Sangcheol flips the books on the round table placed in the small bookshop, already feeling bored while waiting for his girlfriend. He thought the line will move quickly since it isn't even an idol meet-up and there are not that many people but Gyuri has been standing in line for half an hour and she has only moved a few steps forward. Resting his head on his arm, the alpha closes the children's book and puts it aside, staring at his girl.
She is talking to the guy behind her, they seem comfortable with each other, almost flirting. Just look at her enthusiastically responding to everything the guy said, and obviously, the guy seems excited to talk to her.
What the fuck? Are they exchanging phone numbers?
Gripping his fist, Sangcheol closes his eyes and turns his face away, breathing his anger out. He knows he is overreacting towards the interaction, and that they are probably just making friends while waiting in the long queue, but he cannot help but feel overly jealous ever since that incident, when he found her-
'stop it Sangcheol. Don't think about it." The young alpha shakes his head and slaps his cheek lightly to distract himself. He promised to let it go and trust Gyuri since they made up with each other so he should do just that - not overthink things, and not get jealous. His girlfriend is just an overly friendly girl, he just have to get used to seeing her around other alphas. Besides, she gave her words to not do something like that again. Everything should be fine.
Everything should be… fine.
Not able to convince himself, the sight of the two getting him worked up, Sangcheol decides to go to the toilet. Not that he wanted to urinate or anything, he just wants to walk and splash some water to refresh himself. And get away from the two so he can focus on calming himself.
#####
"Where's the guy?" Sangcheol asks his girlfriend as he makes his way back to the table. The man who was with heris nowhere in sight and Gyuri looks bored so he just had to confirm the good news.
"He went back. The line's freaking slow! Tsk." She pouts, making him laugh at her childish gesture. His Gyuri is definitely adorable.
Taking his seat, Sangcheol turns to look at the author, curious about his look, and what he is doing that it took so long to sign a simple book. First impression surprises him as he thought he was wrong about the author's gender. It took him a few seconds to realize that author is indeed, a man. A really pretty male with a very, very sweet smile. If the man laugh and talk like that with his fans, it is understandable how long his reader will talk before leaving just to enjoy his company. Just look at that attentive expression, even Sangcheol imagines he will be reluctant to leave if the author shows that much interest in whatever he would be talking about.
And that hair… That soft-looking hair tied up in a ponytail, just how Sangcheol loves. He always has a thing for long hair even her girlfriend knows it, which is why Gyuri keeps her hair long. Speaking of, she also has her hair tied in a nice ponytail, something she has been doing a lot lately.
Simpering to himself thinking about his sweetheart, the alpha returns to his seat, continuing his wait. About half an hour later, Gyuri finally makes it to the front, excitedly talking to the author, something Sangcheol really finds captivating because, enthusiastic Gyuri is as adorable as a puppy.
#####
"Done?" Sangcheol gets up to see her as she makes his way towards him. A satisfied nod and he offers his hand to be held by the sweet omega, making their way out the bookstore. "You really like him huh?"
"Not really…" she slurs her word which surprises Sangcheol. She just said she didn't like the author she spent almost two hours waiting to get his autograph. That is really confusing.
"He's a really famous author right now. I just want something to talk about at school." Gyuri giggles, avoiding his playful accusing stare. He should have expected this, his girlfriend will only ever do something like this if she can use it to get people's attention. As crazy as it sounds, that is the exact reason he fell for her, her determination to get what she wants no matter the reason. He just finds it amazing how she can look like she really liked the author all the time she was there when she hardly knows him. She must have done her research.
"Gotta admire that persistence." He comments, smiling at her, "I expected nothing less."
"Glad you still feel that way…" the sudden change of atmosphere causes Sangcheol to turn his head towards his lover, who is now silently flipping on the pages of the book. They were joking around just a few second ago, did he say something to ruin the mood? Not wanting to make things worse, the alpha decides to keep silence, watching his girlfriend silently turning the signed book and points towards the picture of the author, Yoo Haneul.
"This guy," she starts, her tone somewhat serious, "he sleeps around from middle school."
"Owh…Really?" Sangcheol pretends to be nonchalant, but inside, he is nervous. Because she is still talking about it. He thought they are over it since they agreed to forget about what happened. Granted, he still has trouble moving on, but he is trying. Constantly reminding him about it is not helping.
Unless…
…she is doing this because she noticed his reaction back at the bookstore, when she was talking to the guy behind her. Was he that obvious? He did try to control himself…
Shit, maybe that is it. Maybe he looked pissed. He wouldn't know. Obviously he is still pissed, since her cheating on him is still a fresh memory, but it is not as if he is accusing her of anything like she is about to suggest. Because he still loves her, and trust her despite it all.
"Yeah. He wrote about it. Weird how he's so proud 'bout being a slut. It's basically what the whole book's about." Gyuri remarks, sending a frown on the male half of the couple. He never thought of her being a slut. Never. He can tell she misunderstood his random cold actions recently as him hating her, but she is wrong. He did that because he needed space and time to recollect himself after the betrayal. They made up only two weeks after that incident, he is still hurt.
Sangcheol wishes he can forget everything that easily so he won't have to struggle with himself to accept her again. Because he knows how much it hurt her. And he never wanted to hurt her.
Feeling a tight hold on his hand, the alpha notices the shine in Gyuri's eyes. Shit. "Gyuri-"
"I'm not slutting around. The line was slow and we were bored-"
"I know… I'm not-," Sangcheol pulls her to face him, feeling guilty that he did something that suggested that idea. Yes, he wa angry at first since seeing her with another guy reminded him of her betrayal but it was never his intention to stop her from talking to other people. He didn't want to control her social life despite his own feeling. He just, is still not comfortable seeing her with other alphas, males especially. "I still love you. Sangie, please-"
"I know. I-…Sorry…" He apologizes, for still holding it against her despite already agreeing to forgive her. For still remembering about it when he should forget it ever happen because they promised to start anew. He apologizes for making her cry from his actions, though he has no clue what he did.
Maybe he is still acting overprotective of her. Is she crying because she still feel suffocated? He really has no clue.
He has no idea how much freedom he should give her, or if he ever tried to control her life in the first place. This is too overwhelming for him to think because he never noticed how badly he is treating her that she has to find comfort in someone else. She never told him until they made up after that incident.
He has no idea what he did wrong. But he needs to fix himself, he realizes that.
"I'll do better. Don't cry, please."