STORMY NIGHTS ✓ ⇢ [EDITING]

《CHAPTER 3》[REVISED]

FEBRUARY 8, 2019
ANYANG, SOUTH KOREA
10:12 AM

Once Suho is gone and she is completely dressed, Yeeun glances at the clock by her bed. She has plenty of time before her shift, but she wants to leave the apartment as soon as possible. She has to get away from him, or she might suffer from a heart attack.

Yeeun grabs a cup noodle container from an overhead cupboard in the kitchen. As she reaches for a pack of disposable chopsticks, she meets Suho's dark-eyed gaze from where he stands by the small sofa. The latter drops the cup noodle package and swings the door open, her backpack tightened on her shoulders.

"Where are you going so early in the morning?" Suho asks, standing up from the couch. His voice has changed so much in the last few months, its usual amusement replaced with an unfamilar somberness to it. Even though the man currently leaning against the living room wall looks like the same Moon Suho who Yeeun had left behind all those months ago, she realizes that he has changed. Gone is the cheeky beanpole who used to bribe her with guava candies just to hold her hand.

Yeeun doesn't answer, shaking herself out of her thoughts. She will never be the same Baek Yeeun he had loved, either.

The dark-haired woman sprints down the stairs, her ears ringing from the sudden intense movement. Her chest still irritates her, with each breath resonating a sharp pain. However, she keeps counting the steps until she reaches the ground floor.

"Yeeun-ah!" Suho calls, dashing up to her before matching her pace as she power-walks towards Alley Mao. Knowing she will probably lose all of her self-control if she lets him follow her to her workplace, the indignant twenty-one year old takes an alternate route. She glances at her watch, swearing under her breath. It was already a quarter to noon.

"Isn't the restaurant that way?" A confused Suho glances at Yeeun, who mentally curses herself for coming up with this foolproof plan. Her heart is beating rapidly in her frail chest, so she bends over to rest on her knees. Lee Suho isn't the type to just cower in fear, nevertheless at Yeeun. The woman in question is nearly half a foot shorter and oftentimes resembles a grouchy bunny.

Yeeun straightens, aggressively pointing back towards the way they came. "You have no business following me around."

Straight impact.

He flinches at the malice in her voice, and Yeeun internally raises her fist in victory.

Until he continues to stroll right beside her.

"Sorry to break it to you, jagiya, but you're stuck with me for a long time." He pops his lips at the last part, causing her to groan in frustration. The sound of lips popping has always frustrated her, and he is well aware of it.

Yeeun ignores his presence as she enters the casual eatery, dropping her jacket in the storage room. She reaches for the apron hung neatly on a steel handle by the counter, tying it loosely around her waist before punching in her name at the register to take her first order of the day.

Yeeun quickly checks for change, mentally noting to remind her manager that they were close to empty. She looks up, a strained smile on her face as she prepares to deal with the halabeoji who always fights for discounts the second she punches in. Although the owner exasperatedly denies him every time, the halabeoji nods, a determined look in his eyes before he pays the full amount.

"Good afternoon, how may I help-" Yeeun nearly bangs her hand against the trays of neatly separated won as she glances at the man casually leaning against the counter.

Leaning must be his pastime.

"Stop following me around like some puppy and go home." Yeeun grits her teeth, straightening as the ebony-haired man raises his eyebrows before slowly gliding over to the windows lining the right side of the shop. Yeeun can see him posing there like a statue through the corner of her eye as she addresses the next customer with the most pleasant smile she can muster. "Hello, how may I help you?"

Yeeun streams through the rest of the day without Suho on her mind. She has forgotten about him, now realizing during her coffee break that he is gone.

It is only when she is getting ready to leave that Yeeun finds his lean frame angled against the wall by the tray rack. He tilts his head towards the door. "Ready?" he asks, all humor gone from his face as he snuggles into his thin grey hoodie.

Yeeun follows Suho out of the shop once Hakju oppa arrives. It isn't a terribly long walk back towards the apartment, but he is pretending not to shiver against the February cold beside her. He resembles a kitten drowning in water as he wraps his arms around himself oblivious to his observant roommate.

Yeeun sighs, throwing off her jacket and tossing it to him as she walks faster. She doesn't want to hear his stupid comments, but a small part of her mind is relieved. Yeeun hears him catch it, and then the shuffle of his footsteps as he speeds up to reach her, attempting to return it. She snaps at him, tired of his persistence, "Stop acting so fucking nice and wear it before you die."

Yeeun blinks at her behavior, realizing the harshness of her tone too late. Suho flinches, his eyes unmoving as he stares at the ground. There is a silence between them as both of the young adults replay the last few seconds in their minds, attempting to rationalize what just happened.

Yeeun instantly regrets it, her stomach forming knots. She hates what she has become: this frozen shell of who she used to be. She clenches her fists at her sides, closing her eyes as she takes a deep breath.

It seems that her message got to him loud and clear, because Suho stops trying to give the jacket back to her. Ths two of them stroll in silence on their way back to the apartment.

Yeeun hands sting from the cold, so she places them in her jeans pocket, only to find that it has ripped. Her cheeks flush a bright shade of red when she notices Suho's eyes on her, and she increases her speed, attempting to leave him behind her.

A few seconds later, Suho jogs up to her, placing one side of the jacket around Yeeun's shoulders. He comes closer, his warmth enveloping her in his embrace. Suho's short ebony hair brushes against the top of her head, and she involuntarily finds herself moving into his side.

Yeeun stops herself just as her body begins to adjust, clearing her throat. It seems that Suho has also reciprocated her thoughts, as he pulls away as far as the jacket will allow. She glances at his face, only to find him staring straight ahead.

Yeeun sighs once again, letting him stay like this if it means that she hates herself a bit less. Despite her logical necessity for him to disappear, she can't forget the fact that each of them are a part of the other's history.