The renaissance of a romance

CHAPTER 11

Ryujin's POV. 

Y: Wanna meet up?

R: Hey, you're alive! I miss you already.

Y: It's been a week. Of course, you missed me.

R: Grand Central. 8 sharp. Meet me at the clock.

Y: Can't we meet at your place? I don't like going out.

R: My treat, my plans. You won't regret this. Trust me. 

R: I'll wait.  See you x

"So are you sure you don't have a girlfriend right now? Because you've been staring at your phone like an obvious gay." Chaeryeong's question popped me right back to reality.

"Oh, sorry." I suddenly felt conscious and focused my attention back to my blabbering bestfriend, "So you were saying?" I asked her to continue.

She gave me a suspicious look with that eyes of hers, "I can see that you have no plans of stopping your addiction." I shot a confused reaction.

"Come on, Ryujin. That horrible of an artist is sucking the life out of you. When will you wake up?" her words were hurtful to my ears. Seems like me being with Yeji is a worse thing than smoking menthol cigarettes now.

"Don't address her that way." I felt the responsibility to defend.

"That chick is trouble to the media, the police, the city and to you. Why won't you believe that she caused Lia's death?" She lowered her voice in caution when she mentioned the deceased pianist. Now, I'm really pissed off.

I sighed out of frustration, "First of all, a multi-millionaire contemporary artist like Yeji doesn't fall into the category of horrible. Second, she can never kill someone she loved, and still loves so much right now." I corrected her words.

Chaeryeong's eyes trenched in a smaller size, "You say that like you know her so well." she said with slyness and interrogation.

"Trust me, she loved that pianist too much that even now, she's intoxicating herself to the phantom of her death. Even I can't save her from it. She won't let me." I further said as if it needed more explanation. 

It was clear from the beginning that Yeji didn't want to move on nor change, she chose to stay broken. If it means that she still has a part of Lia inside her. I was the only one who thought that  I can make her better if she sets her memories with Lia free, but I realized that Yeji letting go of Lia means letting go half of herself, half of her heart, half of her being, and half of her everything. She'll never be better, without her pianist. An artist will never be better without her music. This is why I can never express my feelings.

Her face met clarity, she understood what I felt for Yeji. In a way. "Okay you hopeless romantic, whatever you say. I'll take it." she shrugged off the seriousness of the moment, and shifted our conversation back to necklaces, because she was planning to buy one for her girlfriend. A peace offering, she says.

...

"Heyyy, you look good." I greeted her as I saw her walk towards me in the leather jacket that I gave to her a week ago. She played out an awkward smile and it was not a good sign at all.

"Thanks." She shortly replied, "So, where are you bringing me to?" she finally asked.

I retorted a smile, assuming that she was also excited to see me. I took a step closer as I catch her hot breath lingering into the cold air and whispered, "Some place where the cops can't find you."

We didn't spare any second and rushed to one of my favorite hangout place, it's called the Hideaway. It is a condensed area which occupies 300 square meters in total, located in the lowest underground platform of the Grand Central Terminal. A place not mapped by google and only a few locals know about it's existence. It's basically a secret society for bounty eaters, all international and local foods are exported illegally here so that the price will cost less. It may be a dangerous business to run, but the profits they get just makes them forget the illegality of the situation. My ex-girlfriend from whatever years ago introduced me to this place and since then I fell in love.