| Fan Fiction |
by Take_Flight
Ga-In stopped cutting the brownies and threw her a panicked look. “What..was that all about?” Ga-In asked slowly.
Ri In pushed her hair from her face and shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’m just..i just need to let out some steam” she explained.
“Well, let it out outside and not here. You’re scaring my customers away” Ga-In pointed out, placing a slice of brownie on a plate. She slid it in front of Ri In, much to Ri In’s surprise.
“It’s on the house” Ga-In told her with a wink. “Are you planning to make me fat? Or are you trying to make me feel bad? Cause you keep giving me food when I’m downright depressed and it’s always FREE” Ri In pointed out, taking a fork and poking the brownie.
“Must you even ask? Just eat it” Ga-In told her, wiping the counter. Ri In shrugged and took a bite of the chocolate piece. She was savoring the brownie when the bell tickled, indicating the presence of another customer. She wasn’t paying attention to whatever that was around her. She was no doubt, thinking about Junsu, wondering why he hasn’t called her ever since they got back from Jeju Island. During their last day at the beach, Junsu had gone all quiet and Ri In found it surprising since he is always the chatty one between the two. When they had walked back to the hotel to pack up, Ri In had asked Junsu if there was anything wrong but the guy insisted that he was fine. He was like that the whole time on their way to the airport and Ri In was getting impatient by the time.
“What’s wrong?” Ri In had asked, while waiting for their flight, giving him depressed look. Junsu saw how sad she was and grinned to himself.
Ri In scowled. “It was charade the WHOLE time?” she snapped, crossing her arms. She got pissed off and faced the other way, muttering to herself when she felt Junsu’s arm snaked around her waist and pulling her closer to him.
“Don’t touch me” Ri In had warned Junsu. “You were worried about me the whole time?” Junsu asked her. “That’s a first”
Ri In tried to wriggle out of his grip but Junsu held on to her. She turned to glare at him but he ended up kissing her cheek. Ri In gasped and Junsu looked down at her in surprise.
“I didn’t mean to---“ Junsu stammered, letting go of her and looking embarrassed.
Ri In chuckled to herself recalling the scene over and over again. She had to admit that she felt a bit down when Junsu had let go of her and had instead carried her bag for her all the way to the plane, just to hide the uneasiness. During the plane ride, Junsu had dozed off and Ri In was sitting beside him, reading a book but she kept glancing at Junsu time and again, noticing how adorable he looked, and hugging the pillow with his eyes closed. Ri In took in his worn out face and then reached over to adjust the blanket covering his body. Junsu had grabbed Ri In’s arm causing her to cry out in surprise.
“What are you doing?” Junsu mumbled, eyeing her sleepily. “I..I was just..Junsu!” Ri In squeaked when Junsu had planted a wet slobbery kiss on her hand. She smacked Junsu’s shoulder and rushed off to the washroom while the guy laughed himself to sleep.
“He’s such a joker” Ri In said to herself while finishing the last pieces of her brownie.
“Who is?” a female voice asked her. Ri In swallowed her food and turned to her right to see a familiar person sitting beside her. Ri In shook her head. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud” she told the person.
The woman laughed. “I know that” she told her. “Do you know what’s good here? It’s my first time in this coffee house. I’m actually waiting for a friend so I decided to drop by”
“You can try the Gingersnap Latte” Ri In told her. “The flavor and aroma is top notch! Especially the creaminess of the steamed milk” she explained.
“Really? Isn’t that more of a Christmas drink?” the woman asked. Ri In shrugged. “The owner pretty much sells everything all year round. You should try the brownie and blueberry muffin. It’s home made”
“You seemed to know everything here” the woman said, amazed. “I practically grew up here” Ri In told her.
“Sun Mi! I’m so sorry I’m late—“ Yoochun stopped when he saw Ri In sitting beside her. Ri In gave Yoochun a small smile before facing the front and staring into her cup of hot tea.
“Oppa! You’re finally here. I thought you had a lot of work to do at school?” the woman, Sun Mi, said, giving him a peck on his cheek.
“I..I finished early. I tried calling but there was something wrong with your phone? I could not get through” Yoochun said, standing beside Sun Mi. Sun Mi, who was unaware of the awkwardness laughed gaily as she took out her phone from her purse. “The battery’s flat, oops!” she said.
“Sun Mi..Darn! No wonder she looks familiar. We met at the restaurant the other day!” Ri In thought, adding a packet of sugar to her tea.
