- Six Months Later-

Cold.

That's all my brain was thinking.

It's cold.

I never really get cold that easily but for some reason, the weather this January was especially more frosty than the previous years in Seoul. My brain was thinking "hurry up and walk" but my body couldn't respond the same way. I tucked my hands deep inside my wool pockets and covered the bottom half of my face with my scarf as an attempt to shield myself from the ridiculous weather.

"Seohyun!" A pair of large, coarse hands wrapped around my shoulder. I looked up and smiled at his beaming face.

"I thought I'd have to walk all the way to the cafe alone," I joked.

He shook his head, "I wouldn't let you do that now, would I?" 

I shrugged, "You would." Howon let out a hearty laugh and removed his hand from my shoulder. I was truly happy that we made up. We both figured that the only people that we had left on this earth to trust was each other. We just figured that out a little too late. When I came back from Jeju Island, I grabbed my stuff from home and went to the only shelter I had- Howon's house. He had supposedly broken it off with his girlfriend a while back, but just didn't have the heart to talk to me about it.

Either way, we both agreed that our petty little arguments would be put and kept in the past. Besides, fights and hard times between friends are what bring them closer together anyway. Although I say it so easily now, the process wasn't as easy as that. We needed a lot of one-on-one time with each other along with yelling and screaming to get back to friends from our whole awkward-after-fight condition. Nonetheless, we did it. Slowly but surely.

But unlike me, being the man that Howon is, he picked himself up and decided to start dating again. As for me, I was left to think for a couple of long months with a hot head and cold heart. Don't get me wrong, I did move on. But that doesn't mean that I forgot. And if I saw Myungsoo anytime soon, I wouldn't be sure if I would be able to stay true to myself and ignore him.

Of course I wanted to know the truth of what happened that one dreaded night. But sometimes, it's just better if the truth stays covered in a pit of lies. And as of right now, I was sick of love.

Sick of trying and sick of failing. I was just sick of the whole idea of it.

Howon and I joked around as we walked through the crowdy streets of Myungdong to get to the cafe. Although we were best friends again, we didn't see each other as much. I felt too burdensome moving in with him so after about two weeks, I moved into an apartment of my own.

There were a lot of people on the streets but everyone was the same, bundled up in layers and layers of clothes with white puffy air escaping their frozen lips with every breath.

"Seohyun.. Seohyun."

"Huh?" I turned to see Hoya looking at me oddly.

"What?" I asked.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Howon chuckled. I shrugged in response. "Well, if you were listening to what I said a couple of seconds ago, something popped up so I have to go back to the office."

"Oh, it's fine," I replied. I really didn't mind. Lately, being alone was the best thing anyway.

"Are you sure? Do you want a ride home or something?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I'm not a child, Howon," I assured.

"Whatever," he replied, pulling me in for a hug, "I'm sorry. Some other time, okay?" I nodded and wrapped my arms around him before he disappeared into the sea of people. And just like that, I was all alone again. I decided to keep heading towards the cafe. I had nothing to do all day anyway.

The winter reminded me of Myungsoo. I wasn't even sure why. But every winter, I seemed to be without Myungsoo. Even if I knew that we couldn't be together, I still thought of him from time to time, wondering how he was doing. I was  mad at him for a couple of weeks after I came back from the island but I eventually got over it. I learned that hating someone was just makes yourself stressed out.

But still, I hadn't gotten one call from him.

I didn't care but I did at the same time. I felt a little disappointed that he didn't even try to make it right with me. But I guess our sudden drop of communication made it easier to forget him. I lived the last six months busying myself with more loads of work and starting anew. There were times I caught myself walking back to me and Myungsoo's old house but I got use to the change. Change is good anyway.

I was turning into the alleyway that lead to the cafe when someone grabbed my hand. At first, I thought it was Howon. But the stranger's hands weren't as coarse. They were warm and soft. They felt like home.

My eyes slightly widened at the familiar scent of cologne even before I turned around. I was scared to. Because I knew all too well who it was. How did he find me? I wasn't sure. And I didn't want to find out.

I quickly regained my composure before I yanked my hand out of his grasp.

"Wait," the stranger called. It was that husky voice. I didn't need to look at his face anymore to confirm who it was. I walked a little faster, praying that I was going the right direction towards the cafe.

"Seohyun."

Bang. My heart started beating a little faster as he said my name. My breath hitched in my throat and I stopped walking. I wanted to blame my sudden movements on the cold weather but I couldn't lie to myself. As soon as I knew it, Myungsoo's handsome face was in front of mine, eyes filled with desperation and a sort of longing that I knew too well.

"Seohyun," he called once again. I stared up at him with the most empty eyes, trying to display no trace of emotion or attachment to him. Myungsoo grabbed my hands, making sure that I couldn't pull away as he stared into my eyes with his fiery ones.

"I found you," he breathed, a wisp of white escaping from his lips.

