A whole lot of thanks to MidnightDew for giving me the idea for this chapter! :)
Yi Jeong clenched his fists and tried desperately to hide his jealousy at the sight before him. It was an epic fail on his side considering he looked like he could kill someone. It was supposed to be a happy night for the group. They were all having dinner together at an Italian place Jun Pyo picked out to celebrate. What they were celebrating, Yi Jeong didn't know. The couple was going to get married in two days time so he supposed they were celebrating that. But he really couldn't be sure as he was not paying attention to whatever Jun Pyo and Jan Di were saying over dinner. His attention was solely on the two people sitting in front of him.
"Bro, you okay?" Woo Bin asked, noticing his tense state. They were all almost done with dinner, but Yi Jeong's food remained untouched. His gaze slowly leaves the two and turns to Woo Bin.
"Just great." he answered. Ji Hu and Ga Eul were sitting next to each other, talking to each other and laughing carelessly. How the hell could he be okay? Ga Eul didn't even acknowledge him when he arrived. No, she was too engrossed with Ji Hu to even notice him sit in front of her.
"And then?" He heard Ga Eul say. Ji Hu seemed to be in the middle of telling a story. And what a very amusing story it was considering Ga Eul's wide grin. Ji Hu continued his story in a hush tone. Yi Jeong felt like puking.
"Yah, Yi Jeong!" he turned to Woo Bin beside him.
"What?" he demanded. Couldn't he see that he was in the middle of a very serious meeting with himself? Yi Jeong winced at his own thought. Man, he was getting crazy.
"If you stare at them any longer, your eye balls would pop out."
"Who the hell's staring? I was…thinking." What a pitiful excuse, even Yi Jeong knew that. But he couldn't admit his insecurity to anyone, not even to his best friend. How pathetic was it that he felt jealous at Ga Eul and Ji Hu's relationship? Ji Hu of all people! He was one of his oldest friends. Yi Jeong was even supposed to feel glad that all his good friends got along with his girlfriend. Or rather his girl-space-friend, but whatever. Truthfully, it wasn't Ji Hu he was worried about. No, he knew that Ji Hu would never do that to him. It was Ga Eul that bugs him. What if she falls for Ji Hu? He's always been the sweet and sensitive one of the group. Don't all good girls want that? His thoughts were once again disturbed by Don Juan.
"Do anymore thinking and you're brain would just explode, like, boom." Yi Jeong looks at him strangely. Where the hell does he get this stuff?
"What? You think I only speak gangster?" Woo Bin gives him a shove and turned his attention to where Yi Jeong was staring.
"You do know they're just friends, right?" Right then, Ga Eul gestures to her ear, as if telling Ji Hu that she couldn't hear him. He leans closer to her to whisper. He clearly saw the blush that crept up Ga Eul's face. Yi Jeong stands up noisily causing the whole table to look at him.
"Excuse me." he says before leaving. Friends my ass.
--
"Sunbae, maybe I should go follow him?" she asks uncertainly at Ji Hu. He looks knowingly at her.
"What happened to letting him think what he wants?" Ga Eul didn't have an answer to that. Yes, she did say that. But that was before seeing Yi Jeong's reaction. He seemed really angry and she didn't mean for that to happen. She and Ji Hu have just grown close since their little spying trip. She didn't know he'd get so affected.
"Go and do what you have to, Ga Eul." she didn't need to be told twice. She stood up and excused herself from the rest of the group. She turned to Ji Hu last and he gave her an encouraging nod. He knew Yi Jeong would react that way, he has been waiting for it all night. Yes, he supposed he could've told that to the naïve Ga Eul but she needed to figure it for herself. Maybe it was her turn to stop being insensitive. It was funny how the two of them kept fighting what was bound to happen anyway. It was like trying to stop a swing from stopping. It just wouldn't happen because somehow they'd get tired of pushing and pulling. Eventually they'd get tired of going back and forth; they'd get tired of setting the other person too high or too low. That would be the time they reach steadiness, something Ji Hu knew they've both been longing for.
