Chapter 2: Saw him after years

After seven years, hearing his voice brought the weird sensations within her; she was unaware of how she should be feeling that instant. Should she be angry or be nonchalant?

It was not difficult for her to perceive what the puberty had done to his voice. His deepened voice sounded more or less melodious to her.

It reminded Miyeon of how she used to record his voice each time they had a conversation on phone and repeatedly listened to it like a creep.

Those memories of hers now made her shake her head at how pathetic she was, and chills went down her back at the thought. Her teenage self was indeed humiliating!

Miyeon stood up from the ground and brushed her skirt to remove the dust off of it. The curiosity that stirred up within her made her look back.

Those dark eyes of his still held the aloofness from the past, and his scrutinizing gaze upon her made her feel conscious of herself. A hope was there within her that he will recognize her.

However, that was instantly crashed and washed when he away with the lady in his arms. It could be that either he did not truly remember or did not want to acknowledge her.

"Aigoo! Oh Miyeon, you are really full of yourself to think that someone of his status will remember you," Miyeon mumbled to herself.

As if he had heard those words, Min Soobin shot a glance at her direction, and instantly, she pursed her lips together. Subconsciously, it appeared that she had said those out loud.

Guilt-ridden, Haera placed her hand on top of Miyeon's shoulder, wanting to comfort her. Understanding her intent, Miyeon gave her an annoyed gaze.

"Geez! How lame do you take me to be in order to get affected by him? At least he drove that annoying fly away," Miyeon voiced out— creases appearing between both of her eyebrows.

"You must be feeling really terrible at here. Let's go and get you some food. That can always cheer you up," Haera suggested while a blindingly bright smile formed on her face.

Miyeon rolled her eyes at Haera and corrected, "It's not all food that cheers me up; It's only instant noodles."

"Since there aren't any of those here, let's enjoy some good wine and dessert," Haera vocalised, "Ryujin ordered some rare quality wine for everyone. Let's have a glass before it finishes up!"

"Haera, who'll drive me home if you get drunk?" Miyeon asked, as Haera took two glasses of wine from the waiter.

"Aish! Don't think about that for now, and I called my cousin to pick us up. Now, have this," Haera said, shoving the wine glass in front Miyeon's face.

Staring at the glass filled with red wine, she reluctantly took it, and smiling at Haera, she stated,"Sorry to say this, but I can't deal with a hangover when I got a new manuscript to work on. I'll just sit at the corner, playing games on my phone."

Haera pouted. "You're no fun! And you don't get hangover over a little drink. Such an antisocial freak."

Miyeon shook her head. Those words from Haera was not going to convince her.

"Or is that you don't want to embarrass yourself in front of your Soobinnie?"

Miyeon— with irritation present in her voice— verbalised, "Do you really need to involve Soobin in everything? At this point, it seems as if you're the one with a crush on him!"

"I can easily find out who the girl with him is if you want me to," Haera expressed, wriggling her eyebrows and ignoring the earlier words from Haera.

"Not interested," Miyeon replied nonchalantly.

If truth was to be told, Miyeon was somewhat inquisitive to know who the girl beside Soobin was, but that did not cross the limit of the one had for his colleague.

Miyeon thought that most would be as curious as her to know what type of girl did someone as detached as him ended up with.

"Okay then, even if I got to find it out, I'll make sure to not tell you."

Miyeon, not replying to Haera, turned her back on Haera and looked for a silent corner to sit at. She didn't want to bothered with anyone's questions or stares. Staying invisible was the best way to deal with situations in her opinion.

Mumbling a 'I hate you', Haera went off to finding the identity of the girl with Soobin. Although Kim Haera insisted on how this was for the sake of Miyeon, she was as much as curious as her.

°°°

Miyeon woke up from her slumber when she felt her nose being squeezed by something, making her unable to breath with her nose. Her neck ached due to sleeping in an uncomfortable position, and when she attempted to straighten it, a groan left her mouth.

Drowsily opening her eyes, Miyeon scanned the male in front of her, and a confused expression sat on her face.

Trying to recall him, Miyeon scanned through his features, and he appeared to be attractive. A playful expression on his face added on to his charm.

"Little Yeonnie sleeping on couch— this sounds quite like her," he expressed as his lips curved to form a smile.

