I'll Be Here, Always | Han Seojun

Chapter 1 | Back in Town

An entire year.

365 days.

8760 hours.

525600 minutes.

  It's been too long since I walked the streets of Seoul. The cold wind harshly hit my hair as I walked down the familiar path towards the bus station. The scenery is beautiful, the way the purple and pink sunset makes the street glow. Little children playing with each other, couples enjoying each other's company, and friends reconnecting among the various shops along the street. The aroma of food and the bright atmosphere reminds me of the simpler times. I could remember the numerous days of laughter and happiness with every step towards the bus stop. My lips slowly lifted upwards until my thoughts were filled with him...

  It's funny how one small thing can change everything in your life. When there's an obstacle, people usually say to either get over it or to make peace with it. I somehow would wound up in a gray area between those options. I couldn't do either of them and instead, I chose to run away from my problems. I wanted to be able to get over the incident on my own, and I couldn't face them after what had happened. I took the soonest flight out of the country to travel abroad and clear my mind. I couldn't stand being around town. Everywhere was a memory with him...

  Whenever I woke up, I saw him. Whenever I went to bed, I had nightmares about him. He was always there where ever I went. It drove me insane because in the end, alas, it was my fault. The only way I could forget about him was if I kept busy. I studied all day and drank to forget him. For six months, this plan would work well. It was the only way to numb my pain, and for a while, it worked. However, I realized that I would have to be the one to pull myself out of this situation. Day by day, I slowly was able to come to terms with it and put the alcohol down. The constant overbearing pain soon turned into a slow burn. Although the pain wasn't completely gone, the numbness soon overtook it.

  Sitting at the bus station, I couldn't help but remember the last time I was here. Looking to the open seat beside me, I could see him looking at me with a smile on his face. His reassuring words and his never-ending kindness. How I wish things were different now... As long as I don't see them everything should be fine.

Honk.

Honk.

Honk.

  Snapping my head up, my eyes found contact with the exasperated bus driver. Heat rushed upon my cheeks as I scrambled to get inside the bus. Hastily making my down the aisle, I found an empty seat and plopped myself onto it. As the bus started to move, I took out my phone and saw a text notification from my mom, "Hey Yoona, I just enrolled you back to Saebom High School. Just like we agreed on, right?" My finger hovered over the keyboard as I reread my mother's text over and over. She was right, we did have a deal. I promised her that everything would be fine now. I quickly typed a response that would put my mom at ease, "Yes, mom. We did. It'll be fun :)." I smiled as I read her response, "Yay honey! I hope this break is what you needed to get back on your feet. Oh and make sure to grab some pastries on the way home."

  My parents were there for me during this whole situation. They understood that I needed time to heal and agreed to whatever I needed to recollect myself. Now that I'm back in Korea, everything seems to be ok, but it's almost as if there's an unspoken rule to not mention the incident. Every time I would try to talk about it to my parents for my sanity, they refused to acknowledge it. It was infuriating. The only two people that would know anything about this were no longer my friends, and I don't blame them either. I wouldn't want to be friends with a murderer either. I just hope I don't cross paths with them at school, as that would be a disaster for everybody.

  Squeak. My feet felt the brakes work as the bus slowly got to the stop that was near the bakery. I made my way down the aisle and thanked the bus driver for the ride. Hopping down the steps, I walked towards the bakery. To my surprise, Prince Comics, my favorite comic book store was still open. It wouldn't hurt to make a quick stop, right? My hand gripped the door handle as my palms turned sweaty-- I'm frozen. This was our place, more specifically, it was his place. Water pooled around my eyes as I pulled down at my cap to hide my tears. My hand trembled as I retracted my hand and continued my way to the bakery.

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  Chocolate croissants. That was his favorite dessert. I made sure to get two of them like I always did. One for me and one for him. Placing them in my basket, I grabbed a few of my parents' favorite desserts and made my way to the cashier. I made sure to hide my face as my eyes were still teary from earlier.

"Hi, did you find everything ok? Will that be all for today," a deep voice asked exasperatedly.

"Yes everything is fine and that is all for today." As I gave my pastries to the cashier, I saw a glint of a silver bracelet under his work uniform, it seemed pretty. The bracelet tumbled down his arm with each scan. It was silver with a few charms on it here and there. Wait, there's no way, no one would have that bracelet, unless--

"Ma'am. Excuse me, ma'am? I will need a form of payment now." Without making eye contact, I gave him my credit card and stood there waiting for my payment to go through.

"The payment won't go through ma'am. Can I have your ID to make sure you're the person listed on the credit card?" Crap, he'll know it's me. Why did this have to happen before my first day back at school? I didn't want them to know I was back until school started. Reluctantly, I handed over my ID to the cashier without making direct eye contact.

My eyes scanned his face as he read over my ID and did a double-take. He looked older now, but his hair grew out as he grew into his face more. His eyes quickly snapped up to meet my reddened eyes. I saw recognition then anger flash across his features. Han Seojun, one of the two people I didn't want to cross paths with, stood right in front of me with my precious pastries.

"Seojun, can I have my ID back?" I tried to keep my voice as level as possible, but it couldn't help but break under his scrutinizing glare. My eyes drifted downwards towards my feet. Gritting his teeth, Seojun let his anger get the best of him as his voice got increasingly louder to the point where customers were starting to stare.

"That's all you have to say, Yoona? Where the hell have you been for the past year? You can't just waltz in here like everything is normal. Did you not even mourn for your--" I snapped my head towards him. My eyes lit up in anger as tears fell down my cheeks.

"Shut the hell up, Seojun." His once angry facade faded slightly as he saw tears rolling down my cheeks.

"Yoona, I didn't mean it like that. You just never told me, I mean us where--" I wiped my tears with my shaky hands. Seojun's eyes narrowed down on my tremor as I felt my chest become constricted as if I couldn't breathe.

"Go. I got it covered." Seojun threw my purchased bag of pastries into my hands.

"No, Seojun let me pay. I can't let you do this for me. You know that I--" My eyes looked up and saw anger in his eyes. Defeated, I took the pastries and left the bakery to avoid making another scene. Little did I know, this was just the start of something much bigger.

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Author's Note: I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter and I hope to see you soon!