BEHIND THE SCENES

chapter 70: a turn for the better

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Chungha sat at her table, watching the CCTV footage at twice its usual speed, keeping her eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. The office was now all dark, the lights were off and she was the only one left, browsing through the footage.

"I lost, Kim Chungha... I lost, you won."

Hoseok's voice rung in her head as she pushed away from her laptop, rubbing her eyes a little and trying to focus. She wanted to solve this case as soon as she could, but the same, her mind kept on wandering - she kept thinking about the incident earlier on that night.

She really wasn't expecting Hoseok to give her a surprise hug out of the blue. After he said those words to her, the two of them just stood in each other's arms, in the middle of the office in complete silence. Chungha didn't know what to say, or what exactly Hoseok had meant when he said that he had lost and that she had won.

It did feel nice though, to finally be back in his arms - his familiar embrace, his familiar scent, his sturdy arms wrapped around her frail body. The same embrace that got her through cold rainy nights back in university and that same comforting scent that filled her nostrils every time she was sad. He was there for her so often, but she chose not to focus on the good, but on the bad. Overwhelmed with memories of the past, Chungha soon closed her eyes and tried to hug him back, but as soon as she got into it... he eventually pulled away.

"I really wanted to this for a long time now," Hoseok said, holding Chungha by her shoulders firmly and staring fondly into her eyes. "For four whole years, I missed your embrace, I missed your smile, I missed your laugh, I missed your gentle kisses on the top of my head, but most importantly, I missed... you."

Chungha swallowed hard as she looked into his eyes. Jung Hoseok, I missed you too. For four whole years, I missed you too.

"For the two years we weren't together, I buried myself in work, I tried so hard to forget you..." Hoseok's voice cracked. "But no matter how hard I tried to distract myself, I always found myself going to the places we've been to together before. I went to your house, I went to cafés and sat at the same tables we sat at, I even went to the place we first met. For this entire four years, not a single moment did I forget you."

Chungha pursed her lips, not knowing where to look.

"I understand your fears," Hoseok said calmly. "It took me quite a while to get it and in the process, I know I've been quite a burden to you with the way I kept chasing after you without stopping. But anyway, I finally understand now... and I want to assure you know that your fears are extremely valid, and that I completely respect your feelings... regardless of what they are."

Chungha had no idea where he was going with this.

"So what I'm saying is..." Hoseok carried on, as if hearing the words of Chungha's heart. "I know you are confused and conflicted. There is another much more competent, rich, debatably more good-looking nice guy who is also after you. You could very well avoid the risk, forget about me and start fresh with him. It's that simple for you... but I know you're hesitating because of old time's sake."

For some reason, Hoseok managed to nail every single conflict in Chungha's mind - something she hadn't been able to do for the longest time ever.

"I don't know how you feel and what decision you'll make..." Hoseok bit his lower lip, glancing briefly at the floor before looking up at Chungha once more. "But regardless of what it is, I respect it. However, because I cannot help myself as well... I just want to tell you that I'll be right here waiting for you. Quietly, patiently. Even if you turn away, I'll still be at the same spot, waiting for you to come back to me."