The Twin | Kim Gyuvin ZB1

20 Mending

Six months. He hadn't seen her for a whole six months. Everyone could tell he lost the spark in his eyes, but he didn't want to admit to himself that he still wondered about her. He thought he knew her; his heart felt she was opening up to her. Had he been wrong this whole time? Sometimes he would recall what Siwon last said to him. As time passed and he cooled down from the incident, a small part of him wanted to believe what she said. Yet he would then remind himself of the cruel words that came out of her mouth that day and stop himself from softening his stance. This went on until CSAT was over. He had too much free time to think about her and nothing to distract him. He wasn't going to reach out to her again, he just wanted a look at her. Just one look.

"Meow" The cats cried as they saw Gyuvin turn into the alleyway, knowing food was coming along their way.

"Aigoo, you guys must be cold." Gyuvin picked up the cats one by one and gave them a little cuddle."

"Meowww"

"Okay, okay. Here's your food." He opened up the cans of cat food with a light chuckle.

"I'm going to the bookstore to take a peek." He mumbled.

"Meow~"

"One quick glimpse and I'll leave!"

"Now that I think about it, it couldn't have been intentional that I ran into her while she was feeding you guys, right?" Gyuvin continued to explain himself despite having lost his audience to food. "She had been doing this for years before meeting me in high school, and she still doesn't know I saw her back in middle school. Then after that, it was basically me following her around."

"Aish I don't even know anymore!"

Gyuvin used to walk from the alleyway to the bookshop nearly every day. Yet for the past six months, he had avoided walking that path. His steps slowed as he got closer to the bookshop.

With his hood up and strings pulled tight, Gyuvin peeked from the corner of the display window. Siwon wasn't behind the counter, so he moved to the other end of the window to look into the store from another angle. Still, there was no sight of her.

"Gyuvin-ah!" It didn't take long for his suspicious behaviour to be noticed by the bookshop owner who recognised him right away. "What are you doing out here? Come in. It's just me today."

"It's been a while, Sajangnim."

"I know right?" The owner continued the conversation as he led Gyuvin into the store. "How have you been? You've finished CSAT, right?"

"Yes, I have."

"Congratulations. I'm sure it went well. You should come and visit me more often. I'm always by myself lately. I'll leave you to read. We have some new arrivals here." The owner gestured to the displayed books in front of the counter. "Feel free to check them out."

The bookshop owner didn't mention Siwon's name out of consideration, even though it was quite clear why Gyuvin visited. Still, Gyuvin got the hint that Siwon didn't work at the bookshop anymore. Maybe it was a sign that things weren't meant to be.

Saying goodbye to the breezy autumn, Seoul entered the freezing winter as December approached. It was that time of year when Gyuvin's mother would bring donations to the orphanage. Gyuvin didn't come with his mom during the summer because he didn't want to bump into Siwon. This time, he couldn't find an excuse not to help now that he had so much time to spend.

But she still wasn't there.

"Gyuvin Oppa!"

The girls were the first to spot Gyuvin. They say kids grow up very quickly. Gyuvin swore most of them were just up to his waist when he last saw them, but they had all grown a few inches since then.