Chasing You | Wooyoung ✓

Chapter 6

Park Soojin was not just an honor student and all about beauty but was quite athletic as well. She started doing taekwondo when she was about eight years old and did various martial arts training when she reached high school.

She mostly spends her free time in the dojo, and working out/sparring has been her hobby since then. It really helped her cope with stress and take her mind off things, especially when her mental state is overloading.

It may come from excessive whispers or attention, discovering unfamiliar emotions, or just plain fatigue.

"Remember that we have to visit Dr. Lee for your monthly session tomorrow morning." Sungjae reminded Soojin before throwing a punch which she dodged.

She answered by giving him a surprise kick in his thigh and grunted. The man winced in pain as he slowly fell to the ground. She snickered when Sungjae gestures that he gives up while rubbing his throbbing leg on the floor. She offered him her hands to help him get up, receiving a thank you from his assistant.

People assume that Park Soojin is just a cold-blooded bitch that doesn't care about anyone. They say that she's mean, unbothered or heartless. But what they don't know is just that she's actually just clinically diagnosed as a person who had alexithymia for a decade ago. She just don't know how to express her feelings well, as you could say.

She's been struggling with emotional blindness since she was a kid. When she was in her early elementary days, she didn't know that she was feeling sadness, happiness, or even anger. Her expressions were always blank. Her parents discovered something wrong after observing her reactions after spending more time with her after the incident happened.

Although her mental and emotional health is better now because she's been receiving therapy and emotional support for years, it still didn't change the fact that she's not normal, unlike most people.

She does have feelings and is quite expressive, but it only shows on rare occasions or just in front of people she's comfortable with.

Soojin took off her wrist supports and brushed her damp hair up. It was a good sparring session with Sungjae. She was more pumped up than ever and it actually calmed her down a little bit from too much excitement while also getting a whole body workout.

Sungjae threw a towel at her as she drank from her water bottle. "You're on fire today, Soojin-ah. Everything okay?" He asked as he leaned on the corner pad of the ring, wiping his sweat.

She wiped her mouth with a slight smile on her face and looked up at him. "Yep." She shortly answered, popping the p. She never had that much excitement since a couple of years ago.

"What's that face supposed to mean?" He asked her with a quirked brow once he finished taking a sip from his water bottle.

She chuckled and shook her head. She stood up and walked beside him, leaning her upper arms and chin on the ropes. "Can you get me my phone?" She asked.

Sungjae complied hesitantly and handed her what she wanted. He observed her and took a peek at her screen as she quickly opened her contact list and searched for Wooyoung's name. "Who are you calling?" He questioned even though he knew the answer. He sighed after not getting a reply since Soojin started walking away from the boxing ring, getting ready to go home.

Sungjae thought that Soojin seemed serious about her 'falling in love' with someone. It's pretty alarming because she might get taken advantage of given by her status and wealth, but all he can do for now is support her. He'll deal with the guy later on if anything terrible happens. He just hopes that this might help her.

•••

One, two, three, four missed calls. "He was serious when he said he won't answer me." She mumbled to herself after getting off the car.

It's funny because Soojin knows that Wooyoung knows that it's her calling him. He may say that he didn't save her number; although he certainly recognizes it, he purposely ignored it. She messages him most of the time; it's hard not to.

As soon as they arrived at her apartment, Sungjae turned on the hot water in her tub. "What do you want to eat for dinner?" He yelled as he pulled his sleeves up while walking back towards the kitchen.

"Can you just order sushi for me? You can leave after." She retorted as she ran to greet her dog, barking and jumping excitedly from his playpen. "Hello, Hero-yah. Did you miss Noona?" She asked as she opened the gate. She chuckled when the giant baby lunged on her and made her fall to the ground while he licked her face repeatedly.

"There's probably no delivery at this time, so I'll get it for you. I'll be back!" She only hummed in retort and went straight to the cupboard to get dog food for Hero, her big-boned labrador retriever.

As she was about to crouch down and pour food on her dog's bowl, she saw a very familiar plush under the table that looked like it had lived a long, hard life. "Hero!" She whined as she crawled to reach for the torn plushy. "What did you do to Leebit?" She frowned, facing her dog.

Hero tilted his head innocently while he stuck his tongue out, panting. "Do you have something against Lee Know, Hero-yah?" She softly asked her dog as if it could answer her back. It's always his merch Hero tends to rip. Overall, it's been four Leebit plushies and more than ten photo cards. He doesn't even touch the other's–just Lee Know's.

He's probably his bias as well.

She shook her head, chuckling, and went back to pour food for her dog. Hero happily munched on his food, not even sorry for what he had done to Soojin's favorite plushy. You're lucky you're adorable. She thought.

A few minutes after looking at her dog eating, she went to the bathroom and dipped her body in the bathtub. She sighed in contentment. After that vigorous spar earlier, the warm water and steam relieved her tensed muscles.

She decided to call Wooyoung again, and surprisingly, he answered after two rings. "What?" He answered in annoyance. Soojin pursed her lips to refrain from smiling. He's cute.

"So..." She faltered, leaning her head on the porcelain headrest. "Tomorrow?"

"Ugh, fine." He grunted. "What do you want to do the whole day?"

"Hmm." She paused, thinking. "I don't like going out, and I heard you know how to cook, so, will you go to my house and cook lunch for me?"

"Excuse me?" He scoffed, and she could feel him rolling his eyes through the phone. "You bid for a date, not for a chef. Let's just watch a movie and be done with it."

"I prefer TV series, though." She slightly pouted her lips and closed her eyes, trying to relax herself in the bathtub. "What else do you do on a date? I haven't gone into one." She added.

"Are you serious?" He asked incredulously. "Movies, lunch or dinner, go for a walk, that kind of thing, duh."

"That's a date? I always do those, though."

"It doesn't count when you're alone." He stated, and not soon after, he groaned. "You're hopeless. Let's just do whatever. I'll pick you up before lunch. Send me your address tomorrow and finish this conversation."

She hummed in retort, cracking up a smile. She heard clatterings of utensils and sizzling noises on his side, so she asked. "What are you doing?"

"I'm cooking dinner for my sister." Ah, so he has a sister. She usually could have this information by now, but she chose to hold herself back to avoid negative consequences. Plus, it's better to get to know the guy naturally to prevent falling out too early.

"I see." She replied. The line was silent for a couple of seconds. "Well, I'm naked in the bathroom taking a hot bath right now." She nonchalantly asserted.

"Wha-, Why-, I-I didn't ask!" He exclaimed, evident that he got flustered on the girl's bluntness. "She's crazy." He whispered.

"What? Is there something wrong?" She innocently asked. She genuinely doesn't know what she said wrong. She just said she's nake—oh. She chuckled after realizing it. That's right; she should at least try to be modest.

"Nothing. I'm going to go now. Goodbye." Soojin expected him to drop the call immediately, but he waited for her answer.

"Goodbye, Wooyoung. See you tomorrow." He gave her one last scoff before he ended the call—what a tsundere.