People only learn to hold on to things when it's no longer within reach. They crave touches when the skin can no longer feel, and they lust for life when they're about to lose it. It's the same for Dong Joon and Eun Ae, who's about to face the consequences of sealed lips and unspoken, ardent desire.
Dong Joon tightened his grip on her pale hand. Her cracked lips formed an archaic smile.
"Dong Joon... will you smile at me?" she said.
Her wet nose amplified as she breathed. He raised his head and revealed his teary eyes.
"How can I smile at this moment?"
He brushed his cheeks on the back of her hand.
"I'd rather see you smile for the last time than look at those gloomy eyes," she said with a crackling voice.
"Even if I smile, you know it's fake."
She closed her eyes as tears flowed down her cheeks.
"Dong Joon, listen. I want to be brave this time."
Lights flashed to his chin length, wavy, black hair as he gazed at her.
"I... I love you," she whispered.
He wept, nose getting bigger as he sniffed.
"Shh."
He caressed her long hair.
"You don't have to say that. I will do the talking for you."
He wiped his tears away and smiled.
"I could've told you earlier. I could've shown you how much I love you more than a friend. I am filled with regrets and it might drown me, better take me with you."
"I'm sorry I was too late," she said.
"Eun Ae..."
He leaned closer to her and kissed her forehead.
"Dong Joon, promise me you won't blame yourself after this. You have done enough for me. You never told me, but you've shown me genuine love..."
He wailed, chest pounding as he breathed.
"You made my life on Earth beautiful... like you are," she said.
"No... please."
His moans resonated all over the room like sirens.
He only spilled a few of his unspoken words, bottled up inside his heart. Eun Ae was his best friend ever since primary school, until they graduated from University. Within those years, he was too timid to confess.
He witnessed how many men came after her, and he could only clench his fists behind them. Those years when he's silent, she waited. Eun Ae dated a few men but never lasted because deep within her, she wanted him. The fright of rejection strangled both of them.
Dong Joon was the only son of a billionaire. Their conglomerate includes restaurants, convenience stores, and a chain of hotels. While Eun Ae was the daughter of a judge and their parents were close. Fate paved the way for their hearts to be together, yet they didn't utter a thousand words to express their unnerving infatuation with each other.
Only death weaved their desire and declared it one last time. On the 19th of January, Eun Ae turned to ashes, and they displayed her at Chungah Park Columbarium. Dong Joon stood in front of her tomb in his black tuxedo with hands inside his pocket.
Eun Ae's smile shone in her photo. It was when she graduated from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Law School. She was with her parents and Dong Joon.
"Isn't she lovely?"
Dong Joon glanced at the man who spoke and stood beside him. It was Hong Jii, her colleague at Alps Law Firm.
"No doubt," he replied.
Hong Jii placed the flowers he bought beside her photo. Jade Vine was her favorite flower, a rare one in the family of pea and bean. He used to buy it for her after a trip to the Philippines.
"You're too lucky," Hong Jii whispered under his breath.
Dong Joon gazed at him.
"She never looked at me the way she looked at you," he said with swollen eyes.
"I'm sorry."
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7."
Dong Joon's brows furrowed.
"What's that? Password to her accounts?" he said.
"How I wish... but it's the number of times she mentioned your name each day when she's with me," Hong Jii replied.
He was Eun Ae's ex-boyfriend, the longest relationship she had.
"I am more sorry than you are. We had a good time together, and she loved me for a minute. While you? She loved you every second, but you failed to be the man she deserved," he said in a low tone and tapped his shoulder before he left.
Dong Joon sighed. He lifted one's gaze, holding back his tears.
***
"Why? Why did you do that?" Sun hee protested as she threw her phone to the sofa.
She grabbed the pillow near her and hugged it as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"What's your problem?" Min Jee asked, before drinking a bottle of water.
"You are my problem! Come on, why do you have to kill Eun Ae? I need a valid reason."
Sun hee's long, curly hair was in a mess after reading the last chapter of a Webtoon story.
"Stop pestering me like I'm a murderer. The only valid reason I'll give you is that... I am the author," Min Jee smirked.
"I hate you from the bottom of my hypothalamus," Sun Hee snorted.
She stood up and went to the kitchen. Min Jee slumped to the sofa and scanned her phone.
"Oh wow, look at the headline" — she ran her fingers through her neck length, vanilla colored soft curls and placed it behind her ear — "I made the internet go wild."
Sun hee mixed the black coffee and sipped it.
"Having some fun, are you?" she said.
"The infamous criminal breaks our hearts once more... what a lousy name."
Min Jee grinned.
Seo Min Jee was a featured creator on Parallel Webtoon, the second most popular Webtoon platform in 2019. Recently, she released the last chapter of her comic entitled 'Captivated' and the netizens were crazy about it. Her fans called her Princess of Tragedy, while her bashers named her The Infamous Criminal.
She had published five comics and all of them were a success, but ended dreadfully.
"Your creativity is unbelievable. I mean how could you think of a way to make your characters miserable in the end? And we are suffering too," Sun Hee said.
"Well, that's my special skill. I inflict pain on my characters in the most dramatic manner, they'll wish to get out of their world and slap me on the face. It's not about creativity, it's about madness."
Sun hee rolled her eyes.
"My poor Dong Joon, he will never dare to slap you. You know how kindhearted he is," she said, staring blankly into space while imagining her favorite major character.
Min Jee scrolled down the comment section.
"Next time, don't create adorable characters, it's hard to let them go."
Sun hee sat across from her.
"My life is at stake here, too," Min Jee said as she lay her phone on her face.
Some bashers threatened her to grab her hair if they found out who she was. Sun hee shook her head.
"These lunatics..." she murmured.
"Now you know who to blame if you found my lifeless body one of these days."
"Don't worry, Black Sunshine. Your identity is safe with me," Sun Hee said and zipped her mouth.
"Good thing, my neighbor is one call away," Min Jee said.
Her spacious loft studio was near the Gangnam station and it has 24 hours security. No one would dare to break in.
"You should've stayed with your Mom," Sun Hee said.
"I don't want to hear it. Besides, I don't need her because you're here."
"That's so sweet of you," Sun Hee pouted.
"I'm saying you look like a middle-aged woman."
Sun hee's eyes widened after a hint of betrayal. She grabbed the pillow and threw it to her face. Min Jee combed her hair through her fingers and glared at her.
"So you want to be my next victim," she said in a sarcastic tone.
"Let me live for tomorrow. It's an important day."
"What's the occasion?"
"It's valentine's day, goodness."
"Oh, is that so? That's why I'm clueless," Min Jee said, raising her brow.
Koreans celebrate Valentine's Day on the 14th day of February in South Korea when women give chocolates to men as a sign of affection. As part of their tradition, men that receive gifts will have to give back on White Day. They celebrate it on the 14th day of March when it's the men's turn to show their affection with sweetness. Some people follow the "Rule of Three," though people don't widely expect or practise it. It states that the reciprocal gift men give must be 3 times the value of the gift they received on Valentine's Day.
The gifts on White Day must interweave the color white like white chocolates, lingerie, candy, flowers, or wrapped in white fancy packaging. White symbolizes the purity of love and they also associate it with sugar. Women have to wait an entire month for men's reply.
How a man responds reflects what he thinks about the relationship. If he gives a gift of equal value, the relationship is over. If he doesn't give her a present, it means he thinks he's above her. For Min Jee, who's been broken for years, Valentine's Day is an execution when she tortures herself.