Start Again

Chapter Sixteen

Joon Soo

A whirlwind of emotions brewed inside me as his name left her lips. Adam. I couldn't explain exactly what my feelings were and why I felt them, but for some reason I couldn't help but dislike him, whoever he was.

"Why did you break up?" I asked her.

"We were..." she started, "we became different people. Or at least, he was different. He wasn't the guy I met anymore. I felt like I lost a part of myself trying to match the person he wanted me to be. I wasn't happy anymore. We grew apart I guess, so I ended it."

I could tell she was avoiding something. Whilst what she was saying may have been truthful, she was holding out on a lot of the details. "Was that the only reason?"

She bit her lip as she hesitated. "Pass."

Why did she pass it? What happened between the two of them? Why will she not tell me? I wanted her to talk to me about it. I already didn't like the guy. I didn't want her bottling up these feelings anymore. I knew she was probably still hurting because of him and I wanted to rid her of that pain. I knew she could only get over him if she spoke about him. How would she ever like me back if she didn't get over him? This thought led me to my next question. "Is there someone..." I mumbled, and realise I wasn't talking loud enough. I looked her in the eyes and spoke more loudly. "Is there someone you've met in Hanguk that you like?"

"Yes," she barely made audible.

My heartbeat quickened as the next question left my mouth. "Who?" She didn't know many guys here that I knew of. I was excited and scared at the same time.

She looked down beside her and then looked back up at me and smiled.

She liked me? Did she? Is that what that smile meant?

"Twenty questions are up."

My hopes crashed down right there. "What? No. They can't be!"

She picked up her phone and held up the notes. Four lots of five tallies filled the screen. "I've kept count."

"But the pass one doesn't count! It means I get another question."

"No you don't. You didn't specify that so you don't get another question."

"That's not fair."

She shrugged. "Life's unfair."

I wanted to make her happy enough that she'd never say things like that.

"Shall we move on to the next venue?" she asked.

A sigh left my mouth as I finally realised I wouldn't get my answer. Maybe one day she'd tell me. "Sounds like a good idea."

*

After packing up our things, we headed off to the nearest shopping centre and started walking around. Audrey's eyes grew wider with excitement the further we walked as she looked through the windows at the displays. However, despite her obvious desire to go in, she refused to enter the stores until eventually I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her in one.

It was a clothes store only for women, so I had nothing to look at other than Audrey as she bustled around, admiring the clothing.

"Annyeonghaseyo," a shop assistant greeted.

"Annyeonghaseyo," Audrey said back.

The shop assistant turned to me. "Is there anything your girlfriend needs help with?"