"N-Nobu!"
Nobu grinned at the sight of her. How long had it been since he last saw her? Her hair was so long now. He thought about it. Almost three years. Nobu looked up at Butler Lee.
"Give us a moment?" Nobu asked. Butler Lee grinned, and nodded. He gave Aimee a quick wave before stepping into the jewelry shop. Aimee stared at Nobu, as if waiting for him to say something first. Nobu looked her up and down.
"What are you doing here?" Nobu asked her.
She blushed, "I was just browsing the shop."
"Oh Christmas Eve? Where's ShinWoo?" Nobu asked. Despite it being so many years, his chest still tightened at the mention of Aimee and ShinWoo. He thought about her a lot, but never let himself think of ShinWoo.
Aimee seemed to know what he was thinking and frowned.
"I heard about you guys on the news," Nobu smiled. "It's all over the place you know. You and ShinWoo."
Aimee chuckled a bit, "It wasn't as big as Yoo HeYi and Hwang TaeKyung, thank god."
Nobu smiled back at her, "Are you doing well?"
Aimee smiled softly, but sadly.
"I am. Are you?"
"Yeah, the fancy life is a good life," Nobu forced a smile back. Life wasn't as good without her, but he would manage. He always did. Nobu wasn't that soft. At least, that's what he told himself. He had to move on, didn't he? Part of him almost hated running into her again.
"Truly?" Aimee asked, pursing her lips. "You're doing well?"
"Of course," Nobu smirked. "I'm always okay."
Aimee stared at him a moment. She looked back to the jewelry shop.
"What are you doing here then?" she asked softly.
"Getting my watch fixed," Nobu nodded. "This is a small shop, but they are really very good."
Aimee smiled a bit. Then, she frowned. Nobu wondered why.
"Nobu," she said, sighing. "Haven't you gotten any of my calls of messages this last year?"
Nobu paused. How should he answer? Yes, he did. What if she asked why he didn't reply? What could he say to that? Because he didn't want to? Because it hurt him too much? Nobu frowned and scratched his hair.
"I did," he admitted. "But I've been really busy. Fame calls, you know."
Nobu laughed lightly. Thankfully, Aimee didn't ask any more questions. She opened her mouth to say something, but then shut it again. Her brows furrowed. Then, she smiled.
"Well, it was good to see you," she said, her voice cracking. "I'm glad to know you're okay."
Aimee bent over and hugged him lightly. He hugged her back, but not too tightly.
"Same here," Nobu said softly. Aimee held open the door for him as he turned and wheeled himself into the jewelry shop. He didn't look back at Aimee, though he knew she was still there.
It's okay. It's okay. You'll get over it.
That's what he always told himself. Even if his heart still pounded so, he would be okay someday. He always was. Komatsu Nobu had never succumbed to melancholy and heart ache.
But then again, Komatsu Nobu had never loved someone as much as Aimee.
I shivered as I walked back into the house. My nose and cheeks were red as could be. But I wasn't just shivering from the cold. I was shaking from my encounter with Nobu. I don't even know why. Maybe it was the way he was slightly cold to me. Maybe it was the way he was okay but at the same time…he wasn't. I shook my head.
"Took you a while."
I looked up. ShinWoo tilted his head at me. I forced a smile.
"The line was long. You know, everyone runs out of soda at this time of night on Christmas Eve," I joked. ShinWoo smiled a little. I go into the kitchen and place the sodas on the counter. I sigh and unconsciously fix my hair. ShinWoo stares at me a long time.
"What?" I ask him
"You look like you've just seen a ghost," ShinWoo smirks a little.
More or less.
I shake my head and smile. I didn't answer him. I notice dishes in the sink. I walk over and turn on the faucet and start washing them. ShinWoo comes up beside me and helps me to rinse them off. He glances at me.
"Did something happen?" he asks. I sigh, but smile a little. I wasn't getting away with this one.
"Do I look that terrible?" I laugh. ShinWoo smirks.
"Tell me," he said.
But just as I open my mouth to tell him, there's a loud click and a bright flash. ShinWoo and I both turn. MiNam stands there, a camera in his hand.
"Another one," he says, frowning at his camera. He shakes it a bit and then aims it at us again. ShinWoo and I laugh and turn to smile for a picture. MiNam snaps it, grinning.
"You guys are so lame," he says to us. "Doing dishes together. You guys are like a married couple already."
I blush a bright red. I glance at ShinWoo and see his cheeks are just a bit pink as well. I laugh quietly to myself. I think about the ring again. I wonder what it would be like. I wonder what he'd say if I mentioned it. But I didn't want to either. It was awkward. After all, we'd only been together a year. But then again, I've known him and loved him for nearly three years now.
