ALWAYS

XXXI

Her head was tilted to the other side… still cant get over the incident from earlier… she smiled to herself… selfishly keeping to herself the giddiness she’s feeling… never she experienced the tickling sensation inside of her…

With that just simple smile… from a cold-hearted man… from the man who she thought who could only give her heartaches… it felt like a miracle…

“Hey..!”

She was snapped back from her blissful reverie when someone called her attention… she searched where the voice came from and her gaze landed on the familiar man who’s now lying under a tree… looking directly at her…

She walked up to him with a big smile plastered on her face… he quickly stood up… and it’s obvious in his face how happy and surprised he is seeing her there… thought it was just his imagination… probably because of too much thinking about her…

Too grateful that she’s actually there… wearing again her beautiful smile just like the first time he met her… which was far from her miserable look from yesterday…

“You went back too soon…”

He teased her a bit… remembering yesterday’s promise that she made… She just smiled at him enough to flutter his insides again…
“What are you doing here..? I thought you’re working in the construction site…”

His brow rose a bit looking at her with a smirk across his face… “Oh… so you were looking for me…?”
He mockingly said… she gasped… it seemed like she already heard that one from before… just then, she rolled her eyes upon remembering Taehyung… how could such man be warm just like her oppa and at the same time as weird as her friend Taehyung…

Upon seeing her reaction, he let out a laugh… covering up the giddiness he felt from her charming expression…

“It’s lunch time… our break…”

Her mouth turned into an ‘oh’ as she nodded like a child… his gaze then landed on her pink full lips… looked at it for a while before his eyes fluttered away and a slight smile curved on his face… never he was tempted that much before… almost lost himself because of the innocent woman right before him… he just met her for just three days including their encounter that day…and at first he was feeling it was normal to admire her beauty… but there’s something in her… aside from her looks that makes him more drawn to her… something in her that he himself couldn’t figure out what, leaving him thinking too much about her…

“So… what made you visit here again… aside from seeing me…?”

He continued teasing her… but deep inside hoping that he was partly right… how silly could he get to expect something from her where in the mere fact that he was nothing but still a stranger to her…

“I just realized that my husband knew the owner of the restaurant you were building… and we’re here to visit him…”

He suddenly stiffened… did he just hear her right…? Yes… she just said husband… for a moment he felt himself lost again… but now, far from the blissful feeling we   was drown into awhile ago…

“Husband…?” His voice was hesitant

She innocently nodded… for a moment, he just looked at her… until after awhile he looked away and chuckled… her head tilted to the side… confused by his sudden reaction…

“Yeah right…”

He said… her eyes widen in disbelief and her mouth puffed… “What do you mean by that…? I’m really married you know…”
She reached out for her hand… showing him her wedding ring with much proud… he glanced on it a bit… sure it’s as beautiful as her… perfectly fitted in her slender hand… he snickered…

“Nice ring… I wonder how much you bought it…”

Her mouth hanged open… jaw dropped because of what he said… “I didn’t..! This is my wedding ring you know…!”
She held her hand on her chest… looked down at her wedding ring… looking like a child being picked by him... his brow slightly connected until he heaved out a sigh and forced out a laugh…

“I’m just kidding… it’s just that you look too young to be married...”

His voice trailed off… she finally put her hands down to her side…and a slight smile curved on her lips… not noticing his sudden gloomy tone…

“Well… I thought about that same thing too at first…”

She whispered as she looked down… his brow rose in wonder and bowed his head to follow her gaze…

“Are you okay…?”

She quickly snapped back and looked up… noses almost touched each other…as there was only a small space between their faces… for a while their gaze locked with each others orbs… until she first gasped and stepped aback…

“I… I am fine…”

She chuckled… felt uncomfortable with the sudden awkwardness between them… he looked away and cleared out his throat… that was close… he thought….