“You’re not planning to get diabetes aren’t you?” Yoochun suddenly spoke up, making Ri In startled. She did not realize that Yoochun had taken Sun Mi’s seat while she went off to the Ladies. Ri In took her cup with trembling fingers and took a sip of her drink.
“Listen Ri In, I’ve been wanting to talk to you..about…” Yoochun paused for a while, collecting his thoughts. “About US” he finally said, while staring at the selection of biscotti in front of him.
“I thought there was no US. There was no you and me” Ri In said in a low voice, her eyes turning red as she clenched her fist and trying hard not to breakdown.
“Ri In—
“No! You listen to me okay? I know that what we had was such a short summer fling and we made it clear that..our feelings shouldn’t get too involve but..but..I…I LOVE you Yoochun” Ri In finally blurted out, squeezing her eyes shut and she felt a single tear rolled out. “But I was stupid eh? I was such a fool thinking why a guy like you would waste his time on me” she added, opening her eyes and saw the blurry image of the shop. She got up and started collecting her coat and bag.
“No Ri In, stop blaming yourself” Yoochun said as he stopped Ri In from leaving the coffee house.
“Then who’s to blame? You?” Ri In hissed holding on to the doorknob. “You’re actually a coward Park Yoochun. I hate you” she snapped before swinging the door opened and stepping out into the cold night. She heard Yoochun following her and she let out a frustrated sigh.
“Ri In, let me explain please why I couldn’t return my feelings to you” Yoochun begged, grabbing her arm and forcing her to face him.
By now the tears were already flowing freely down her cheeks and Ri In did not bother to wipe it. “I don’t want to hear it” she whispered. “Get back to Sun Mi” she told him, wrenching her arm from his grasp but the guy was too strong for her. “Let me go!” she screeched.
“I’m getting married to Sun Mi at the end of the year” Yoochun suddenly said causing Ri In to stop struggling and she stared him. “W..What?” she asked.
“When I met you last summer, I thought we can both hit it off but then Sun Mi came back..and..things got complicated. Her parents and my parents..had always wanted to see us together. She was my childhood friend” Yoochun explained.
Ri In sniffed. “W..Why didn’t you tell me in the first place?”she wanted to know. “Is that why there were times you keep..disappearing without telling me? You were seeing her?”
Yoochun looked down at the ground and nodded and Ri In’s heart sank. She shook her head. “Then why did you go out with me in the first place when you knew this was coming?!” she asked. “I’ve never felt so..cheated before!”
“Because I like you too, that’s why!” Yoochun said, pulling her closer but Ri In pushed him away and removed his hand from her arm.
Ri In shook her head. “You shouldn’t be doing this Yoochun. Sun Mi’s inside waiting for you. And I don’t want to be the one wrecking your relationship” she said sadly. “But I’m very disappointed in you Yoochun”
Yoochun stared at her and Ri In noticed the disappointment in his eyes. They seemed so hollow and dead. “I’m sorry I’ve let you down” Yoochun told her, looking tired and disheveled all of a sudden.
“Goodbye Yoochun” Ri In said before she turned away and sauntered off down the street. When she made sure that she was far away from him, her tears started to well up again and she leaned against a lamp post, crying and cursing to herself.
So Yoochun was all the while attached to Sun Mi the whole time she was seeing him. Does that make him a timer as well? “It doesn’t matter now Rinnie, it’s all in the past and he’s getting married” a voice told her.
“But I still feel like an idiot” Ri In sobbed, hugging the lamp post and letting the tears streamed down.
“You’re not an idiot, HE is” a deep, husky voice said from behind her. Ri In shook her head. “I’m the----
Ri In stopped in mid sentence and spun around. Junsu was standing a few feet behind her, his hands in his coat pocket and looking at her with a heartbreaking expression. Ri In wiped the tears off her face but Junsu came forward and took her in his arms.
“I’m right here Ri In. I’m always here for you” Junsu whispered. Ri In shook her head. “You don’t understand”
“I do now. Nadine told me everything. Don’t get mad at her. I..somehow forced her to tell me about it” Junsu admitted, smoothing her hair.
Ri In sniffed and leaned her head against Junsu’s shoulder. She wrapped her arms around his waist and sobbed.
“Hush Ri In..” Junsu told her as they stood at the sidewalk, holding on to each other, basking under the light from the lamp post with the busy night life surrounding them.