C. EW
The cool breeze of the winter blew past my face sending a shiver all over. I knew it was a sign to start drinking the hot cocoa I ordered.
Just as I was sipping on the warm melted chocolate that gave my throat that sweet warm feeling, Haewon arrived with her own cup of cocoa.
She put on the best smile she could give and said, "Hope I didn't make you wait too long."
"It's fine, I don't have classes for today and I had the cocoa to keep me company," I humored and she just let out a low laught then started paying attention to her cocoa.
Her smile could be said to be beautiful but they were clearly forced. No matter how widely she smiled you could still see the sadness behind her eyes.
The past few months here in London had slowly drained her of who she was.
She became quiet. She lost her spunk. She lost her snark.
Although, we don't really mention it much but I can still remember when I first met her back when i was 16 and still studying in Korea.
It was the usual setting of a company dinner. An overly fancy restaurant used to gloat of what your riches can buy you.
Fancy food that are expensive but never filling and genuinely I was bored out of my mind. I thought I had to sit through another boring adult talk and staring at other people who are supposedly strangers but are basically wearing the same thing. All of them just looked boring, bland, and corporate.
That was until she walked in. When everyone was wearing dresses and pencil skirts, she wore ripped skinny jeans and a baggy shirt, topped off with a shiny red lip that could be mistaken for a bright red ruby.
Even her hair was hard to miss. Long jet black hair paired with bangs that covered her brows.
The whole night, I couldn't help but stare at be in awe of how much she stood up for herself even when her mother made jabs at what she was wearing.
I would be lying if I didn't say she was intriguing.
I have met many girls but she somehow not only managed to break regular beauty and fashion standards but also somehow simultaneously broke society's norms.
Yet here I am watching her slowly waste away into a pit of depression that she can't even admit to herself.
I had even caught her once just crying in front of the bathroom mirror and just cutting her hair. She parted her bangs away and even dyed her hair brown. She took on a new persona to comfort herself somehow. She abandoned her black clothes and started wearing skirts and dull colored clothing.
She became what her mother expected to be, quiet and reserved. The last time I saw her put on her favorite red lipstick was months ago. I wasn't looking at Kyong Haewon anymore, I was looking at a washed out version of her.
I'd sometimes come home from night classes and just find her crying in the living room. Listening to loud music through her earphones. I'd just go straight to her and pull her into a comforting hug as I soothed her back.
She would never tell me what made her cry every time this happened but it was more than enough to know that my embrace helped her stop crying every time.
Although, that didn't mean that I wasn't curious of what made her like this. What happened back in South Korea that caused her to become so withdrawn and often even detached from reality.
I know I had promised her that I'd think about the "no strings attached" idea. But I can't help but want to care for her. As much as many people would like to deny it, when we see broken people, we feel like we have to fix them.
I don't want to admit that to her because I know she's self-reliant. I know she doesn't want to be bothered.
She wants me to think that she's fine and that she just had a change of heart but I can clearly see what's happening. She had surrendered to her mother's expectations.
She lost her willpower.
I didn't realize I was so lost in thought until Haewon said, "Hey, Eunwoo...you good?"
I just smiled and said, "Yes, I'm fine, I was just thinking about something, do you wanna visit Harrods and just kill time?"
"Sure, I don't think there's anything else to do," she said with another fake smile.
Seeing this heartbreaking sight just gave me a new goal. I knew at this point that it was inevitable that our parent's will put us in a contract marriage.
I will find out what's doing this to her and bring back the real her.
And then maybe, if it is possible, I'll be the reason why she can really smile again.
J.JK
I just went along with whatever my parents wanted. I was glad I wasn't pitted with Gu ChoonHee.
I wouldn't last a day with her around.
And not too long ago my parents had introduced me to a girl. The daughter of Manoban Laboratories based in Thailand.
She's really sweet and she gave me comfort. She was one of the very few people that I told about my situation with Haewon.
She would always just smile and tell me, "Jeon Jungkook, you don't have to like me, I know where your heart belongs so if worse comes to worse and we do end up in a contract marriage, I will understand-."
Yet I told her, "No, I may not have feelings for you like Haewon but I will never do you like that, I once lived for the praise and attention of girls but I realized it would only be a lost cause."
"I can't guarantee that this will be an easy road, I hope I'll learn to like you and I hope you stay by my side," I said and she just nodded and comforted me like a friend.
She knew the context behind all this and said, "You're protecting her aren't you?"
I gravely nodded and said, "I don't want to cause her any more pain."
She just patted my head comfortingly then said, "Then I'll do my best to be a good girlfriend-ish, I'm not really sure how contract marriages work but I'll eventually learn."
I just nodded and we both just sighed and looked up at the stars that night. Lisa then said, "I hope you know that even when things get so messy, it will eventually come together in the end."
"I really hope so," I replied.
K.H
I knew what Eunwoo was doing and I really did appreciate it even if I never told him. I was scared of what would happen if I decided to give in to his comfort so I just never said anything.
He saw right through me and as we walked through Harrods I feld a tinge of guilt for not telling him about what has been bothering me.
I gently added a little more grip to his arm which caught his attention when he hummed to tell me that I got his attention.
"Eunwoo, I know what you've been doing," I said and he tried his best to keep a poker face as he asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"Don't play dumb, I know you've been trying to help me out with this terrible depression void I am in," I said quietly and he just stayed silent.
The silence was irritating and so I pulled him into a hug and said as I buried my nose against his neck, "I know that you and I both see that we're walking to an inevitable future so thank you for taking care of me and I promise to take care of you, I promise to return this care you have for me."
To my surprise he hugged me back and said, "It's okay, you don't have to be strong for me, I know that being children of company heads made us corporate slaves but I promise you that I'll do my best to put a smile on your face."
For a moment, a genuine smile creeped on my face only for it to be taken away when I remembered why I was here in the first place.
J.JK
As I watched the night sky with Lisa, a tinge of happiness seemed to shake my spirit for a moment as the cool breeze of the night whisked through our clothes and hair.
Only for that happiness to fade away when I remembered I was here in the first place.
K.H
Jungkook I'm letting you go to protect you.
J.JK
Haewon I'm letting you go to protect you.
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A/N:
Don't worry guys there's still many more chapters to come :))