The one you love the most could also be the one who will hurt you in the end.
———
"Where are we?" I ask as Seok-woo helps me step out of his car. I look at the big building that's in front of me. I can't believe it. "Lotte World." We both say at the same time. "But why are we here? It's past their closing time." I ask him. "Trust me." He takes my hand and walks towards the entrance. The gates open and the lights start turning on at once.
"Wow..." I look around the place. The bright lights make the pink color jump out of it's place. The sparkling of the glitters that's literally everywhere. It's so beautiful. "How did you manage for this to happen?" "A friend of mine works here, so I asked him for a little help." I can see how happy he is by saying this.
I've never been this impressed by a man before. It's just a date. The first one. And he already went all out of his way. "I think I might like your friend." I say in a teasing way. "Oh no." He grabs my hand and runs to the first rollercoaster he sees. "Let's try this one." We both put our seatbelts on. An employee comes over to us and checks if our seatbelts are locked well. Later on I hear somebody's voice echoing through the speakers.
"Welcome to Lotte World. I'm here to make sure you're having a good time. Buckle up and enjoy your ride."
Seconds later the rollercoaster starts I can feel the adrenaline rush through my body. Seok-woo is screaming like crazy with his hands in the air. I laugh as I look at him. He seems like he really likes it. The wind blows through his hair, making his middle part turn into a stage of just some messy hair.
As soon as the rollercoaster stops we get out. "More! I want to go in more." I say like a little kid giving Seok-woo my puppy eyes as he looks at me. "I was thinking the same." He walks to another one and I follow him. We go from rollercoaster to rollercoaster. Laughing, screaming, having fun.
We walk in a restaurant and I can see that there's a table set just for him and me. Seok-woo pulls out a chair for me. I thank him and sit down on the chair. "Order whatever you want, everything is taken care of." He sits down in front of me and studies the menu.
"I'm not going to lie but I am impressed, Seok-woo." He looks at me. "Oh? How come so?" "This was just more a date for me to get my card back and you did all of this? You had your friend to take time for our date in Lotte World." A smile is to see on his lips. "You're the first man to ever do this." "I can sense that there's going to be a second date then." "Maybe." The waitress comes over to our table and we order our food.
After eating we walk out of Lotte World. "I called for a taxi so that you can go straight home. Don't want you to drive around late." "Tiana I really could've driven you to your place." He says as he looks at me. "It's fine Seok-woo. I really enjoyed this night with you. I hope we can do this again." I say with a smile. "We will do it again."
My taxi has arrived. "Well I have to go." "Wait. Here," he gives me my card "so you can pay for you taxi." "Thank you." Seok-woo leans in closer and I feel two warm lips pressing against my cheek. They stay there for a few seconds then I feel the cold wind on my skin again. "Good night, Tiana." I get in the taxi. "Good night, Seok-woo." He closes the door for me and the taxi driver drives off.
I lay my head back on the car seat and let out a sigh. I touch my cheek where Seok-woo's lips were just a few minutes ago. How is he so calm and kind? He's so sweet. We actually had fun tonight and it excites me. The car stops minutes later in front of my apartment building. I pay the driver and thank him.
~~~
I went to get some coffee from the coffee shop before heading to work. The weekend went by very fast. I texted a bit with Seok-woo. I got to know a bit more about him but still not enough. I cross over and enter the building.
"Good morn-" I couldn't even finish my sentence as I feel somebody hugging me. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" "For?" Nedati lets go of me and sits behind his desk. "Look Tiana!" He turns around his computer screen and I see an article. "What about it?" I ask confused while passing him his coffee.
"Our. Your interview with RM is everywhere Tiana. You're like a famous star." "What do you mean famous star?" "I have been getting phone calls the moment I walked in my office. So many celebrities want to get interviewed and photographed by you." I can hear the excitement in his voice.
"Wait... is this the opportunity you were talking about?" "YES! Yes it is!" "Am I going to America?!" The joy in my voice isn't even able to describe. "America? No, of course not." "WHAT?! Why not?!" Not going to America? But this was all for America.
