♡28

Hyemin let out a whine as she was forced to clean up her room. Her aunt, Chaeyoung had woken up so early in the morning to clean as she invited her brother for dinner. The last thing she wanted to see was Jaehwa's annoying face. And worst of all? She invited Sunghoon too. She said it'd be great if she introduced her brother to the love of her life.

That was when she realized Chaeyoung didn't know they broke up. She begged Chaeyoung to un-invite Sunghoon but she said that'd be rude and Sunghoon already knew about it. She dreaded the moment she'd face him tonight and prayed she didn't have a full-on breakdown right there just by looking at him.

So now, she was forced to tidy up her house at 9 am on a Wednesday. This was not how she pictured her morning. She pictured herself crying in bed with a bunk of junk foods and some Netflix to clear her mind but we don't always get what we want.

"At least I get to miss school," she muttered to herself. She made a mental note to tell Jiwon and Chaeyeon about everything tomorrow if she had time since her flight is the day after. It all felt like a fever dream. Seems like just yesterday it was her first night here and tomorrow would be her last.

She managed to finish tidying up her room from the mess she had made yesterday. As the was cleaning up, her mind drifted to Sunghoon. She shook her head and tried to think of something else.

♡♡♡

Hyemin took one glance at herself in the mirror and forced a smile. She dusted off her dress and fixed her hair. She originally decided to wear a hoodie and some leggings but Chaeyoung forced her to change into something more suitable for the setting.

She settled for a dress gifted to her by Chaeyoung on her birthday a few months back. It was a plain white dress, patterened with small daisies around the dress. The dress was just below her knee and it fit her figure perfectly. (link in comments for imagine reference).

She was too lazy to style her hair so she just let it down for today. She felt a bundle of nerves hit her as she paced around the room. She wasn't ready to face Sunghoon after what happened. She already gave an hour of pep talk to herself to mentally prepare for this moment.

The doorbell rang, and Chaeyoung told her to get it as she was getting ready. Her heart raced heavily and her palms were sweaty. Exhaling, she turned the doorknob, and there he was, Park Sunghoon, looking as good as ever.

He wore a light brown overcoat with a white turtle neck under and black pants. It was a simple, casual attire yet he managed to pull it off like a model. (link in comments for imagine reference). Hyemin was practically staring at him with wide eyes as she froze in her place.

There was no speaking between them rather they were talking through their eyes. Sunghoon restrained himself from ruffling her hair like he usually did and Hyemin restrained from giving him a big hug.

Instead, they just stood there, staring deeply into the eyes of each other. She gulped when she detected some sadness written all over his face. His eyes were red, with bags under his eyes, as if he spent all night crying, but it looked like he was hiding it with a smile. She clenched her fists to stop her eyes from watering.

"You look... beautiful," he voiced out, looking straight into her eyes. He wasn't lying, he found her beautiful in the dress.

"Thanks," she avoided his gaze. "You look amazing yourself."

"Ah, nice to see you, Sunghoon!" Chaeyoung greeted him with a hug. "Come in, come in."

"Her brother will be here in a few minutes. In the meantime, Hyemin will keep you company," she grinned and exited the living room.

The two just sat there in deadly silence, looking at everything but each other. That was until Sunghoon spoke up.

"I got you something but didn't have a chance to give it to you since..." He handed her a small gift bag.

Hyemin awkwardly chuckled. "You didn't have to, but thank you."

"You can open now if you'd like,"

She unwrapped the small box and let out a small gasp. It was the necklace she was looking at on their first date. Their first and only date. (link in comments for imagine reference).

You're making it harder for me, Park Sunghoon.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

"I love it," she beamed, smiling at the boy. "Thank you, really."

"I'm glad you like it," he grinned.

The smile on Hyemin's face slowly went away as she stared at him. She felt remarkably guilty. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve him. She felt her eyes water and cleared her throat.

She broke the eye contact and tried to put the necklace on. Keyword: Tried.

"Here, let me," He took the necklace and stood in front of her. She held her hair up and avoided looking at his pink lips. They were only inches apart and she could feel his warm breath against her cheeks. She looked up at him and noticed he was looking at her lips. Her eyes flickered from his lips to his eyes.

He looked at her for a silent approval and she gave a small nod. He was about to slowly connect their lips until someone interrupted.

"Hey little sister," Jaehwa greeted, causing them both to push away from each other with a red blush on their cheeks.

"Uhm, Sunghoon, meet my step-brother, Jaewha," she introduced them. "Jaehwa meet my bo— friend. My friend, Sunghoon."

It didn't take long for Jaehwa to realize he'd met Sunghoon before, in that necklace shop.

"Nice to see you again lover boy," they shook hands and Sunghoon chuckled.

"Again?" she questioned.

"We met a few days ago in a shop," Sunghoon explained and she nodded.

"Now that everyone's here, let's eat shall we?" Chaeyoung beamed, guiding them to the dining room.

"Friends? Just friends?" Jaehwa whispered to Sunghoon.

"It's complicated."

♡♡♡

"That's a very pretty necklace, Hyemin," Chaeyoung complimented. "Where'd you buy it?"

"Ahh... I got it from Sunghoon," she glanced at him.

"Young love, how cute," she pinched Hyemin's cheeks. "Have you told him—"

"This is good pasta," Hyemin interrupted. She sent a particular look in Chaeyoung's direction and she knew right away.

Sunghoon's eyes flickered to the both of them and he furrowed his eyebrows. He was curious about what she was hiding from him and made a mental note to ask her about it.

But we're nothing anymore. Technically I'm in no place to ask.

The dinner wasn't as bad as Hyemin thought it'd be. She wasn't interacting much but she enjoyed it seeing Sunghoon interact with her family members. Whenever he smiled, she smiled. Whenever he laughed, she laughed too.

"Thank you for inviting me," Sunghoon thanked Chaeyoung.

"It was nice having you,"  said Chaeyoung, "I'll leave you two lovebirds now."

After Chaeyoung said that, it just made everything awkwarder between the two of them. Sunghoon suggested to take a small walk outside and she agreed.

"So..."

"The pasta was delicious, right?" he asked, trying to make any kind of conversation with the girl.

"Yep, I made it,"

"Didn't know you could cook so good. I'm proud of you, Hyeminie," he chuckled, ruffling her hair. When he realized what he did, he awkwardly apologized and looked away.

"Sunghoon,"

"Hm?"

Tell him you're leaving, Hyemin.

She spoke up, "It's getting late now and you have school tomorrow so—"

"You're not coming to school tomorrow?" he questioned.

"Yeah, I'm not feeling too well these days," she lied, "Goodnight, Sunghoon."

"Goodnight,"

He sighed out of disappointment. He knew that was not what she originally wanted to say. There was something else she was hiding from him. Maybe that was the real reason why they broke up. But he couldn't do anything as she had already started to walk away towards her house.

What is it that you're hiding, Kang Hyemin?