"Lee Minjae?" Miyeon questioned hesitantly— not sure if she got the right person.

"I'm honoured that you remembered me. But it seems your love over there didn't remember you," he vocalised, pointing at the figure of the mentioned person.

Minjae could most definitely be named as the prankster of the school considering all those pranks he pulled on the students and teachers alike. His mischievous personality along with his good-looking features made girls unable to resist him.

Miyeon would certainly call him her friend if he didn't attempt to embarrass her multiple times in front of her peers. Nonetheless, there were times where he was good at giving advices although those were rare moments.

But she lost contact with him as soon as her parents disowned her. In fact, she lost contact with all of her highschool classmates, except for Haera, since then. Moreover, she did not want to try to make contact with anyone for she desired to move on and erase that part of her past.

"Can you not be as annoying as Haera?" Miyeon questioned— dissatisfaction showing on her face.

Other than Haera, Minjae was also one of those few who was aware of her little crush on Soobin and looked for chances to tease her about it. One time, he was very close to exposing it to Soobin, but only stopped as Miyeon's tears guilt tripped him.

"Look at little Yeonnie trying to be all tsundere," he spoke out, pulling her cheeks.

"I'm well aware of all the fails that happened as you tried to impress him, especially that time when you pretended to have big breasts just because you thought guys in puberty liked those. I swear I never saw such shock in Soobin's eyes. That boy must have been scarred!"

Hearing those words made Miyeon's eyes widen due to horror while her face contorted due to horror, she instantly stood up. The blush on her cheeks showed how much humiliation she felt.

"Shut up! Those were my dark times," she vocalised, "The highschool version of me was possessed, so don't bring those up. I get chills!'

It was Minjae's mangas and his persuasion that lead Miyeon into believing that guys liked girls with big breasts.

The day when Miyeon went to her school with foams in her chest, everyone stared at her. However, that didn't matter to her. In the end, Miyeon clumsily fell on top of Soobin with her fake chest on top of his face.

A giggle escaped from Minjae's mouth while he spoke out, "Let's talk about the past, alright? I have more interesting stories like this."

An exasperated sigh left her mouth, and raising her head, she rubbed her forehead in order to ease the newly forming headache.

Then, she stated, "Oh Minjae, you don't change, right?"

Flashing her a wide smile, he said, "You can't honestly be expecting that from me. After all, I will be losing all of my charms when I do that."

"What charms? Why am I never affected by those so-called charms of yours?" she questioned, raising one of her eyebrows.

"Oh! Is that so?" Minjae questioned.

The smile on his lips curved to turn into a smirk, and bringing his face closer to Miyeon's, a teasing glint appeared in his eyes. Extending his hand towards her, he wrapped it around her waist and brought her closer to him.

Then, moving his face closer to her ear, he whispered, "What about now?"

Oh Miyeon had always considered her to be a normal, and it was usual for a girl to have her hormones acting up when such an attractive man was acting sensually.

Nonetheless, placing on a nonchalant expression, she did not let her feelings translate into an emotion upon her face.

"What are you trying to do? Are you secretly a pervert?" Miyeon asked, struggling against his grip.

Raising his head, Minjae stared at Miyeon and brushed his tongue over his lower lip, adding a glistening affect to it.

Putting his index on Miyeon's lips, Minjae sensually spoke out, "Your lips look absolutely delicious. You don't know how badly I want to bite and savour them."

Just as Miyeon was about to respond, Minjae was pulled back by someone— a girl to be specific. His grip on Miyeon loosened in that instant, and she jumped back from him.

Scrutinizing the girl before her, Miyeon could recognise her as Kim Hani, one of the top models of South Korea. Seeing her beauty now felt almost unreal to Miyeon.

"Are you cheating on me, Lee Minjae, with her?" Hani questioned while she pointed to Miyeon. Hurt was clearly visible in her voice as her eyes mirrored that.

"Think of it as what you would like to, but you, Kim Hani, are not enough to keep me interested," Minjae responded— his voice losing all the warmth from before.

Tears formed in Hani's eyes, and Miyeon could see that her feelings for Minjae was genuine. As she was once at the same page at Miyeon, she could more or less guess how difficult it was for that girl.

"There's nothing between us," Miyeon clarified, but Hani walked away before she was able to hear the entire statement.