"Tiana we just got known all over Asia. NW Magazines is all over Asia. I'm talking about countries as China, Thailand, India, Malaysia, Japan and many more. They want their celebrities to fly over for some shoots or they even want us to fly over there." The smile on his face is unbreakable, he waited years for this opportunity and he finally has it. But I'm not going to America.
"Listen Tiana. Yes, there's going to be a talk about you in America but not too much since you're not RM. They really don't care about the person that's behind the questions. Or the person that's behind the camera." Nedati walks closer to me. "They already have a lot of those in America. If you go there now you will end up having the most worse life ever. I don't wish that on my friends, not even my enemies."
Nedati gives me a hug. "Try to make it here, now. In Korea and other Asian countries so you will get acknowledged in America and have some shoots there." "Thank you." "No need to thank me. I'm your friend, seriously." I smile and let go of the hug.
Nedati goes to sit back on his chair and gets all serious. "There's an award show in three weeks. We're going to attend it. I sent you your ticket." My eyes almost fall out. "An award show?! Since when do we attend award shows?!" "Since you had that interview with RM. You're the first person who interviewed him and then did a photo shoot afterwards. He's not even accepting other magazines to have an interview with or even a simple photo shoot."
"He is not bad looking to be honest. Sad that he already has a girlfriend. The two of you would look kind of cute together." Nedati says while looking at articles on his computer. Nedati knows about my ex, he just doesn't know what he looks like. He doesn't even know his name. I wasn't comfortable to talk about Nam-joon. I felt too heartbroken to even think about him.
"Hmm. Well I'm going." "Wait. Here's my card, go buy yourself an outfit for this weekend. Don't even mind looking at the price tag. Just buy some stuff that you like."
"Nedati I can't. That's too much." "Shut up and go buy yourself an outfit. Don't mind buying a few extra and treat yourself on some nice food." "I swear I don't even know what I have done to deserve you." He looks at me with a smile on his face. "Kiara will take over your shoots for today, you're free, so go." I thank Nedati and walk out of his office.
I never went home with the car Nedati gave me. I take the elevator to the garage so that I can get in my car. I get in and start driving to the mall. After ten minutes I park my car in the garage. I get out of my car and walk inside of the mall. Times Square. It's so big and beautiful. I walk towards the escalator that's going upwards.
So many stores. So many to choose of. I walk in a random store and greet the woman standing there. "Good morning, I had a question. I'm looking for the right dress to go somewhere formal. Could you maybe help me?" I ask the woman, she smiles at me.
"Of course I can. Do you have a view of what type of dress you want?" "Yes I actually do. I want it to be a long dress with a split. It can be simple as long as it has a split." The woman nods and walks further into the store. She shows me a dress. I look at it but am not satisfied.
She keeps on showing me more dresses until I see one dress. I walk closer to dress. This is it. This is the dress. It's a long light beige colored dress with some diamonds on the left hip. It has a split on the left side of the dress. It also brings a diamond necklace with it. "Miss? Do-" "I want this one." I interrupt her. "The dress and the necklace. I want it."
I walk out of the store with a bag in my hand where the dress is sitting. This dress will fit on me perfectly. The only one made ever and it's in my size. Daydreaming about the dress too much made me not look out and before I know it I feel myself fall on the floor. Ouch. That hurts.
"I'm so sorry. Let me help you up." A male voice that I recognize says. I look up just to see Seok-woo standing there. "Seok-woo?" "Tiana?" He sticks out his hand I grab it and he pulls me up. "What a surprise to see you here. What were you doing?" He asks me. "What do people do at the mall, Seok-woo?" I asked him and started laughing.
"Well... yea you're right. Are you heading home?" He asks while pointing at my bag. "No, I'm looking for shoes and accessories to buy. After that I'm going to get something to eat and head home." "Let me help you." He takes my hand and walks me to a jewelry. "What do you need?" Seok-woo asks. "Earrings. I already have a necklace." He nods.
