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Jisoo is walking alone at the park again when his phone rings. He picks it up when he sees Seungcheol's name on the screen, "What's up? Right now? Sure. I'll be right there."

Seungcheol told him to come over his house. Him and Nayeon have been redesigning the interior of his condo unit and he sometimes calls on Jisoo everytime they don't come to an agreement on what to do next. Jisoo has always been a great help to them whenever they need them.

Jisoo rides a bus and is on his way to Seungcheol's place when he recognizes the girl infront of him. She's the one he bumped into the last time at the gallery. They have seen each other for a number of times after that, but it was always at museums or related places. It's the first time he sees her out of town like this.

She's looking out the window with her hair flowing down her sides. She's stunning and he finds her really pleasing to the eyes. He doesn't hesitate in greeting her. He draws near behind her and glances at her.

"Seems like I meet you often these days Sojung-ssi," he states.

Sojung is surprised to see him though, "Jisoo-ssi! I didn't notice it was you!" she replies.

"It's alright. It's almost never we meet at a place like this. Mind if ask where you're to?"

"Oh, I'm just visiting a place. I'm going to my grandmother's."

"Where's your grandma's place?"

"It's at Incheon."

"That's a bit far. You're going alone?"

"Yeah, I always go there alone."

He doesn't know how, but he suggested something typical of the gentleman that he is, "It's probably better if you have someone with you. I can go with you."

Sojung finds it a little straightforward but she feels glad about it, "Are you sure? Aren't you off to somewhere?"

That's the only time he recalls he's supposed to go to Seungcheol's place. But he discards it and replies her promptly, "Well, my friend can understand if I can't be there today."

"I'm okay, I can handle myself-"

"It's alright. I want to go with you."

He stares at her gently and she finds herself speechless. He's charming enough to disarray her thoughts. So she only utters, "Alright. But don't blame me for your extra expense today."

"Of course not," he smiles at her. "Can I sit beside you?"

"Yeah, sure," she smiles back at him.

For the rest of the trip, they talk about the place they're off to, her grandmother, his grandparents and others. They enjoy each other's company and they're starting to feel like friends.

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"Here we are!" Sojung states, "Welcome to my grandmother's house."

It's a traditional house with a large garden. Her family belongs to the above average society to be precise. It suddenly becomes awkward for Jisoo. Seems like he made the wrong move. Meeting her grandmother is a bit over the top, he just realized. They're not close enough to meet her relatives. He hasn't even known her long enough. But why did he unconsciously do it? That's what's he curious to know.

"Let's come in?" she says.

"Yeah," he replies her.

They enter the house and an old woman is at the entrance sweeping the yard.

"Grandma!" she exclaims as she gives her a hug.

"Sojung, you came again," her grandma replies.

"Yeah, I wanted to surprise you today," as she smiles genuinely back at her.

Then her grandma notices the young boy standing closely behind her, "Who's the young gentleman?"

"He's a friend grandma. He's Hong Jisoo," she introduces.

"Anyounghaseyo, Hong Jisoo mida," he uneasily introduces himself.

Her grandma looks at him for a while and then asks, "Is he courting you?"

Sojung instantly denies it as she waves her hands infront of her, "No! He's just a friend. A colleague. He just didn't want me to go alone so he came with me."

Her grandmother, "What a caring friend. Come on in, let's have some tea."

Sojung looks back at Jisoo and welcomes him. They then follow her grandma and enter the house.

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Jisoo is just observing the whole time. How Sojung treats her grandma with so much care, how her grandma treats her the same. It's all so natural and unpretentious. Jisoo somehow gets the hang of what kind of person Sojung really is. She's obviously one of the few people who still values the elderly genuinely up to this day. And it's a good point for Jisoo. For the courteous person that he is, she definitely scored in his heart and it's accumulating.

After some chatting and drinking tea in the living room, Sojung volunteers to take the cups to the kitchen.

"I'll just take these back," she says while picking up the tray of cups with the teapot.

As she leaves, her grandmother opens up to Jisoo casually, "You're from Seoul?"

"Yes, but it's only been three years. My family is from California," he replies politely.

"From overseas... You look familiar though," she says scrutinizing his face.

"I do? I haven't been to this area before," he asks in query.

"I know, pardon me. But my Sojung used to bring someone who looks a lot like you here in the past. I think it was only three years ago."

This revelation catches his curiosity and her grandmother continues.

"From what I can remember, he was polite too, and gentle looking just like you. He was her boyfriend then."

That's when he understands. Someone like Sojung is approachable, but she can't be that type who will approach just anyone she bumps into on a museum. It has always made him wonder why she talked to him that day. And here's what he gets. He's even more surprised to hear what her grandmother says next.

"But he died due to a car accident."

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that..."

He's become silent from then on as her grandmother continue to tell him about that person. In the middle of everything, it seems like he knows exactly what Sojung is doing. She's only good to him, because she's seeing that person in him. And just a few blocks away from the door is where Sojung is, silently listening to their conversation with a heavy heart.

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Silence. They're on the bus now, going back to Seoul. They're sitting beside each other but the deafening silence blocks all sounds surrounding them at the travelling bus. It's obviously awkward, for the very first time for them.