"As you were saying?" ShinWoo brought me back into reality. I remembered we'd been talking about Nobu. I shook my head.
"I'll tell you later," I tell him and walk to the living room.
"Noona!" Jeremy shouts, jumping on the couch. I laugh as he tackles me from behind. MiNyu and TaeKyung laugh as well. MiNam then runs at his sister from around the couch. On the radio, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is playing. ShinWoo walks into the living room, grinning with his arms crossed.
I smile at him.
ShinWoo pulled into the driveway of the building Aimee's loft was in. In the passenger seat beside him, Aimee lay with her head against the window. ShinWoo smiled a little. She was passed out and exhausted. That's what she'd get for taking shots with Jeremy and MiNam. MiNyu had decided to help Aimee out, and ended up in a worse condition than Aimee.
ShinWoo grinned and shook his head.
Crazy girls.
He got out of the car and walked to the other side. He opened Aimee's door, making sure she didn't fall out. He picked her up and carried her up the stairs and up to her door. There, he reached on top of the doorframe for her spare key and opened the door. He placed Aimee on the couch, taking a moment to marvel once again at the big roomy loft. Aimee had moved in only three months ago and she loved it here. He didn't blame her. It was a great place to live.
ShinWoo went back outside to grab something from his car, replace the spare key, and then closed the door. When he came back, Aimee was sitting up from the couch, her hair a mess and her face scrunched up in confusion. ShinWoo laughed at how terrible she looked when she made that face. Aimee turned and looked at him, tilting her head. Then, her mouth formed a small 'o' and she nodded, realizing what was going on.
Aimee smoothed her hair over and yawned. She shook the sleep from her head and looked at ShinWoo as he sat down beside her. He grinned, hiding a small bag behind his back. Aimee stared at him. She gestured to the bag.
"What's that?" she asked.
"It's for you," he said simply. Aimee smiled a little. She stuck out her hand. ShinWoo laughed and gestured to the clock on the wall. Two minutes 'til midnight.
"It's not Christmas yet," ShinWoo teased. Aimee laughed.
"Fair enough," she grinned. "But what can we do to pass the time?"
Aimee leaned over and kissed his lips. He kissed her back. ShinWoo forgot about Christmas. He couldn't remember being this close to someone before. Close enough that they brought out the bad and the good things in you. MiNyu had brought out the charm in him. But Aimee had brought out his bad temper, his gentleness, and a real smile. She had been his very best friend. She'd been the love he never knew he even loved.
ShinWoo smiled to himself. It was hard to believe he'd once been so stupid. How he couldn't have noticed her feelings for him; nor his own for her. But it was okay. Everything was okay now. They were both happy. Aimee suddenly pulled away from him. She smirked and gestured to the clock. It was one minute past midnight. ShinWoo chuckled. He handed her the small gift bag.
"Merry Christmas, Jung Aimee," he said softly.
Aimee pulled the small green box from the bag. She opened it and stared at his gift a long moment. He jaw dropped a little, then she clamped her mouth shut. She reached in and pulled out the delicate bottle of perfume decorated with delicate pink flowers.
"It was my mother's," ShinWoo explained. "She wanted me to give it to my girlfriend."
Aimee broke into a smile as she looked over the perfume bottle. It wasn't the most romantic gift, ShinWoo knew, but it was something that was semi-important.
"Your mother is a sweet woman," she says suddenly. ShinWoo smiles.
"What makes you say that?" he asks.
"Well only a sweet woman would have a perfume bottle like this," she leaned her head on his shoulder, smoothing her fingers over the perfume bottle. "And anyway…
She looked up at him.
"She raised a man like you," Aimee smiled. ShinWoo smiled back at her. He supposed it was true. His mother was a sweet woman. ShinWoo loved her very much. But there was that small unpleasant thought that ShinWoo suddenly remembered. He pushed the thought away from his mind. Still, Aimee saw the small frown on ShinWoo's face.
"What?" Aimee asked, frowning as well.
"Nothing," ShinWoo smirked at her. "I'm glad you like your present."
"I do," Aimee smiled. "Thank you."
ShinWoo nuzzled her closer. They held each other a moment, just letting the sweetness of the moment sink in. Suddenly, he remembered something again.
"Hey, what were you going to tell me earlier?" he asked, looking at her. Aimee's lips pursed a moment, before she relaxed again. She sighed and shut her eyes.