"Rowoon! You're back!" The man inside the jewelry says. "Rowoon? Do you two know each other?" The man looks at Seok-woo and then to me. "Uhh... I was expecting somebody. I thought he was that client, my apologies." He explains. I look at him and give him an understanding look. "So what is it I can help you with?" He asks us. "I'm looking for diamond earrings."
"So you stole the girl her doll because you liked her?" I asked laughing while looking at Seok-woo. "I was five! I didn't know what I was doing." After looking for earrings and shoes me and Seok-woo went to a place to eat. We started to talk about our childhood and ourselves.
I looked at my watch and saw that it was getting late. "It's getting late." I say. Seok-woo agrees with me and gets up. "You got here by car right?" I nod. "Yes." "Let me walk you to your car." We walk to the garage together. Once we arrive at my car Seok-woo gives me a hug. "Text me when you're home. And don't forget it either"
I laugh it off and get in the car. I drive off and turn on the radio. "Today we're going to play a song from a former Korean that went to start his career in America. He recently had an interview and photo shoot with NW Magazines. This is RM with Forever Rain"
The song starts playing. I don't want to listen to his voice but for some reason I'm not changing the radio station. I started to listen to his voice and the lyrics. Who is this about? He sounds hurt in this song. Is this about us? About him regretting what he did? No it couldn't be. I'm not even his first love. Just as the song is about to end I turn off the radio.
Why is he back? Just why? What happened that he decided to come back?
I have been calling his phone for days. Nobody picked up. It kept going straight to voicemail. Why couldn't he just say it in my face? Why did he have to write a letter and break my heart like that? I keep walking until I am in front of his parents house. Would they be home at least? Would they know why he isn't picking up? I open the gate and start walking towards their door. I'm hesitating. What if they don't want me to be here? What if they get mad that I'm here. I ring their doorbell and wait. Moments later the door opens. I see Nam-joon his mother standing in front of me. I can see the pity in her eyes and I just collapse. I started crying in her arms. "Why? Why did he have to break up with me like that?" Her arms are hugging me as she caresses my back. "It's okay Tiana. Please don't cry. He will be back." I slowly get out of her arms. "Be back? W-What does that mean." "He broke up with you because he went to America. He told you that right?" What? I start to feel a bit light in the head. "He broke up with me because he fell out of love with me." His mom looks at me in shock. "That's what he said?" "It's what he wrote." More tears start rolling down my cheeks. "I'm sorry. I'll have to go."
He fell out of love with me and decided to runaway.
~~~
I look at myself in the mirror. The beige dress hugs my curves perfectly. It looks even more better on me than the mannequin. I'm not very confident but this dress is so stunning. I slide my feet in some high sparkly heels and look at myself again. "You're ready to go." Nedati said that he will pick me up around 9 we'll have to be there two hours earlier so all the celebrities can take their time to walk in.
My phone dings before it lights up and I see a notification from Nedati. He's here. I take my little purse and put some make up in it and my other belongings before walking out the door.
When I get outside I see a black SUV with an unfamiliar person at the driver's seat. The door from the backseat opens and I see Nedati inside of the car. "Get in. We can't be late." I get inside of the car and as soon as I close the door the driver drives off.
"We're really going to an award show. I can't believe it. I'm going to see so many celebrities, even celebrities I've never had a shoot with before." Nedati chuckles. "We did this all because of one interview and a shoot you've done. I couldn't thank you more Tiana." I give him a thankful smile and look out of the window.
After a moment the driver stops the car in front of a red carpet. I see so many flashing lights left and right. The car door gets opened and a man takes out his hand for me to hold so I can get out of the car. I wait on Nedati and we walk the red carpet together.
We eventually stop at a wall and let people take pictures of us. I try to smile and pose a bit for the photographers. When Nedati and I think that there are enough pictures taken of us we want to walk off. As soon as we start walking I see someone familiar. I walk over to him and tap him on his shoulder. He turns around and looks at me shocked.
"Seok-woo? What are you doing here?" He moves closer to me to hug me. "I will explain everything just give me five minutes." He whispers in my ear. "By the way you look so good in that dress." I can feel his lips peck a little kiss on my cheek before he lets go of me. I walk back to Nedati and we start looking for our seats.
