Love Never Existed - Hyunsung

[36]

"The one that ripped the cover of my book off..." Jisung withdrew his hands from my face and stepped back, "my...my book..."

"D-do you remember that? I-"

The shock Jisung had displayed on his face soon vanished and this one was replaced by a sudden burst of laughter.

I shut my mouth in surprise as I started to blink repeatedly. I got confused.

After seeing my expression, Jisung wiped a tear from the corner of his right eye and said, "I'm sorry, man, hahaha. It's just that...earlier your clumsiness seemed so familiar to me....but I didn't know from where... Who would have thought that person on the plane was you, huh? How small the world is... Life is so interesting, isn't it?"

He then turned back to the front and kept on walking as if nothing, still chuckling.

I hesitated when he kept on walking. I thought he would be questioning me more. So, I had to rush to him to walk by his side. I really thought he would be more shocked to know that I was that guy, but his shock only lasted like three seconds.

He got surprised, acknowledged me, and then kept on walking?

ONLY THREE DAMN SECONDS! AND HERE I DEBATING WITH MYSELF IF TELLING HIM OR NOT!!

"So...if you remember that event...that means you remembered me...?"

"Ummm, nop. I didn't say that," he commented offhandedly, "I remember the events, the circumstances, what I did, what I said, etc...but the face of the person wasn't stored in my head. I thought I would recognize you if I got close to your face, but I didn't. It was so many years ago, wasn't it?"

Ouch. That hurts.

I somehow felt hurt by the first comment and even slightly lowered my head.

"I also was checking out if you didn't have a mark or something..." He glanced at me then smiled, "you got hit with my book but fortunately you have no mark on your face or head. That's good. It would be a waste if you have something ugly carved on that handsome face..."

However, I lifted my face when I heard the last part. He was still worried about me just like that time and even called me handsome. Again.

I chuckled. I didn't know if I should tell him the same or not. I thought that would be a little awkward for him, so I just nodded in acknowledgment.

"By the way..." I tried to keep the conversation going, "how is your book? That time you said you would repair it, right?..."

He hummed and commented, "yes, I did. Well...pretty much."

"Pretty much?" I asked when I saw him scrunch his nose. Like something bothered him.

"Yeah... The thing is that I tried to restore the cover like it was originally, and I kinda did it...but the section where the name of the author was written was long gone. I didn't notice until I arrived home...so...that's the saddest thing about that..."

"Oh... Is that something bad?" I inquired when a tint of sadness was displayed in his eyes.

That time he looked like he was totally fine by a total stranger ripping his book, but now he looks dejected.

"For me it is...that's a really good book..."

"Oh...but have you ever typed the title and searched for it? Maybe in that way-"

"I've tried...but it was in avail. I bought that book in a small and scrappy bookstore on Jeju island. The seller told me that the books there were from small authors that had printed their own works. So...it was a unique piece..."