The Way Home

Shin Su Yeon's POV

After leaving the studio in defeat, I couldn't even believe that Mr. Gwang didn't want to hear a single word out of me. How is he so unfair towards me, I didn't even do anything wrong.

A year ago...

After Mr. Gwang apologized to me, I was kind of happy that at least he saw that he was wrong. After clocking out of the office, I readied myself to get home. When I reached the bus stop, my phone started ringing again and I saw Mi-na's number. Oh right, I forgot. I answered her call and she started shouting at the end of the line.

"You told me you were gonna call me, then why didn't you?!" She screamed.

"I'm sorry, okay? I was in the middle of something when you called me, and one thing led to another, it was the end of the day." I reasoned with her, "Why were you calling me though? It's unlike you to call me first," I asked her, one of my traits is my elusiveness. I think it works every time.

"Oh, right, that..." Mi-na trailed off, "I don't know if I should say this but..." she trails off yet again.

"Just say it, Mi-na, no one's after you," I told her.

"Okay, fine," she gave in, "Someone was looking for you earlier this morning." She mentioned.

"Someone? I don't even know who my landlord is, how come someone's looking for me--" I stopped when I felt like something was off, "Did you order online and put my address in, Mi-na?" I asked her as I realized it was too late and that the bus had already left, I sighed in defeat and sat down to wait for another.

"I would never, Su Yeon, he said something about... I don't know, I actually don't remember." Mi-na said before continuing as I waited for another bus, "Mom told me to get out of the room and so I did, so I tried eavesdropping but it seems like my mom knows that I'm on the other side of the door." I stopped listening to her when a car stopped in front of me.

"Excuse me, Mi-na, someone just stopped their car in front of me, don't hang up the phone, okay?" I told her.

"Oh, sure, don't approach them though, you'll never know their true intentions." She reminded me.

"You think I'm that stupid? Oh please," I replied to Mi-na while chuckling, and then the car window rolled down.

"The last bus to this station already left, do you want a ride home?" A man asked me, I couldn't figure out his face but his voice sounded familiar to me.

"I'm sorry, but I'm on a call with someone already, they're coming in about five minutes." I lied to him then the man opened the lights in his car and it was Mr. Gwang who was talking to me, "Oh, Mr. Gwang, what are you doing out here so late?" I put the phone away from my ear but I can faintly hear Mi-na asking if it was someone I know.

"Ms. Su Yeon, the last bus from this station has already left, are you sure you'll wait for someone to fetch you a ride?" He asked me, "I can wait for you while you wait for your ride," he offered to me, well I can wait, but Mi-na doesn't have a car or even a motorcycle. I unconsciously bite my lips while thinking about it in front of him.

"I guess I can go with you," I mumbled to him.

"What is that, Ms. Su Yeon?" Mr. Gwang called for me.

"Oh, sorry, I mean, I guess not. You offered it, I don't reject graces that are given to me after all." I smiled at him. I saw a faint glint in his eyes and a smile formed on his lips.

"That's likely of you to say that," He thought out loud.

"Excuse me, sir?" I called for him, "You seem to be thinking out loud," I told him, and Mr. Gwang blinked rapidly to shake the thoughts away.

"Sorry, I just remembered something." He answered, "You can get in," he said and unlocked the door for me.

"Thank you, sir," I thanked him and hopped in, "I'll just tell my friend to not fetch me so that they won't waste their time," I added.

"Sure thing," he replied before starting the car, I put the phone in my ear again only to find out it already ended but to not end up embarrassing myself, I had to make up something.

"Sorry, my boss offered a ride home," I answered to no one, "Yes, I'll see you tomorrow, goodbye," I said quickly before putting it down.

"You must be pretty tired if you happen to miss the last bus," Mr. Gwang wondered.

"Oh, no, I was talking to my friend that I didn't even know that the bus already left," I reasoned with him, "So now I ended up in your car," I replied while looking out the window trying not to look at him.

"Well life throws a lot of stuff in our faces and we don't see past it most of the time because we're so busy dealing with what's in front of us," he advised.

"You could say that again," I agreed, "But then again, it's not like I'm used to it. I have to make the best of it," I responded positively to Mr. Gwang with a slight smile, "Oh by the way, this is the nearest place to where I live," I pointed out before sighing.

"It seems that there's a lot on your plate," he pushed, "Care to share them?" He asked further, can I trust him? I mean, getting in his car is already one thing, but I don't mean to just lay everything down in his life.

"Sorry, I'm not that comfortable yet," I replied, it's what I could muster, "Maybe next time, Mr. Gwang." I said and faced him with a gentle smile before looking at the window again.

"You should rest, there's still time for you to rest." Mr. Gwang told me.

"Oh please, I'm not that tired." I disagreed.

Hyeon Woo's POV

Su Yeon fell asleep minutes later, it's funny how a few of what she says sometimes isn't aligned with what's really happening to her. While I was driving, I heard her groan beside me and I looked at where she was seated. She seems to be dreaming, and she doesn't seem to be enjoying it. I stopped at a nearby parking and observed her, she changed a lot during her lifetime, but how could she look the same as her first ancestor? Is Fate doing something right now to put me in such a position? I manifested a red string out of thin air and put it around her wrist, she used to wear this during our first encounter all those years ago. It made her sleep comfortably every night since she always has a nightmare, will it still work the same? I gently put down her wrist and noticed the immediate effect, Su Yeon calmed down and her breathing pattern stabilized. I also noticed that a strand of her hair was covering her face so I tucked it behind her ear softly, so as not to wake her up. When I got a closer look at her, she resembled my long-lost forgotten love, how could she look exactly like her? My gaze softened at her as I explored her face, my eyes wandering at her calm expression, how do I keep my distance away from you when Fate pulls such a trick on me? How did I not realize that while she was growing up she would look exactly like her? Mother will not take this lightly, my sister already met her and I don't know what will happen if she happens to meet Su Yeon. Seeing her now ignited something in me, something that I'd let go of all those years ago, and now it's like it's in front of me. She's in front of me, and I feel like there's something that I won't let go of, it must be her. And if I were to lose everything, I would gladly do it. Is this what Fate has told me all those times that I have always ignored? I couldn't keep my mouth shut so I accidentally called her name.

"Byeol," I said, and she opened her eyes slowly. I was surprised by it because I didn't know she would respond to it, I froze in shock and Su Yeon noticed our position. She was taking all the information she got while I froze in front of her, she was also looking at me. I didn't move and neither did she, we were just awkwardly freezing in place as if we were a deer in headlights. When she regained her composure, she pushed me back to my seat and I was taken aback by that and she scratched the back of her head with what she did.