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“You’re still as pretty as ever.”
Hyeori stared at him, her eyes fixed on his every move. Her heart hammered a little in her chest as she watched him sit down on the gym floor.
“What are you doing here? I thought you’d moved away.”
Wooyoung smiled, shrugging with a slight wince. “I did. But I’m of age now, I can make my own decisions,” he said. The girl’s gaze dropped to his ankle; there was no cast, no bandage, nothing. It was as if it were completely normal. “What are you looking at? Starting to feel guilty now?”
“I still don’t get what you’re doing here.”
The brown-haired young man lightly tapped the floor with his fingers, as if inviting her to sit with him. “I just came to tie up some loose ends, thanks to someone who decided to crush my ankle with a dumbbell a year and a half ago.”
Hyeori blinked, her gaze falling to the floor, refusing to sit with him. “And what does that have to do with you sitting here?”
“Not much, really. But I wanted to come and make sure you were okay.” As she heard those words, her distrust flared, naturally.
Why the hell would you want to make sure the person who destroyed your career was okay?
“Why on earth would you do that?”
Wooyoung smiled again as he looked at her. A faint flicker of melancholy crossed his eyes, so fleeting she didn’t even notice. “You might think I’m an idiot… but I know how to own up to my mistakes, Hyeori,” he murmured, just loud enough for her to hear. “I didn’t come here to apologize, because I honestly don’t think I have anything to apologize for. But I came to tell you that during all this time I was in therapy, I realized the mistakes I made.”
“And so what? You figured out how stupid you’ve been since we first met?”
“Yeah,” he said, with a sincerity she’d never heard from him before. “I know I messed up with you. I had a crush on you, and I was just a kid – a pre-teen, then a teenager – trying to win over the girl I liked.” His shoulders hitched again as he looked at her, but then his gaze drifted to the gym window as if mulling over his next words.
“One of your friends told me you’d asked for my number. Is that true?” she asked, trying to steer the conversation away from her discomfort. She hadn’t expected that old attraction to still be a topic between them.
“I did, yeah,” the brown-haired guy admitted. “I was planning to call you to see if you wanted to meet up, but I was just passing by and saw you through the window, so I figured why put it off?”
“You did it because you knew I would’ve said no.”
“Yeah, maybe that crossed my mind…” The young man fiddled with the foam mat on the floor. “I’m not trying to make amends for my mistakes. I just wanted to tell you that I accept I made them… From not accepting that you and him were a couple and trying to butt in, to taking dirty money from that idiot just so I could get a little revenge.”
She was speechless; she really hadn’t been expecting this conversation, much less to see this guy ever again. “Why are you telling me all this?”
“I went to visit Sooho a few days ago.” Hyeori’s body tensed. Her eyebrows knitted together slightly, but she said nothing. She just watched him, waiting for him to go on. “I realized I’d never seen Sooho so still, so quiet. And it was like a harsh dose of reality, because I know if I hadn’t taken that money, you and that idiot would probably be off in some other city with your kids or whatever by now…”
“I don’t want your apologies. They’re useless to me now.”
“I told you, I’m not here to apologize. I don’t believe I have anything to apologize for,” he said, his voice firm and confident, his eyes locked on hers. It was like they were caught in a staring contest. Neither wanted to back down; neither would. “Maybe I took that money, maybe I was the one who provoked him into hitting me, maybe I was the one who instigated the fight. But I wasn’t the one who hurt him the most.”
“You said it yourself. You took that money. And just by taking it, you’re also to blame for everything that happened.” The girl pulled off her gloves, looking at him, clearly annoyed. His visit hadn’t been pleasant in the slightest, and honestly, at that point, she just wanted to go home. “If you’re not here to apologize, then I don’t understand why you’re here, Wooyoung.”
The brown-haired guy just smiled, recognizing that irritated look she always gave him whenever they met. It was as if his very presence irked her to no end. “Maybe I just wanted to see you. I saw your boyfriend, thought I’d complete the set.”
“Well, I don’t want to see you,” she stated. Her voice trembled slightly, but she honestly didn’t know why. Was it the shock of him being there, or her annoyance at seeing him so calm, claiming he had nothing to apologize for? She didn’t know, but she didn’t want to keep feeling this way. “Delete my number, Wooyoung. Don’t contact me, don’t think about me. Just live your life, and I’ll live mine.”
