Chapter 6: A Surprising Realization – May 2 – 3, 2021
“Moonbeam,” Raven whispered one night after two weeks of intimate evenings met in the park, “I have to go out of town for a week.”
“What? Why?”
“For work. But I’ll be back in just a few days.”
She was sad. But she understood. At least, Raven wasn’t moving to another city.
—
The next morning the bell above the door jingled before she had even had a chance to turn over the welcome sign in the window. She glanced up and froze. Hobi came sauntering in. His eyes met hers, and he smiled.
She felt that electricity that so terrified her flowing between them again. She looked around for an escape. She turned suddenly and ran into the kitchen.
“Yeon, I need a breath of fresh air. I’ll be out back for a moment. There’s a customer that needs helping. Can you attend to him?”
Yeon frowned. “Are you all right?”
She nodded. “I’ll be fine. I just need some air.”
She made a beeline for the alley. She stepped outside and leaned up against the building. She closed her eyes.
—
Hobi stood staring at her. He had followed her and slipped silently out the back door. Right behind her. His eyes ravenously traced her beautiful features. Then they brushed those lovely lips. He still wanted to devastate them with his kiss.
“You are positively captivating,” he breathed a moment later.
And she jumped a mile. When she fell back down to earth, her eyes flew wide as they turned towards him.
“What are you doing here?”
This was better. Had he scared the nervousness out of her?
“I came to see my best friend. Isn’t that allowed?”
Her heart bent at his words. “Hobi, I’m not your best friend anymore. Remember? You stopped texting me.”
He had. It had hurt too much to see her name in his phone.
“You have Heejin now.”
“No, actually, I don’t.”
She glanced up into his beautiful eyes. “What?”
“We broke up.”
“W-why?”
Is that why he was here? Because he was lonely?
He sighed. “Because she knew that I would never feel about her the way she felt about me.”
His eyes delved into hers.
“But she’s beautiful,” she whispered. “So beautiful.”
“She’s not half as lovely as you are, Minsu.”
She just stared at him.
“Hobi,” she responded after a long pause. “Don’t.”
His face fell. “What?”
“I have a boyfriend.”
Where had those words come from? She’d been crying over Hobi for months. Over the loss of him. Suddenly, as he was about to declare his undying love for her, all she could think about was Raven. And not breaking his heart.
Her eyes wide, she whispered, “I am so sorry. If you’d come to me a month ago, I might have responded differently. But now…I have someone else’s heart to consider. And I can’t break his. He’s been infinitely kind to me. He makes my heart sing.”
And my lips.
“I…” Shock flooded her eyes as she realized, “I love him.”
Oddly enough, Hobi didn’t look crestfallen. “You do? Are you sure?”
She nodded. “Hobi, Raven has been so sweet to me. So sweet. I didn’t know a guy could be that tender. I mean, besides you.” She glanced up at him.
“Can we still be friends? I miss you. I came this morning because I was going to ask you if we could walk our dogs together tonight.”
Her eyes lit up. “I would love that. And I bet Minnie would like to see Mickey.”
“He’s missed her terribly,” Hobi mourned, his face suddenly growing sober.
“I’m sorry, Hobi.”
“What? For what?”
“That I didn’t really see you before. Last year when we lived together. And you were sacrificing everything in your life for me. You were so good to me. But I couldn’t see you as anything more than my brother. I know I hurt you. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay!” He was quick to comfort her because he saw the deep distress in her eyes. “I’m fine. Really.”
She eyed him.
Her heart fell a little. Apparently, he hadn’t been about to declare his undying love for her. She was so glad she’d chosen Raven. Otherwise, she just might have gotten her heart broken. Again.
––
“So…how have you been, Minsu?” Hobi asked as they approached the park a few hours later with two very happy dogs.
Minsu grinned down at them. “They’re so happy to see each other.”
“Just like us,” he murmured.
She glanced at him sharply. His voice…something about it niggled at her.
He was staring at her. “You are happy to see me, aren’t you?”
She smiled ruefully at him. “I am. But, to be honest, it feels a bit weird since I have a boyfriend.”
“But you had a boyfriend before,” he pointed out. “So, what’s different?”
“Uh…I’m not really sure.”
But that wasn’t the truth. Last year she hadn’t yet developed any romantic feelings for Hobi. This year she had worked hard to overcome them.
His eyes slid over her countenance. When this was all said and done, would she want anything to do with him? He was growing increasingly nervous.
