My Secret Lover

Chapter 41

Pov. Sim Jake*

Nervously, I waited outside the ramen store where Sunghoon and I had first met. Nostalgically, I remembered the time when we had met by chance that night. At first, we were both very shy, but a few minutes later, we quickly opened up as we ran after Layla through the park. We had a lot of fun and got to know each other well.
I remembered that I couldn't sleep that night because of mixed feelings towards Sunghoon.

But who would have thought that the whole story, which was actually great, could take such a negative turn?

I couldn't have imagined this in my worst dreams. But now I stood there, nervous, and perplexed, alternately glancing anxiously at my watch so as not to lose my mind.

I wonder what Sunghoon wanted to talk about. I was literally in a real dilemma; my body was tenser than ever. It felt like I couldn't breathe. As if I had to hold my breath on purpose until there was finally clarity about Sunghoon's strange behavior.

For a moment I didn't even realize that it had started to snow. Confidently I looked up and had to grin slightly, while the snowflakes fell gently from the sky.

The first snow since February. I hope the fate has also brought me a little luck, because even as beautiful as the snow was, I somehow had a bad feeling...

Sensing footsteps, I looked up and saw Sunghoon walking toward me. His hands are deep in his jacket pockets, gaze fixed on the ground. A relieved smile flitted across my face. The fact that I could finally see him again made me sigh contentedly.

But his attitude made me shiver.

Arrived he looked up briefly, then past me. Thoughtfully, he formed his mouth into a line, whereupon a small "hello" was heard. A small cloud of cold left his mouth as he spoke. He himself seemed somehow cold, which was equal to the ambient temperatures. Maybe I just had a wrong impression and he was just freezing, just like me now.

I should have put on a warmer jacket...

"Hi Sunghoon, how are you? Long time no see, what happened?", I asked worriedly and wanted to pull him into a long hug, but he backed away, his hands still in his pants pockets.
"Oh...", it came out of my mouth softly, whereupon I pulled my arms to myself again and swallowed hard.

He didn't even look me in the eye, the trees behind me were probably more exciting.

Again, I tried an approach, hoping that I had simply misunderstood the signals earlier. I hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder and tried to make eye contact with him. But again, he turned his face away from me and took a step back.

Ouch. I saw a side of him I had never seen before. He was barely recognizable... Hoon seemed so cold and... heartless?

An unpleasant tugging sensation spread through the stomach area; these were certainly not the butterflies that were happily fluttering around.

Maybe it was the knife stabs that already foreshadowed what the conversation would lead to. Or maybe both.

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat as best I could. Clearing my throat quietly, I looked at him. "You wanted to talk to me?"
"It's like this..." he began, speaking slowly and carefully as if he was carefully analyzing every single word in his head and specifically looking for the right words to communicate with me. "Or ... no ... how do I say it best ..."
He held my breath completely, the tugging in my stomach became more intense, and the tension between us was clearly felt.

It was no longer as pleasant as usual; the atmosphere was now extremely fraught.

"It's over..." he finally admitted coldly and honestly, looking me straight in the eye. "Wait... what?"