"You shouldn't have done that," Miyeon reprimanded Minjae.

For a second there Miyeon thought that she noticed a certain pain in Minjae's eyes, but it was quickly brushed off by him.

Minjae immediately smiled at Miyeon, and the coldness disappeared within a matter of second. It was as if he transformed into a completely different person.

"My charm doesn't keep the girls away, but I can't afford to please each one of them," he expressed, brushing his hand through his hair.

"You cocky asshole, she loved for real, and you played with her. What are you? A immature kid?" she scolded— her voice holding anger.

The way Minjae treated girls was well-known to her, but she had expected for him to change due to his age. However, it appeared that he was the same as back then.

"Yeonnie, it hurts my feelings when you say that," Minjae expressed with fake hurt in his tone while he grabbed on to his chest.

"I'm glad, and now, leave me alone. I've to find Haera and see that she hasn't made a mess of herself. Aish! I really feel like a mom at times," Miyeon grumbled.

"Alright about that. But wouldn't you want my help to get you and your love over there together? I'm a certified matchmaker and Cupid."

"Why can't anyone get that I don't have feelings for him anymore? Geez! Is having some crushed in highschool a crime? Damn it!" Miyeon said, frustrated.

"You sure? I can assure you that he had a thing for you. You must have been really dense and stupid to have not noticed that," Minjae commented, hitting on Miyeon's back and earning a scream for her.

Few turned their attention on them, and Miyeon found herself getting embarrassed under their gaze.

"You rascal, you should remember that I'm a girl." She glared at the man.

Miyeon tried to rub her aching back in order to soothe the pain. This Minjae was really too much for her.

"Or that you're just too weak. I heard how easily Eunbi threw you on the ground," he vocalised as laughs escaped from his mouth.

Glaring at Minjae, Miyeon spoke out, "I'm not skilled in martial arts as her, so it's expected, and don't keep those girls waiting."

Miyeon subtly pointed at the bunch of girls stealing glances at Minjae, hoping that he'll notice and approach them.

Chuckling, Minjae stated, "My biggest fan is coming towards you."

Squinting her eyebrows, she looked at Minjae with confusion. However, that got cleared away when she saw her so-called sister, Oh Bohyun, walking towards them in her usual pride strides; they were exactly like how she remembered them to be.

"Crap! I forgot about her totally," Miyeon mumbled.

Miyeon and Bohyun were half-sisters, and Bohyun was involved in Miyeon getting disowned. Bohyun held rage towards Miyeon from when they were kids— the reason being petty— and that intensified when her crush, Minjae, got closer to Miyeon.

She made constant attempts to bully, mortify, and trap Miyeon, especially in front of Soobin and Minjae. Eunbi and Bohyun were closest friends, and thus, both of them usually teamed up for such actions.

There were times where Soobin took the initiative to save Miyeon from both of their plots, and this was one of the reasons Miyeon adored him back then. He was simply like her prince— the ones she had read about in those novels.

"Miyeon, how long has it been since I last saw you? Your appearance has become more pitiful!" Bohyun commented before a snicker left her mouth.

Before Miyeon could think of a retort, Minjae pulled her closer and wrapped her arms behind his shoulder protectively.

"I don't think you should be bullying my girlfriend," Minjae voiced out with seriousness present in his tone.

Miyeon tried push Minjae away, but he was too quick and strong for her. Minjae maintained a tight grip on Miyeon's waist— one that made them look like intimate couple in other's eyes but actually was there to prevent Miyeon from escaping.

"There's—"

Before Miyeon could continue, Minjae interrupted her by placing a gentle kiss of her forehead, causing many girls to shoot their jealous glances at Miyeon. Miyeon, now as red as colour of her dress— due to the fury mostly— stomped on Minjae's feet hardly. However, that didn't falter him.

"Minjae, no matter what, remember that you're my fiancé, and no play toy of yours in going to snatch that position of mine," she haughtily stated, folding her arms across her chest, before shooting a disgusted glance at Miyeon.

"The position that I didn't agree to?" Minjae questioned, arching his eyebrows.

Without retorting to it, Bohyun turned her back on Minjae, walking away arrogantly. Minjae loosened his grip on Miyeon, earning him an attack in his stomach with her elbow.

"I want a peaceful life— one in which there's no Bohyun running after me, you asshole.