, not the usual thing with glances. They are more of acquaintances to my eyes whenever I have my coffee in here. Well, they have great tolerance for not looking like a couple in their work.

“Jinhee,” Jihye greets with a hug.

“Hey, hey,” Woobin whines and points himself. “Are you going to ignore your friend of twenty years?” Jihye sticks her tongue out but then smiles after and gives him a warm hug. “Happy Birthday to my favorite customer and dear friend of twenty years,” he utters warmly.

“Thank you and I hope that today’s lunch is as good as you say it would be,” she chimes wittingly with a grin.

Woobin raises his brow and crosses his arms on his chest. “Do you doubt my abilities? I’ve been cooking for you since I am ten years old and you’ve been delighted.”

“Speaking of that, did you not fall in love with each other?” Jinhee asks bashfully.

“Eh!” Woobin and Jihye shout at the same time then they exchange glances after that they start laughing.

“Jinhee, what you are talking about is so gross. Woobin is like an older brother to me and that’s like telling me to have an relationship with him but he doesn’t like my kind of girl.” She replies calmly.

“What kind of girl are you?” Jinhee asks shyly.

“What kind?” She repeats and Jinhee nods her head. “Hmm…” she hums.

“It’s nothing.” Woobin butts in but Jihye gives him a meaningful look. “She’s been engaged to someone since we were kids.”

“Engaged?” I mutter in surprise.

 Jihye glares at Woobin in contempt for blurting that out. I see from the look on her eyes that I am right. “It’s a matter of the past.” She replies really short and from the strain of her voice, I know she doesn’t want to talk about it.

“A matter of the past, eh?” Woobin whispers but I heard it quite clearly.

Jihye looks sad whenever he says it. Is there something I should know about her engagement? Does she still love the man?

The lunch ends with us being quiet. Jinhee being shy and Jihye not in the mood since the engagement have been said. Woobin, on the other hand, is trying so hard to please Jihye because it is partly his fault for Jihye’s sour mood.

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“Bring me home,” Jihye mumbles to me.

“Arasso,” I respond.

“Thank you for the amazing lunch.” Jihye bows with a warm smile.

“Ji,” Woobin speaks.

She shakes her head. “I’m not in the mood to talk about it. Thanks again for the meal and see you later.” She waves her hand and turns around and walks away.

The ride to her home is silent. She doesn’t talk and keeps her eyes staring nowhere.

It is her birthday and it’s all being ruined. Am I being a bad luck to her day? It is like I’m ruining her relaxation day by being with her.

I heard her laugh. I turn my head towards her and see her looking at me and her hands in her chest together with her vibrant smile. “You are overthinking whatever it is on your mind. I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine at all.” I retort back.

She laughs softly and shakes her head. “I’m really fine. And I know you are dying to ask me about my engagement but sadly, I can’t even talk about it till now. Maybe, you can ask Eunjae or Chaewon about it. Just say that I granted you the permission to talk about it.”

I look again on the road before we have a mishap. “Do you still love him then?”

I glance at her; her face doesn’t look surprise or shock at all. “Love him still? I admit I loved him but the kind of love I have for him now is not something lovers have. It is a bit different.”

“What do you mean different?”

“It is a love for a friend or sibling,” she replies and by her voice, it is the truth. She then laugh and looks at me. “Are you jealous in him anyway?”

“What!” I shriek in surprise. That caught me off guard.

She laughs again. “If by any chance you are jealous, don’t be.”

How will I not get jealous her reaction earlier is like a person losing her love? She definitely looks sad whenever the topic is rising. And her reaction now, makes it difficult for me to understand how she really feels? Will I trust her reaction now or the latter?

“I’m tired and don’t disturb me on my sleep.” She tells them the moment she stepped inside the house.

The girls give me the questioning look and I shrug in response. They just stare at her and didn’t ask about what happened directly from her.

