[OH] me before you | lee juyeon

two

sangyeon put a mug on the table and pushed it towards me. "here's your hot chocolate." he said.

i couldn't believe him so i checked what was inside the mug. the thick chocolatey drink inside it surprised me. "sangyeon, how did you know?" i gasped.

sangyeon chuckled as he snatched a towel from the kitchen counter to wipe his hands. "well, when my brother used to... speak, he would tell me every little detail about you. the way you hate coffee, and your favourite thing in the world is chocolate."

i replied to him with a smile and took a sip from the mug. it was so good!

"you know, juyeon loved you so much. he adored you like you were some kind of saint. and i'm sure he still does." said sangyeon before sitting down in front of me. "i didn't expect you to come so early in the morning, by the way."  he whined. "you're lucky i'm a morning person."

sangyeon grabbed a piece of bread from the pantry and munched on it slowly. "so about the help you asked for yesterday..."

"oh, right." i said as i jotted something down onto my notebook hurriedly.

sangyeon looked at the book and back at me, confused. "what was that?"

i unconsciously slammed it shut. "i'm sorry. it's a force of habit." i replied, scratching the nape of my neck.

"it's fine." he said. "what did you write though?" he asked, curiously stealing glances at the book.

i opened it again and looked inside. "his name. and, today's date."

sangyeon nodded and continued to devour his bread. "so are you gonna interrogate me now, journalist kim?" he asked with his mouth half stuffed.

i laughed at the usage of words he chose. "i don't interrogate people, i interview them. i'm a journalist, sangyeon, not a detective."

sangyeon looked down in embarrassment. "fine." he scoffed. "interview me, then."

the tip of my pen faced the surface of the paper. "i think one way i can help juyeon is by understanding what actually happened to him." i started. "so what really happened that night? tell me everything you know."

sangyeon took a deep breath before starting. "juyeon was out with his friends. there were four of them, including himself. they all decided to stay at one of their houses for the night. i don't know what happened but there seemed to be a fire and juyeon was the only survivor. he told me he was there to see them catch fire with his own eyes and hear their screams with his own ears. but he was too afraid to do anything. and everyday he wakes up to keep blaming himself for it."

i took another sip from the mug before going back to my book. "and then, what happened?"

"i got a call from the hospital. juyeon was there for treatment. he wasn't much injured but he inhaled a lot of smoke so it took him a few days to be discharged. and he was fully traumatized. i hired the best therapist i could find but juyeon won't ever open his mouth. the only thing he told me was the story i told you earlier."

i finished writing and remembered what juyeon told me last night. i was curious as to why he said that. "yesterday, he told me that he hasn't seen the sky for a long ti-"

"oh, right. i forgot to tell you." said sangyeon, cutting me off mid-sentence. "juyeon never leaves his room, unless it's for food. he comes down to the kitchen for breakfast, lunch and dinner to fill up his stomach. he also never leaves the house. so he should be here in a few."

just as i was writing on my notebook, juyeon popped out from nowhere. sangyeon and i stared at each other as we both got speechless and a little shocked.

i turned to juyeon who was filling a glass of water. he then grabbed a bread from the pantry. as he made his way back upstairs, he stopped for a while to give me a soft peck on my cheek before leaving without a word.

"that just made me feel lonely on a whole new level." said sangyeon as soon as juyeon was out of sight.

i let out a small laugh. "shut up." i said as i felt my face heating up. although it was odd that he acted as if nothing happened last night.

"don't you wanna go see your prince charming?" sangyeon asked with a naughty smile.

"already did. just now." i replied immediately without looking back at sangyeon. my eyes were still focused on my notebook.

suddenly, i felt a hand wrapping around my wrist. juyeon pulled me out of my seat and into his room. he then sat me down on the bed and stood in front of me.

"you don't wanna see me?" he asked with no expression on his face. it's getting hard for me to read him these days. he changed a lot and it feels like i don't know him anymore.

"no, i didn't mean it that way. i-"

he sat next to me and held my hand tight. he looked into my eyes and there it was; the sparkles. i haven't seen it in a while and should i say; i miss it a lot.

"do you still love me?" he asked. this time, with a more expressive face. i could see that he was waiting for an answer and hoping for a certain one.

"yes, of course." i answered with a reassuring smile.

he smiled so wide and kissed me on the forehead. juyeon quickly pulled me into an embrace.

i had my face in his chest, allowing myself to be swallowed by his warmth. "you did it, haneul" i said to myself. "you made him smile."