Mean to Me | Im Youngmin

Mean to Me - Epilogue

"Why didn't you choose me?"

She lifts her gaze to see the frowning guy in front of her. Not knowing what else to do, she freezes in place.

Youngmin kneels in one knee in front of her and looks straight to her eyes. She is caught off guard that she can't even move away. Thus, their faces are only a few inches apart.

What did he just say? Did she hear it correctly?

"Why does it have to be Donghyun?" Ji-hye is not entirely certain but she sees a hint of loneliness in his soft dark eyes that she can't help but look away.

Her heart begins to thump like crazy in her chest. In the past few years, she has felt it so often due to this guy in front of her that she has decided to call it "the Im Youngmin effect".

Unable to contain her feelings and thinking she's about to burst anytime soon, she musters all the courage in every part of her body to stand up and run away from there.

"Not so fast," Youngmin says as he grabs her wrist. He does it so gently as if not to hurt her, but she flinches because of the sudden physical contact. However, she doesn't turn around.

"I need some answers, please?" His tone melts all her apprehension that she can't help but close her eyes the moment he lets out the words. With these, she turns around to see his pleading eyes, and as she does, he lets go of his hold on her.

That exact moment, she almost asked him out loud not to let go of her.

"I don't actually know where to start," he says as he touches the back of his head. For a moment, Ji-hye forgets what's happening as she gets distracted by Youngmin's bright red locks -- one of her favorite things about him.

She then awakens from her thoughts, and she begins to bite her lower lip in agony. She already knows the questions he has in mind, and the only thing she wants right now is to get over with them quickly because she doesn't know how much longer she could hold up. Every second spent with Youngmin makes it harder for her to breathe.

Youngmin takes a seat on the grass and taps the spot beside him, signaling Ji-hye to sit there.

Ji-hye seriously doesn't know why Youngmin needs to do this. It's as if he really wants to torture her. And she honestly doesn't know why she is following him. She heaves a deep sigh as she takes her desginated place beside him.

"I think this is not the time to be lonely, though?" Youngmin lets off a small chuckle.

Is he mocking her? Her ears begin to ring so loudly that every other noise around them is drowned by it.

Youngmin glances at her and gives her a small smile.

And Ji-hye suddenly feels dizzy. Her heart is beating way too fast; her legs are shaking uncontrollably. Her palms grow cold, and she stiffens.

Seriously, only Im Youngmin can do this to her. Only he is capable of destroying her.

Both in the most sad and most beautiful ways.

"Okay, let me start off by saying congratulations!" He says this with such a cheerful voice that for a second, she believes it is sincere rather than sarcastic. Her lips curl downward.

"I really am very happy for you," he says before taking a long pause.

"But I can't help but feel sorry for myself?" He lets out in a barely audible whisper.

Ji-hye's mind suddenly turns blank. She can't even think of anything at all. She was in denial about it ago, but with his words, she has confirmed her assumptions.