They were heading to Seok-woo's parent's house at Ilsan. Ilsan's primary road traffic was not bad today. Hyeyoon took off her jacket and tried to find a more comfortable position in her seat as they entered the main road.
She glanced at her boyfriend once to find the man beside her was driving the car quietly, drowned in his deep thoughts. The girl carefully studied his expressions; he was concerned. It was the first time Hyeyoon saw Seok-woo had that kind of expression; he had lots in his mind.
Seok-woo skillfully maneuvered the steering wheel to the right as he tried to change the lane. He frowned when the other car was increasing speed instead of giving him access to overtake. He looked a bit agitated as he monitored the traffic from the rearview mirrors, detecting other vehicles before speeding up once again when the road was empty.
Being his girlfriend for months, Hyeyoon eventually got used to his character. She knew what she had to do whenever Seok-woo needed his time to think alone. She'd better let him drowned in his mind, tried not to interrupt him. Hyeyoon was worried about him. She wanted to tell him that she won't let him through all this by himself. He always had her by his side.
Hyeyoon was snapped back to reality. She was busy with her mind when she heard Seok-woo let out a heavy sigh. She looked at him before asked, "What's wrong?"
He turned for a second, stared at Hyeyoon, then shook his head. "Nothing, just have a lot of thoughts, I can't focus," he stated weakly.
They were already in his neighborhood. Seok-woo then stopped his car in front of a house; he rummaged something in his dashboard and found a remote. He hit a button then the garage door opened.
Seok-woo drove his car and park inside the garage. He turned off the engine and leaned his head back to the seat. He looked tired and troubled. The girl reached out her hand and slowly massaging his stiffened neck and shoulder gently.
Seok-woo could feel how the massage from Hyeyoon was assuring him. Her soft touches gave him a tingling sensation, and his shoulder relaxed. The girl proceeded and gave him another message on his temple lightly. Seok-woo finally felt relaxed a bit, and his thoughts ease. However, the burden was still there.
Seok-woo opened his eyes and stared at Hyeyoon. He then grabbed Hyeyoon's hand, pulled the girl into a hug, and rested his chin on his girlfriend's shoulder. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and inhaled her scent deeply.
Hyeyoon caressed his back slowly, "You can always tell me whatever you have in mind, love. I'll be a good listener,"
"I have tons of concerns, Hyeyoon. But I'm fine," his voice was deep as usual but sounds a bit tired.
Seok-woo broke the hug and asked her to get inside his house. Hyeyoon nodded then the two of them walked inside the house.
The first time Hyeyoon had ever stepped into his parent's house. She felt a bit nervous and happy.
Seok-woo smiled when he saw Hyeyoon nervously walked behind him. He then grabbed her hand and entered his house after her. Hyeyoon was stunned as she was finally inside. She was astonished by the way they decorated the house. The high-ceiling living room was so spacious as it was connected with the kitchen and the dining room.
They mostly decorated the room in gray and white. Despite the excellent color tone choice, the large windows that let natural sunlight penetrate gave a more aesthetic and warm feeling to the already well-decorated living room.
"Wow, your house is so aesthetic," Hyeyoon tried to give the best compliment, and Seok-woo seemed pleased to hear it.
Seok-woo couldn't help to smile as he saw how Hyeyoon was utterly perplexed by an object as they roamed the living room. There was a large family picture hanging on the wall behind the couch. She walked closer to get a better view of the family picture before turned to her boyfriend and smiled.
"They're beautiful," she said, "Your mom and your sister,"
Seok-woo stared at her with a smirk. "Thanks, and yes, she is," but turned his expression with a cocky grin as he added, "my father is good looking, too," Hyeyoon didn't respond, but she was glad to see Seokwoo's smiling face again.
Hyeyoon scoffed at first, then burst into laughter. She didn't deny it, though. She didn't have to say it out loud; the fact that Seok-woo and his sister inherited their good look from both of their parents.
There was a moment of silence before Seok-woo stared at her again, this time with an intense look.
Hyeyoon turned to him and frowned, "What?"
Seok-woo shook his head. Hyeyoon raised an eyebrow but remained silent. She waited for him to continue.
Seok-woo then let out a sigh, "You praised my mom and sister's beauty, but you never said anything about me?" he protested. Hyeyoon tilted her head and showed him a confused look.
"What do you mean?" she was entirely at a loss.
"You never brought up about my physical for even once," Seok-woo was seen a bit agitated, and Hyeyoon bemused with the hint of insecurity in his tone.
She chuckled, "What do you expect me to say?"
Seok-woo snorted, "Forget it,"
Hyeyoon smiled to see his boyfriend's pouted face and stepped closer to touch his cheek. Caressing it gently, then moved her thumb to his full lips, rubbed it rather tenderly and slowly, which made the young man closed his eyes while enjoying the familiar sensation of her touch on his soft skin.
"Did you know, Seok-woo?" Hyeyoon whispered in a low voice.
"Hm?" Seok-woo now sighed in desperation as he felt the urge to crush his lips immediately to the girl in front of him, claiming her.
But he tried to hold himself and let her proceed, "I'm too shy to admit that you always so good looking to the point I couldn't find a better word to express it. But you should be aware of it how I reacted whenever we were in this proximity. When I react to everything you did to me," she confessed and couldn't help to feel embarrassed after that.
