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The streetlamps on either side of the bench where Hyeori was sitting flickered occasionally, like they were tired. The kind of tired she hadn’t been able to shake off in months. The sky was clear, but the cold wind was enough to give anyone chills.
Hyeori sat alone on that bench she’d claimed as her own, right beside the massive bridge. She wasn’t crying. Her eyes were fixed on nothing, her shoulders slumped, and her fingers played with a small hair tie she always carried with her, as if that simple motion could distract her from the storm of emotions in her chest.
Across the bridge, Gotak was jogging. His earbuds were in, his black shirt slightly damp with sweat, focus entirely on his breathing—trying not to forget how to breathe like he usually did. When his eyes shifted for a moment, he spotted that familiar brown hair, so familiar it made him stop in surprise.
Frowning, he took out his earbuds and slowly walked toward the person on the bench. Leaning in slightly, he called out, “Hyeori?”
She blinked, as if pulled out of a daydream, turning toward the voice. Her frown lasted only a second before a small smile tugged at her lips—though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Hey…”
“What are you doing out here at this hour?” he asked, slipping his earbuds into his pocket, still frowning a little. “It’s pretty late. Could be dangerous.”
She shook her head, shrugging. “Just… needed some air, that’s all…” she murmured, glancing at him as he just stood there watching her quietly. Then he sat beside her, leaving some space—just enough to show her he was there.
“You jog at night?”
He nodded. “Yeah… Night’s perfect for anything—eating, working out, even doing homework. There’s no noise, no people, no heat… That’s important. Heat is exhausting…”
Hyeori smiled. Hearing him ramble reminded her of Sooho, who always started his thoughts with way too much confidence and ended up mumbling weird things under his breath.
Gotak noticed her small laugh and smiled too, seeing her defensive energy drop just a little. “It helps, right?” he asked. “Laughing makes things feel a little lighter, doesn’t it?”
She nodded, this time looking away and focusing on the calm river ahead. She liked watching it, even if all she could see were the light reflections dancing on the water.
“I’m not gonna push you to tell me what’s going on, but if you want to talk… I’m a good listener,” he said, also looking forward, feeling the cold air hit his bare arms. “I don’t judge. We all have our moments, so…”
Hyeori nodded but stayed quiet for a while, until her fingers started to tremble—images of Sieun’s teary eyes, the way his lips had trembled while apologizing, and how she couldn’t say anything in return because of her own insecurity—all flooded back.
“I… had a fight with Sieun. That’s why I came here.”
Gotak nodded, glad she had opened up. Normally, he was a bit of a gossip, but this time his curiosity was sincere—she really looked like she was struggling.
“Was it bad?”
She nodded again. It probably hadn’t even been that dramatic, but to her, it felt like one of the worst things that had ever happened. Her eyes welled up with tears, lips forming a tiny pout as her emotions betrayed her.
“I don’t want to lose him… that’s all…” she whispered, but her voice cracked. Her hands went to her face, and finally, she cried.
Gotak froze for a second, but quickly moved to wrap his arms around her gently, feeling her lean into his chest. He stroked her hair a little. He didn’t say “don’t cry” or “it’ll be okay”—he just held her, his brows furrowed.
“Why would you lose him? He seems to care about you a lot… I don’t think one fight is enough to change that,” he murmured, his voice low and comforting.
Hyeori shook her head, breathing deeply, knowing she had to let it out somehow or she was going to explode. And she really didn’t want to explode.
Didn’t want to lose the one thing she had left.
“You can tell me if you want.” Her eyes met his, and Gotak held her gaze steadily, like he always did when they talked. “I know something’s eating you up… Say it, if it’ll help.”
She felt like crying again. No one had said that to her before. Not even her mom had asked, nor her therapist. Maybe that was what she needed all along.
“A little over a year ago… my boyfriend ended up in a coma,” she started, her nose red from crying. “We used to have a friend who… didn’t turn out to be as good to us as we thought. He did a lot of things to hurt him… things I tried to stop…”
She went quiet, lost in thought. Gotak didn’t want to push her, didn’t want to be nosy either.
“What kind of things? Something bad?”
