Chapter 8

Go Dok Mi didn't lie often, but she needed to in order to get out of the hospital. Everyone had absolutely forbidden her from walking home in her "condition", so she had said Enrique was outside to pick her up. She left before anyone had a chance to question her further.

It was freezing outside and she hadn't been entirely sure where to go. If she was smart she'd call Jin Rak. They had lived next to each other for five years; surely they must have been on good terms. But her anxiety got the best of her and she decided to try and make her way by herself. It had been a stupid choice. By the time she actually found her apartment, she was cold to the bone and her feet were wet. If she wasn't careful, she'd get sick.

She had no idea what to expect from her apartment. The last time she remembered being there, she had few belongings. She had just moved in and gotten a new job. She hadn't made much at her last job and couldn't afford nice furniture or decorations. Besides, what was the use of having a pretty apartment if no one else would see it?

She was cold and tired and had one hell of a headache and was not in the mood to see that strange man again. Enrique Geum. She had finally managed to get his face out of her mind. He means nothing to you, had become her mantra for the past few hours. Every time he popped into her head, she had to remind herself that he was nothing. A stranger who she had met once by chance. She owed him her gratitude for saving her, but nothing more.

Except she did. She owed him her memories. She didn't remember who he was to her, but she had no doubt he had been someone important. All the things he'd said… they'd sounded so genuine and heartfelt. She couldn't imagine that anyone could make them up. But the thought of anyone falling in love with her was ridiculous.

It was safer for her to pretend not to know him for the time being. She had 5 years' worth of memories to sort through and not enough time to do it. She had somehow managed to call her boss and explain the situation. She had given Dok Mi permission to work from home for as long as she needed to (apparently Go Dok Mi had been coming into the office for over a year now?), but she still had to do her work.

She was not looking forward to editing with her splitting headache. At least it would offer a distraction from Enrique. Maybe a shower first… that's when the doors opened to her hall and she saw him.

She had thought she'd made herself clear. Maybe she had just imagined herself telling him off? Sometimes she had fantasies where she was brave. Had she truly not said anything at all?

She didn't want to speak to him, not so soon after his love confession. But there was no way around it. He was right in front of her door, scrubbing something. She really didn't care what she was doing. He was there interrupting her solitude.

"What're you doing?" she managed to squeak out. He turned back to her, and for a spilt second she saw the joy that had been in his eyes before she'd dashed his hopes, but it was gone in an instant. For some reason, she wanted it back. It hurt her to see his sadness.

"I…" Enrique stammered. Nothing funny to say this time? She though, Good.

Dok Mi used his silence to take the offensive. If he hadn't understood her in the hospital, she had to make sure he did now. If he didn't give her some space, she'd never be able to work things out. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

His eyes darkened with hurt, but in a moment, it was replaced by the same false grin he had used before "You live here, Go Dok Mi?" he said cheerfully "I was visiting my friend Oh Jin Rak, I must have knocked the wrong door! Stupid me!"

He was lying, she knew he was. But he was offering her an excuse not to talk to him and she'd be damned if she didn't take it, "He's apartment 401," she replied. She needed to get away from him, but he was still standing in front of the door. In a rare display of confidence, she wedged herself between him and her home. They were not quite touching, but she could feel the heat radiating from his body. For the first time all day she felt warm. She knew there must be a blush coming to her cheeks. She needed to get away before she did something dumb. Like hug him. All she wanted was for him to wrap his arms around her and spread his warmth all over her. She made a point to stiffen herself so he wouldn't think she was comfortable.

He nodded to her "Okay, Ahjumma," he said. She stiffened at the pet name "I mean Dok Mi. I'll see you later!"

"Please, Enrique," she said, not exactly to him, but to some other being that would take him away from her "Just go home" she finished before shutting the door.

She might have been cruel to him, but she could tell it would take cruelty to get him to leave. He was acting like an overly affectionate dog, and the only way to get a dog to abandon you was to mistreat it. People had tried to befriend her over the years, but she always pushed them away using the same cruelty that had been inflicted on her during high school.

But you're 27 now, she thought, are things really the same as when you were 22? The notion flashed through her mind briefly before she pushed it aside. She promised herself that she would do anything to prevent another heartbreak. She wouldn't open herself back up ever, not after Do Hwi's betrayal.

If she had been stabbed in the back by her best friend since elementary school, what was stopping the boy she'd known for only a little while from doing the same thing?

It was too great a risk to trust people. She'd decided that long ago. Even if what Enrique had been honest about his own feelings, how could he possibly have known hers? Whatever love he spoke of had to be one sided. She promised herself that she'd never fall in love. It wasn't her fault if she couldn't reciprocate those feelings. His obvious hurt only reaffirmed her belief that love wasn't worth the pain.

She had everything she needed right here. A TV, a computer, more books then she could ever read. She had food and a job and roof over her head. She didn't need anything else to complete her. But…

She still felt strangely empty.

AN: I know there isn't a huge English speaking fandom for fbnd, but I really appreciate the few followers of this story, and I love the reviews I've been getting