The Black Rose

Chapter Twenty Eight

Minzy was already seated at the table when Jenny and Seung Yoon came down for breakfast. She greeted them good morning like always, and both greeted her back though there was an evident awkwardness that came with it. Seung Yoon was wearing eyeglasses, which surprised Aunt Soo Jin. "Yoonie! Why do you wear your eyeglasses only now?" she asked energetically, placing plates in front of them. "I have a headache and I thought my eyes have something to do with it so...," he trailed off as he scooped some rice into his plate. Jenny reached for the rice after Seung Yoon was done filling his plate as she asked Minzy how her dinner last night went. Minzy told her some details about her 'supposed' dinner with co-workers to which Seung Yoon turned a blind eye. It was like he never heard her and any of her lies. Minzy glanced at him once and saw that he continued on eating, not reacting to anything she was saying. Seeing this, she knew that her secret's safe with him still. 

That afternoon, as soon as Minzy left for the restaurant, Jenny decided to ask her cousin to join her in Hongdae. "Yoonie... you need time out from work. Why don't you come with me to Hongdae? The others could handle the shop since today is not a busy day," she coaxed him, putting her arm around his. He smiled at her meekly and nodded. 

Background Music: https://soundcloud.com/maeisamaezing/ost-playful-kiss-part-1-02-g

Jenny brought her camera with her that day. She figured it was time she allowed herself to enjoy Hongdae as it is. She would snap photos of the different graffiti and quaint cafes, of people strolling around, depicting how laid-back the area was. She looked at Seung Yoon and saw him looking at her, but he seemed to be not there, like he was staring past her. "Seung Yoon! Wanna try?" she asked as she offered him her camera. He snapped out of his reverie and reached out for it. "How do you...," he trailed off as she showed him how to use it.

Seung Yoon never had this much fun before that he totally forgot about his problem. "Couz, I think I have a new hobby," he announced making Jenny smile. "I'm going to save up for this kind of camera. Pretty cool...," he added. Just then, Jenny's phone rang, interrupting their photo session.

"Hello?"

"Hello Jenny! Where are you?"

"I'm here at Hongdae with Seung Yoon, Dae. You wanna come here?"

"Ah... Hongdae again?! Aren't you sick of Hongdae yet?" he teased.

"No... I don't think I'll ever get sick of this beautiful place. So, are you coming?" she eagerly asked.    

"Yes! I will. See you in a bit!" he said and then hung up right after.    

"Who was that couz?" asked Seung Yoon curiously while snapping a photo of a cafe across from them.    

"Dae Sung. He'll be joining us!" she happily announced.

"Hmmm... You sound very happy," he teased.     

"No I'm not! Yah! Seung Yoon-ah!" she shouted defensively, running towards her cousin making him run away from her.

Seung Yoon continued to tease Jenny up until they reached Mr. Kim's cafe. Her cousin's smile made him hope that somehow, Dae Sung could help Jenny heal faster so that when the time comes for the truth to finally be revealed, it won't hurt her as much though whether her friendship with Minzy would continue, he had no idea. 

The three spent the entire afternoon playing around Mr. Kim's cafe- taking photographs of each other, and of Mr. Kim and his lone staff, that they completely forgot about the time. It was past eight in the evening when they reached the park. They played there for half an hour. Afterwards, they passed by the convenience store on their way home to buy some snacks and drinks for their unexpected pajama party. 

Seung Yoon and Dae Sung were busy teasing each other behind Jenny, who was laughing at them even though she could not see what they were doing, when she abruptly paused forcing the other two to slightly crash on her now tensed back. Seung Yoon scowled at her cousin and was about to ask her if she did it on purpose when he saw with his own eyes what had stopped her.

"Hey... you two... what's wrong wi...," Dae Sung trailed off.

Background Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUZeSYsU0Uk

Jenny was about to call out when she felt a hand clasp around her mouth. Seung Yoon then pulled her behind a parked car with Dae Sung following close behind just as Minzy and her companion looked behind them. Seeing that there was no one in sight, they continued on their way.

Jenny then peeked, confused, behind the car. "Who is that man Minzy is talking to?" she whispered, purposely lying to them as she had no idea that the two already knew about the man in the gray hoodie. Seung Yoon glanced at his cousin and realized one thing, she still had no idea that the man in the gray hoodie and her ex-fiancé were one and the same. "Wait a minute... why are we hiding? Seung Yoon? Dae?" curiously asked Jenny. "Is it because of Minzy?" she added as she looked at her cousin. Seung Yoon and Dae Sung looked at her knowingly and she understood.

"You guys know about the man in the gray hoodie. When did you know?" she asked them again.

"Minzy told us after the restaurant incident. I guess she didn't tell you anything about her seeing that guy that day, though she didn't see his face. Well, we promised ourselves that we would find out for ourselves what was happening without asking you. You cried when you saw him so, we assumed that you knew each other, that he's stalking us because he can't get near you... because he had hurt you before? Oh, I don't know... He didn't tell me anything when I confronted him before," answered Dae Sung. 

"I don't know him. I just had a dream about him and I thought he held the answers to all of my unanswered questions. I thought he was...," she sighed. "But I don't think he was. Wait... You said you already confronted him! Why didn't you tell me anything Dae?!" asked Jenny disappointedly, thinking it was a chance for her to finally question him. 

"Wait a minute... Minzy was there," he thought out loud. 

"What?" asked Seung Yoon, speaking for the first time since they hid from view.

"Minzy... when I confronted that guy a week or two ago, I was surprised because she showed up all of a sudden, a foot away from me, right after that guy was escorted away by a middle aged man. I asked her how long had she been standing there and said that she had just arrived and asked me what I was doing there. That's why it seemed so strange at that time. They know each other. I guess she's... looking out for him," he answered, still lost in thought.

"Or not. Perhaps it was just pure coincidence," defended Seung Yoon.

"Dae... did you mention anything about a middle aged man?" wondered Jenny.

"Yes. He escorted him away. I didn't know where he came from. He just popped out of nowhere!" he explained.

"Do you still remember what he looked like, the middle aged man?" she inquired.

Dae Sung described him as best as he could remember. Jenny's eyes grew wide as she finally fit the puzzle together. "Seung Hyun...," she whispered. She stood up, meaning to run towards the two walking figures, but was stopped by her cousin. "No couz, don't," he said sternly, and added, "The truth might hurt you... and I swore that I would protect you at any cost." She turned to him then, as tears started to well from her eyes. "Truth? What truth?" she asked confusedly.