“Wanna watch a movie with me tonight? I found a new romantic drama I want to watch.” He smiled down at her in his easygoing way that had always given her peace.
Why was it ruffling her heart tonight?
“I haven’t eaten dinner,” she answered lamely.
“Great! We’ll pick up a pizza and head back to my apartment then!”
She looked at him. “Where’s your apartment?”
“Right there.” He pointed at a tall building a block away. “And there’s a great pizza place right next to it. I’ll call them right now. What do you want on your pizza?”
So she found herself sitting next to him on his couch twenty minutes later eating pizza and watching a tearjerker. Two hours later, she was sobbing. Why did this story remind her of them?
“Hey,” Hobi glanced down at her, “what’s wrong? It had a happy ending.”
“Only after they went through a lot of pain,” she mourned.
“But they never gave up on each other, and she learned that he was her true hero. That she could trust him to love her. No matter what.”
He reached out and put his arm across her shoulders and drew her into his side. He bent his head and sniffed the top of hers. That scent was elusive no more.
Strawberries.
“Is your shampoo Strawberry Fields?” he murmured.
She had leant her head on his shoulder while she cried. Suddenly, she stilled.
“Yeah. How did you know that?”
“My sister uses it. I don’t know why I never thought to look at your shampoo bottle when we shared an apartment.”
“What do you mean?”
“You always smelled amazing. But I could never figure out what the scent was.”
For some reason, she suddenly felt uncomfortable. Hobi’s arm was around her. He was speaking intimately to her about her scent. At least, it felt intimate. Which was weird.
Nothing had ever felt intimate with Hobi last year. She’d slept in a bed with him, and even that hadn’t sent these little shockwaves up her spine. What was going on? Was she still trying to overcome her feelings for him?
She sat up straight suddenly. “I should go home.”
“Noooo,” Hobi whined. “Please. Stay and watch another movie. I picked out another good one.”
“Oh?” she quirked a dark eyebrow. “You mean, as good as this one was? Are you trying to cause a flood in your apartment building?”
Hobi laughed. “I’ve missed your sense of humor. Come on. Stay.”
“I have to open the shop tomorrow.”
“You can stay here.”
Her eyes met his. Electricity arced between them. She shook her head.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“You can have my bed. I’ll take the couch.”
She just stared at him. She seemed caught in that fathomless gaze.
“Why?” she whispered.
“What?”
“What are you hoping for, Hobi?”
His eyes held hers. Then he blinked. And bit his lip. Setting off two dimples in his cheeks. Dimples that were rarely seen. If they caused her heart to race, she didn’t mention it.
If he said he didn’t want her, he’d be lying. But he had told her he wanted to be friends.
He had pictured this week going so much differently. He had imagined them spending every day hanging out like in the old days. As friends. And growing closer again. But now…he could tell she was very uncomfortable with him once more. When the truth came out, how would she respond?
He couldn’t go on much longer like this.
“I just want to be with you,” he whispered. And his whole heart bled into those words.
Her eyes widened. He’d just sounded exactly like Raven.
But she was also grappling with his words. They had caused a deep pang to reverberate throughout her heart.
She swallowed.
Then she stood up.
“Hobi,” she whispered, “I need to go.”
“Stay,” he breathed as he stood up too.
She gazed up into his eyes as her heart began to beat wildly. It was the way he was looking at her. It was identical to the way that Raven looked at her. Right before he kissed her lips.
She felt trapped in that beautiful gaze. She wanted his kiss. And it broke her heart. Because she kept thinking of Raven.
Now she understood. She understood her best friend. And all the things she’d never understood before. She now knew how Yura could have kissed two guys within a few minutes of each other. And it terrified her. Because she didn’t want to hurt either one of them.
Hobi stared down at her. Debating what to do. But he had to know. How she would respond to him.
So, before she could fly away, he bent his head and brushed his lips across hers.
And lightning struck them both. With such force that it stole her breath. She knew then that she really did love Hobi. She leaned into him, and his arms slid around her, pulling her towards him. His mouth moved gently over hers.
She was lost in his kiss. It was so amazing. Little darts of electricity were slipping along every nerve in her body and planting themselves in her belly. They pierced her repeatedly as his mouth moved against hers.
Then he opened it slightly, and his breath slid across her lips. And she wanted to cry. Because it birthed an ache of such intensity within her that she knew she was his. And she was going to have to break Raven’s heart.