She too looked away…suddenly felt scared when she felt an uncomfortable pounding inside her chest…

“ Chanyeol-sshi… I think I should go now…”

She stuttered and bowed at him a bit before she turned back to start her tracks… but before she could walk away… she was stopped by a sudden grip on her wrist…

“Wait…”

She stiffened by his hold… read something that she can’t explain from his face…

she stayed quiet… waited for his next moves….

His other hand slipped inside his pocket… her gaze followed it and her eyes widen when she saw what he got in his hand…

It was her lost necklace…

“Chanyeol-sshi… where did you get this…?!”

She quickly grabbed it from him because of too much happiness… finally… her worries were solved…

“The nurse from the clinic gave it to me last night… and I thought it was you who left it... well I guess there’s no need to ask you..-“

He was cut when she suddenly hugged him… he almost lost his balance if not for him able to hold on to her waist… totally forgot that he was still a stranger… but being able to find her lost key because of him, a simple hug isn’t enough to express her gratitude…

“Rosé-sshi… I’m dirty…”

He anxiously told her… too conscious that he was all in sweat because of his work...

“Thank you so much…! I thought I lost it already…”

She gave him a last squeeze before letting him go… felt a little disappointed with the sudden loss he felt… making a fool of himself for feeling that way towards someone who’s already married…

“It seems like it’s really important to you…” “Yes it is..!”
She quickly replied as she smiled at him… totally forgetting the once awkward atmosphere they had earlier as she carefully placed her necklace back to her neck…

“Thank you..!”

“You already said that to me earlier… but… you’re welcome…”

He watched her as she gazed at the pendant of her necklace… it was just a simple key… he noticed… after a while, he sighed in relief… at least she’s not uncomfortable around him anymore… he thought…

--

He walked her back to the construction site… she was still in full glee… just because of a simple key… weird it may seem, he cant help but to be amazed by her innocence…

“Well I guess… this is goodbye again…”

“Oh… why…? Aren’t you going on the same way I as I do…?” “I’m assigned on the other side…”
He gently said… reaching out his hand offering a handshake which she gladly accepted…

“Thank you again...”

“It’s fine… I hope this wouldn’t be the last time I would see you Mrs…?”

She blushed upon hearing him asking her of her surname… “Jeon…”
She shyly answered… still flustered by the fact that she’s already carrying Jungkook’s name…

That was supposed to be another tease yet he was the one who felt like being stunned… he was a bit taken aback but managed to quickly shook off his thoughts… of course there are a lot around who has that same surname… he thought… but remembering the name she spoke off yesterday… his eyes widen… it can’t be…

“Chanyeol-sshi..?”

“Ah… well… yes… see you Rosé…”

He almost choked by the sudden realization that hit him… but it can’t be… the world is too big for them… he kept telling himself… she didn’t notice his uneasiness… too caught up by the fulfillment inside of her…

“Yes… see you Chanyeol-sshi…”

She waved back at him and started her tracks back to where her husband was… surprised to see Jungkook standing at the entrance, as if waiting to where they parted awhile ago…

“Jungkook…”

His name just came out to her automatically upon reaching him… the old man was not in sight so her gaze wandered around to look for him…

“Let’s go take a lunch…”

And without another word from him again… he reached out for her hand to hold it with his again… her eyes widen in surprise… almost jumped together with the skip inside her chest… he just held her once again… away from someone’s eyes… was that all still part of his pretending…? But no one’s watching anymore… she thought… dropping her gaze and unconsciously squeezed his hand…if this is all just a pretending to him… she wished that if they could just pretend everyday… just to feed the selfish happiness of her shameful heart…

A pair of eyes was watching the two as they walked towards their car… couldn’t believe what he’s seeing… his mouth was half opened… eyes locked with the woman who’s now wearing a discreet smile on her face… he then shifted his gaze towards the man she was holding hands with… tears almost filled his eyes… for years he haven’t seen his face… he had matured… he thought… remembering the betrayal he did years ago when he left his younger brother alone and with false hopes…