The brown-haired guy nodded, getting up from the gym floor, looking at her with a grimace that seemed slightly amused. “That’s exactly what I’m trying to do. That’s why I visited him, that’s why I came to see you. But I can’t move on if I don’t accept all the mistakes I made, and what led me to where I am now… And I’m no psychologist, but I think that’s something you should start accepting too, Hyeori.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Everything that happened… You’re blaming other people for all of this… And that resentment is what’s holding you back. That resentment is going to make you lose all the faith you have that that idiot will wake up… And more than anything, it’s going to make you lose the only thing you have left…”
“What?”
“Because you’re not just blaming me, or Bumseok… You’re also blaming your little friend for everything that happened,” the brown-haired guy said, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets.
“Stop talking nonsense…”
“Are you going to deny it now?” Wooyoung asked, taking a small step closer to her. “You know damn well that, deep down, you’re blaming Sieun for what happened.”
“Of course not…”
“Hyeori-ah… If he hadn’t insisted that Bumseok could be ‘fixed’… Sooho might not even have gone near that gym that day. He wouldn’t have found out his girlfriend spent two days in the hospital, seriously injured, because that whole thing wouldn’t even have happened… Or maybe it would have, but you would have told him everything before it all blew up… I know you, and I know you can’t keep secrets from Sooho…”
“Yah…”
“But he was the one who made you keep quiet, wasn’t he?” The brown-haired guy took another step closer, watching as her eyes grew more watery with each passing second, her hands starting to tremble more noticeably. “Even when that weird girl tried to report us to the cops, he was the one who stopped her. You know because you were there…”
“Sieun isn’t to blame for anything…”
“That’s not what I see… You’re just trying to believe that because he’s the only person you have left. And because you know that if you accept reality, accept that you do hold him responsible, you’ll end up all alone…” Wooyoung nodded, raising his hand to gently touch her brown hair. “And that’s your worst fear, isn’t it? That’s why you’re so terrified to admit what you really think… But take some advice from me: let go of that fear… Because what’s going to happen is you’re going to snap, and when you do, you won’t be able to control it…”
* * *
“…deep down, you’re blaming Sieun for all of this… You’re just trying to believe that because he’s the only person you have left… You’re going to explode, and when you do, you won’t know how to control it…”
Hyeori fiddled with the pencil in her hand, staring into space. Her thoughts were deafening, far louder than all the noise in the classroom at that moment. She hadn’t been able to sleep; Wooyoung’s voice was even more persistent than her exhaustion.
Blame Sieun? Of course not… he just wanted to help someone he considered his friend…
The girl kept thinking, repeating that to herself over and over, because she refused to entertain the thought; she couldn’t bring herself to believe it. How could I blame him for anything? He’s been there for me through all of this…
“He’s the only person you have left…”
Hyeori squeezed her eyes shut, her hands flying to her head, pressing against her temples as if they ached. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess.
“Hey…” A deep voice made her look up, revealing that familiar guy in the blue jacket. “Are you okay?” he asked, his gaze full of concern as he looked at her.
She managed a faint smile, nodding without saying much, watching as he sat down in front of her. A small bottle of fruit juice appeared on her desk.
“It’s for you… I didn’t know what to get you, so I thought maybe something refreshing would be good…” he mumbled, scratching his head, a little embarrassed, his ears turning red. “Also… I realized we didn’t properly introduce ourselves yesterday, sorry about that…”
Hyeori smiled again, taking the juice in her hands, feeling its coolness against her skin. “It’s okay…”
“No, it’s not… that’s no way to behave…” Hyuntak denied quickly before smiling. “My name is Hyuntak… Go Hyuntak, but you can call me Gotak… it sounds cooler.”
Hyeori nodded, looking at him with those big eyes that made him tremble a little. A faint blush crept up Gotak’s cheeks, and he looked away just before he heard her soft laugh.
“Gotak… that does sound really cool…” she nodded before holding out her hand. “I’m Hyeori, Kang Hyeori… though I don’t have a cool nickname…”
The young man took her hand, accepting her introduction. “Ah, but… your name is already pretty, I don’t think you need a nickname.”
“No?”
“Uhm… no.” He smiled a little more. “It would ruin it if—Ah!” Hyeori watched as the other boy immediately approached, slinging an arm around his friend’s neck, grinning when he saw the girl with the pretty eyes.
“Hey, let go of me!”
