Tunnel Vision: Expect the Unexpected
The next few weeks were blissful. Taekwoon took her to coffee shops a lot, but it was fun. That way they talked a lot. They easily finished their project and turned it in, receiving a good grade. He still seemed guarded, but every time she glimpsed his dazzling smile she knew it was worth it. It would take time to open him up all the way and she had a lot of time. It had never occured to her that he didn't.
He called early afternoon like he often did.
"Hello?" she answered in a cheery tone, trying not to dance around her room like she so often wanted to when he called.
"Hey," he said, "Can you meet in the park kind of soon-ish? We need to talk."
Her mouth dropped open in shock, but she simply said, "Alright. I can be there in ten minutes."
"Great," he said and hung up.
She bit her lip. Perhaps she'd been too happy to realize that Taekwoon wasn't. That was why he called her out to the park they usually met at to break up with her. She wanted to cry, but she also wanted to appear strong. She refused to send him off with a tear-filled face.
When she left the house, she took her time walking to the park. It seemed like the whole walk was filled with happy couples passing her by, only reminding her of how happy she had been just minutes before. She leaned against the biggest tree in the park when she got there. The shade felt nice, but it also kept her from facing the shining sun when she felt so crummy.
"What are you doing?" Taekwoon said, which startled her.
She had her eyes closed, so he'd snuck up on her. She pushed away from the tree and shook her head, "Nothing, what did you want to talk about?"
He had the sort of half-smile smirk on his face. Perhaps he was the type to be cruel when ending things. "I wanted to see you," he said. She didn't know whether to believe him or not, but he went on, "And I needed to talk to you about something."
"You should just say it, then," she sighed. Her arms folded in front of her and she looked him in the eyes. It took all her strength to keep staring at him without breaking face.
"Are you mad?" he asked suddenly.
"Can you please just say what you need to say?" she said again.
He slid his hands into his pockets and looked down, sighing, before looking back at her again. "Lately," he started, "I've been having a lot of fun seeing you all the time, but..."
He paused and she interjected, "But?"
He sighed again, "I think... we might have to see each other a little less." Before she said anything, he quickly went on to explain himself, "Honestly, because I've been happy about all of this I've been ignoring my studies and training, so I've fallen behind. I don't want to start slacking just because I found someone I like a lot."
Again, she felt her mouth open in shock. She'd prepared herself for something that wasn't so. Now, she really felt like crying because she'd been such an idiot. Instead, she began laughing hysterically.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
She nodded as she calmed herself down, "I'm really an idiot."
"What? Why?" he blinked, confused.
"Ahh," she groaned, "I thought you were calling me out here to break up."
She could tell he was trying to hold back laughter now, a small smile breaking its way across his face, "Really?"
"I was going to be really upset," she said. Then, she reached out and pushed his shoulder a little, "You really had to confess to needing to focus on studies like that?"
"Sorry," he said simply, reaching out and pulling her into a hug. "Next time I'll word myself more carefully, okay?"
She nodded against his chest.
He sighed, "I'm still sorry that we won't be able to spend as much time together."
Rin pulled away and looked up at him, "It's alright. I should focus on my studies more too. I told you I wanted to start a hobby like gardening anyway."
He nodded, still smiling smally.
When they parted ways and Rin made her way home, she felt much more relaxed than she had. Now, she smiled as the sun hit her face.
Within the next few days, she kept good to her word. Early in the morning, she left her house and went to the store in search of planting supplies. She made her way to the back of the store where they kept all of the gardening supplies. There were all kinds of colorful plants and decorative pots to choose from.
She walked down the isle eyeing flowers of reds, oranges, yellows, and purples. Of course, she decided on a blue flower with naturally fringed edges. She got a simple clay pot to put it in. All the while, she thought of Taekwoon. She hoped that he was doing well in whatever he happened to be doing.
She reached the check-out lane and put all her supplies on the conveyor belt. She waited in the back until someone came up behind her, which caused her to move forward just a little bit more. Suddenly, that person was tapping her on the shoulder.
"Rin?" the person said.
She turned to see that face she remembered from about a month ago. His hair was still a gleaming red, skin just as tanned and sparkling as she remembered. His smile, although she'd noticed to before, still dazzled her all the same. After a minute of just staring, she muttered, "Hakyeon."
"Ahh, so you do remember me," he grinned. He set down two boxes of banana milk and a case of strawberries onto the conveyor belt and then focused back on her. "I like that flower. It's pretty. Do you garden?"
She smiled, looking down shyly and nodding, "I'm just starting to. It's something that I like." She had no idea why she felt so nervous, though.
"I think it suits you," he said with a bright smile. Then, he went on, "Last time, I forgot to trade numbers with you. We should do it now and you can tell me how well your flower does." He started to pull out his phone.
She wondered if it was alright to trade numbers with another guy, but considering that he was Taekwoon's friend, it didn't seem like it should be an issue. She took out her phone as well and they traded numbers.
"Feel free to contact me whenever you like. Lately, I'm not too busy," he said.
"Oh?" she said, "Why not?"
He laughed, "It's because I work quickly."
She smiled. He was rather charming.
When she finished checking out, she waved goodbye to Hakyeon. He waved back and insisted, "Really, don't hesitate to keep in contact."
She smiled to herself all the way home, heart pounding erratically. He was a funny guy, friendly too.