“Tuan…” She looked at him, thankful that he was here.
He gave her a small smile.
“Let’s go.” Mark tugged Soo Won.
“Mark, I’m still talking to Soo.” Gikwang held onto Soo Won’s other wrist.
Mark turned and looked at Gikwang. “I think you’re done talking.”
Soo Won pulled her wrists away from both Mark and Gikwang.
She gave Mark a small smile, letting him know she was okay before she turned and looked at Gikwang.
“Kwangie, I think it’s clear that we’re over now. To you, we were over a month ago. To me, it’s over now. It was only a matter of time. I hope you can be happy with whatever you do. Thanks for teaching me what it means to love. Bye, Kwangie.”
Soo Won gave Gikwang a hug with a heavy heart. She pulled away quickly, afraid she wouldn’t be able to let him go.
“Soo…” She heard her name being called by him one last time.
“Let’s go Mark.” Soo Won turned and walked away as Mark followed.
Gikwang watched Soo Won walk away from him for the last time as his heart ached.
‘I brought this upon myself… but why do I feel so broken...’ he thought.
*****
Mark was driving Soo Won home, occasionally glancing at her.
He felt bad for his best friend as he heard what had happened from a distance. He didn’t like what had happened. He trusted Gikwang with her. He made her happy.
He knew Gikwang was her world. And now, her world was gone. She was broken. Mark was afraid of what’s to come next.
Soo Won stared out the window as tears continuously flowed out of her eyes. She didn’t care that her face was all wet. She just needed to let herself go.
‘Only tonight...’ she told herself.
“Soo… are you okay?” Mark asked, concerned.
Soo Won didn’t reply and continued looking out the window.
Mark didn’t know what to do.
As they arrived to her house, Mark parked and saw her eyes were red and swollen from crying.
“Thanks Tuan.” Soo Won said, her voice barely above a whisper.
She walked to her house as Mark followed. He lived next door so it didn’t matter whether he went home or not.”
Soo Won walked into the house to be greeted by her older brother.
“Hey Soo, why are you-” Donghae stopped when he saw the state she was in.
“Hi oppa. I’m going to my room first.” Soo Won walked up the stairs.
When they heard the door to her room close, Donghae finally spoke.
“What the hell happened to her.” Donghae was furious. He had never seen his sister like that except one time.
Mark had told Donghae about Gikwang and Donghae was even more furious.
Never would he have thought Gikwang would do that to his sister.
He too trusted Gikwang with his sister.
“I’ll go check on her, hyung.” Mark said.
*****
Mark slowly opened the door to Soo Won’s room.
He saw her on her bed, under the covers.
He slid himself under the covers and laid beside her.
“Hey Soo.” Mark whispered.
He had missed doing this. He missed being with his best friend. He used to do this all the time before Soo Won started dating Gikwang.
Mark heard her sniffles before she turned around to face him.
“Can you stay with me tonight? I don’t want to be alone.”
“Of course. Whatever you want.” Mark gave her a sad smile.
Mark slid his arm under her head and pulled her closer.
Soo Won cried against his chest. She knew she could always count on Mark.
“Soo, I know you may feel like right now but I promise you it’s not the end of the world. There’ll be someone better for you.”
“Tuan, I don’t understand. How could he do this to me… I thought I meant something to him.” Soo Won cried even more.
Mark stayed silent as he rubbed her back and pulled her closer to him. He hated seeing her like this. The only other time she was like this was when her parents passed away.
“Am I that worthless…” Soo Won questioned.
“Hey.” Mark pulled away from her slightly and wiped her tears. “Don’t ever say that.”
Soo Won cried the whole night and before she knew it, she cried herself to sleep.
The next morning, Soo Won woke up and found the space beside her to be empty.
She then remembered what had happened last night. It seemed like a nightmare to her. But it was a reality she had to accept whether she wanted to or not.
She started by deleting everything that reminded her of Gikwang. She threw away anything and everything that screamed Gikwang.
‘Maybe this is a good thing. I can start fresh. I’m okay.’ she told herself. She was trying to convince herself more than anything but she knew the hole in her heart was far from being okay.
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