The business conference soon came to an end and it was already the last day, Michelle and Hyunmin were on their way to their respective rooms in the hotel they lodged in.
Hyunmin was discussing a few details about the meeting with Michelle when he noticed the somewhat disappointed look on her face. He sighed deeply before stopping her by holding her hand.
Michelle was flustered by his action and looked up at him, he noticed her reaction and quickly withdrew his hand.
Hyunmin cleared his throat before speaking.
"What is it this time Michelle?"
"We didn't get to visit any of the places I saw online, It's such a shame cause I was looking forward to it"
"We?"
He raised an eyebrow at her in a questioning manner
"Yes Boss, I haven't been to Busan before but you've come here many times so I was hoping you could take me to any of those places"
"You do know this trip is for business"
"But can't we at least go to a seafood restaurant or at least walk around for a bit, Please Boss"
Michelle made a puppy face at him practically begging him with her eyes
"Alright! Stop making that face at me. We'll go out, I know a place nearby"
He checked his wristwatch
"Go get ready, I will come to pick you up at 7 pm"
Michelle beamed a wide smile at him showing her cute dimples
"Thank you so so much Boss"
She bowed deeply before skipping off to her room happily.
At around 7:10 pm, Hyunmin knocked on the door to Michelle's room to call her out. She opened the door and peeked her head out first before fully coming out and showing Hyunmin her usual warm smile.
She was wearing a knee-length pink floral dress with a white background, she had her hair in a simple ponytail style along with a small black shoulder bag and a pair of black sandals, and her glasses as always.
Hyunmin had his usual poker face on as he asked "Shall we?"
"Yes Boss"
They soon arrived at the restaurant Hyunmin chose, which was outside the hotel. He wanted Michelle to experience Busan a little bit. They walked into the restaurant to take a seat and order food, Michelle looked around in amazement at the people, the food, and the decoration of the restaurant, everything looked fascinating to her although she did occasionally get a few unpleasant stares from the natives She was too engrossed in her current activity to pay much attention to it.
A few minutes later the food they ordered was served, Michelle stared at the delicacies in front of her with a watering mouth. Hyunmin silently watched as she devoured the food in front of her like a hungry Lioness and cautioned her, afraid she would choke on it.
"Take it easy on the food, it's not running away Michelle"
She paused mid-air with a spoon in her hand as she smiled shyly
"Sorry Boss"
They had finished their meal, and were on their way back to the hotel when Michelle asked "Can we walk around for a bit longer Boss? I've eaten a lot tonight and I'm afraid I will get constipated tomorrow if I don't exercise a little before going to bed"
Hyunmin looked at his wristwatch to confirm the time, Michelle saw he was hesitant and tried to persuade him.
"Please Boss"
Hyunmin gave an exhausted sigh while looking at her.
"Alright"
They walked around for a bit before they both decided to take a seat on one of the benches along the sidewalks, they both sat down enjoying the cool breeze and the beautiful ambiance of Busan's nightlife when a sudden phone call broke the comfortable silence between them.
Hyunmin took his phone out only to see it was his father calling, He quickly ignored the call and put his phone in silent mode. Michelle saw his action and couldn't help but ask him even if she knew it was a personal matter.
"If you permit me to ask, wasn't that your father calling"
"Yes, He always keeps tabs on me and it annoys me at times"
Michelle sighed sadly before saying
"You're lucky boss, At least you have people who care about you enough to call and check up on you, My people don't even know if I'm dead or alive neither do you care"
"Don't you have a Family?" Hyunmin asked
"Family, huh, that is a big word in the vocabulary of someone like me"
Michelle sighed again before she continued, all the painful memories flashing back to her.
"My Mother died of Cancer when I was 10, My dad died before I clocked 4 and Nobody knew any of my family members so I was taken to an orphanage. I wasn't even lucky enough to get a foster home, all the parents that came would always turn me down until I finally reached 18 and I had to leave the orphanage. I went to college a month after moving into my apartment. My life was very tough those days, I had to work extra hard to pay my tuition fees and also study a lot cause I wanted to get a scholarship for University, It was difficult for me and people in school made it even harder cause I got bullied a lot of times Until one day my Knight in shining armor appeared or so I thought"
Michelle gave a sad smile
"Ethan was my senior in University in the Architecture faculty, He was the school's typical popular guy, he was handsome, rich, smart, and super sexy.
Just like every other girl in school I also had a crush on him but I always told myself he was someone out of my league so I kept my feelings hidden, I didn't even know he recognized him until he saved me from a group of girls that were bullying me that day.
