K A R I N A
Two days. it has been two days since Aeri told me to give Minjeong some space. I hate this feeling but I was beginning to get worried. Two days is far too long, and today's weather is not looking good. I needed to find Aeri.
The moment I saw Aeri, she looked at me as if she knew what I would ask her for. "I'm worried about her as well... I don't trust Minjeong, especially with the weather today... She told me she's in the park." She says giving me a warm smile.
"Thank you so much Aeri-ah," I say before running outside the university, hailing a taxi.
It started to rain when I arrived. At a place like this, where would she be? I started searching on the playground and went along the path wherever this park takes. The rain poured harder but that didn't stop me from finding her. I needed to know if she was okay. Not for long, I see a gazebo. When I got nearer I see a figure sitting on the ground, hugging her knees, face buried.
"Minjeong!" I called and thankfully It was her when she raised her head to see who have called her unexpectedly. Minjeong squints her eyes, trying to believe that I was there.
"Karina?" She immediately gets up when I got inside the Gazebo, covering me from the heavy rain. "What are you doing here?" She asks, face full of worry at my form right now.
She takes off her jacket and puts it over me. "I came to look for you,"
"Why? How did you know I was here?" She asks but soon realizes that the only person who knew where she was was Aeri. "Your clothes are drenched." She says, scanning me from head to toe.
"My car is parked not far from the Gazebo, will it be alright for you to run?" She asks me, extending her hand for me to hold.
"B-"
"I don't want you getting sick Karina, I don't think the rain will stop anytime soon." I held her hand and we counted one to three before running our way to where Minjeong parked her car.
When we got inside, I began to shiver because of the temperature in the car. Minjeong notices this and immediately turns off the aircon. She then stretches her other hand on the back seat handing me another jacket.
"What about you?" I shiver.
"I'll be fine. What matters here is you. You were out in the rain longer than me." She explains and I didn't ask any more questions.
"Would it be alright if I take you to my house? I don't think I'd take you to your home in that state." She asks and I nodded. I've been waiting to have a conversation with Minjeong and this is the chance before things get complicated.
"If you don't mind me asking, why were you looking for me?"
"I was supposed to talk to you two days ago when Aeri told me what you were going through. I got worried when it started to get cloudy. I wanted to know if you were okay." I softly explained, looking down at my lap.
Minjeong chuckles. "I appreciate that. But you don't have to worry much. It's been eight years. I'll be alright."
"Minjeong-ah..." I called. She hums in response.
"C-Can I hold your hand?"
"Sure. Are you still cold?"
The jacket helped but I just nodded because I didn't want her to question why I wanted to hold her hand. Her hand slowly reaches for mine and I squeezed when our hands intertwined. Minjeong knows well how to hide her feelings and I hope she knows how much we're here for her.
~~~
When we arrived at her house, she made me use the bathroom first and prepared my clothes for the night on her bed. Ever since I entered her home, I started to think about how to start a conversation with her. I'll have to admit that I didn't even prepare myself for this. I grew nervous as each minute passed, I'm sitting on the couch in the living room waiting for Minjeong who was in the bathroom. I wanted to have this conversation with her because I didn't want us to keep avoiding each other. From the corner, I see her keyboard and I couldn't help but go near it.
"Might as well do something as I wait for her," I mumbled and then softly ran my fingers through the keys.
Title: All I Want (Cover)
I found a guy, told me I was a star
He held the door, held my hand in the dark
And he's perfect on paper but he's lying to my face
Does he think that I'm the kind of girl who needs to be saved?
And there's one more boy, he's from my past
We fell in love but it didn't last
'Cause the second I figure it out he pushes me away
And I won't fight for love if you won't meet me halfway
And I say that I'm through but this song's still for you
All I want is love that lasts
Is all I want too much to ask
Is it something wrong with me?
All I want is a good guy
Are my expectations far too high?
Try my best but what can I say?
All I have is myself at the end of the day
But shouldn't that be enough for me?
"Didn't know you sing and play the piano," Minjeong's sudden voice made me flinch and turn around to see her leaning by the door to her room. How long was she standing there?
"Been here since you started playing," She smiles before taking a seat on the couch and I turned to seat the other way facing her. "What you did there was amazing,"
I grew shy at her remark. "Explains why I rather visit the old music room because I get to use the piano than any places in the University," I say and she smiles at that. Minjeong and I may be different on most things, but I'm glad to know we agree on one thing, and that was using the old music room. It's just you and the room.
"I agree, music major students don't use it now that there are new ones. That room holds a lot of memories because I wrote most of my songs there."
"Were some of them because of me?" I ask and I see her surprised expression but she soon replaced it with a smile.
"Is this why you want to talk with me? To finally have this conversation?" She says calmly and I just nod.
"When did it start?" I ask but I couldn't bring myself to meet her eyes so I just stared at my lap.
Minjeong takes a deep breath, "Freshmen year. I was new to the University and it didn't take long for me to notice you. Then I realized I was crushing on a girl who was out of my league. I started to write songs about you and thought that despite not having the courage to confess. I was thankful for the inspiration and that I'll be that someone who'd admire you from afar."
Hearing this from Minjeong reminds me of the conversations we had when we started to hang out. How she told me her songs were about the girl she likes. How she told me she was out of her league.
"Until that time when we accidentally crossed paths in the old music room." We both chuckled at the memory. I wasn't expecting someone to be using that room. It took us four years. "I remember telling myself that I should get over you because we were now in our senior year, we'll eventually part ways. But then the unexpected hangouts happened which then became a routine for us. I started falling harder. I guess you'll be able to figure out what happened next." Minjeong shrugs.
Of course, she was about to confess until Soobin came, and what she told me about that painful night was still stuck in my head.
"I'm sorry for giving meaning to the way you treat me, the way you used to give me your attention. I sometimes think that maybe, just maybe, that tiny bit of hope that I stood a chance with you."
"Don't worry about me, I'll get over it." She says, finally making me look at her. "I hope you won't feel guilty about it. Because all I ever want for you is to be happy."
Before I could even give a reply, Minjeong beats me to it. "It's getting late, you need to sleep," There's one thing I've learned about her. She truly cares for those who are close to her.
As I sat on the edge of her bed I see her standing by the door. "Have a good night's sleep," She says.
"I should be the one saying that, It's been a tough week, hasn't it?"
"Yeah, but I'll be fine," Minjeong was about to close the door when I called her again.
"What will happen to us after tonight?" Will we remain friends? You won't leave, right?
"It'll be awkward at first, but in time we'll be back to the way we were. Just give me time. I'll move on," The last sentence caught my attention and Minjeong closes the door.
But Minjeong... what if I don't want you to move on?
Am I too late?
To say that I want to give you a chance.
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How ya'll doing? What do you guys think? Hmmm...
I have a feeling that this story will go beyond chapter twenty. We'll see.
Thank you so much for your votes and comments, all of them are appreciated.
Shocking news, Imagination has reached 11k views and 1k votes owo.
I would like to apologize for the errors.