comes in waves ↠ kim sunwoo

chapter twenty three

Third Person POV

It had been a week since anyone last heard from Sunwoo, and consequently - not many people heard from Heiji.

Kevin and Lia attempted to visit her at work, to be told she took a couple weeks off with a sick note. Sangyeon was rather concerned, but he knew since the day she came in - she wasn't her usual self, no matter how much he made her laugh.

Jinsoul and her exchanged a few texts. Heiji felt like she could tell her how she was feeling.

It wasn't that she trusted the girls any less, but Jinsoul herself had been through something very similar to her, by the same person they were hurt.

The girl took time off of university, placing in another sick note and studying from home, with the help of Kevin and Jinsoul most of the time.

People wanted to ask if she was okay, but they wanted to give her a fair amount of space. Kevin knew about Sunwoo's disappearance and he informed the rest, excluding Seoho - who was also no where to be seen.

Everyone gave her space, except Haknyeon.

"Have you even changed your comfies in the last four days?" He pokes at her dirty beige sweatshirt. "Have you washed?"

"Yes Haknyeon," the girl grunts as he paces back and forth in her room, looking at the mess it had become. "I'm not a savage. I haven't lost my ability to do basic things."

"Well, missy," he sits down beside her. "People often do lose their ability to do particular things when they're experiencing mental issues. You should know that. I'm only trying to look out for you."

The girl sighs, she regretted sounding so insensitive, saying something which she knew better of. "I'm sorry, Hak. My head is all over the place."

The boy reaches out his arms, giving her a small smile as she crashes into him. He just holds her for a while, and it was the first hug she had accepted in a week. She wouldn't even let her mother hug her, and she was her best friend.

The boy pats the girls head, smoothing out her tuggy hair. "I know you're worried. It makes me feel horrible seeing you like this."

Heiji feels the tears well up in her eyes, and Haknyeon notices as her body jerks up a little, followed by a small yelp.

"Cry it out," he says softly, the girl starting to quietly sob into his stomach. "Get it all out."

And she does. She cries into his jacket for at least five minutes, and the boy just allows it to happen. If she was crying into his white t-shirt, however, maybe that wouldn't have been the case.

"Thank god your tears can't soak through this thing," he says as the girl lifts her head. "Waterproof, baby."

Heiji giggles as the boy takes off his jacket before looking at her.

"If it helps, you're a pretty crier."

"Thanks," she shoves him playfully. "Thanks for being the only one who didn't leave me alone."

"Hey," Haknyeon warns. "Don't think that I'm the only one who wanted to come and see you. Everyone did, they just wanted to give you space. But 'space'? You know me, I haven't ever heard of space."

"I know," the girl smiles softly. "I want to see everyone so bad. I just know everyone will be looking at me and thinking the same thing. I just need to be prepared for that."

"You will be, with time," the boy holds her hand, smiling at her. "And you know what'll help that? Alcohol."

Heiji laughs, shaking her head and thinking about the last time she got drunk. And how Sunwoo took her home. Her face dropped. "Everything reminds me of him."

"Stop talking like he's dead," Haknyeon rolls his eyes. "You know what he's like Heiji. More than any of us do. But one thing we all remember from school is that Sunwoo would run away. He'd come back within weeks. He wouldn't even look phased, he'd just get on with it. No one questioned it."

It was true. Heiji knew he done this, she even remembered joking that that was his idea of fun when he asked her to have fun with him.

"I know," Heiji nods, looking out of her window. "I never questioned it when we started hanging out, I probably should have. Maybe I'd know where he is."

"But you don't," Haknyeon smiles apologetically at the girl. "And it'll be hard but you can't dwell on that. The guy packed up and left without telling you. If that was anyone else but him, you'd be angry. You'd be questioning why, you'd be questioning them and your relationship with them."

"He isn't just anyone, Hak," Heiji looks down at her knees. "I am angry, but I'm not angry at him. I fear I drove him away."

"Maybe you did," Haknyeon says brutally, but Heiji knows he means well. "And what if you did? Shouldn't he have the decency, like you did, to say he needed space? He needed time to think?"

All Heiji could do is nod. It wasn't as though his words were new to her, a new thought process. She had thought of every situation and argument in her head for the past week.

"I don't mean to upset you, Heiji," the boy fixes her hair. "I know you miss him. I just think he'll be back, and whatever happens when he does come back, whatever the outcome is, you deserve to be happy and content."

Heiji smiles lovingly at the boy. He knew how to make everything better, and in that moment she knew. "You're my best friend, Hak."

The boy leaps up off the bed, throwing his hands in the air. "I knew it!"

"You did?" The girl scrunches her face up jokingly.

"No more sharing first place, I got the gold medal baby!" The boy cheers, Heiji looking up at him laughing. "You're my bestest friend."

"Isn't even a word," the girl points before walking over to her computer desk and sitting on the chair. "Don't you have work today?"

"I took a half day," the boy shrugs from her bed. "I'm not forcing you, but if you aren't busy and you can spare a few hours, and feel up to it - would you let your best friend take you out for a little meal?"

The girl had to pause for a second. She hadn't seen the daylight through anything but her bedroom window for a week now. She wondered if she felt mentally prepared to go anywhere.

But she knew Haknyeon wouldn't pressure her to talk about things, she knew she'd feel loved and respected in his company.

"Sure, why not?" She says as the boy grins from ear to ear. "If you can wait an hour for me to get ready, that is."

The boy groans, throwing his head in a pillow. "Take any longer than an hour then you're paying."

Heiji laughs as he throws himself down on her bed, pretending to go for a nap, which she didn't mind if he did. She was just glad she was finally facing reality again.

(A/N sorry for the short chapter! Also no pictures of Sunwoo in these chapters bc Sunwoo isn't here :( next few chapters will be a little more full and with a little more drama... ;) )