I fell in love with him even more and my dream was getting close to becoming a reality when we became close friends. A few months passed and we became even closer to each other as friends, he eventually asked me to be his girlfriend and we started dating. The news of our relationship caused an uproar on campus which attracted more negative than positive reviews but we both didn't care about anyone's opinion of us. We felt we could fight the whole world as long as we stayed together. I always thought I would find solace in love after all the hardships I have been through in life but I was so wrong, I eventually got betrayed and that's the part my best friend Bethany comes into the story"
"Bethany and I were close friends since college, she was also a rich kid but I always thought she was kind and humble which was why I couldn't see her true colors.
Everyone knew we were best friends but we were close for a reason, we both loved the same things; Literature, K-drama, K-pop, Karaoke, and other stuff. We even both planned on traveling to Korea once to see all the beautiful places we've seen in K-dramas. I trusted Bethany with my life but little did I know she would betray me in the worst way possible"
"I went to Ethan's apartment that day unannounced because I would usually call him before coming over but I wanted to surprise him with my home-cooked spaghetti and meatballs which I made with lots of love, I got the shock of my life when I walked into his bedroom to see him sleeping with my best friend"
Michelle didn't even realize she was already crying as she narrated her story to Hyunmin.
"I was completely shocked, I couldn't move, scream, or yell, all I could do was cry. Ethan quickly walked up to me, tried to give his stupid girlfriend some stupid explanation but I was too angry to listen and I slapped him across the face before I turned to Bethany and asked her why she betrayed me but she gave me only one answer without showing any remorse You don't deserve someone like Ethan and you were always beneath him! My mind went blank for a few minutes after I heard those words, I dropped the food in my hand, turned around, and left the both of them without saying another word"
"I cried until I ran out of tears. I got tired of crying and made a vow to myself that I would never allow anyone else to fool me ever again. After we finished University I heard Bethany and Ethan made their relationship official which wasn't much of a surprise to me, It's really funny how I still became friends with Jiyoon despite what happened to me but I came to the conclusion that not everyone out there is like Bethany"
*****************************
Hyunmin saw how tears fell freely from her eyes, he felt as if a thousand needles were piercing his heart as he saw her cry and he couldn't explain why he felt that way. He couldn't help himself and reached out his hands to cup her face and look deep into her chocolate-brown eyes. He usually saw radiation of happiness in them but today all he could see was pain and sadness. He used his thumb to wipe away her tears even though he was a little shocked by his actions.
Michelle froze in place as she watched Hyunmin clean her tears, she didn't think about anything else as she wrapped her arms around him in a sudden hug.
Hyunmin was taken aback by her unexpected action and didn't know if he could hug her back but when he heard her sobbing softly, he slowly placed his hand on her back to give her a warm embrace and gently console her
"It's okay Michelle"
Hyunmin couldn't understand why he was doing what he was doing but all he knew was seeing her in tears pained him more than it should. They continued hugging, completely losing track of time. Michelle realized what she was doing and swiftly retracted her hands from Hyunmin, she was already feeling better.
"I'm sorry Boss, I shouldn't have done….."
"It's alright Michelle you needed that"
"I hope you're not offended, Boss"
"Not at all and besides it's getting late, we need to go back to the hotel now"
He stood up from the bench and Michelle immediately followed as they both went back to the hotel. They reached the hotel and Hyunmin escorted Michelle to her room since he was only a few doors away.
"Thank you very much for today Boss. I needed someone to talk to, it lighten my emotional baggage"
She chuckled lightly
"Umm boss can I uhh…. ask you something"
Hyunmin could see she was hesitant but he wanted her to act freely around him.
"Go ahead"
"Can we be friends?"
Hyunmin was amused by her confidence to ask for his friendship but he was also curious.
"Why do you want to be my friend, aren't you afraid or uncomfortable around me?"
" Of course, not Boss, It's the exact opposite. I feel that we have become a bit comfortable around each other so I thought it would be good for us to be friends and for the record I'm not scared of you. I think you're a kind person beneath your cold countenance"
"It seems you are yet to learn your lesson about predicting people"
"What can I say, Boss, My heart is too pure"
Hyunmin stared at her in awe for a few seconds, he always perceived her to be a tough person considering her boldness around him but he just confirmed it after hearing the sincerity in her voice as she asked to be his friend.
"No strings attached Michelle"
He said to her as a mild warning
"None Whatsoever Boss"
"Alright then, We are friends"
"Really Boss?"
He nodded his head lightly
"Okay then Boss, I won't take up any more of your time. Good night and thank you"
"Good Night Michelle"
Hyunmin turned around and walked to his room while Michelle walked into her room with a satisfied smile plastered on her face. (｡♡‿♡｡)