DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN BOF.
*a/n: I just visited after a loooong time. Sorry for the late upload. Enjoy reading Pens and Papers. :)
Chapter 9: Two heartbroken souls
Ga Eul was arranging her things before going out of work today. It's already a little past six and she could feel her stomach grumbling because she hasn't eaten anything after lunch. Just when she zipped her handbag, Ga Eul heard her phone ringing. She quickly pulled it out of her pocket and answered Woo Bin's call.
"Hey." Woo Bin's voice was heard from the other line. "Let's have dinner tonight." He invited.
"Oh… Uhmmm…" Ga Eul paused for a while to think of an excuse not to accept his offer. As much as she wanted to see him, she's afraid that seeing him would make her depressed tonight again.
"Please?" Woo Bin replied. "You went home early last night. Besides, Jae Kyung would want to have a little chat with you. She's been asking for your number since last night. I've been reluctant about since I want you to give it to her yourself. Ga Eul- ah…" he said her name softly which made Ga Eul's heart melt.
"Alright."
"I'll see you later then. Do you want me to pick you up or…"
"I can go there on my own." Ga Eul cut him off. "Besides, I think you'd be picking up Jae Kyung- sshi. I don't want to be a bother for the two of you."
"Okay then. Same restaurant you love." Woo Bin said to her. "I'll see you at seven then."
"I'll see you." Ga Eul replied and then quickly ended the call.
Now now, why does she need to be like this? Seeing Woo Bin with Jae Kyung sure hurts her but a simple please and mention of her name from Woo Bin's mouth could already make her give in. "I'll just leave earlier then." She said to herself as she made her way towards the elevator.
C,")
Yi Jung was the first to arrive at the restaurant. He was escorted to the table that Woo Bin reserved for four. He refused to order first since he would be waiting for his other three companions for dinner tonight. He was tapping his fingers on the table as he was looking at the night streets of Seoul. Just then, a familiar woman's voice called his attention.
"Yi Jung- sshi?"
Yi Jung turned his head to look at the owner of the voice. "Oh. Ga Eul- sshi." He softly said her name. Yi Jung stood up from his seat and pulled the chair next to him for Ga Eul to sit down. She observed him as Yi Jung did that.
"I didn't think I would be seeing you tonight as well."
"Me neither." Yi Jung replied. "Take your seat." He offered to her. Ga Eul occupied the chair that Yi Jung pulled out for her. Afterwards, Yi Jung too sat down on his chair.
"Woo Bin invited you for dinner?" Yi Jung asked her.
"Yes. he told me Jae Kyung- sshi wants to have a little chat with me."
"He gave me the same reason." Yi Jung replied. "I think a lot of coincidences happen, huh? I've been seeing you a lot lately."
"Yeah. Coincidences."
Yi Jung and Ga Eul patiently waited for Woo Bin and Jae Kyung to come. After about fifteen minutes, the couple arrived with their hands intertwined. Ga Eul eyes didn't miss the little detail that she saw. She quickly turned her head away from them and faced the table instead. Yi Jung noticed Ga Eul's reaction and whispered to her, "I guess, you need to put a mask on, Ga Eul- sshi. Unless, you want them to notice you acting weird."
Ga Eul looked at Yi Jung as he said those words and found them useful. Yeah. She need a mask to put on. With that, a fake smile curled in her lips.
"You two are early." Woo Bin commented as he and Jae Kyung arrived at the table he reserved for the night. Woo Bin pulled out the chair across Ga Eul for Jae Kyung to sit down at. Once his girlfriend was settled, Woo Bin took the seat next to Jae Kyung, opposite Yi Jung. "Shall we order?"
Woo Bin called for the waiter. The waiter came with four menus on hand. He handed each to the four people sitting on the table. Yi Jung was stealing a glance at Ga Eul as she covered her face with the menu for her to not see Woo Bin and Jae Kyung in front of her. Yi Jung spoke up and said, "Would you have the same, Ga Eul- sshi?"
Ga Eul put down the menu and with a smile, she turned to Yi Jung and said, "I'll have the same Yi Jung."
Yi Jung gave her a smile as well and turned to the attendant waiting for their orders "Two Fettuccini Alfredo and garlic bread, please."
The waiter then turned to Woo Bin and Jae Kyung. "We'll have two steaks."
The waiter left them as they gave their orders to him. Once the waiter left, Jae Kyung spoke up. "Thanks for making time to have dinner with us tonight. You guys left early yesterday so I wasn't able to chat with you. I'll be introducing myself again. Ha Jae Kyung." she said with enthusiasm and sincere smile.