--
His car was already gone when she reached the parking lot. Her mind wandered on two options on where he would go. The first one would be him locking himself in his studio and drinking the night away. The second one would be him going to a club with girls surrounding him and drinking the night away. And maybe getting some if the girls got drunk too, which was most likely to happen. None of the options fit in well with Ga Eul which is why she needed to know which option he took. She tried calling him but he switched off his phone, or maybe the club was out of coverage. She cringed at the thought of Yi Jeong and girls around him. But he wouldn't do that to her, would he? He couldn't, not after everything he's said. She needed to trust him. After spying on him and seeing how true he was, what right did she have to doubt? Yet, she hung out with Ji Hu tonight knowing, maybe subconsciously, that Yi Jeong would get jealous. Maybe that's what she wanted to happen, to see if he really did want her. As she thought about the past months that Yi Jeong has been pursuing her, what reason did she have in saying he didn't? Ga Eul mentally slapped herself for her cruelty. She was going to have to apologize. She decided to try the first option, the one that would hurt much less.
She was beyond glad to see his car parked in front of his studio. She walked nervously to his front door. What was she going to say to him? What if he didn't want to talk to her? What if he was already drunk of his ass? She swallowed and slowly put her hand to the knob, trying her luck. She was glad to find it open. She walked right in, closing it gently behind her. Yi Jeong had his back to the door and as expected, a bottle of scotch was sitting in the counter. Ga Eul was surprised to find it unopened.
"Sunbae?" her voice was small and she was surprised that he had heard her. He turned to her with still angry eyes. He stood up and walked closer to Ga Eul.
"What do you want?" Ga Eul felt her heart break at the sudden coldness. Ever since his return, it was her that has always been cold. Not the other way around.
"I'm sorry if me hanging out with Ji Hu sunbae upset you." She started. She heard Yi Jeong let out a sound of disbelief.
"If it upset me? How else would it have made me feel?" he countered. He desperately wanted to tell her how much rage and jealousy he felt at the moment. But he knew what her response would be. What right do you have, Yi Jeong?
"You don't have to raise your voice at me." Ga Eul's new found pride was taking over her again. She was so sure of her apology on the way here but his words were starting to make it hard for her. She knew she was the one at fault for this one, but what about all the other times? What about the last four years?
"Did you even think about how I would feel?" There, he said it. He couldn't keep it in any longer. He needed her to know that he had feelings too, that she wasn't the only with the right to get hurt.
"What right to do you have to say that?" she demanded. He had been right about her reaction. This was the typical Ga Eul 2.0 reaction.
"Of course, I have no right. I was the one who didn't call you for four years. I was the coward who ran away from his feelings. But I've been trying, trying to get that image of me off you. But how am I supposed to do that when that's all you ever try to remember?" he didn't know where that came from. He wasn't planning on saying that to her, ever. But they say honesty is the best thing for a relationship. He silently prayed that that was honest enough.
"What do you want me to do, sunbae? Just forget about everything so suddenly? Well, I can't and if you can't deal with that then I don't know why you're still wasting your time on me." She wanted to walk out of his studio so bad. But his hand that shot up to her wrist stopped her.
"That's not what I meant and you know that."
"Maybe you giving up would be the best for both of us." she didn't mean that. Not even in the slightest bit. But she was angry and she was bitter, all the makings of a perfectly good liar.
"Please stop pushing me away." His voice, so angry and cold just moments ago, turned soft and uncertain. Ga Eul couldn't look at him without feeling guilty.
"I'll see you at the wedding, sunbae." She broke away from him. She walked out the door, refusing to turn and let him see her tears. She didn't even know why she was crying. It could be because of her anger at him and the way he accused her of pushing him away, or maybe it was her anger at herself, because somehow she knew he could be right. Maybe she was the coward who ran away from her feelings.
He wanted to run after her, really he did. But he knew it would just cause even more trouble for them. They were both in no state to communicate with each other decently and he didn't want to ruin his chances with her anymore than it already was. But he's already gone this far in trying to win her back, and even if he wanted to, which he didn't, there was no way now that he would let her go because somehow, he knew, that no matter what it would still be her, always her, that he'd be longing for. And no amount of pushing would ever be able to change that, so she can just shove the idea of him giving up out of her pretty head.
Review, please. :D