“Do you want something to drink, Ji?” Eunjae asks me. I am surprise since it is the first time Eunjae offers me something. It is always Dahee or Chaewon. “There is no need to be surprised. I bet we have to talk about something.”

How did she know?

“Dahee, Sumi,” Chaewon calls their names. “Do you mind buying the ingredients for the food we have to prepare for tonight’s dinner?”

“Yeah, sure,” Dahee replies with a smile. “Sumi and I will just get change.”

We are now sitting in the garden. They prepare tea and juice for whichever drink I will like to have. It feels like we are filming a drama scene with the silence of the atmosphere in here.

“Shall we start?” Eunjae sits and her coat, which by the way taken me aback because she’s so formal in her ensemble. “Where do you want to start then?”

“Well, of course, I like to hear it from the start. What is the name of the guy she was engaged to?” I ask straightforwardly.

“The guy she was engaged to is my oppa or older brother and his name is Grey Choi. Then I will start from not the start but I will tell you the summary of it.”

“She hates telling long story,” Chaewon comments with a sly smile.

“Damn right,” Eunjae replies back. “Back to the subject at hand, Grey is dead.”

I choke on my drink and Chaewon laughs so hard. “Yah! That’s so short.” She complains.

“Oh really,” Eunjae speaks and looks at us, so innocent. “I’m just kidding you but I’m certainly not kidding when I said that he’s already dead.”

My eyes and ears are all tingling when they heard that. It is like surreal to me. Yes, this may be the first time I heard it but that is not an easy subject to talk about.

“He’s been dead for years already and it’s been easy to talk about it now.” She states.

“If you have asked us years ago then we might never laugh it out like this. Grey-oppa is like our older brother and he’s the apple of our eyes but for Jihye, he is the man who cherishes her the most. I can say it is vice versa. Grey loves Jihye more than anyone even her little sister is no match for Jihye.” Chaewon expresses, a little bit grim on the last parts.

“Did you ask her earlier if she’s still in love with my brother?” I nod my head. “I bet she said it is a no.” Eunjae states.

“It’s not like that but she said it’s a different kind of love.”

“A love for an older brother then,” Chaewon asks and I nod my head. “Hmm,” she nods her head in understanding then looks at Eunjae.

“I don’t like elaborating their love story since it is a matter in the past and we, all, don’t like talking past things in life.” Eunjae speaks looking at me. “By any chance, did you get jealous because she acted like that?”

I sigh and nod my head. “I did not admit it to her but I did feel a little envious because she acted that way when the topic arises earlier. But, it is like she assures me a matter of moments that she is not hiding anything on me when she said that I can ask you about it.” I reply honestly.

They nod their heads at the same time and smile.

“She is very perceptive of someone’s feeling. Maybe because she is watching us since we act like kids most of the times.” Chaewon comments with a grinning face.

“Yeah, she acts as an older sister to us especially since we have Sumi in our care when she is the most innocent person in our world.” Eunjae interjects.

Yeah, I can see that. She is looking after them like an unnie or noona. She always puts them first rather than herself, a little admiring to my point of view. Well, it is not a little but a lot. These girls do have different personalities after all, so, I bet it is hard to look after them.

“Chaewon, what do Jihye likes for her birthday?” I inquire out of the topic.

They, both, look at me then start giggling. I bet they know what the boys had done to me. Aisht! They really tricked me and now, I don’t have anything to give to her. Argh! They will really get an earful of complain from me when I see them. Seungri got away safely because Jihye drag me out of the building.

“Hmm…let me think about it,” Chaewon says and her pointing finger tapping her chin. “It is always so hard to give gifts to Jihye because she almost has everything. Since we already have a gift for her, what does she wants?” She gazes at Eunjae inquiringly.

“You and Jihye already have a couple rings, which you are both wearing right now. And that is the reason people are not buying that you are not together. Then how about something simple? Oh!” She exclaims and points at me.

“This is something only you can do,” she adds.

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