Hyeyoon pulled off and diverted her gaze to another direction, tried to avoid his intense stare. She nervously smiled as she realized how Seok-woo stared at her. He then leaned down to give the girl a light kiss on the lips once. Hyeyoon was stunned for a split second but regained herself fast when Seokwoo grabbed the girl's hand and led her upstairs to his room.
Seok-woo let Hyeyoon sat on the edge of the bed then smirked as he started to strip his jacket. He laughed as he saw how Hyeyoon gulped in front of him; intrigued him to tease the girl more. He leaned down until their face was at the same level, then whispered rather tenderly.
"I need to wash up. You can rest here for a bit," Seok-woo said. Hyeyoon was dumbfounded and lost. When she got her sense back, she nodded in response. She was stunned as she saw Seok-woo took off his shirt and dashed to the bathroom.
Hyeyoon felt slightly embarrassed about how she was affected by his tease. She facepalmed and cursing internally. He was such a tease. Hyeyoon should be aware of that, but she couldn't resist whenever he trapped her in his charm. She let out a frustrated sigh.
To distract herself, Hyeyoon got up from the bed and scanned his room. Her attention landed in one direction. She was impressed as she gazed on his bookshelf. She ran her delicate finger through all the books, scanning the title. Most of his book collections were about technology and math.
Hyeyoon blinked and gave up checking on his book collection. She diverted to his desk, and a book caught her attention. Compared to all the books, that one was out of the genre.
It was a novel. Hyeyoon chuckled lowly as she read the title. "I didn't know he reads Sherlock Holmes," she chuckled.
Hyeyoon opened the book and intended to read it while waiting for Seokwoo when a paper slipped out and fell.
It was a photo. Seok-woo wore a high school uniform, posed closely to a girl. Hyeyoon frowned at first, then turned the picture and read the handwritten letter on its back.
Happy birthday, love.
I wish you a belated birthday.
It would be best if you read something different than those science books
So, I give you this, read it. Then you have to summarize it for me. Hehe
I love you
Seorina
20130807
Oh?
Hyeyoon stunned. She turned the photo again and stared at it one more time. It was the same girl as Seorina they had talked about before. She can't be mistaken. Hyeyoon could feel the familiar sting as she felt before.
Hyeyoon had to swallow the fact that the girl was his ex, and Kim Seok-woo wasn't honest at her, too. Hyeyoon scoffed. How many things she still had no idea about Kim Seok-woo?
Feeling bitter after learning the fact, Hyeyoon put the photo back inside the book. There was nothing she could do about that, though, as it happened in his past. But the fact that this girl called Seorina still kept in contact with her boyfriend slightly disturbed her.
Was there still unfinished business between them? Hyeyoon couldn't help but think it negatively. She let out a heavy sigh and decided to get out of his room, then walked downstairs.
* * *
Seok-woo finished showering about ten minutes later, felt refreshed, and walked back to his room while drying his wet hair with a towel. He frowned to find Hyeyoon wasn't there. He frowned and got out of the room.
"Hyeyoon?" he called out. No answer.
Seok-woo walked downstairs and found Hyeyoon prepared something in his kitchen. The girl was found in front of the sink while washing fruits. Seok-woo grabbed her by her waist and back-hugged the tiny girl, engulfed her by surprise.
"What are you doing?" the girl jumped out a little and shrieking lowly. Seok-woo chuckled when he saw her reaction.
"Seok-woo, you scared the hell out of me!" Hyeyoon slapped him on his arm in return.
Still laughed, Seok-woo apologized, "Sorry," he then turned the girl's body to face him. "I told you to wait in my room. What are you doing here?"
"Preparing breakfast," Hyeyoon answered shortly and pointed to a bread toast she prepared earlier on the dining table. "I brought that,"
Hyeyoon put the fruit she brought on a plate and placed it on the table. Seok-woo gladly sat on his seat and thanked her for the meal.
Hyeyoon sat across him and waited.
"Why don't you eat?" Seok-woo asked her confusedly.
"I ate already. All is yours," Hyeyoon sipped on her water and watched him enjoying his food. "Seok-woo," Hyeyoon called him while he was chewing his bread.
"Hm?" Seok-woo raised his face and looked at Hyeyoon. "Why?"
Hyeyoon was debating whether she should ask about the photo she found earlier or not. Seok-woo put his meal down and stared at Hyeyoon curiously. "What's wrong?" he asked.
The girl looked down to stare at her glass quietly, didn't respond to his question. "Honey?" Seok-woo called her again, and Hyeyoon finally raised her face to stare at him, then shook her head.
Just by then, Seokwoo's phone rang. His sister called.
Seok-woo answered the call, "Yes, noona?"
The next second, like struck by lightning, Seokwoo's expression froze, and his eyes widened. He hung up the call and was puzzled on his spot for a moment.
"What happened?" Hyeyoon asked. Her voice snapped him back to reality, and he numbly stood up. When he regained his senses back, Seok-woo hurriedly grabbed her coat and gave it to her. Hyeyoon ran to him. "Where are you going?"
"We're going back to the hospital; my Dad is in critical condition. He has post-surgery complications," Seok-woo explained to her fast, and Hyeyoon immediately responded by grabbing her stuff and followed him to his car. They rushed their way, driving back to the hospital at high speed.