- him
the ticking of the clock can be heard as costumers slowly left the place. a sigh escape minseo's lips as she looked at seungmin fixing his things. he still didn't talk to her after she said her plans and now she was gonna confront him about that matter.
"seungmin." her soft voice lingered in the silent room as he stopped from what he was doing. his back still facing her. biting her lip nervously, she said "i'm sorry."
he still didn't turn around. he heard her, pain was evident in her voice but still, he still wasn't ready yet. he was also angry at himself because he can't find the courage to forgive her and he was frustrated because when? when is he going to stop being selfish and accept her apology? when she's gonna leave soon?
minseo can feel tears building up in her eyes. the eyes are the gates to one's soul, sometimes through this, we can know what they really feel and the words that was left unsaid and sometimes those words are conveyed through the tears we shed.
she walked up to him and held his wrist. "seungmin, please say something. i'm sorry." he gently pulled his hand away from her grasp and faced her. tears were streaming down her face and he ignored every urge screaming at him to wipe those tears away.
"i'm sorry too because i still can't find the courage to pretend that everything's fine. that i'm fine." please let me be selfish, please. just this time. he thought.
she looked down as she slowly nodded. "i— i understand." both of them were hurting each other, they were aware of that but what else can they do? they're just two broken souls trying to fix themselves.
smiling bitterly at her, he patted her shoulder before leaving.
meanwhile, hyunjin looked through the glass door of the shop and saw seungmin leaving. he wasn't the reason why he decided to go there though, minseo was.
he finds it weird how everytime he catches her crying, he has the urge to wrap her in his embrace and let her tears stain his shirt until she's okay. he wanted to protect her, the question in his mind remains unanswered.
when seungmin was out of sight, he walked his way to the shop and opened the door. minseo quickly turned her back to the person who entered the shop and hastily wiped away her tears.
"why do i always catch you crying?" minseo stopped when she heard that voice. hyunjin sighed as he pulled her by her wrist and wrapped his arms around her figure.
the younger girl's eyes widened but when hyunjin started drawing circles on her back, her shoulders shook with sobs as she buried her face on his chest and hugged him back. his hands made it's way onto her soft hair and he gently played with it.
why do i find comfort in a stranger's arms? she asked herself but just like him, her question still doesn't have an answer yet.
words tend to be vague at times, when that happens, the only thing that first comes to our mind is to secure that person in our embrace. for them to feel the warmth they've been longing to feel, away from the cold.
minseo pulled away from his embrace and looked down at the floor. hyunjin handed her a handkerchief
"stop looking down, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. it's fine." she shyly nodded and took the handkerchief.
"thank you hyunjin." she said as she went to fix her things when something came into her mind. "not to sound rude or anything but why are you here?"
"shit. what excuse will i say to her?"
"uh i went here for seungmin but he already left, then i saw you and i decided to take you out, to get to know each other more? if you don't mind." she lightly chuckled and hyunjin's cheek flushed red as he looked away.
she coughed and said "i don't mind."
when she was done fixing her things, she closed the shop and hyunjin quickly pulled her along with him. they stopped in front of a black motorcycle. he rode on it and said "hop on!"
minseo look a little flustered as she stammered out her next reply "i— i'm not really fond of motorcyles." he lend her his hand in which she hesitantly took.
"well, it's not bad to try something different, is there?" before driving off, he wore his helmet and put one on her as he grinned.
"safety first." hyunjin noticed she was hesitating whether to wrap her arms around his waist so he took the first step, gently grabbed her arms and wrapped it around his waist.
"cute." she pretended to not hear his words, her cheeks were tainted red. good thing it was night time.
"hold on tight!" she wrapped her arms around his waist tightly and just like that, they drove off to explore the city of seoul.
hyunjin smirked and decided to tease her a bit. he let go of the handle and spread his arms out. she let out a shriek and hit his shoulder.
the sound of his laughter filled her ears as she found herself smiling widely at the sight of him.
"our first stop!" he took off his helmet and procedeed to take hers off. minseo scanned the area of the place they were currently at. the stars were very visible from where they are, the plants surrounding the area danced as the air hit the thin fabric of her clothing. it was cold but it was comforting.
hyunjin noticed this and quickly took off his jacket to give it to her. "take it. hwang hyunjin never takes no as an answer." why was he so kind? minseo can't help but get shy everytime he treats her as if she deserved every pounce of kindness from him.
"let's go inside! i'm sure you'll like the food there."
"ms. bae!" a young woman turned around, her lips formed into a wide smile as she saw the sight of the boy. there were only a few people in there since it was already getting late.
"oh? you brought a friend, i see." ms. bae said as she sent hyunjin a smirk in which he replied with a chuckle. "she's bang minseo. minseo, meet ms. bae joohyun." minseo bowed while joohyun pulled her into a hug.
"aww she seems so precious." hyunjin mumbled something under his breathe as minseo looked confusely at him. he shrugged and pulled her away from ms. bae and led her to a seat.
"tsk this kid!" minseo noticed a ring on joohyun's ring finger. "she's married huh?" she thought.
the sound of marriage sounded nice to her and she dreamt of living a happy life with the man she loves along with their children. she promised to herself that if it ever happens to her, she'll give the luxury to her future children that she failed to have when she was still a kid.
it sounded nice but right now isn't the right time to think about those kind of things. she let hyunjin ordered their food since she saw how enthusiastic he was. his eyes sparkled and it screams genuine happiness. far different from the hyunjin she saw the night he saved her.
"they have karaoke here, sing for me!" minseo furrowed her eyebrows and looked away from his smiling face. "i— i can't sing."
"i honestly don't care. i wanna hear you sing." he pouted at her causing her to laugh. "no."
"i'll rap for you then." their orders came and hyunjin called someone to assist him since he was gonna rap.
"watch how hwang hyunjin will captivate your heart by his rapping skills!" she mentally facepalmed at him. "you're embarrassing!"
"i made you laugh though so it's okay." he grinned as he put the mic closer to his lips then he started rapping. minseo was rendered speechless at what he said and was in total awe as she watched how the way his lips pronounced every word clearly and how those leave his mouth so passionately.
"i'm a great rapper, aren't i?" he asked her when he was finished, minseo smiled at him "yeah."
when they were done, hyunjin paid and they bid their goodbyes to ms. bae joohyun and continued to explore the outskirts of town. for the first time in their lives, they felt happy, they felt free as if their hearts are clear of anger, envy and melanchony.
"it's already late but i want to show you something. you can let everything go in that place. no one will hear. no one will see. just you and me." minseo nodded and followed him. it was quite dark, the stars are their only source of light.
a sea was the first thing that minseo saw, second was the feeling of sands slightly burrying her shoes. hyunjin patted the space beside him and motioned her to sit down.
silence engulfed them as they stared off the sea, the only sound that can be heard were the waves hitting each other. it was then that minseo realized that she was still wearing hyunjin's jacket. she took it off but hyunjin refused.
instead of wearing it again, she wrapped it around the both of them.
"how did you even manage to find a place like this?" minseo asked breaking the silence.
"i'll tell you that at the right time. for now, it's all about you. i want you to let every anger and sadness out from your heart." he said still not looking at her. his hair was tousled due to the wind making him look serein.
hyunjin reminded her of the sea. he was calm and comforting.
"but if you're not ready, i won't force you." he added as he looked at her with a smile on his face. minseo nodded and averted her gaze into the sea.
"i'll listen."
a tear slid down her face as she heard those words.
in that moment, everything seems to be peaceful. no words were exchange for a fews seconds but they found comfort in each other's presence.
and sometimes, it was enough.