We kept walking from the back to the front. Just to find our seats. Front row. This is getting better and better. "Why we're you talking to Kim Seok-woo? Are the two of you together?" Nedati turns his head to me. "Hey Tiana, can we talk?" I nod and he takes my hand leading me with him.
"Tiana, I'm an actor." "Why didn't you tell me from the beginning?" "I thought you already knew, everybody does." Really? Is that why Nedati asked why I was talking to him? "You could've told me after." "I liked the fact that you didn't know that I was an actor. A lot of women have used me just because of the fact that I'm an actor and make a lot of money and can give out easy fame."
"Please, don't ever think I will use you. I don't need your fame nor money." I reassure him and give him a hug. "Now let's go back to our seat." Seok-woo and I walk back to our seat while we're holding hands. Cameras are pointing at us as we walk and sit back to our seat. "I might be lucky to have my seat right next to yours." He says. I giggle and caresses his hand with my thumb. His skin is so soft. "I think it's about to start." I whisper in his ear.
"Good evening everyone! My name is Lee Ho-seok and I am your host for tonight!" A big builded man in a black suit and a black tie says. He's holding a microphone while standing on the stage. The crowd starts cheering like crazy. I have seen this man before. Isn't he a singer?
Award after award are given out. People keep walking on and off the stage. Seok-woo and I laugh and talk a little and follow the award show. "Ohhh, this is one of my favorite awards." Lee Ho-seok says while looking at his cards. "The best actor of the year award goes to... Kim Seok-woo!" I look at Seok-woo who's sitting on my right side.
He looks back at me and we both stand up. I give him a hug and he walks on stage. He receives the award with a big smile as he walks towards the microphone.
"Wow, I never thought that I would receive this award again. I feel honored for standing here holding this beautiful award. I want to thank my fans that have always supported me no matter what. I also want to thank my team and friends because of them I've been able to make it until here. There are so many other actors that deserve this award and I hope they eventually get it one day. Thank you."
Seok-woo walks off the stage and sits back next to me. Lee Ho-seok keeps on talking. "I'm so proud of you." I whisper in his ear and laugh. He gives me a warming smile and thanks me. He's in a dark blue suit with a dark blue tie. His hair styled in a middle part perfectly. Can this man be anymore beautiful?
"There's a new category added to the award show. It's called most popular international Korean artist." I keep on talking with Seok-woo and Nedati without listening what the host is saying. "RM!!" I look over and see Nam-joon walking on stage to receive his award.
"It's such an honor to be standing here. It took me so many years to be the person I am today. Hard work eventually gets you where you want to be. I want to thank my family and friends for always being there for me. I also want to thank my fans and producers. But the most important person I want to thank is the woman I love. My first love, without you I wouldn't be standing here."
I look at him and our eyes lock up as he stares at me. He's in a black suit which looks so good on him. Yeah sure go and talk about the woman you love while looking at me. Why don't you just smack me in my face. "We had our ups and downs but we always managed a way to get back to where we are right now. Remember, hard work pays off, thank you."
I walk in the restroom to fix a bit of my make-up. "You know that speech he just gave, he was talking about you." I look in the mirror just to see Nam-joon his girlfriend standing there. "What do you mean? I'm obviously not the person he was talking about." She sighs and looks at me.
"Are you really that dumb or do you act like you are? Why would he say all those things about his first love and look at you? You know that he was talking about you, you just don't want to admit it." She walks out of the restroom leaving me alone with my thoughts.
Me? It couldn't be about me. He literally fell out of love with me. Why would he even think about me? I will not believe that it was me he was talking about. He even confessed during the interview that his first love is that woman.
I walk out of the restroom and bump into someone. "Oh I'm so sorry. I didn-" "Tiana ..." I look up and see his eyes glaring at me. I study his face, looking down at his lips. If you were just mine... I walk past him. "No." I feel his hand grab my arm pulling me closer to him as he embraces me into a hug. I just stand there, frozen, not moving my body.
"Tiana?" I can see Seok-woo standing behind Nam-joon.