"Babe, are you done working?" asked Minki, sitting on his living room couch, the TV muted, cartoons playing on the screen, "Are you doing well?"
Seong-Joo sighed into her phone, exasperated by his constant worry, “I’m fine, I just have another hour until I get off work. The actor Won Bin didn’t like his script, so I’m re-writing it.”
Minki didn’t know if he should believe her, she had been acting weird lately and many men have been around her during her off-days. And she wasn’t the type to over work herself over something like that. He hated to call her this, but she was lazy.
”Alright…did you eat already? Want me to cook when you come home?”
She rubbed her temples, furrowing her eyebrows, “Yes, I did. And no, you shouldn’t cook. You burned yourself last time, remember?” even though his worrying did frustrate her, she did love him for wanting to see her well being. “Is everything alright with you?”
Minki smiled softly, a little suspicious of her, “Yeah. Since you answered…everything’s fine.”
A week later
"Hello?" Minki was walking towards Seong-Joo’s work place, "Hello?" the phone screen showed that she had picked up her phone, but why wasn’t sound coming through? "Seong-Joo-ya." Minki’s heart picked up the pace.
On the other end, Seong-Joo was being held against the wall by who she used to rely on, her male friend, Jin-Soo. “Yah! What are you doing?” her heart beat at such a quick pace that her head became light, her eyes daring to shut and roll back. Oxygen seemed to be getting lower. “Jin-Soo…”
"Why him? Why him??? He’s feminine, he’s skinny, he doesn’t look at all manly!" shouted Jin-Soo, pushing Seong-Joo harder into the wall, "He even paints his nails, and yet you still go back to him every night, acting and pretending he’s someone who can protect you. I can protect you.”
What she hated the most, what she despised the most, was when someone insulted the person she loved. “Who cares who I love? Who cares how he dresses, acts, and his appearance? What you’re doing right now is not setting my mind straight or making me think you’re manlier than him, but it’s hurting me and it’s proving the fact that I made the right choice.”
"Seong-Joo? Are you in there?" asked a screenplay writer, "Hurry, I need to go."
She was about to say something, but he pushed her in a stall, closing the door in case the entrance door was open.
"Minki…Minki is mine and you can’t tell me otherwise!" she struggled from his grip, slipping on a wet puddle and slamming herself against the stall door, opening it only to reveal a shocked Minki at the entrance.
Just then Jin-Soo, to help her from falling on her head, grabbed her by the waist and didn’t lose his opportunity, he went in and kissed her forcefully. An open mouthed Minki dropped a bag of take-out food from a ramen shop. His eyes were expressionless and hallow, not a single drop of a tear dared to fall from his moistured eyes.
Seong-Joo pushed away from Jin-Soo and tried to explain, but Minki was already leaving the bathroom, pushing his way out from the crowd of employees.
"MINKI!" she shouted before tears streaked down her cheeks.
She ran after him, but he wasn’t anywhere to be found. She knew she had to explain to him in person, but the way he was now, she felt it was URGENT to explain to him; she called him and text him to explain exactly what happened. Her hands and voice shakier than a rumbling cave, her lip quivering as she hopes Minki will understand/
Two months later
"What are you looking at?" Minki asked, walking into the living room with two cups of coffee in his hands.
Seong-Joo frowned, not wanting him to see all the hate-comments from the internet. “It’s nothing,” she slid the phone under the pillow, grabbing the cup of coffee from his hand and putting it on a cup holder on the table.
"It can’t be another lover right?" he said so bluntly and straight faced.
"I thought I explained to you exactly what had happened." her heart dropped a few stories, unbelieving of what Ren had just asked. "I told you I didn’t do anything with him, that he did that to me-"
"I was joking-"
"That wasn’t funny." she said sternly, more hurt than when he ignored her for nearly a week.
"I just can’t be too sure, I mean…you work around so many guys, who knows how many times-" SLAP!
She couldn’t handle her hurt pride and anger, “Do you know why I went out with you despite your feminine appearance and everyone’s comments? Because I thought you knew how to treat girls right, I thought you had a bigger heart than others. I ignored the fact you were more prettier than me, but look what I get. If your going to keep treating me as if I sleep with everyone who crosses my path, then I don’t want to see you anymore.” she stood up and walked out of the room and out of the house, not caring that her entire two year relationship was down the drain at this point. She didn’t want any man she loved to think of her so lowly, so disrespectfully no matter how in love they were.
As she got out of the house, she was about to cross the street when- BAM!
Honk honk! A truck appeared from the corner of the street in full speed, crashing into her thin body.
Her eyes closed tightly as she curled herself from the blow, her frail tall body thrown a few feet away from the accident. Her breathing was cut short as she tried to find air, her eyes rolling back momentarily. Oh God…if only she had tried to talk it out more to Minki…if only they could have solved their argument, she wouldn’t be there like she was right then.
"SEONG-JOO-YA!!!!" Minki had ran out of the house and onto the bloody scene, his suspicion and lack of trust in her was gone, all he saw was her at that moment, her peach skin glowing under the sun and her red blood oozing out of her ear and head.
Her eyes were closed, her lips were shut, her face was still radiant with color. Was this the tragic end for them? For something so little, something so stupid…he shouldn’t have accused her.
I should have kept my mouth shut. I shouldn’t have suspected her, I shouldn’t have said any of it. I caused to make her angry and step out, I caused this…I’m sorry, Seong-Joo-yah. Minki chastised himself until he bawled and screamed.
"Mi-" Seong-Joo fell limp, really feeling like she weighed nothing but paper.
This crushed Minki as he had to face the fact. The ugly truth.
One year later
"Happy birthday to you. It’s been one year, so happy first birthday~" Minki clapped his hands in front of Seong-Joo’s gravestone. "Happy birthday angel, we’ve had lots of memories, but now you’re here. I hope you’re happier now," he placed three roses on her stone, two for the two years of their love, and one for the year of her death anniversary.
That night
"Your message cannot be received. The caller you are calling is not available or has been disconnected. Please hang up or try again." Seong-Joo’s phone wasn’t working anymore.
Even though he didn’t hang up, he only asked, “Hello? Did you eat? Are you okay? Where are you? You not being here feels like hell since I can’t see you. Your eyes are closed, why can’t you see me like this and wake up?” silence overtook him, “Did you eat? Where are you? Hello?…” his insanity overwhelmed him as he stared at the ceiling, blank as he repeated over and over, “Hello? Did you eat? Where are you? You not being here…”
Hello Seong-Joo. Goodbye Seong-Joo.
