As I have nothing to give you, I give you my heart (IU Verse Book#1)

Chapter 38

     He greeted the guests with his hands folded respectively in front of him. He saw unfamiliar faces; his mother's colleagues and acquaintances were there. They held each other as they cried at the loss of their friend, and he had to look away in order to prevent his own tears from falling. After they had each paid respect to his mother, they all greeted him goodbye, gave him sympathetic looks, and left one by one. His colleagues came next, each gave him a pat on the back in which he smiled gratefully at them, silently thanking them for coming. After they had left, Hyori came and greeted him first before paying respect to his mother, and after her came Sangsoon. They both gave him encouraging words and he smiled gratefully at them. Sangil also came and gave him a tight hug.

     The last few guests on the list were Jieun and some of the team members, who were the people he wanted to see the most, especially Jieun, but they weren't here yet as they're coming from Seoul. (He had arrived here the day prior to arrange the funeral.) He found himself feeling hopeless by the minute. It was late evening, and the guests were already leaving one by one. He also saw Hyori and Sangsoon getting up to leave. He leaned against the wall as his heart sank. Feeling heartbroken, he slid onto the floor and sat there, hugging his knees and buried his face in his arms.

     The sound of heels clicking brought his attention, and he looked up to find her walking gracefully towards him. His eyes landed on her soft ones, and his lips automatically tugged upwards as he stood up and moved towards her, greeting her with a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around him as soon as he was within her reach.

     "I'm sorry I'm late. We didn't know there was going to be so much traffic. We should have left early if we had known." She said softly against his shoulder. He told her that it doesn't matter. As long as she's here.

     They broke away. Jieun gave him a small smile before going to pay respect to his mother. Hanteo and Seri and a few members of her team were right behind all, all of them giving him a tight and supportive smile. Hanteo patted him gently on the back as he passed him while Seri and Sangin each gave him a long hug.

     When the remaining guests settled on the dining room and filled their plates with food, Jihyuk remained sitting against the wall next to his mother's coffin. Jieun sat beside him, having no appetite to eat. Jieun had her hand on Jihyuk's the whole time they were sitting. She noticed the glances that her colleagues threw at them, but she didn't care at the moment. She knew that Jihyuk needed comfort the most in this time, and she was going to be there for him. 

     With that simple gesture, her colleagues could sense that there was something going on between the two, and as each of them looked to one another and to Hanteo and Seri, who both gave them a look that confirmed it all, they left the two alone and talked amongst themselves.

     Jihyuk tried to clear his thoughts away, trying not to think about his current situation as he turned to Jieun to give her a small smile. "I'm sorry. I was so focused on my mother's funeral that I didn't ask how you were doing. With Sujin ssi and all that." Jieun shook her head as if telling him not to apologize as she gave him a small smile before casting her gaze forward. "I didn't expect her out of all the people to do this. But after listening to her, I understood why she did what she did." To her surprise, she heard Jihyuk let out a low chuckle. "At the end of the day, no matter what happens, you always see the good in people." He said, smiling weakly at her. Jieun shook her head despite herself and squeezed his hand, giving him an encouraging smile. "I think that's what we both have in common. We can't help but see the good in people. I hope that never changes."

     Jihyuk looked into her eyes and when he took a glance at the dining room and saw that no one was paying attention to them, he leaned in and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Thank you for staying by my side." He said sincerely. Jieun's smile broadened as she gave his hand another squeeze. "Always."