DOWNPOUR → KMG

two

Sohye was working from home the day she got a really cryptic message from Mingyu. She looked at her phone and saw that he told her to meet him at the same park he was scouted at immediately. Sohye was worried. She grabbed her purse and ran out of the apartment. She got to the park as soon as she could. She was huffing and sweating as she rushed through the park, only to see Mingyu cheerfully sitting on a bench eating an ice cream cone.

"What is this? You scared me!" Sohye exclaimed as she walked towards him.

"What? How did I scare you?" Mingyu looked surprised.

"You said to get here immediately! I thought you got into an accident or something," Sohye sighed as she plopped down on the bench next to Mingyu.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry for scaring you," Mingyu smiled at her and kissed the side of her head. He dug into a grocery bag he had with him and took out another ice cream cone. He offered it to Sohye. Sohye took it.

Turns out Mingyu called her there so urgently because he wanted to go on a date with her. Sohye slapped Mingyu's shoulder for pulling such a stunt on her, but then she accompanied him wherever he wanted to lead her. It had been a while since they got to spend so much time together outside.

Mingyu took Sohye to their favorite, locally owned coffee shop, then her favorite flower shop. Mingyu bought her a specially made bouquet that the owner of the store made sparingly. Sohye was amazed at all the gestures. It made her heart flutter to have Mingyu do all of these unexpected things for her. She felt like she was falling in love all over again.

By the end of their spontaneous date, the sun was starting to set, painting the sky with hues of oranges and pinks. Sohye looked up at the sky and smiled happily. It had been so long since she had been out with Mingyu, and her heart was filled to the brim. She was so happy.

The two of them returned back to the park that Mingyu called her to. They walked along a flower path as the sun got lower and lower in the sky. Sohye cradled her flowers in her arms. She smiled at them fondly. Mingyu, on the other hand, was looking down at the ground with a slight frown on his face. He stopped cold in his tracks, all of a sudden, and he grabbed Sohye's hand. Sohye stopped walking and looked back at Mingyu. He looked as if he were about to cry. Sohye turned completely to face him. He let go of her arm.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly.

Mingyu sniffed. He looked up and laughed slightly. It wasn't a laugh of derision, or because he found anything amusing- it was a pained laugh, like he had something to say but didn't want to say it. Sohye frowned. Mingyu looked away and pinched the bridge of his nose before turning back to Sohye.

"Let's break up," he said coldly with a small smile on his face.

"What?" Sohye was flustered. "What are you talking about, suddenly?"

"I can't be with you anymore, now," Mingyu's tone did not change. Sohye nearly winced. Mingyu was making intense eye contact with her; she knew he wasn't playing around right now.

"Suddenly? Why?" she stammered out.

"It's just," Mingyu looked down at the ground. He sighed, then looked back up. "I'm so busy with schedules." He bit his lower lip and hummed out, deep in thought. His teeth looked as if they were sinking into his lower lip painfully hard. "It's just that."

"You said you liked me... you said you loved me, Mingyu," Sohye's hands went limp and dangled at her sides, the flowers no longer cradled in her arms.

"I loved you. I used to love you," he chuckles again. He looked away and rubbed his nose with his thumb. He bit his lip again. He started fidgeting. Sohye reached out to him with her free hand, but Mingyu took a step back.

"I'll treat you better," Sohye said desperately. "I'll help you with your schedules. I'll do whatever you need me to do."

Mingyu took a step back. He looked at Sohye dead in the eye. His eyes were blank. "I have another girl," he said coldly.

Sohye's heart dropped. She let go of the flowers, the flowers falling to the ground. She didn't know what to say. She couldn't believe this was happening to her for the second time in her life. Mingyu took her out for one of the best dates they had ever been on, and here he was the exact same day breaking up with her. There was no way he could treat her that well and also be cheating on her.

"Do you... like her that much?" Sohye managed to bite out.

Mingyu didn't respond. He continued looking at her with the same blank expression. Sohye felt helpless. She balled up her fists and gritted her teeth.

"You're very mean," Sohye's eyes blurred with tears.

"I know I'm mean, but still," Mingyu exhaled. "Let's break up."

Mingyu was about to walk away, but Sohye cried out, "Do you really like her that much?"

Mingyu turned around quickly and said harshly, "I like her, why?"

Sohye winced. "How much," tears spilled out of her eyes. "How much do you like her?"

Mingyu didn't answer her. He turned around. Sohye stared at his back as he said, "Goodbye, Sohye."

With that, Mingyu left, leaving Sohye motionless in the middle of the flower path of their favorite park. Her knees, at some point, gave out, and Sohye collapsed to the ground. She cried her heart out, but it was a silent pained cry. The unknown fear she had for the past several weeks finally revealed itself: her life was too good to be true. Pain and sadness consumed her as she cried in the park, her tears falling onto the petals of the goodbye flowers that Mingyu got for her.