"I ran into Nobu," she said plainly. ShinWoo was silent a moment. He knew how much Aimee had loved Nobu. Of course, nowhere near as much as how much she'd loved him, but still. She'd loved him. Slowly, he nodded.
"What did you guys talk about?" ShinWoo asked her.
Aimee shrugged, taking ShinWoo's hand into hers.
"I asked him how he was doing," Aimee said slowly. "He said he was okay. Then, he pretty much just walked out of my life forever."
"Don't be so dramatic," ShinWoo smiled. "I'm sure he was just busy."
"Yeah," Aimee shrugged. "I suppose I'm pretty busy too. It's both of us. I just couldn't believe he was so cold about it. I haven't seen him in a year."
"You miss him," ShinWoo smirked. Aimee turned red.
"Whatever," she replied.
"It's okay to admit it," ShinWoo urged. He didn't know why he was pushing this. Aimee frowned at him.
"Just drop it," she said.
"It's okay, you can say it," ShinWoo insisted, not being able to help but feel frustrated. Did she think he couldn't handle hearing it? He knew she loved him. Hearing that she missed her ex boyfriend wasn't something that would throw him off.
But instead of admitting her missing Nobu, Aimee's face clouded over and ShinWoo knew he'd been a little too touchy. But it was too late to take it back now. Aimee pushed away from ShinWoo.
"If you want to talk about how much I miss Nobu, let's talk about how much you still miss MiNyu," Aimee said sharply. ShinWoo sighed. They were fighting again. ShinWoo let the spark of annoyance in him die. He turned Aimee to look back at him.
"Okay, forget it then," he said simply. He forced a smile at her. She stared at him a moment, but didn't smile back. She shook her head and sighed. ShinWoo frowned. She was still upset. Had he been too touchy? He didn't think so. Maybe Aimee was just having a bad night. ShinWoo tried to be understanding.
Okay, so yes, sometimes he missed MiNyu. It had only been a year. Of course he missed her and still loved her. But it was nothing compared to how much he loved being with Aimee. Didn't she know that? He understood that about Aimee and Nobu. She loved him, she missed him. But she loved ShinWoo more. He knew that. That's why he wouldn't be upsetted by it. Why was she getting upset?
"It's late," Aimee said suddenly. "You should head back."
"Aimee…" ShinWoo put a hand on her shoulder. She smiled at him, but it was forced.
"Don't worry," she said, sighing. "I'll…see you tomorrow. Just go. Just be quiet. We'll talk tomorrow. Just…go, ShinWoo."
ShinWoo didn't want to move away. They'd never fought like this before. Usually, screaming and shouting and cursing was what happened…but this? This cold, quiet emptiness wasn't a way they fought. Maybe it was better, but ShinWoo didn't think so. When Aimee was angry and shouting, at least ShinWoo knew she would be okay after she let everything out. Like this, so sad and hurt, ShinWoo wasn't sure.
This is stupid.
ShinWoo tried to suppress his annoyance. She was upset over something so miniscule. Even still, ShinWoo couldn't bring himself to say anything. He wanted her to yell and scream at him and then smile afterwards, saying she was sorry. Then, they could both laugh it off. But like this, he didn't know what to do. So he got up, and he left.
It wasn't until he reached home that he realized how he should've stayed. Aimee had needed him to stay. ShinWoo slammed his fist on the steering wheel and cursed.
Stupid.
Nobu lay awake, staring at the ceiling of his room. The quiet of the house scared him. He couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about that night. It was almost midnight. Aimee. Aimee. Nobu gritted his teeth. He'd gone into the shop to get his watch. Despite himself, he'd asked the jeweler what Aimee had come in to see.
Of course, he'd seen the ring. Nobu couldn't stop thinking about it. The beautiful diamond engagement ring. Nobu couldn't sleep. He kept picturing it. No matter how many times he said it was okay, it still hurt him deep in his soul.
Aimee and ShinWoo…marrying?
No matter how much he told himself it was okay, it wasn't okay. Nothing about it was okay. Nobu scoffed at himself. He was pathetic. He wasn't moving on whatsoever. He wish he'd never seen her that night. He wish he'd had never asked the jeweler and seen the ring.
Damn. Damn it all.
Author's Note:
BTW, here's a picture of the ring I was trying to describe that Aimee saw. It's my uncle's ring. He bought it a while ago, but hasn't found a woman to give it to yet. I love it though, and it fits me perfectly so I just kinda modeled it ahaha. (Btw, it's not a diamond. It's moissanite or however you spell it .)
Beautiful, huh? (sorry if my pics suck aha)
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