Jisoo doesn't understand it himself. Why is he acting like he's affected of her past? It shouldn't concern him since he's just her friend. More precisely, only an acquaintance. But this heavy feeling is burdening him to even look at her. The reason why is what he's trying to find in himself. That's why he doesn't want to open his mouth yet and say insensitive things.

Sojung on the other hand is guilty. She knows it in herself that she's the only one benefitting in this. When she saw Jisoo at that museum, the only person she thought about was herself. Jisoo resembled him gravely and it only made her miss him more. She was so in love with him and he just disappeared like that all of a sudden. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him but he was gone too soon. So when she saw Jisoo, she felt like her life was restored. That her life was saved. But eventually, as she continued to meet him occasionally, she knew, he was a different person. His voice, his eyes, his face, his everything, is different from the person in her heart. She knows they're only friends, but she only made friends with him bearing the other person in mind. She knows she can hurt him even if only a little. She knows she only used him for self-gain and it's not right. And she has to apologize to him. Along with it, she has to move on.

She opens up and makes the first move, "I'm sorry, I think it wasn't a good idea to bring you along after all. I think grandma talked too much."

He pretends he heard nothing though, "She didn't talk much about you. She only talked about the neighborhood. It was a nice conversation with her."

She pauses and thinks it through. He's trying to be considerate, seems like he's not telling her about what she heard, "Can we talk when we get to Seoul? I have to tell you about something."

She looks really serious and he knows what she's talking about so he only says, "Yeah. Sure."

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They sit across each other infront of the aromatic coffee. She's still pondering how to begin and he's waiting for her to start. It takes her a few moments and finally, she does.

With a deep sigh, she starts, "I heard grandma talked about Hyun."

He knew she was listening. Earlier, he saw her shadow creeping under the door but kept quiet about it. "So that's his name."

"Yes. I think you heard the details from grandma. They're all true."

She's not looking at him right now. She's staring down her coffee unconsciously. She's too embarrassed now that he knows her reasons. She wishes he'll not think bad of her. But he's staring at her, silently trying to figure out his own feelings.

"I'm sorry, I hope you don't think differently of me. I just... really missed him."

She's starting to get teary eyed from then. Jisoo has to say something to comfort her. It's not in his nature to be this cruel to a woman. But this time, surprisingly, he doesn't utter a word.

She feels really awkward with tears threatening to fall down her eyes. She decides to just walk away from him. "Excuse me, I need to go. I'm sorry. It was nice to meet you Jisoo-ssi."

She goes away but he's still sitting on his seat unmoving. She's crying. She feels so bad she has no face to show him. And he acknowledges that. He remembers her face. Her smiling face that he somehow got fond of. The way her eyes twinkle everytime they talked about their favorite pieces of art. Her little gestures when she finds something funny or surprising. It's only been a few months and he has met her only a few times, but he thinks it's all worth keeping. He's not over Sorn himself. And he thinks their friendship helped him in some ways as well. With these thoughts in mind, he abruptly gets off his seat and storms outside the cafeteria.

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Sojung hasn't been walking far as Jisoo catches up with her running as fast as he can. He meets her near the park and he obstructs her way as she cries. He stands before her panting and she's surprised to see him. He actually ran after her, she's surprised to see him do that.

"Jisoo-ssi..." she says while wiping her tears away.

He takes his time panting and finally faces her formally, "If you cry like that, it looks like I did it and it makes me feel bad."

"I'm sorry, it's not your fault..." she apologizes.

"To tell you the truth, it was the same for me. You helped me the same way I helped you."

"What do you mean?"

"The day we first met, I was grieving too. I... lost the girl of my life to the person she chose. It was a very sad day for me. But meeting you cheered me up even if you only did it because you remembered him in me."

She's dumbfounded. So he saved her, the same way she saved him. From the world called loneliness.

"Isn't it ironic? We did the same thing with each other. So don't feel too guilty about yourself. I did it to you too."

"Is that so?..."

"But she doesn't resemble you or anything."

"I'm glad. I didn't really just use you after all."

"Nope, you did not."

She giggles awkwardly and he does the same. But he wants to make a brand new start with her.

"Can we start over?" he bravely asks.

She stares at him and then smiles and nods, "Hm."

He extends his hand to hers and introduces himself once again, "Hi, I'm Hong Jisoo. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Kim Sojung, nice to meet you too," she gets his hand and gives him a handshake.

"Just one thing, please don't look at me as if I'm him. I'm a different person."

She giggles again, "Yeah, I know that. And I'm gonna treat you differently from now on."

"What do you mean differently?"

"You just wait and see. See yah, Jisoo-ga!"

She runs a couple of meters away and waves at him. "Let's meet more often!"

He smiles at her now. She's showing him her jolly side. "Yeah, that would be great!"

She turns her back and walks away from him with a happy expression. He instantly made her feel well and she's thankful he's understanding enough to forgive her. She's glad all ended well. While Jisoo stares at her as she fades into the crowd. This way he can finally begin his future. He's not sure whether or not she will be in it, but at least he has her now.

They may not feel intimately about each other now, and they may not be in the future but in the least, they're friends. Who knows what the future will bring them? With the smile on their faces, it will definitely bring them something. Something to look forward to.

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To be continued...

(16.11.16)