"Yi Jung." Yi Jung said his name and offered his hand for her to take. Jae Kyung shook hands with him and then turned to Ga Eul who did the same.
After giving Ga Eul a handshake, Yi Jung started the conversation. "So, how did the two of you meet?" he asked. He was curious on how b and Jae Kyung met. He knows it will affect Ga Eul so Yi Jung took her hand under the table and gave it a little squeeze.
Ga Eul looked at him, perplexed at what he just did. But eventually, did not mind it and just let Yi Jung hold her hand when Jae Kyung told them the story.
"Should I be the one to tell it to them?" Jae Kyung asked her boyfriend.
"You may do so." Woo Bin replied with a smile.
"Well, Woo Bin and I met at New York when he saved me from some gangsters. I always have my bodyguard with me but there is one time when I ran away from him just to have a little time for myself. Little did I know that I would be in trouble. Some men started chasing me and then, from nowhere, Woo Bin popped and saved me from them. That's how we first met. At that time, I suddenly felt secured and safe with him around." Jae Kyung told Yi Jung and Ga Eul the story. A flush of pink could be seen across her face as she was telling them their story.
"Wow." Yi Jung chuckled. "I didn't know you could be that heroic, man." Woo Bin and Yi Jung chuckled at the same time.
After a few more moments of talking about Woo Bin and Jae Kyung, their orders arrived. The four decided to eat silently.
Ga Eul was fidgeting with her food as she lost the appetite to eat. Hearing stories about her love and his girlfriend is the cause of that.
"Hey." Yi Jung called her attention. "Why are you not eating? Something wrong?" Yi Jung asked in concern. He very well knows why she's like this but he wants her to put an invisible mask and learn ho to face situations like this without her being affected too much.
"Yeah. I'm fine." Ga Eul replied with a smile as she twirled her pasta in her fork and took a bite. Yi Jung smiled to himself upon seeing Ga Eul finally eat her dinner.
As they were nearing finishing their dinner, Yi Jung saw a couple enter the restaurant with their hands locked. His jaw dropped a little as he saw who the girl is- Cha Eun Jae. And the man she's with is awfully familiar to him- Jung Il Hyun, the other potter.
Ga Eul noticed Yi Jung's eyes were fixed by the entrance of the restaurant. She turned to look at that direction and found out why he was acting like that. 'So it's my boss?' she thought to herself. The smiling Yi Jung a while ago vanished as soon as Eun Jae and Il Hyun entered the restaurant. He dropped his fork to his side and removed the napkin resting on his lap. He stood up from his seat and bowed to Woo Bin and Jae Kyung. "Sorry. I need to go now. I'm really sorry, Jae Kyung- sshi." Yi Jung turned his back at them and was about to hasten his walking towards the door when he heard Ga Eul's voice calling his name.
"Yi Jung- sshi." Ga Eul called his attention which made Yi Jung stop from walking. He turned to look at her and found Ga Eul bowing to Woo Bin and Jae Kyung as well. "I think I would just have a ride back home with Yi Jung- sshi. I'm sorry, Jae Kyung- sshi." She apologized as well. Jae Kyung gave her a small smile as she quickly understood what happened. Ga Eul excused herself from the couple and followed Yi Jung. She stopped at his side and said to him, "I think it's my turn tonight."
C,")
"They are engaged." Ga Eul revealed to Yi Jung after he asked her who is Il Hyun to Eun Jae's life.
"I should have known." Yi Jung whispered to himself quite loudly that Ga Eul was able to hear it. Yi Jung turned at one corner of the street, ignoring the stoplight. He stopped at a convenience store and went out of his car, leaving Ga Eul behind. She did not follow him and just waited for Yi Jung to come back. After a few minutes, he arrived with a plastic bag on his hand. He handed it over to Ga Eul and then settled himself on the driver's seat again.
"Beer for tonight?" Ga Eul said as she saw the cans of beer inside the plastic bag that Yi Jung bought.
"I don't want to hang out in a bar or a food tent tonight." Yi Jung said. "Can I have a drink at your place?"
"Why not yours?" Ga Eul asked him. "I'd just go home."
"Memories will flood my head if I drink at my place." Yi Jung said. "I just want to forget things tonight. Please?"
Ga Eul saw that Yi Jung indeed wants to forget things. She nodded her head and then Yi Jung made a U- turn towards her condominium building.
C,")
Yi Jung smashed his third bottle against Ga Eul's carpeted floor.
"Hey!" Ga Eul called.
