𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝, lee heeseung

002. do you remember?

DO YOU REMEMBER?

sometimes, when friendships end, it's hard to stay civil even though you love them to your core. it's hard to wish them the best, when they brought out the worst in you. therefore, hating them is all you can really do to spare yourself or at least hide the pain they caused you.

that's what it was like for minah anyways. staying civil was too much to ask for. although she didn't hate him in a way that she'd wish anything horrible on him, she hoped that he would be as miserable as she was. in fact, she couldn't even exchange him a small smile if she tried.

so she loathed him, because that was much easier than dealing with the fact that he hurt her, and that deep down she wanted her best friend back.

now, since she knew that the two of them would probably be running into each other a lot this year, minah prepared for the worst. the best thing she could do in this situation was to avoid him at all cost.

however, trying to avoid him was a lost cause. apparently, even the university had plotted against her by assigning them to adjoining lockers.

what sucked even more was that it wouldn't be as horrible for him as it was for her, since he didn't even remember her. at least, that's how he made it seem. so if playing dumb was what it took to get minah through the year, then so be it.

currently, the girl was at said locker to get some of the things she needed for her next seminar. the girl had put on her headphones to block out any loud noises, but that didn't stop her from noticing an unwanted presence next to her.

she didn't even have to look at the guy next to her to know who it was. she could recognize that cologne from miles away. it was heeseung.

as quickly as possible, she gathered there things she needed, and tried to put them into her bag to get the hell out of there. however, she was interrupted by him.

"hi." his voice disrupted minah thoughts while he opened his locker.

his sudden presence had already caught minah off guard, not to mention the fact that he spoke to her,
but the obliviousness in his voice is what caused her to be even more ticked off than she was at the thought of him.

responding to him, therefore, seemed like an unlikely option and severe task for her to complete. so instead she just slammed her locker shut and walked off like a ghost just spoke to her. which is technically what he was to her.

not expecting him to run after her, minah was caught by surprise when she felt a hand softly tap on her shoulder. out of reflexes, she forcefully turned her head to see him walking next to her in the same direction as her.

"hey, you don't recognize me?" his soft voice questioned as he panted a little.

her heart stopped at those words. up until now, she believed he didn't remember or recognize her anymore. but hearing him ask if she recognized him confirmed that he in fact did.

minah's initial plan was to stay silent until he left. it was the only way he would get the hint that she did not want to speak with him, but unfortunately for her, he didn't get the hint.

and so he tried again, this time halting her by stepping in front of her and putting his hand on her shoulder. "minah. it's me, heeseung. don't you remember?"

his voice was so soft, so gentle. it almost made minah feel bad for ignoring him. of course, she knew better than to pity the guy that left her behind.

"i do, but it seemed like that feeling was not mutual when you walked right past me yesterday." minah deadpanned in a monotone voice while staring straight in front of her.

it seemed like a petty thing to say, but to be honest that was what she was going for.

"sorry about that. i didn't notice." heeseung sighed and hesitated before speaking again. "anyways. i haven't seen you since you moved away. bummer we didn't stay in touch."

yeah, since i blocked you on everything. bummer right?

"mhmm." she hummed while nodding, and started walking again, only to be followed by him again.

"well, it's good to see you." he smiled, trying to get a reaction out of her, but was unsuccessful again.

the girl didn't even dare to look at him. she knew it would only make her want to forgive him, which was exactly what she avoided doing.

"oh," she took out her phone and started scrolling, desperately trying to seem unbothered by him, but her racing heart and trembling fingers suggested otherwise. "thanks."

it was a lousy response. rude even. but minah couldn't find any other words that seemed appropriate enough to respond with. she couldn't tell him it was good to see him too, cause that would be a lie. however, telling him she hated him wouldn't be the truth either.

so if sticking with these words was what it took to appear unimpressed by his sudden appearance, then so be it.

"what course do you have right now?" the boy didn't give up, despite the cold, dull answers he received from minah.

"history." she soullessly replied hoping he would just stay away, but it was useless.

as suspected, the boy kept up with her walking speed, which probably meant he'd have the same course as well.

"me too." heeseung told her, which confirmed her assumption. "can i walk with you, since i don't know where the classroom is?"

as if you haven't been doing that since you approached me. minah wanted to say, but instead she just nodded.

a part of her wanted to just give in and put on a smile for the boy, just to show that she still cared a little bit. but that part of her had died along with their broken friendship. she was far past forgiveness to even pretend to be nice.

"you haven't changed." the boy remarked with a soft smile on his face as he continued to look at her.

the sudden statement had caught minah by surprise, making her stop walking and finally turn her head to look at the old acquaintance. only now could she really observe him. he'd changed a lot since high school, but somehow he looked exactly the same.

"w- what?" minah stuttered, taking in his features that reminded her of the past.

"you still look beautiful like you did before."

somehow, that sentence melted her heart and infuriated her at the same time. it was sweet of him to say, but then again he had absolutely no right to comment on her appearance when she felt like absolute shit on the inside.

after hearing the unexpected comment, the girl just lowered her face and turned on her cold expressions again.

"don't say that." she looked up at him again with a dead look on her face, before leaving him to go inside the classroom. luckily, the boy understood the hint and went to sit somewhere she couldn't see him.