Matter of Harmony || Oneus Seoho

Safe Harbor in the Storm (15)

Seoho's PoV

She had had a bit too much to drink that night. I had to carry her half of the way to my apartment. Not because she wasn't able to walk but because she'd run away if I let her. Kyungmi had said she needed to wake up early the next day and left on her own, I felt guilty not taking care of my girlfriend but I had explained to her why Yuri needed me. I could never leave her alone in a time like this.

The last mile left to my apartment it started to rain. I stretched my tired muscles and put Yuri down. "We'll need to run, can you do that?" She nodded and I didn't need any more approval. I trapped her arm under mine and started running. Of course, I couldn't run too fast considering her condition.

It took me a few tries to unlock the door as it had started to pour by that time. Yuri was sitting at the stairs leading down to the basement apartment. She looked beautiful and tired. Like a hesitant wind —a soft breeze turned into a precarious rain storm.

I crouched down to her eyesight. "Let's go home," "When you take care of me like this, my heart feels so warm."

She didn't move from her spot, instead, she cupped my cheek and moved my wet bangs away from my forehead. "There's no one else in the world I'd trust more to take care of me. Because you're always there when I need you. You're my safe harbor."

Then she leaned down to kiss me. All the feelings I had suppressed hit shore in a violent crash.

Warm droplets mixed with the cold ones from the rain. She was crying. I pulled away immediately.

"You're drunk. And I have a girlfriend."

"How can you leave when I love you so much." Her words stirred old habits. If she says that again I'll break up with Kyungmi, I promised silently. If she means that I will—

"How could you kill yourself when I loved you so much? How could you go without a last word..." She was talking about Jinyoung. Of course.

I pulled her inside and pushed her to the bathroom. "Take a warm shower, I'll make hot chocolate."

...

When I open my eyes I find myself on the couch again. The dream makes me want to see her too much. "It wasn't a dream," I talk out loud. "An old memory..." Maybe a few things were different but... I shake my head.

I notice I woke up too early. I quit most of my part-time jobs after signing the contract with NCT but it's not that easy to change old habits I guess. That gives me an idea. I start preparing a breakfast burrito for Yuri. She won't wake up this early and if I know her she has been neglecting her meals now that I'm not there to nag her to a healthy diet. I scribble a note:

Sorry. I'll stay away as you asked but I had some free time to cook. And I don't think you'd want to waste such great cooking.

I make a paper bird quickly and add it to the top of the package. This way she'll know it's from me. I leave the breakfast in a bag on her door handle and make my way to the recording studio.

A small smile finds its way to my lips unexpectedly. Even if I don't get to see her, I can imagine her struggling between her stubbornness not to take the food and her appetite.

...

Yuri's PoV

I choose which flavor of ramen I'll buy for the night. I'd eat out with Seoho in general but this seems to be the new normal. I think about the pancakes he left in front of my door this morning. And all the other breakfasts he's been preparing for the last few weeks. He really knows how to reach my heart but I won't buckle that easy. My forgiveness should cost more than beautiful, puffy, mouthwatering pancakes...

I force myself to stop daydreaming about his cooking as I walk back to my apartment from the convenience store.

A capped figure steps out of an alleyway and it takes me a minute to understand who's standing in front of me in the dim light. It's Sungho: the creepy fan. "Yuri, I've been trying to get a chance to talk to you. There's hardly any time the bodyguard isn't following you." "What do you mean? How did you find me?" I take a few steps back to put enough distance between the two of us.

"Son Dongju has a bodyguard following you around. That's how he found me. He threatened me you know." He spits at the curb as if he's disgusted by the thought. I can't understand the things he's saying. He must be really delusional.

"He's working behind your back with your mom. You shouldn't trust him. You can just break up with him. I can protect you. I can take you to.." I hear hurried footsteps from behind me and turn to see a bulky man I don't recognize running toward where I'm standing. When I turn back Sungho's gone. "Miss Kang..." The man says out of breath "Are you ok? Did he harm you?" "He—he didn't," I say, my hair still standing on edge from the bizarre interaction.

"Who are you? How do you know who I am?" "I'm hired by the Son family." He explains "Your boyfriend thought you might need protection from the stalker." "Why am I learning about this now? Since when have you been following me?" "Almost three weeks. We didn't want to make you restless.

Excuse me for tonight. The man shouldn't have been able to get that close to you. I am deeply sorry." The man bends over as if he's committed the gravest of errors as if I am someone of incredible importance. I notice how he called me Kang instead of Min.

The things Sungho and the bodyguard said turn into a muddy soup in my head. I wish I had Seoho to share my worries with as I toss and turn to find some refugee in sleep that night.