Worlds Apart - Taekook - Book 2

Chapter 304 - What To Do?

'Totally out of character'

That is what Jin said after Heeju left them to do whatever she was expecting them to do. Ash agreed but Emery pointed out that she was away from her family for a long time, returned to see the friendship group putting her brother through hell, only then for Nuri to turn up and cause further trouble. It was logical that she'd felt like the outsider, unable to do anything about it and she'd spent the last year at least, hearing about how awful that woman was. Most of the people she cared about had been affected by Nuri directly or indirectly, Heeju held everyone together and did what had to be done... perhaps seeing Nuri in person was the final straw? It all made sense, Ash thought, everyone had their breaking point.

Should he have followed her?

Ash thought it would be better to leave her to it, at least for a while. The way she'd left the room, made him think that she knew where she was going and he suspected that she would go to find Ara and Yejoon.

He loved her. That much he knew. Never in a million years would he have thought that he would catch the girl of his dreams! That day she'd walked into the diner he'd been paralysed, lost the ability to behave like a normal human being (something Jungkook liked to bring up every once in a while), only then to find out who she was... it was a lot to cope with. Ash was sure they'd hit it off immediately after she'd laughed at his joke and they'd both giggled about his plan to work in pathology.

When she'd started flirting with him, he wondered if there was a chance? Then it arose that she was meant to be returning to America and that was a bit too much as far as 'long distance was concerned' so he'd considered a short term situation... no commitment, go with the flow, casual arrangement sort of thing? That thought was more of a fantasy, something that replaced the typical 'girl next door' porn that helped him handle his urges while single. The worst part was that after he'd met Heeju, there wasn't a woman out there who held his interest and he'd uninstalled the dating apps, bored of searching for someone who wasn't her.

Back then, it was all so awkward. The circumstances were not ideal. Here he had a woman who he felt an instant connection with, she was everything he could have ever wanted... a woman who was only in the country for a short amount of time and who happened to be the sister of his brother's boyfriend. Ash would've traded brother for best friend if it made it any better but it didn't really because he was more than a best friend to Jungkook and vice versa. It was tricky and it messed with his mind.

The Valentines picnic he'd arranged would always be his favourite date. He definitely packed too much food, that much he had admitted to himself many times since. Ash cringes when he thinks of the effort he went to trying to talk himself out of the basic fact that it was a date and he wasn't too proud to admit that he still melted when Heeju wore the pink cardigan with its deep pink hearts. His heart chose her that day, while his insides liquified, his heart bloomed when she giggled and rushed over to play with the dogs. It was all so vivid in his memory... as vivid as their first proper kiss and the way he felt when she told him that she was staying in Seoul.

Everything that he'd mocked Jungkook for, he'd become with Heeju. Of course, he wasn't as embedded in Egypt as Jungkook was, no, the non dates with Taehyung went on for a considerably longer period, therefore Ash deemed that he wasn't as bad and definitely not a hypocrite.

Sometimes, Ash felt like he was levitating, unsupported and open to the elements. He had his family and friends who were always there when he needed them, supporting him unconditionally, by choice... but it wasn't quite the same as having the natural bond and security that his biological parents would've provided. There was a chance that he may have had a sibling? Who knows what his life would've looked like now if his parents hadn't died. There's rarely a minute that goes by when he doesn't feel grateful that he has Billy, Marie and Jungkook but there's always a tiny voice in his head asking 'what could've been?'