Moon Sunhee, an economics and social science major returns back to her hometown after failing miserably to find a decent job in Seoul.
The thing that she regrets the most is wasting all of her teenage years chasing her crush, Kim Sunoo but unfortun...
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I tossed the fried egg out of the pan onto a plate and topped it with green coriander leaves before preparing a glass of warm milk and some brown bread. Once I had arranged everything nicely on a tray, a sigh of satisfaction slipped out of my lips.
It was time for breakfast, and I didn't think Sunoo had anything yet, therefore I made him breakfast. Now that he's staying here, I have no other choice than to take care of him.
I shook my head and balanced the tray on my hand. It's definitely nothing more. I'm not doing this because I still care for him, it's just basic act of kindness. I won't repeat the mistake of falling in love with him again.
When I stood at the door of the piano room where he was, I slowly knocked on the door.
"It's open." Sunoo's voice rang out from within the room. I slightly kicked the door open with my leg and stepped inside.
"Breakfast..." I muttered, my voice barely over a whisper as I kept my head down, feeling uneasy about meeting his gaze. His eyes seemed to hold a glimpse of the past, where shadows of love and heartache might await me. "You should have breakfast," this time, my voice grew a little louder and more stable.
"I'm not hungry." He stated, making me glance up at him. But he didn't bother to look in my way, his fingers tracing the piano keys with a gentle touch. My mouth softened, my lips parting slightly as I felt the urge to dispute but he curtly interrupted me in a tone full of firmness, "leave."
My gaze flickered upwards at him and I found his eyes grazing the surface of piano with a melancholic gaze. I then looked down at the tray in my hand, and with a sigh escaping my lips, I reluctantly stepped out.
As I sat alone in the living room, I couldn't help but feel troubled about Sunoo's changed demeanor, despite all the regrets and grudges I held against him. Something about him was missing... he didn't resemble the friendly and cheerful Kim Sunoo from high school at all. His eyes which were always bright seemed so dull just now. The smile that always played at the corner of his lips appeared so distant. It was as if something invisible to other's eyes had drained all the happiness out of his soul, causing him to be heavy with the undefined weight of emptiness he carried.
Aish, I think I'm overthinking. Perhaps it's just a phase of growing older. After all, we're no longer teenagers, we're grown up adults now.
After grabbing the tray, I rose heavily from my seat and headed towards the kitchen.
As I walked in the kitchen, I was greeted by the smell of dirty dishes and grease. The reek clung to me, causing me to scrunch my nose in distaste. I excused the chaos for a moment and reached for the fridge handle. I carefully placed the tray on the middle shelf before closing the fridge door. I wasn't feeling like eating either.
Once I was done, I turned back to the mess I had created while just frying an egg and buttering some bread. My lip curled up in disgust as I started picking up and throwing all the dirty utensils in the sink one by one. I looked at the dishes in the sink and let out a sigh of relief, finding only a few things to wash. It'll only take me sometime to finish doing it.
But then my eyes fell on the kitchen counter, making me wince at the yellowish stains of butter and oil. I need to clean those too! I sighed heavily in defeat, grabbed a dishcloth and began to wipe them. When I finished, I moved back to washing the dishes.
After sometime, I got over it. I wiped my wet hands on the apron I was wearing, leaned against the sink as I groaned in exhaustion before I closed my eyes. The dark image I found after closing my eyes was broken abruptly by a sudden glimpse of bright eyes unfolding before me, triggering me to instantly open my eyelids.
Sunoo... he hadn't eaten anything since morning and it was already afternoon.
Sighing softly, I started taking out the ingredients and utensils to prepare some fried rice for him.
I finished soon enough and set out everything on a tray before slipping out of the kitchen.
As soon as I reached the door, I went inside without bothering to knock. My eyes softened when I found him still sitting across the piano, gazing at it longingly like a child.
Sunoo, when acknowledge my presence, fluttered his gaze from the piano and connected it with mine. His glance darted toward the tray in my hand, then he turned his head away.
"I don't want to eat," I heard him say. "I would like sometime alone, leave." His voice was low, yet it carried a sense of command and I couldn't find the courage to disobey his words.
"And next time, remember to knock." His words added to my frustration as I clutched the tray tighter and immediately went downstairs. Wasn't I being extremely thoughtful but that's all he could be concerned about? It's not easy working under someone, really.
Eventually, hours passed, and it was night already. But I sat poking a chopstick into my rice while casting occasional glances upstairs with subtle unease. A short time ago, I had forcefully placed the tray of food for Sunoo and, in a firm tone, told him to eat when he said he didn't want to eat anything.
What's seriously wrong with him? He hasn't left the piano room since he arrived. All this time, I only saw him sit by the piano, tracing his fingers around it soothingly and gazing at it with admiration.
I don't understand- what kind of comfort is he seeking from the broken piano? Its keys are too shattered to even whisper silent melodies.
My lingering thoughts were consuming me when the door of the piano room was pushed open and Sunoo finally stepped out. He kept his head low, his face unreadable, and walked straight to the next room without sparing attention to anything else.
I quickly got up and ran upstairs to check if he had eaten. However, all I found was the plate full of food, completely untouched. The sight of it filled despair and irritation in me, prompting me to groan and stomp my feet on the ground.
Nevertheless, I picked up the tray gently, walked down the stairs while muttering every single curse I knew under my breath.
And then I found myself smiling at the stray puppies, who sat scattered around the door, licking the bowl of leftover milk and veggies. The coldness of the night wind's sting I felt, was instantly replaced by a sense of warmth as I gazed at the puppies.
The sight of them made me forget about everything else.
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Unedited, meh.
Idk why writing this messy thing took me so long--