She nodded. “He paid a guy to beat up Sooho…” Tears started again, her eyes getting darker but still shining. “But before that… he tried to have him attacked too… on his birthday. But I was the target. They used me as bait to lure him there… but Sieun showed up instead. We tried to get out, but we suck at running away, you know?” she smiled weakly, trying to ease the tension. “We got hurt pretty bad, but we didn’t say anything. We just kept quiet, ignored it… until we couldn’t anymore and he… he got so angry…”
She closed her eyes, the memory of herself begging Sooho not to do anything echoing in her chaotic mind.
“He didn’t listen and went there anyway… He fought that jerk even though his leg was already hurt. It was an unfair fight from the start… They didn’t care, and they…” Hyeori let the tears fall, her sobs a little louder, her throat tightening. The sound of Sooho’s body being hit would haunt her forever. “They beat him so badly that… his body just… couldn’t take the pain.”
Gotak had no idea what to say. He’d never heard anything like that before. The sadness she carried was so heavy, it almost clung to him too. His eyes teared up just hearing how softly she spoke, even when her voice clearly wanted to scream.
“What people say about us at school… it’s true,” she confessed. Her sobs grew louder but never annoying. “When Sooho went into a coma, I… I lost it. I was terrified, furious, broken… I didn’t even think. I just went and found the ones responsible…” she bit her lower lip, staring at the ground, the tears never stopping. “Yeah, I did break someone’s ankle. And yeah, Sieun stabbed a guy. But none of it was his fault… I’m the one who dragged him into all this.”
“Hyeori…”
“If I had just waited a bit longer… If I had been stronger and stopped Sooho… he’d probably be in his last year of high school or already at some university abroad… But I just acted. In that moment, I… I didn’t…” She looked at Gotak like she wanted to apologize, her eyes full of regret. “I never meant for any of this to happen. I swear I didn’t… Sieun doesn’t deserve to pay for any of it. He… he just…”
“Okay, breathe…” he whispered, stroking her hair, trying to calm her down—but she couldn’t. So he just pulled her into his chest, letting her cry all she needed, looking around for something, anything, that might help.
The silence lasted a while; her sobs slowly faded, becoming softer and slower, until it was clear she wasn’t crying as hard anymore.
“Hyeori…” he murmured, feeling her cling to him. “It’s not your fault.”
Those words made her look at him instantly. Her head tilted like a confused child. “What?”
“What happened… Sieun being here, Sooho ending up like that… It’s not your fault.”
She let out a soft laugh, her eyes still teary. “Of course it is… I let everything happen the way it did. I should’ve pushed harder, made a scene, something… I don’t know, but…”
“It’s not your fault… to want to protect someone you love too much,” he murmured, still looking straight into her eyes. “He had his reasons… and I’m pretty sure his plan didn’t include ending up the way he did. Maybe he just wanted…”
“For them to apologize,” she whispered. “Sooho just wanted them to say sorry for what they did to Sieun and me… Not even for what they did to him—not even for almost killing him by cutting his bike brakes. He just… he just wanted them to say sorry to us.”
Gotak winced. That made the guilt so real. He knew it wasn’t her fault, but hearing that Sooho’s only motivation had been for her and Sieun—it crushed him. And he didn’t doubt Sieun felt it too. They were friends, after all, right?
“I never wanted some dumb apology… I just wanted him to be okay… I wanted us to move in together with our dogs… I just wanted… I just wanted him with me. I never…”
Gotak pulled her back into his chest, sighing softly, unsure of what to say. Comforting someone in that much pain wasn’t easy.
“Sooho must love you a lot,” he murmured, trying a different approach. “He did something really brave for you… He just wanted what was best for you. That says a lot about him… Ah, how can I even compete? Should I just give up now?”
She looked at him, confused, leaning back a bit. “Compete?”
“Uhm… Do you think I could compete with Sooho? Doing things like that for the girl you like… Not everyone’s built like that.”
“Gotak-ah, what are you trying to say?”
“That you’re really pretty,” he mumbled, ears turning red but staying bold, trying to distract her and maybe help her forget the pain for just a moment. “If you didn’t have a boyfriend who’s probably gonna punch me in the face when he wakes up and sees me flirting with you… I’d totally be flirting right now.”
