This is a spin off from the Cingu series. It's a SaeHo (;
this one's for you zeke~ hee~
and good luck for your tests!! ganbatte~~~
Through time, she found her boyfriend distancing himself from her. Jonghoon kept dodging her calls, making irrelevant excuses such that he was occupied with assignments and revisions. Dates were put on hold and postponed further into the weeks that in the end, they didn’t meet up at all. She only saw him in the halls on the way to class. Initially he would apologize and hug her. But then it grew to him ignoring her completely, as if she wasn’t his.
Saera brooded and moped, confusion lining her thoughts at Jonghoon’s actions. It was unlikely of her to act like this; thinking over a boy, her emotions splayed improperly. Never one to put her heart on her sleeve, Jonghoon was tainting her pride with his unusual behavior. She hated it that he was he was toying with her feelings, making as if she was a doll, ready to break at the slightest fall. She wanted to see him so much, to talk to him, but she didn’t want to succumb to begging.
Solace was found in the form of another man. It was Jung Yunho she seeks comfort in. They had been hanging out together after swimming practice lately, the swimming coach usually asking her to help him with clearing up after practice. One time they were splashing water at each other after Yunho ‘accidentally’ threw water at her, which resulted in a playful war between them. Saera then had fallen into the pool, screaming cheerily. Yunho thought she had drowned and had dove into the water, pulling her into his arms before realizing that she was still conscious. They had laughed it off together, Saera having forgotten her troubles for a while. Yunho made her smile the way Jonghoon didn’t anymore.
Saera had also confided in Yunho of her troubles. He had given her his shoulder to lean on, listening to her and not even commenting or criticizing Jonghoon. It was enough for her that Yunho was there, making sure she was still intact. And through the times they spent together, she was able to slowly get out of the cages binding her heart in a twist. For all she cared, Jonghoon was slowly slipping from her grasp; a fleeting memory carried into the winds.
Saturday night, Yunho had asked her to accompany him to a group outing. He complained that neither Jaejoong nor Junsu would follow him; Junsu having to take out Kira for a date. Yunho said he didn’t have many female friends, and most of them were attached. Initially Saera was hesitant; her thoughts drifting back to her supposed boyfriend.
Would she be cheating on him? Would he mind if he went out with another man? She grimaced. He wouldn’t care. He was now a ‘supposed’ boyfriend to her. Jonghoon couldn’t care less about her, so why should she?
Saera dressed up prettily for the first time in weeks. She hadn’t bothered to go out with her friends; a state of mess decorating her life during Jonghoon’s absence, and not even her friends could make her forget. Mimi and Kira had coaxed her to accept Yunho’s invitation; them being the annoying pressing girls they were.
“Han Saera, you better go out with him!” Mimi warned.
Designer blouses and pants were laid on their beds, each an option for Saera to choose. Kira and Hana had stolen Yoohee’s clothes while she was out with Top for the evening.
“Just forget that asshole, he’s nothing but a loser” Kira said, throwing a pair of skin tight jeans to Saera. She visibly blanched at the pants and shrugged it off, opting for a pair of slim black pants instead.
She put on a lacy black tank top, thinking it was better she dressed simply for the occasion. After all, it was a group outing, they would be surrounded by other people, of course Yunho won’t look at her all the way. She applied on light make up before setting out to meet Yunho in front of the campus gates.
“Good luck!” Kira and Mimi giggled gleefully, as if hiding a secret that would unfold its event later.
Yunho was already at the front gates, a light smile dancing on his lips. It got even wider when Saera reached him. He eyed her appreciatively, “You’re a vision,” he breathed, offering her his arms. She hooked her arms through his, forgetting the fact that she belonged to another man. But that man couldn’t be bothered anymore, so her mind easily got off the guilt feeling rushing through.
They piled into Yunho’s black Audi, a car which he shared with Jaejoong. “We’re meeting my friends at the Pavilion” he informed her. Saera felt awkward and uneasy being confined in such small space with her swimming coach, but he kept conversations fill through the ride, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable. Heat emanated her face, and even the air conditioner couldn’t cool down the blush creeping through.
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the venue. Yunho received calls after calls suddenly. He apologized to Saera, “My friends… they cancelled last minute. It’s gonna be just the two of us. I… hope you don’t mind…?” he smiled sheepishly.
Saera blushed even harder at the prospect of spending the night alone with Yunho. For so long she hadn’t survived through a night with a guy alone. She wondered how she would react later on. She hoped she wouldn’t act carelessly and trip or do anything embarrassing.
“It’s okay; after all, my friends are out and won’t be coming back until much later. I hope you won’t mind being with me.”
“Why would I? I’d love to spend a night with you- I mean! I mean, be with you, no! I meant…” he spluttered helplessly, searching for proper words.
Saera laughed, “I get you. So… what will we be doing?”
Their date sailed through the night smoothly, with Yunho bringing to Saera to a restaurant after they watched a movie. He was real gentleman; taking out the seat for her and pushing her in; wiping a stain below her lips with a napkin softly, apologizing for the gesture, not even laughing the least at the comical way she looked. After their dinner, they walked at the beach nearby, talking and laughing under a moonlit daze.
He sent her back to the dormitory close to midnight, kissing her cheek and thanking her for a wonderful night. He then drove off into the distance, leaving Saera to stare at the trail; a hand kept to the spot Yunho had kissed, wondering what it had meant. If by any chance, she was suddenly swept off her feet by a man who could replace her love. But she decided to shrug it off.
It was to Jung Yunho that she ran to when she found out she was cheated by her boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend. Saera had walked into the lab one particular day, only to chance in upon Jonghoon with another girl, caught in a passionate lip-lock, his hands wandering all over her body. He whispered words of heated frenzy into the girl’s lips, before trailing his lips over the expanse of her neck.
“I get it now. No wonder you keep running away. You should have told me,” Saera said calmly, before leaving the lab and heading straight to the pool, where she knew she could find comfort. Crystallized sorrow clung precariously on her eyelashes, threatening to fall. She wouldn’t cry. Only the weak cried, and she knew Jonghoon wasn’t worth her tears.
Yunho was instantly by her side, able to notice the sudden emotions flooding her face. “Saera?”
“He cheated on me, Yunho oppa. He’s a two-timing bastard. How could I not know all along?” she had to sit down, afraid her knees would buckle at the way her body was trembling.
Yunho wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. His warmth soothed her.
“He couldn’t even bother to run here. I guess I’m not worth it, huh. What did I even do wrong? Did I bore him? Was he-“ she was shushed by Yunho, who had secured her lips with his in an effort to calm her senses.
“You’re definitely worth it, Saera. He’s a stupid fool who just doesn’t know how brilliant, how interesting and charming you are. He’s not worth your time,” he planted a kiss on her forehead.
Confusion seeped through her, replacing the anguish in her nerve. Yunho had just kissed her. And after she had just dumped her boyfriend. It should have felt wrong, but it didn’t. Instead, it felt strangely right. Here was a man ready to take her. Denial from their date a week ago of his kiss which lingered longer than it shouldn’t, have died down.
Her feelings for Jonghoon had faded away during the weeks she had spent with Yunho. Him easily replacing Jonghoon’s absence. Satisfaction weaved through. She no longer could deny the pressing feelings she knew Yunho had for her.
“I like you Saera, I really like you” Yunho whispered.
Saera realized she was ready to give her heart to Yunho.
And so she kissed him back.