When I Loved You

young trusted herself more than anything, and she wouldn’t be defeated.
“I can… I can do it.”

She believed in herself; all she needed to do was take the first step.
After that, she could even run.
She opened her eyes wide and yelled, “I can do it!”

And with that firm belief, Yiyoung took her first step outside.
It was a shaky affair, and she tried to calm herself down when her breaths grew heavy.
She reassured herself by telling herself that the hallway wall was a part of the house, and took a second step.
But then her face grew pale as she broke out in cold sweat.
She grew afraid that someone would show up out of nowhere and stab her.

Yiyoung placed a hand on the wall.
She had been too scared to think straight, but the cool feel of the wall snapped her out of it.
It reminded her of Muyeol; it felt the same as his blank, expressionless face.
But whenever he smiled, he looked so cute, friendly, and sexy.

“What kind of human are you? How can you be so good looking? I can’t take my eyes off of you,” Yiyoung said as if Muyeol was standing next to her.

She missed him.
Every day, she would be unable to take her eyes off the clock as she waited for him to come home.
She imagined him standing in front of her, and gingerly stepped forward as it brought her closer to him.

Her face brightened as she realized she could finally do it.
She felt as if she had become a super woman.

* * *

Mr.
Hong parked his car and looked around.
Muyeol was in the back of the car, sitting with his eyes closed.
Mr.
Hong watched Muyeol with a crestfallen look.
He knew his boss had been working excessively hard ever since his first day back at work so he could get back home on time.
And since this afternoon, Muyeol was suffering; his eyes and face had turned red, and Mr.
Hong could practically feel the heat radiating from his body.

“I’ll escort you,” he told Muyeol.