Snippets

The Aftermath Part 2

"Yesterday according to my friend who witnessed the whole thing, she went over to Seo Woo Jin who was on his bike about to leave the campus and asked him if he could help her study knowing he was one of the top students in class." Girl one went on saying.

"Really? Then what happened?" Third girl asked a bit loudly. Eun Jae wanted to ask the same thing too and in a much louder voice.

"Shhh...Well what else? What Seo Woo Jin does best he turned her down politely." Girl one sighed.

This made Cha Eun Jae smile.

"Wow! And she's pretty too. They would have made a cute couple." Girl two added.

Eun Jae strongly disagreed.

"Does he even like girls? I've never seen him with one at all." Girl three commented and they all snickered.

"But then imagine being Seo Woo Jin's study partner...Listening to his voice and watching that face for hours. I wouldn't care if he's into girls or not. Would you?" One of them said dreamily.

"Yeah." The other two agreed with a deep sigh.

If they only knew he already got a study partner and he definitely likes girls! She thought with glee and her mind wandered off to that kiss again and she blushed when she found herself biting her lower lip. Now that she knew she's the only girl Seo Woo Jin agreed to help studying it gave her a little boost that maybe he might like her too and that kiss somehow meant something. Just then an idea formed in her mind. Valentine's Day was coming up. Maybe it was time to validate if these feelings she had was real.

Valentine's Day came. She tried to dress nicely carefully carrying the box of chocolates she bought inside her bag. She had called him to meet her at the lab in the guise of asking for his help as usual. She nervously made her way to the lab while in her mind she was hoping that she wouldn't be saying much and that Seo Woo Jin wouldn't be too dense in working out the significance of the chocolates. Damn it, does he even know it's Valentine's Day? Now her anxiety level was climbing up.

She suddenly stopped on her tracks because from afar she saw him walking from the opposite direction probably on his way there too. She hid herself as she didn't want him to see her yet and wanting him to get there first before she did. But then she saw him stop and was looking back. There behind him was a petite girl calling him. She had long dark hair and was quite pretty from where she could see. They started talking and to her astonishment she saw him threw back his head and was genuinely laughing out loud! Who was this girl that made him laugh? She had never seen him laugh before. She suddenly felt uneasy. She then saw him looking at his watch and together with unknown girl they walked towards the exit of the building. Where were they going? Before she knew it her feet had a mind of their own and started following them from a distance.

They stopped by a little garden outside and she kept herself hidden while watching them. Then she saw the girl gave him a wrapped gift. She felt her heart sank at the bottom of her stomach and her legs shaking. The next thing she saw almost made her break down on the spot. Petite girl placed her hand on his neck while raising her feet from the ground on a tip toe. Before the inevitable scene could happen she turned around and ran away. She kept running until she couldn't breathe. She found the ladies room and locked herself inside one of the stalls. Her whole body was shaking and unable to hold it any longer she burst quietly into tears. She didn't know how long she stayed in the toilet but she knew she spent a while in there. Afterwards She went straight home and locked herself inside her bedroom. She threw her bag somewhere in her room and dropped herself on the bed. She was feeling numb. She then heard something dropped on the floor and saw it was the box of chocolates she wanted to give him. She watched the chocolates scatter on the floor and wanted to laugh at irony of it to her present condition. What a fool she was! She would've had only embarrassed herself if her plan happened. Maybe Seo Woo Jin only found her pitiful or maybe he was only gauging his competition in class. But she knew that liking her was definitely out of the cards for him. Maybe it was the fascination of a first kiss that's why she was feeling this way. She then closed her eyes as she drowned out all her emotions with a logical mind. Her phone kept vibrating for a while now and she knew who was calling. It was time to tamped down all her irrational feelings and pull herself together. She wiped the tears from eyes and called him back to talk to him one last time. She apologized to him and she could hear the anger and concern in his voice but she was too numb to think about how he felt as she had her own raging emotions to consider. She convinced him she was fine and knowing that this would be the last time she would speak to him she thanked him for all that he did for her and she hung up before she could have another break down.

She then knelt down and one by one she picked up the pieces of chocolates on the floor while reminding herself like a mantra, It was just some silly kiss and temporary insanity. She was going to be the best doctor and Seo Woo Jin better watch out. She then stood up and threw every last one on the trash along with her shattered heart.

But despite her denying, burying and forgetting that that fateful day had ever existed Eun Jae had in fact experienced her very first heart break that Valentine's Day.

There was a long silence after she ended her story. Woo Jin was holding her tighter.

"Her name was Jung Sang Mi. She was a colleague of mine from the restaurant where I used to work. The one where you met me. We became close and she was an art student from a different university. I was surprised to see her that day too and I didn't know she had feelings for me either." He explained to her. Then he lifted her face to look at him. He could see the tears forming in her hazel eyes.

"Are you crying?"

"Just the torrents of emotions that I had swept away are all coming back now." She told him.

"I just want to let you know that nothing happened that day. I told her honestly that there is someone that I like." He caressed her face while telling her this.

Her eyes widened at this news.

"Then what happened?"

"I didn't know if she believed me but she never talked to me after that again." He said to her.

"Oh."

Woo Jin smiled at her. "I think I'm cursed to love only one woman in this lifetime. And just so you know you were my first kiss too."

She was about to say something when he cut her off and added. "I also vow from this day forth all my smiles and laughter will all belong to you."

She chuckled and rolled her eyes at him. "I'm not that petty anymore Seo Woo Jin! Besides I would want to see you happy always may it be with me or other people."

She couldn't believed that they have come a long way but there were still questions nagging at the back of her mind.

"What do you think would have happened if we had our feelings known that Valentine's Day? Would we have been together ten years ago?" She asked.

Woo Jin was quiet for a while.

"I'm glad that we didn't." He answered honestly.

She raised her eyebrow at him in question.

"As much as I would have loved you then Cha Eun Jae I had a lot of issues and so did you. I would have found a reason to break up with you despite how much I love you thinking you would have been better off without me and I would be a man filled with regrets today." He explained to her.

"Yet at this moment I am man overflowing with happiness because I have been through the worst in my life and came out a better person, found a family here at Doldam that values my worth as an individual and as a doctor most of all I have the woman that I've longed for and love for the longest time in my arms."

Cha Eun Jae couldn't have found a better explanation. Because just like him she too realized that she had needed a lot of growing and maturing. Maybe that fateful Valentine's Day needed to happen because life wasn't always a bed of roses. They both needed to face harsh and painful realities to make them impervious and stronger.

Besides, when fate made its mark known however muddled the roads were it will always lead you back home to where you belong.

Seo Woo Jin and Cha Eun Jae will always belong with each other.

Eun Jae without words pulled him in for a blistering kiss where she poured all her love for this extraordinary man. Tangling her hand in his hair she boldly traced his lips with her tongue coaxing them to open for a deeper and fervent kiss. Woo Jin pulled away a bit surprised by her brazenness.

"I told you I'm a fast learner." She whispered in his lips giggling.

Woo Jin took off her coat and pushed her lying down on the small sofa and once again losing himself in her soft sweet lips with no intention of stopping anytime soon.

It's going to be a long night. Murmurs of sweet nothings, warm kisses and entangled limbs with no one but the walls of the Doldam staff room witnessing one of the greatest love story unfolding.

Fin.❤️