Mean to Me | Im Youngmin

To Me - 20 (Youngmin's Heart: Part 2)

And Ji-hye gestures for him to stop talking. Because she knows the rest of the story, and she doesn't need to suffer through it all over again. More than this, seeing Youngmin in this state made her hurt twice as much.

Youngmin, however, continues. "Ji-hye... It cost him his life..." And he breaks down into sobs.

"I lost my brother," he says despite the heavy stream of tears on his face. "And all these years, I blamed your sister for it."

Suddenly, Ji-hye feels teardrops fall from her own eyes.

"My family was so devastated that we had to move away," he pauses as he tries to brush his own tears away. "We decided to start anew in this place, so imagine how difficult it must be when suddenly, I encounter a face that is a hundred percent similar to that of the one who I blamed for my twin's death?"

By now, Ji-hye's tears are racing down her cheeks as well.

"But I said I wanted to leave it all behind, so I didn't give it much thought, how you looked exactly the way she does. At first, it fucked me up everytime I see you, so I tried to ignore you," he explains. "And for two and a half years, I was doing so well that I almost didn't feel your existence in my world..."

Ji-hye bites the inside of her cheeks, thinking that if she hurt herself that way, she wouldn't feel the growing pain in her chest any longer. However, it does not help.

"Until I saw you that day when you left Hayoung under the rain. I was so angry because it triggered my worst memory... One that I wish I could forget." Youngmin looks up and blinks rapidly as an effort to stop crying.

Ji-hye doesn't even need to ask. She already knows what he's talking about.

"Starting that day, I started seeing you in a bad light," he says. "I don't know, maybe because apart from your looks, the way you treated Hayoung reminded me of how selfish I thought Jisoo was?" He directs his gaze to Ji-hye.

"But at the same time, I don't know why I was all the more drawn to you," he mutters softly but enough for Ji-hye to hear.

"Suddenly, I find myself stealing glances. I find myself waiting for you to smile -- and painstakingly at that -- considering how rarely you do. I remember you in the simplest stuff I encounter everyday. I notice the little things about you," he says and he gives her a smile, even with tears in his eyes.

He then looks away again. "I was so scared of my feelings that I tried to push you away."

"I thought that if I were rude and mean to you, you'd hate me so much that you would avoid me at all costs, making it so much easier for me to live normally, as normally as I could, again."

Ji-hye feels something heavy in the pit of her stomach.

"But months ago, the day we did the English project and you left early to come here, I came here too."

Ji-hye's jaw drops. Youngmin smiles slightly at this and holds the tip of her chin gently and pushes it upward to make her close her mouth.

"Yes, I did. And I saw you. I heard everything," he tells her. "I found out how you were actually Jisoo's twin, and at first I was so angry I wanted to come to you right then and there."

Ji-hye bites her lower lip, unable to say anything because of the shock she feels from his revelations.

"I'm glad I didn't though," he pauses and reaches for her with his one hand as he is still holding the umbrella above them as steadily as he could. "Because that night, I couldn't sleep. I realized that I shouldn't be angry at you for something you were never involved in, and..." He strokes her hand gently.

"I may be hurting because I lost my twin so early in life... But you must be suffering more because you lost yours without even knowing her."

With this, Ji-hye breaks down. Youngmin holds her hand tight enough to let her know she is not alone. They stay this way for a few minutes. Once Ji-hye starts to calm down again, he continues.

"And then, I felt the need to start treating you better, and no, not because I feel sorry for you, but because finally, I realized how much you truly mean to me."

They stare at each other's puffy eyes in silence for a minute or so.

"But when my birthday came, I went back here to celebrate with Yongbin... And once again, I am reminded how messed up the situation is," he says as he breaks the eye contact.

"Imagine, I fell in love with your twin Jisoo but she fell in love with my twin Yongbin, and they both passed away. I blamed your sister for it. But then, I meet you, and as much as I wanted not to, I grow feelings for you too..." He hesitates for a second but continues. "And I feel like you somehow started to feel the same way..." He bites his lip.

"Fucked up, right?" He then shifts the umbrella to his other hand.

Ji-hye, despite trying not to, feels her hot tears again. She's so tired of crying but she just can't stop.

"God..." He says under his breath. "What the actual fuck is this?"

She cries harder. She bows her head.

"I'm so sorry, Ji-hye," he says as lets go of the umbrella he was holding all along to pull her to himself and to hug her so closely to his chest that she could actually feel his heartbeat.

"I'm so sorry that this had to happen to us."

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Hello!!

How is everyone feeling?

I FEEL SO SAD THAT I ACTUALLY HAD TO STOP MULTIPLE TIMES WHILE WRITING "YOUNGMIN'S HEART"  TT TT

Anyway, I was so nervous that someone actually guessed the plot right, so I'm happy that you were all still surprised by the plot twist (I'M SO SORRY TO SHOCK EVERYONE THAT WAY THOUGH)

We are two or three chapters away from the end, so brace yourselves BYE LOVE YOU ALL