She blinked in surprise, her sadness momentarily replaced with shock. “You like me?”
“Thought it was obvious. I don’t buy hotteok for just anyone, you know? I’m a very exclusive person,” he said, placing a hand on his chest like he’d been insulted. “But hey, we’ll figure that out when Sooho wakes up.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll challenge him to a Mario Kart match. If he loses, he has to give me his girlfriend,” Gotak grinned, stretching his arms over the bench, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. “Great plan, right?”
Hyeori smiled as he peeked one eye open at her. “Uhm… Sooho’s a Mario Kart pro.”
“Oh really? Probably ’cause I taught him.”
She laughed—a real laugh this time—looking down at her hands. Her smile made her eyes squint slightly, and for a moment, the melancholy slipped away. Just like the other night, Gotak had made her forget how hard it was to laugh at the little things.
Something only Sooho used to do.
It wasn’t the same. It would never be. But for her, that little moment was a blessing.
“I think we should go. Looks like it might rain soon,” he said, glancing up at the sky. The clouds were turning pale against the dark. “Want me to walk you home?”
“Don’t you need to go home? I don’t want you wandering around alone this late.”
He smiled, winked, and stood up, offering her his hand. “Come on, I can’t let the girl I’m gonna steal in a Mario Kart game walk home alone.”
She took his hand to get up, then let go quickly, walking beside him with her hands in her jacket pockets.
“How was dinner with Baku? Did he treat you guys to anything good?”
“That idiot,” he grumbled. “His dad owns a fried chicken place… and he didn’t treat us to anything.”
She raised her eyebrows. “He’ll probably take it from his allowance,” she nodded. “My boyfriend’s grandma used to do that when he took me to the restaurant where she worked.”
Gotak looked at her quietly for a second, smiling a bit. “Sooho… sounds like a strong name.”
Hyeori smiled, remembering the first time he’d carried her in his arms. He’d still been a scrawny middle-schooler back then, but he’d lifted her so easily, it shocked her.
“He is… Physically… you remind me a lot of him.”
“Really?” He placed a hand on his chest, eyes wide. “Then he must be handsome—ugh, I’ve got some competition.”
The brunette nodded, her fingers tightening inside her pockets.
“Sooho… What’s his last name?”
“Ahn. Ahn Sooho.”
“Oh?” Gotak stopped, looking at her like something clicked. “Ahn Sooho? Did he do taekwondo by any chance?”
Hyeori nodded, confused by his reaction. “Why? Do you know him?”
“Oh, totally. He’s my sunbaenim,” Gotak grinned, looking excited. “Like two years ago, my taekwondo teacher invited one of his top students to give us a demo… Sooho sunbaenim showed up.”
“Oh, I remember that!” Hyeori beamed like a kid. “I had to force him to go ’cause he didn’t wanna wake up…” she laughed. “So your teacher was his teacher… You must be good at fighting then, huh?”
Gotak smirked proudly. “Well, not to brag, but I did win gold two years ago.”
“Oh, that’s awesome!” she clapped a little. “Let me cook you something one day—as a reward.”
Gotak chuckled. “That was two years ago…”
She shrugged. “But the memory’s still there. It’s never wrong to celebrate moments that bring joy.”
He nodded with a smile, about to respond, when a loud bark rang out nearby. He jumped and instinctively grabbed Hyeori’s shoulders, trying to hide behind her. She laughed at his reaction.
But the ground was wet—not from rain, maybe someone had watered the plants. Gotak’s feet slipped, and he pulled her down with him.
They both hit the ground—Gotak on his back, Hyeori falling on top of him. They went quiet for a second before he started laughing in embarrassment.
“What are you laughing at?” she giggled too, noticing how he refused to meet her eyes.
They stayed there for a while, laughing together in the empty street, dimly lit by the tall streetlamps. Hyeori felt a bit of relief in her chest. It was small, but she treasured it deeply.
“They can’t replace your warmth, Sooho-yah… but it’s nice to know I can still feel safe with someone while you recover.”
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