Then Came You

Yongwonhari

It was a grey, slow morning. White beams were advancing from the ceiling-to-the-floor big glass door of his balcony into the living room, where he laid there on the scatter of their memories, drowsed away from tiredness of bawling his eyes out. The heat of the sun finally reached his back.

"No..." He muttered in his sleep.

"YeaJi-ah!!!" His eyes unfolded. 

Stunned on his curled position on the floor, he scanned the room. It was a bad dream. One of them. The last scenes of their encounter has been replaying non-stop in his mind for the last two days, subsequent to his realization that she was really gone, that he needed her more than his own life. Those dreams were the result of him stopped denying that he didn't fully acknowledge that she's been hurt. That he supposed to protect her, like he obliged her when he took her into his arms over a year ago. Those nightmares was a manifest of his failure, of the sovereign of his manhood, of his over the top self-pride.

He still unmoved. Not a flinch. He was crammed with guilt. He was longing for her to be back but he didn't grasp how. He didn't have the courage. He was fear that she would reject him, after what he did. He was the one who pierced her heart with his razor-sharp words. He was the one who didn't fulfill his obligation. He was the one who shattered their vow, that they would always protect each other. Tears rolled on his cheek, but he remain expressionless.

His back was burning as the sun crawled higher to its spot. He straightened up. A photo stuck on the side of his face. He peeled it and take a peek of it. It was the picture of her laughing to the sky. He recalled this was on one of their aimless drive, mid-autumn last year. He was so overreacting while taking her photos so he tripped and she burst out giggling. His heart stung.

He needed to do something. Anything to distract his mind of her. So he stood up groaning, headed to his walk-in closet, took out his sneakers, strode to the laundry room and washed them all together. 

It was midday already when he finished drying his shoes. He was starving but didn't want to eat alone, so he called his cousin.

"Hyung, have you get your lunch?" He stepped towards the bathroom.

"Nope. Not yet. Why?" His Robae-hyung seemed to be driving with his car window open. The sound of traffic was on his background.

"Lets eat lunch together. I need to talk to you about something." He started to undress himself.

"Okay, meet me at the usual place."

"See you..." He hung up, put his phone on the vanity near the bathroom sink and enter the shower tube.

Their usual place was a small Korean noodle place where they used to eat since they were young. It was a quiet little place, not so many people around and because they were a regular, the owner always give them a special table, in the corner, a little covert, away from the eyes of the people prying.

"I don't care how, I just want all the bad comments, rumors and their kinds not to get away with nothing." He munched his lunch.