Bodyguard

Advice

"Is this seat taken?" Kim Tan smiled, pointing to the chair across from me. I wiped stray tears from my eyes and nodded. Tan took the chair and sat down, folding his arms and looking at me. "Why were you crying?" He asked, bluntly. 

Wow, there was no way out of that one. 

"Uh.." I struggled to find the right words to describe the emotions I was feeling. Angry, hurt, sad, confused. Lonely, incredibly lonely. I already missed Young-do so much. But wait. I didn't know Kim Tan very well. I only knew that he was really famous in our school, was together with Cha Eun-sang, (a fellow scholarship student now viewed in higher prestige since she was with Tan) and that every time he was mentioned around Young-do, he would get a certain look on his face. Almost like he didn't like him, but in a playful way. 

Oh no, I was thinking about Young-do again. And cue the sadness!

I looked back at Kim Tan. He had a kind expression on his face, and it looked like he would really listen to me. I had nobody to talk to about this at the moment, so I figured why not? 

"Do you happen to know Choi Young-do from school?" I asked. Tan broke out in a really loud laugh. "Yes, I know Young-do." I tilted my head. "Am I wrong, or are you and Young-do not on good terms?" 

Tan sighed. "Yes and no. Do you want the story?" He asked me. I perked up a little. A story about Young-do? Would that make me feel better or worse? Either way, I had been curious about this subject and this was a golden opportunity. I nodded and said, "Sure," to look as if I was nonchalant and on the verge of another mental breakdown. 

"Well, we had issues in the past before. It was about family, but that's a bit too personal. I'll start with the woman who started it all. Her name is Cha Eun-sang. You've probably seen her around before, right?" 

I nodded. "Yeah, I've seen her with you. Aren't you two dating?" I asked. Tan nodded. "Well, that's where the story comes into play. I really liked Eun-sang and so did Young-do." 

I blinked. Young-do liked Eun-sang?

"We have always had that habit of liking and wanting whatever the other had. But Eun-sang was different. It was one of those weird things." Tan rubbed the back of his neck.  "I remember one day, Eun-sang was listening to Clair De Lune around Young-do, and he's had an affinity for the song ever since." 

I had a mental flashback to when I played that same piece when we were in the music room, and he said it meant more to him than I'd ever know. I knew now. It reminded him of Eun-sang. I didn't know whether to think it was sweet or feel a little sad, knowing he may never think of me the way he did of Eun-sang. Would I always be second place in his heart?

"But, now I see him with you." 

I perked up at the mention of me. "What do you mean?" I asked. 

Kim Tan smiled. "He liked Eun-sang a lot. But it's not quite the same with you." 

I sighed. I knew it. He couldn't possibly have liked me as much as he did her. I've just been fooling myself this whole time. 

"He really loves you, more than he did her." 

My heart stopped. He loved me? And he loved me more than her? I put a hand over my heart and looked back at Tan, my eyes threatening to tear up again. "What? How do you know?"

"Because I see the way you two are. I see how when you're walking in the hallway, he's stealing glances at you whenever he can with a big smile on his face. When you're not around, he's constantly looking to see if you'll come out from any door or down any staircase. Even when I talk to him, you're all that's on his mind." 

He leaned forward. "You know, we don't talk too much, but when we do, it's always about you. How pretty you looked that day, how smart you were for helping him with a homework question he had, how angry he was when Rachel was treating you bad." He smiled and looked away for a moment. "And the look he would get in his eyes. I had never seen him like that before. He was truly happy." 

He smiled at me, and noticed that by now I was crying a river. "You make him happy, Seo-yun. Happier than I have ever seen him. And I know that he loves you." 

He sighed. "I feel that way with Eun-sang. And we went through, and continue to go through, many struggles because of our economic status. Our families opposed our love, and still continue to do so, and the kids at school, especially Rachel, used to treat her poorly too. Things have been getting better, but it will never be complete perfection." He smiled. "The important thing is that we trust and love each other and we talk things out with one another instead of letting a misunderstanding get the better of us."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "That sounds an awful lot like what Young-do and I are going through right now. Did you know about this?" 

Tan chuckled. "Guilty. I just spoke to Young-do a few minutes ago and he told me everything. Although I didn't know you very well, I remembered my experience with Eun-sang and told him that he needed to listen to you and hear you out before casting his judgement." My eyes widened and I felt more hopeful. "Well, what did he say?"

Kim Tan shifted his eyes to the right of us and made a gesture to the right with his head. "Go hear it for yourself." 

I looked over and saw Young-do standing across the road. There were tears in his eyes and a sober expression on his face. I rose up from my seat and ran across the street (not even looking for cars, since that's how excited to see him I was) and ran into his arms. 

He hugged me tightly as I sobbed into his chest. "It's okay, Seo-yun. I'm so sorry, forgive me." He whispered, his voice shaky. 

Despite the tears, it was the happiest I had felt all day.