I wasn't sure how to respond. He found me? I scoffed, bringing a frown to his face.

"Baby, don't," Myungsoo whispered, trying to coax me with that voice of his.

I shook my head, a crazy grin on my face, "Don't call me that." Yes. This conversation, this whole situation of him coming to me and trying to apologize. Definitely deja vu.

"I will, Seohyun," he grasped my hands harder, causing me to frown.

"Let g-"

"No, you listen to me," he raised his voice causing a couple of eyes to shift to us. We were still on the middle of the street, causing somewhat of a scene. But Myungsoo didn't really seem to care because he continued. "Why. Why do you always leave?"

"Why do you always cheat?" I spat back at him.

"Seo," he murmured, "You have to trust me. You have to listen to me. It's not what you think."

"Oh shut up," I shot Myungsoo a death glare, "Yeon told me everything so you can stop lying and just forget about me. You didn't even try to call me or text me in the last six months. Did it take you that long to come up with a good excuse as to why I should come running back to you just like every other time you insist on breaking my heart?"

"No," Myungsoo quickly refuted, "I wanted to give you time. How can you have so little trust in me, Seo?"

"What? So you didn't cheat?" I scoffed, "I know that you were kissing Yeon and you slept with her, okay? I know it all so you can just let go of me and disappear from my life forever."

"I said listen!" he yelled, "I did lie. I lied to you because I knew that you wouldn't settle well with the fact that I spent the night at Yeon's. I did drink a lot, I admit it but I didn't do anything with her. We did nothing that night, okay? After you left, I found Yeon and she told the truth. She was the one that put the picture of us kissing through the door and that picture was from highschool even before I met you. And all the times I was with her, I was planning on an event for you!"

I stared at him with utter hatred and disbelief.

"Believe me. Do you know how messed up I was after you left?" he whispered. I fought the urge to nod. Yes, I knew. Somewhat. I watched you cry.

"I love you with all my heart," Myungsoo let go of my hands and pulled me in for a tight hug, "I know that I'm not the best boyfriend but I'm telling nothing but the truth. You just have to trust me."

"You're lying," I murmured into his shoulder.

I heard him sigh as he let go of me and looked me into the eye.

"Six months, Seohyun. I gave you six months of time to cool down. And you can't deny that you still don't love me. I know we've been through hard times but I know that we were meant to be."

"How?"

"I'm standing in front of you now, aren't I?" he replied with a chuckle.

2 minutes. It had been about 2 minutes and he had managed to effectively melt me in this cold weather better than any scarf, jacket, or mitten. But despite that, I still didn't know who to believe. Whenever I decided to finally get over him, he showed up in my life again and never let it happen.

He searched my eyes hopefully for any trace of hope or forgiveness, his shoulders shrinking when he saw nothing. But in a matter of seconds, he leaned forward and placed his lips on mine. I pulled away quickly, giving him a glare.

"You're a pig."

"I know."

"And I hate you."

"I know that too."

I shook my head. I wanted to forget everything and just fall into his arms but I wouldn't be Choi Seohyun if I did that, would I? So I just stood there, thinking about what to do. I had been in this situation too many times to count. I couldn't deny that even if I hated him, I loved him too. It was that kind of love that I would never, ever, ever get over. But I wasn't sure if I could take all of the pain and lies.

"I know this is stupid," Myungsoo said, causing me to look up abruptly. He snuck his hand into his pocket and took a breath. "Baby, I love you so much. I promised that I wouldn't hurt you again but I broke that promise. But please... I'll do better so you don't ever think about leaving me again."

His words made their way into my ear and made my heart beat faster. But his next action made my heart pratically leap out of my chest. Myungsoo got down on one knee in the middle of Myungdong, causing people to stop and point, gushing and smiling at the scene. But I was simply bewildered.

Was he going to propose?

Myungsoo shot me a grin, "I don't think there's a man who ever proposed to their girlfriend right after a huge argument and six months of separation. But I really do love you, Seohyun. Even though I'm a man full of mistakes, I never ever meant to intentionally hurt you. I know you can do better but I hope you'll settle with me. Choi Seohyun, will you marry me?"

to my beautiful readers...
thank you for putting up with me torturing Myungsoo and Seohyun since November of last year. i hope i made you guys laugh, smile, cry, depressed, and make you want to pull your hair out throughout the course of the story. i know i still have a long ways to go as an author and there's always gonna be room for perfection but i hope i somewhat progressed in my writing during the course of this 10 months. but truuuuly i want to thank everyone who even gave this story a chance and commented or hit the subscribe button and waited long periods of time for my updates. you all make me so happy! beyond the girl&boy, let's keep in touch. please feel free to friend me or message me or tumblr me or whatever! bless all your beautiful souls!
until next time...
 

oh and ps. sorry for trolling and giving you a cliff hanger. LOL.