Chapter 6

"I... I can't believe... " Soo-yeon ignored his words, instead, she struggled to get her own out; they just would not seem to go past her lips.

He was there, and all she had wanted to do was embrace him. But there was something in him that made her hesitate.

"If you have no intentions of apologizing, I might as well leave." Harsh and empty words.

How long did she stare at him for? Soo-yeon did not know. But as moments passed, he was getting more irritated by her lack of words and stood up.

"Wait, don't leave me here — "

Just when he was about to ignore her, a name left her lips.

"Park Yeon-jin," she said, desperately holding his hand; afraid that they would never meet again.

His whole body stilled, a surprised flicker evident in his pools of heated obsidian. He placed his grip on her delicate wrist once more and yanked her up, not at all caring at how tight he was holding.

Soo-yeon let out a small yelp of surprise when she was forced to stand. She started moving her arm away, finding pain on where he touched.

"Who are you, what do you know about me?" he said through his teeth, his eyes searching for answers in hers that were filled with fear.

She furrowed her brows, struggling to get away from his iron grip.

"Jin, it's me," Soo-yeon said, her eyes frantically roaming around his once more; each breath feeling like a stab through her chest when he did not react to his name.

A crease formed in between his brows, his voice laced with confusion. "Jin? Is that your way of mocking my name?" he asked, laughing humourlessly.

"Who do you work for? Did you follow me all the way here?" Yeon-jin forced, starting to feel anger dripping from his words.

Silence consumed the pair for a few moments before she tore her own wide-eyed gaze away from his.

It was him. It had to be. The same name and face. Yet, the Yeon-jin that was standing before Soo-yeon had not been the same man who once held her closely to his heart.

Her breath hitched in her throat. Nails digging into the palms of her scratched hands as she stared at the ground.

In all honesty, the injuries had hurt.

Her poorly-bandaged head felt horrible, her cheek stung, her numb legs seemed to shake and the tight grip he had was starting to bruise.

Soo-yeon felt as though she would pass out at any given moment. It had been absolutely agonizing.

Yet out of all the painful injuries that dared scar her once porcelain skin, why was it that the hole in her own heart seemed to hurt the most?

Soo-yeon laughed bitterly.

"You seem to be not taking this seriously," he said, clicking his tongue. "I will ask you again. Do not waste this chance."

"A chance," she whispered. How laughable that seemed, coming from him.

"Tell me. Who sent you here to follow me?" Yeon-jin asked, ignoring her words.

The charcoal black that once spent every day with her had held no warmth. His touch no longer gentle and his charming smile no longer there. It was as though she had no memories with him at all.

A mere stranger.

How pitiful, was this not what she had wanted back then? Now that it came true, she suddenly did not know what to do.

"Who sent me?" Soo-yeon repeated. Her voice wandered off, but it seemed as if it was not there at all.

"Hei-ran!" a woman's yell suddenly rung through her head, causing Soo-yeon to react and take a look at her direction. From a distance, Jae-hwa could be seen among the large crowd, eyes frantically searching for hers as she kept calling out.

"Ah, is that what you are called?" he asked, not bothering to turn his attention to the person who yelled.

"Hei-ran?" he asked. The way he spoke it was smooth and curious, as if he were tasting the feel of it on his lips.

Her thoughts halted to a stop then, and she soon rested her gaze on his expectant stare.

There was that name again. It had burned her mercilessly now; engulfing her in flames that she could never put out.

The hesitation in Soo-yeon had remained. How long it would stay there, she did not know, but surely an answer had to be given; even if she was not certain.

Her eyes settled on the ground once more, as though looking at him any longer would hurt her.

"Yes," Soo-yeon's soft and tired voice painfully admitted, covering his ears as it floated out into the afternoon.

"My name is Hei-ran."

Before Yeon-jin could respond, her very laboured breathing prompted him to withdraw his hold on her wrist. Her eyelids grew heavy as she tried to keep her balance. Only then did he notice how out of shape she had been.

"What's wrong with you?" Yeon-jin wondered, his cold eyes drinking in the sight of her fragile figure.

Soo-yeon felt the exhaustion pulling her down, holding on to her desperately. Her breathing could no longer keep up and her legs went numb; a harsh thud resonating when her delicate body met the ground.