You & I

💮 Part 22 - How Can I Say 💮

Myung was finally discharged from the hospital. She stayed at her apartment, and her parents were going to accompany her until she got better.

"Mom, Dad, I'll be fine, really. You guys should find a flight back to America soon. You know how the weather acts up," Myung said as she sipped her hot tea. Her mother sat on her left side, holding Myung's hand. "Now, do you want to get rid of us already? We have so much to catch up on," her mother gleamed. Her father sat down on Myung's right side. "And we need to talk about the lawsuits. I WILL be suing that girl who did this to you." her father said in a rough voice. "Now, Dad," Myung tried to comfort her father, "Her family has already taken care of her. The family moved out of the city. It's all good now." she said.

"I still don't like it! They just run away like that! I swear, rich people..." her father stood up, and went into the kitchen. Myung's mother lowered her voice, "So....how's Joon? You haven't talked much about him since that video call where you introduced him!" Myung sighed. She had yet to tell her mother about the breakup and about Jae. But he was gone, so did it matter anymore? And Myung never had time to contemplate about her feelings for Joon. "Uh, he's fine, Mom," she said. Well, I'm not lying. "Oh! That's good. He's such a nice boy, and you two would make beautiful babies!!" she laughed, covering her mouth. Myung lightly pushed her mother. "MOM!!!!" she yelped, embarrassed. It's nice to spend some time with my parents.

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A little later after practice that night, Joon headed over to Myung's apartment. It was cold out, and Joon bundled himself with a thick hoodie, a scarf, and a beanie. He knocked on her door while holding a bouquet of flowers in his other hand. As the door opened, it was Mrs. Cheong who answered. "OH! Joon! What a lovely surprise!!" she said excitedly. Joon bowed, and gave her the bouquet. "Very nice to see you in person, Mrs. Cheong," he smiled, showing his dimples. Mrs. Cheong was flushed. She grabbed the bouquet and laughed. "Oh, Joon, you know how to make a woman happy. Those dashing dimples...." she went on. "Joon!" a voice called out. Joon looked, and it was Myung. Mrs. Cheong walked away, still fangirling. "Joon! What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I texted you that I would be coming. I just need to talk to you," Joon said. As he talked, his breath can be seen in the air. "Oh! Come in, I'm sorry. It must be cold outside." Myung opened the door wider, allowing Joon to walk into the apartment. "Thank you," Joon took off his shoes, scarf, and beanie. "JOON-A!! Won't you be joining us for dinner??" Mrs. Cheong called out. "You might as well. There's no winning with my mom." Myung chuckled.

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For dinner, fish soup was served paired with a plethora of banchan and rice. Everyone sat at the table, eating happily.

"So, Joon, how is the idol life for you? Your group is becoming quite famous in America," Mr. Cheong asked, scooping a spoonful of rice to eat. "It's going well. We're currently working on a new album. I'm so proud of our group making it so far." Joon smiled as he sipped his water. He glanced at Myung, who was also staring at him. They both laughed. We've known each other for too long, maybe I should patch things with him? Myung thought.

For the rest of the dinner, they all joked and laughed, enjoying their time. "And I went back there because her pillow was too damp!!" Joon finished telling a story about when Myung's pillow in the hospital. Her parents laughed out loud. "Oh my!! Myung has always been picky about her bedding!!" Mrs. Cheong giggled. "Just like her father!" Mr. Cheong slapped the table, and laughed. "I'm sorry!! I need to be comfortable in a bed, alright??" Myung said as she drank her water.

While cleaning up table, Mr. Cheong was in charge of washing the dishes, Mrs. Cheong brought the dishes over to the sink, and Joon and Myung were in charge of wiping the table squeaky-clean. They both had towels, wiping the table in a circular pattern. Joon's towel brushed over Myung's hand. "Hey! You did that on purpose!!" Myung yelped as she wiped her hand. "Did not!" Joon stuck his tongue out. Myung gasped. She then squeezed her towel, and whipped Joon's arm with it. "OW! Not fair!!" he laughed as he threw his towel at her. It amazingly landed over her face. "MMMPH!!!" Myung's scream was muffled due to the towel. She took it off, and threw both towels at Joon. He dodged both towels, and swooped in to grab Myung's body. She screamed and laughed while he picked her off the floor. They both laughed.

Then, she looked into his eyes, as he looked into hers. Their gaze was locked, and it's as if the world had vanished, and it was just them. Myung slowly leaned in to kiss him, but he quickly put Myung down on the floor again. Saying nothing, he picked up the towels, and placed them on the counter.

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"You too lovebirds need some time alone!" Mrs. Cheong chuckled. She closed the door of Myung's room, leaving the two of them alone. "I need to talk to y-" they both said at the same time. Joon chuckled. "You go first." he said.

Myung sighed. "I've been thinking a lot lately since I woke up from my coma," she started. They both sat down on her bed. "Jae's leave was an indicator that our relationship was over. And I really given it some thought," she paused. Joon was afraid of what she would say next.

"I want to be with you again."

She looked up at him, smiling. Joon stared at her, not knowing what to say. Myung caught his reaction, and withdrew quickly. "I-I'm sorry! I know I was the one who broke up with you, but there was a reason for that...I will understand if you don't have feelings for me anymore, or if there's someone else...." Myung sighed again. Joon pulled Myung, and hugged her tightly. "J-Joon...?"

Tears fell from Joon's eyes. I have to. "I'm sorry..." he said, whispering. "What was that?" Myung asked, not hearing him. He pushed her back, and looked down. I don't want to look at her. "No....I'm sorry...We can't." he slowly said. Myung patted his head lightly. "It's okay. I was kind of expecting you to fall out of love since I was in a coma, ha ha." Myung chuckled. "No, you don't understand," he said. Myung perked her head up. "What do you mean?"

Joon stood up and turned around. "We can't," he said once again. Myung sat there. "I know, you already made it clear. I get it. I'm happy we can still be frien-"

"NO!!" he shouted.

Myung stopped, staring at Joon's back. "We can't be together. We can't see each other anymore. We can't be friends anymore. You can't talk to the other members anymore..." Joon went on to say. Myung stood up. "What do you mean?!" Myung protested. Joon spun around, his eyes full of tears. "I DON'T WANT TO BE WITH YOU MYUNG!! You made it clear you lost your love for me months ago!! And how do we know that another member won't fall for you, huh?! It's too much!!" Joon's voice started to raise. "We can work it out. I mean, if you really don't wanna be with me, then can't we still be friends?!" Myung's voice was loud, but calm. "You just don't get it, do you??" Joon walked to the door, and opened it.

"WE WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU ANYMORE!!"

He walked out, and slammed the door. Myung stood there, speechless. A tear trickled down her cheek. What? What happened? I thought we were getting along so well. I thought we would be able to be together again.

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Joon grabbed his stuff and left without a word. He walked to his car, crying. He slammed the car door, and rested his arms on the wheel. "I-I'm sorry, Myung. I-......I'm sorry."

Outside of RIn's house, Rin pushed Jung-hoon out of her house. "FINE! Don't you ever show your face to me!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WERE LYING TO ME THIS WHOLE TIME!!!!" She threw the various gifts that he had given her at him. "TAKE THESE!!! There are all lies!!" She started to cry. Jung-hoon just stood there, taking the hits. "Rin...." he started to say. "DON'T!!" she shouted. "Don't.....You're a liar....And... I'm afraid if you say something else, I might run back into your arms.....Just leave.." Rin slammed the door.

Jung-hoon walked back to the dorm, crying. "I'm sorry, Rin....I'm so sorry..."

THE END

- TO BE CONTINUED -