The staring battle had started but it was hardly called a battle.
Sunwoo was looking into the galaxy inside her eyes with sorrow which at one point he felt the tears brimmed under his eyelids. His heart wrenched so much upon seeing her within this proximity. For, she wasn't the Chae Soobin he used to see.
At the bleacher where he'd dragged her to, even under the not-so-bright sun behind the thick cloud, he still managed to see her raw broken soul.
Minju and Jacob were right about her not doing well. And what had broken him more was, she suffered because of him. However, he doubted if she would admit it if he asked. Probably, she would say that it was because of Juyeon.
But then, contrary to Sunwoo's stare at her, she on the other hand was looking at him with hatred which the boy wondered why. If she missed him so much, why should she breathe heavily as if she was holding back a wave of anger welled up inside her?
"You're fine, right?" Carefully, the boy asked. His breath eventually hitched as the girl was seen clenching both her hands beside her frame.
No reply.
Sunwoo gulped, suddenly it was scary. But, it was understandable. Looking back, it was really, his fault. Not only did he believe the rumour Juyeon told about, but he didn't even care to ask her directly about it. She must have been too disappointed in him.
"Noona..." Sunwoo took a step closer, his lower lip was bitten - hesitancy was taking control of him. "I'm sorry."
Silence.
He huffed while squeezing his eyes. "I-I was wrong. I broke the promise I made. I understand if you are mad at me."
The confession was made in a breath, he simply was rapping. There was this desperation urging him to throw the ego aside and be honest about the regret and guilt built from the deep pit inside his stomach. Only that had to be done if he didn't want to lose Chae Soobin.
"Noona?" Sunwoo unknowingly tilted his head as he dived further into her eyes. It concerned him that her lips quivered and trembled and the movement of her chest rose and fell. She seemed to be holding back tears. "Did Juyeon hurt you? Where?"
Thud.
Soobin lightly hit his chest, right beside his heart as if to give it a shock. If that was her true intention, she had succeeded because Sunwoo was unable to say or question anything about her action. He just stood there and gladly received the hit.
One more hit and another and another. From the hardest to the softest, and from no tears to a wave of stream, at the fifth hit, she let out her voice - crying.
"Why did you take so long?" she questioned at the sixth and the seventh she said, "I've been waiting..."
"I'm purposely not getting over you because I thought you would come back," was what she said at the eighth. "But, you moved on so fast!"
On the ninth attempt, Sunwoo held her wrist which was covered under the knitwear. She was a crying mess, her head falling forward as the beads of tears fell directly to the ground. The sight immediately formed a lump inside Sunwoo's throat, he huffed as his free hand tucked her baby hair.
"Who said I've moved on?" He said lowly, his voice became deeper. "I wasn't and wouldn't."
"R-Really?"
Sunwoo softened at her question though he painfully smiled when he nodded. Her voice contained too much pain and he needed to bite his lip next to avoid any tears spilling.
It was all his fault.
"I shouldn't have left you. I should've protected you." He brought her hand that he held down, and slowly let it free. "I'm sorry, noona."
Chae Soobin took a few moments to study him because this was a new thing. She'd never picked anyone she had thrown back, let alone heard their explanation of what they'd done. Nonetheless, Sunwoo was a different case. Though deep down she knew, she would've believed him even if he was lying, she took the opportunity to plant every feature on his face inside her brain.
She missed this sight too much.
"Kim Sunwoo," she called, her gaze lingering on his heart-shaped lips before she forced them to move to nowhere over his shoulder. "Don't call me noona."
Shocking.
Sunwoo dramatically gasped, a hand on his chest and jaw slightly fell.
"Then..." He furrowed his brows, thinking the hardest. "Should I call you, baby? Darling? Honey?"
He emphasized the last word as he closed the gap of their faces to tease her. She flinched, taken aback by the bold move and the unexpected suggestions.
"Hey!" She lightly pushed him but Kim Sunwoo was all about exaggerating. He stumbled dramatically, and the size of his eyeballs increased as Soobin pointed to his face. "I like that."
At that, he once again gasped but this time it was a genuine reaction he didn't know he would give. A small part of him was confused, his dark eyebrows eventually knitted as he tried to understand further.
However, when Soobin cleared her throat and went past him, a realization finally struck him. He internally screamed as he punched the air.
"We are official now, don't we?" He excitedly asked which Soobin loudly hummed confirming the question. Sunwoo screamed under sealed lips, the adrenaline was now jerking to the maximum level.
Chae Soobin is now my girl, only the simple thought made him feel so ecstatic, so alive.
He never thought that this would be possible. Specifically, after the long roller-coaster ride to get here.
"Hey, wait for me. Let's go together," Sunwoo yelled but had no intention to fasten his steps. Somehow, watching her shyly walk ahead to avoid him seeing her face was cute. "Chae Soobin, oppa is calling you..."
Right there and then, the anti-romantic girl abruptly halted, swiftly turning on her heels. She was frowning and eventually scoffing when she saw the smirk on his face. She swore one day she would wipe those smirks off. But, that was only a plan because who knew if she would have a second thought later.
"I don't like that," she scowled but Sunwoo being Sunwoo, chose to be annoying as he let out playful multiple sounds from his mouth, his eyes rolled up to the sky as he scooted closer to her until he managed to reach for her sleeve. "You're so annoying."
"Annoyingly cute?" He tilted his head in front of her face, the widest grin on his lips.
By now, Soobin could confirm that her toes were curling inside her sneakers, the urgency to throw up was now had reached her throat. Nonetheless, she had to admit, that he was right. He was annoyingly cute and it felt so wrong how one body could hold 3 to 4 personalities. She wondered how he could switch himself in the blink of an eye anytime he wanted.
Just like right now, when he switched off the cute button and replaced it with a hot guy who deserved the whole world.
Soobin couldn't predict what was on his mind. Why his face seemed to be closer to hers as the time ticking making every feature prominent which her eyes couldn't resist from looking at that sharp jawline. Or why his grasp on her sleeve seemed to be tighter or...
And it back to normal when a dolphin voice shrieked, accompanied by a singing scream that sounded like Beyonce's song.
"Boys..." Soobin said lowly, chuckling next at the disappointment on Sunwoo's face as he pulled away. "I see... You're thinking to do something."
"What?" The boy asked back in disbelief, both of his hands cupping his waist. "Don't you feel the same as me? To..."
"Nope. I'm sorry, but can we take it slow?" Her hopeful eyes seemed to be telling the truth, they were representing her feelings - that she wasn't ready. So, Sunwoo pursed his lips, assuring her that he understood it well.
So, the girl then paid her full attention to his male friends who hysterically watching them. Changmin had his eyes covered while Kevin covered his open mouth, shrugging everything off as soon as he had the lovebirds' attention.
"They are asking for Sunwoo," he said, casually placing a hand on Changmin's shoulder.
"Who are they?" Soobin asked back, not quite catching the context.
"Them - who took Juyeon away," Changmin then added, pointing in the direction they came from.
But, Soobin flinched, her heart skipped a beat. Only one question conquered her little head - Why do they want Sunwoo?
However, when she looked over at the boy, he looked calmer than ever. No hint of scared or worry, he even popped his neck before announcing that they should go now.
"What's going on?" Soobin grasped his sleeve before he could go farther.
"I did everything I could..." He started, staring deep into her eyes. "To take you back from Juyeon."