Unexpectedly Meeting You Again

twenty-nine

Areum watched as Heeseung threw all the rubbish into the dustbin. Minhyuk was already sleeping on his bed since he was so full. The doctor was about to leave until she poked his back gently.

He turned around and gave her a confused look. She breathed out, "I can't walk."

"If you can come here by yourself, you can walk," Heeseung said before walking out of the room. She chased after him and winced in pain. He turned around and sighed before approaching her.

He squatted down, "Hop on."

She looked around the hallway, her lips curving into a small smile. She immediately got on his back and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Stop moving. You're going to fall," he frowned.

She rolled her eyes and inhaled his scent, smelling the same cologne she always buys for him before. The memory of him almost kissing her the other night crossed her mind, making her blush.

She tapped his back and hopped off, holding his shoulder to balance herself. "What happened, Areum?" He suddenly asked. She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, wanting to avoid the question.

He held both of her shoulders, "Answer me."

She sat on the bench and lowered her gaze, fiddling with her fingers. He sighed and squatted in front of her so that their faces were on the same level. His eyes bore into her so intensely, making her heart fluttered.

"No. I'm too embarrassed."

"You don't have to be."

He stood up before sitting next to her. She pursed her lips, hesitant to tell him the truth. She was amazed at how far he had come. Even though she got first place during the final exams, her life wasn't so perfect.

All the expectations people put into her to be perfect was burdening her. She envied Heeseung for having a perfect life. A successful neurosurgeon who doesn't have to worry about other people's opinions.

After the breakup, her first goal was to have a successful life and compete with him. She thought she had a caring boyfriend, a perfect job, a perfect family. But it all started crashing down.

"You might think I have a perfect life, a caring boyfriend and a perfect job. Just because I got the first place in that stupid final exam."

"Hey," he patted her back gently to comfort her. She exhaled heavily and clasped her hands tightly. "It has been months since Ni-ki noticed that Beomgyu was changing. But because he was a sweet guy when we were in high school, I was too blind to see that. He would come back home with my favourite flowers, tie my hair all the time, let me lie down on his lap while he reads a book. I didn't know what changed him."

"I did notice he has a temper and he's also a bit controlling. But I thought that was a normal thing. Until one day, when I was visiting his office, I saw him beating his workers just because they couldn't get a company to collab with them."

"When I came home the other day, he saw the scarf that you gave me. He knew I gave you the scarf and he immediately knew I met you that time. So he got angry and started kissing me. I tried to push him away so he pushed me off so hard that I hit my head."

"Areum-ah," Heeseung's heart dropped, shocked to hear his ex-best friend became like that. "I tried to escape but he hid my car keys and phone. So I tried to threaten him with a gun that I got from Ni-ki. It turns out he was also aiming a gun at me," she continued.

"I couldn't shoot him to death. I'll get arrested and he has a powerful, wealthy family. I'm scared that his parents will harm my parents. So I shot his hand so that he couldn't touch me. And it's also to stall him for a while so that I can escape. That is when he shot my shin."

"I didn't know he would do that. I thought you guys are happy and–"

Areum immediately stood up, feeling annoyed. "That is the problem, Heeseung. People would think I'm being dramatic since I have such a perfect life. A boyfriend who provides home and food for me. A boyfriend who pays for the bills and just let me live happily in a penthouse."

"The truth is, I'm not happy. Do you know how many times have I reached out for help to my parents? And they thought I was just being petty and unreasonable because he's such a 'sweetheart'. Even though Ni-ki knows that he's toxic, he couldn't do anything."

Heeseung stayed silent. He watched as Areum breathed in and out, trying to calm herself down. She turned around to face him, "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't lash out at you like this. I–"

He immediately pulled her into his embrace, patting her back in a comforting manner. Her heart thumped quickly as butterflies started dancing in her stomach.

"I'm glad that you told me this," he said with his soft voice. She hesitantly hugged him back, burying her face into his chest.

I missed this feeling. Just keep hugging me, Heeseung.