“Oh, little Gotak, you’re quite the Casanova,” the boy said, practically plopping himself onto his friend’s lap as he smiled flirtatiously, holding out his hand to greet the girl. “A pleasure, miss. My name is Humin, Park Humin, but you can call me Baku, or Handsome, whichever you prefer.”
The girl laughed in amusement as he kissed her hand. “Nice to meet you, Baku. My name is Hyeori…”
The boy gasped, his hand flying to his chest. “Allow me to say, Hyeori, that you have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen in my life, like the sun illuminating the—”
Hyeori felt her throat tighten at the over-the-top compliment, smiling a little uncomfortably as she saw Hyuntak shove his friend away, making a face and threatening to punch him.
“Sorry about him, he doesn’t know how to stay out of other people’s conversations.”
The young woman nodded, clutching the bottle in her hand. She then saw Baku scramble up from the table he’d landed near, rushing to hide behind Gotak, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and striking a defensive pose, peeking out from behind him. The young woman frowned and turned, a little surprised to see Sieun and Juntae standing there.
“The principal wants to see us.”
What?
That was her first thought as she watched the two new boys say goodbye to her, Juntae doing the same. Sieun, however, just gave her a curious look before walking off.
Sieun in the principal’s office?
Hyeori was surprised—no, more than that. She never thought she’d hear of Sieun being sent to the principal’s office. Getting up with some hesitation, she stood there for a second, wondering if she should go find out what happened or just let him tell her.
Sieun won’t tell you unless you ask.
She winced, nodding to her inner voice; she knew Sieun wasn’t one to share his problems much. And she wasn’t one to make him feel pressured, so she was perfectly capable of not asking him anything just to avoid bothering him.
So, taking the fruit juice with her, she walked slowly until she stopped a few meters from the principal’s office, looking at the bottle in her hands, squeezing it a little.
Her thoughts kept returning to the frustrating loop they’d been in all morning. But they were interrupted by the sound of the door opening; the sight of Sieun and Juntae coming out of the office made her walk slowly towards them.
“Hi, noona.”
“Juntae-ah…” she greeted back, before looking at Sieun, who seemed serious, almost angry. “What happened? Did you win another award?”
Sieun shook his head but said nothing, which made the girl feel a bit put out.
“We had a problem yesterday after class… The principal called us in about it,” Juntae explained.
“Ah…” The girl nodded at what Juntae said. “A problem?”
“It’s nothing important,” Sieun blurted out. Hyeori watched him; he seemed genuinely annoyed, so she just nodded, not wanting to press further, at least, not with him.
Juntae seemed more willing to talk.
Just as they were about to head to their classrooms, the two boys Hyeori had met just a few minutes ago came out of the principal’s office. Baku called out to Sieun, who stopped and turned to look at him.
“Hey, buddy,” the dark-haired guy called out. “Go on, Gotak.”
The guy in the sweatshirt blinked, looking at his friend with a surprised expression. “What? Now?”
“Don’t be like that, he backed you up in the principal’s office. Besides, you don’t want to look bad in front of ‘Pretty Eyes,’ do you?”
Hyeori smiled a little, moving closer to Sieun as he took her by the arm and stepped slightly in front of her, looking at the duo with a serious expression.
“…I’m sorry too… for yesterday,” Sieun replied to Gotak’s apology. Gotak looked at him, a bit confused. “And you,” he said to Baku, “don’t touch my head again… or call her that.” He turned to lead Hyeori away, who looked at him, puzzled.
Turning around, the girl called out to Juntae; she liked the younger boy, and besides, she wanted to ask what had happened. However, when Baku ran towards them and started ruffling Sieun’s hair, she raised her eyebrows, looking at him.
Sieun quickly pulled his head away, giving him a warning glare.
“What are you gonna do? Hmm? Ah, ‘Pretty Eyes’ is going to think we’re the bad guys now…”
Gotak, standing behind both figures, saw Hyeori take Sieun’s hand, their fingers intertwining. He winced at the sight but decided to stop his friend, walking towards him to grab him by the shoulders, looking at the pair with a grimace.
“We’re leaving now,” he said, pulling his friend down the hall, leaving the other three standing there, watching them go. Juntae also stepped closer, alongside Hyeori, and they both raised their hands, trying to smooth down the serious boy’s hair.
Sieun looked at them, shifting slightly so they wouldn’t touch him. Hyeori smiled, nodding, before slinging her arm around Juntae’s shoulders. “Alright, let’s go get something to eat. I heard there’s a vending machine on the top floor.”
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