Yi Jung ignored her and buried his face on his bended knees in front of him. His hands were buried under his hair. Ga Eul could hear soft sobs from him. She watched Yi Jung do this as she emptied her own can of beer.
"It's your fault in the first place." Ga Eul said to him. "Why break up because of that? I mean, if I were you, I would have just supported her."
"I was a jerk, alright?" Yi Jung slightly raised his voice as he turned to look at Ga Eul. "I'm not being rational when I broke up with her. I badly wanted to follow her to Jeju Island that same day she left but I was afraid. I'm afraid she would push me away from her. And then I ended up going to Sweden and being occupied with a lot of exhibits and auctions. I badly wanted to go back to Seoul to pursue her again but business won't let me have the time." Yi Jung explained to her.
"What would you do now?" Ga Eul asked him.
"I just want to talk to her and apologize to her for the moment." Yi Jung replied. "I want to get her back. I want to start with her again, but seeing her with Jung Il Hyun… she seems so happy… even happier when we were together."
Ga Eul opened another bottle of beer and handed it over to Yi Jung. She then opened another one for herself and together, the two of drank their respective cans of beers.
"Two heartbroken souls, eh?" Ga Eul said out of nowhere.
"Yeah." Yi Jung replied as a smile spread across his face. He turned to look at Ga Eul and saw tears pouring down her eyes. It's as if her eyes were not running out of tears. She has been crying for a while now.
Yi Jung settled his can of beer on his side. Afterwards, he inched his way towards Ga Eul and pulled her close, with her head settling against his chest. Yi Jung wiped the tears away from her eyes with his free hand. Ga Eul's eyes widened in surprise with Yi Jung's gesture.
"Life is cruel, eh? Why does our loved ones need to be with others when we're just here, waiting and loving them." Yi Jung softly said.
The two of them stayed like that for a while. Ga Eul's tears stopped falling as soon as Yi Jung wiped them off. Her hands wrapped around his body unconsciously. Yi Jung didn't seem to mind though as he pulled her closer to him.
Yi Jung looked down at the beautiful and broken woman wrapped around his arms. He smelled her fresh scented hair and her perfume as well. Suddenly, Yi Jung found himself being drawn to her. He slightly loosened her grasp from him. Afterwards, he cupped her small and angelic face with his hands. Every move he was doing seems to be out of instinct.
Ga Eul, on the other hand, looked at him straight into the eyes as she his broken, unmasked soul lying behind his eyes. At that moment, she wants to comfort him even if she's broken and hurt herself. Unconsciously, her hands snaked from his waist towards his neck and locked them. Their faces were inches away from each other.
"Do you think it's worth crying over them?" Yi Jung softly said. Ga Eul shook her head as a smile crept on her face.
As soon as Ga Eul shook her head, Yi Jung pulled her closer to him. His hands traveled down from her face down to her slender waist. At that, Ga Eul felt shivers down her spine but she did not mind them. She suddenly kissed Yi Jung on the lips, thinking that somehow, it would help him to forget. Yi Jung savored the feel of her lips against his that he did not pull back. He wrapped his arms around her as they shared a passionate kiss. Yi Jung then grabbed her closer as his hands slipped under her blouse and caressed her creamy soft skin.
Ga Eul, meanwhile, buried her hands under his hair as she savored every second of their kiss. She doesn't know why but she doesn't want to pull from the kiss they were sharing. Her hands then traveled down to his chest. Slowly, she unbuttoned his polo shirt without pulling away from the kiss. As soon as all of the buttons were unbuttoned, Ga Eul opened his shirt and settled her hands against his bare and muscular chest.
They pulled apart from each other for a mere second to breath in some air. Immediately, Yi Jung captured her lips once again, missing it instantly. He doesn't know why but he likes the kiss they are sharing. Things maybe too fast for them but hell, he doesn't care. Her lips brushing against his own are addictive.
After a few more minutes of sharing that passionate and intensive kiss, Yi Jung and Ga Eul pulled apart from each other. Yi Jung settled his forehead on hers and stared at those eyes. He is being drawn to her. Thoughts of Eun Jae in his mind vanished as soon as their lips met a while ago. Ga Eul has something in her that makes him forget Eun Jae.
"I'm so…" Ga Eul was about to apologize from kissing him. She slightly pushed him away but Yi Jung held her tightly.
Yi Jung placed his finger over her soft lips and said, "It's not your fault. Don't be sorry." Yi Jung then placed a peck on her forehead and then hugged her tightly with his muscular arms. "Thank you." he softly whispered into her ear.
