Bad boy Choi Soobin ||Choi Soobin✔️

16

SOOBIN'S POV

"Wait how old are you both again?" I asked, curiously.

Only because they both looked so young yet so old at the same time.

"We're both twenty-three," Maki answered with a small smile as his eyes traveled towards Starbucks, landing on Aera and his twin brother, Taki who were messing around as they both waited for their order. "But, I'm older than Taki by five minutes."

My mouth formed into a perfect 'o' as I nodded before closing my mouth.

We have walked all the way to the mall since Taki didn't want to drive in his dad's car and I somehow lost my car keys amongst my clothes back in Aera's room. I made a mental note that I would need to find it before we returned home. I sighed, my hands running down my face as I remembered the conversation I had with my parents before I left.

"Soobin, you don't need to be there," my mother had said, concern plastered on her face. "You don't need to see Aera's parents."

"Her father requested me to accompany her," I had replied, clenching and unclenching my jaw. "And if it brings back her memories, then I would give up anything and everything."

Eomma bit her lip, looking at my father who hadn't even said a word during the conversation but only looked at me with disappointment. I rolled my eyes, expecting that look from my father since I was basically used to it ever since I was fifteen, not living up to his expectations yet he didn't check on me or my school grades.

"Oppa, are you leaving me?" Sooyeon asked, tears welling up her doe eyes.

It pained me to see my little sister sad because my parents had never really paid any attention to her since they were so busy.

I sighed deeply as I crouched down to her height, "I'll be back before you know it Sooyeon-ah," I answered with a smile.

"Promise?" she had asked with her pinky out.

I chuckled and nodded, hooking my pinky with hers before locking the promise with our thumbs. Sooyeon leaped in excitement before rushing back upstairs where our butler was meeting her to help her clean her room. I looked at my parents who only sighed heavily, my father walking away towards his office whereas my mother kissed my forehead before following him.

"Soobin, do you know them?" Maki asked, nudging me as it brought me out of my world in the process.

I looked up to see three girls whispering to each other and pointing their phones at me, assuming to either Snapchat me or take a photo of me. If I hadn't met Aera, I would go up to them and use my best pick up lines and easily flirt with them to make them swoon at my feet but now, I felt like my perspectives had changed. So instead of flashing them the smile, I let my eyes travel towards Aera who was looking at her bottle of water with satisfaction.

"No," I simply answered.

"Well, they look like they want to get in your pants," Maki informed me as I rolled my eyes.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" I asked out of the blue.

The words were on the tip of my tongue.

"I do have someone that I have a certain crush on," Maki answered distantly, his eyes trained on Aera. "But, Aera needs me."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"We're going to Sephora!" Taki shouted, waving like a maniac before taking Aera by the wrist and already pulling her to the store.

"We'll wait for you here!" Maki shouted back in response before looking at me with a heavy sigh. "She hasn't told you?"

I shook my head, still confused.

"This is between me and you," Maki whispered with a serious tone of voice. "This is Aera's deepest secret."

I arched an eyebrow. "What makes you think you can trust me?"

"Yah, I know who you are," Maki answered with a laugh. "You were there for Aera and I also know that you have a thing for her. I even know that you were in a lot of her childhood photographs that she has kept in her room."

"How do you know this?" I asked suspiciously.

"I'm one of Aera's most trusted people in the whole world."

I nodded my head slowly, understanding him a bit.

"When Aera was 10," Maki started slowly, his breath shaky. "She was in a car accident with her mother. Her mother recovered quite quickly but it was such a horrifying car accident, one that I wished Aera wasn't in. One of the air bags in the car didn't work so Aera had hit her head quite hard and her injuries were most severe since the car crashed into her side."

The pieces were starting to be placed together.

"She was in a coma for a few months and when she had woken up, she suffered from memory loss but only bits of memory of her childhood were taken away," Maki continued as he sighed, looking up at the bright, blue sky as the sun radiated on our skins. I leaned in as I listened intently. "She doesn't remember the car accident or anything before that but she does remember her father leaving her and how she had traveled for two years to get away from him."

My heart beat was increasing because never have I ever thought that Aera had suffered something like that at such a young age. I sighed ans i looked around, now knowing why she doesn't remember me or anything about her childhood. My eyes came across Aera who was being practically dragged by Taki from store to store with an annoyed facial expression yet I saw a smile playing on her lips.

"But that wasn't all," Maki whispered catching my attention as my eyes drew towards him, his fists clenched. "When my father married her mother, he was very abusive to Aera for a few months when her mother wasn't around and of course, Taki and I didn't know until bruises on her body parts and cuts were visible."

"Are you serious?" I asked in disbelief, disgusted by the images that I was imagining in my head.

Maki nodded. "That's why we're so protective of Aera."

I nodded, speechless until something hit me. "Her father's an FBI agent, maybe if I told him-"

"Do not tell anyone," Maki interrupted with a cold tone of voice. "Aera will tell you when the time comes. We tried so hard to trigger her memory but nothing's working."

Before I could say anything, Aera and Taki was approaching us with huge smiles on their faces and a lot of shopping bags on both of their arms. Maki and I watched Aera's huge smile disappear and as soon as she got closer to us. She placed her bags down, her eyes searched my face as if she was trying to find out what I was hiding. It was too late to plaster on a blank facial expression for her eyes had already widened. Her eyes traveled towards Maki who instantly looked down avoiding any eye contact with her before meeting my eyes again.

They say it all.

Betrayal and hurt were shown.

Taki sat next to Maki who was bemused as he scratched the back of his neck whilst his eyes traveled amongst the three of us.

"あなたは彼に言ったでしょ?"(You told him, didn't you) Aera asked Maki as she glared at him. Her voice soft and fragile as if she was going to break down anytime soon.

Maki gulped audibly and closed his eyes, inhaling and exhaling. "どうやって知ったの?" (How did you know)

Aera scoffed. "あなたが彼に言ったのは明らかでした." (It was clear that you told him)

"アエラ, 彼を覚えていますか?" (Aera, do you remember him)

A hope sparked in my chest as I made eye contact with her. I knew Aera was racking her brain once again by her clenched jaw and her eyes, focusing very hard on my face but tears were starting to well up, knowing that she was frustrated. "He's Soobin, the guy I met through Harin."

I felt as if I have been punched in the stomach hard, then left my insides empty.

"I can't believe you told Soobin." Her words were cold and stern.

And with that, Aera walked away and without a glance back as she disappeared in the noisy crowd. Maki gathered her shopping bags before following after her whereas Taki grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me forward, the both of us running after Maki.