Chapter 173: Falling Leaves, Missing You

It was a weekend just like any other.

Normally, I used to study or go on dates with Ban Eunhyeol, but now my companion had changed.

I glanced at Do Ihyun, who was sitting across from me and studying, then shifted my gaze behind him.

Midterms were over, but with the college entrance exam approaching, the place was packed with students.

‘So many people here.’

Sometimes, Ban Eunhyeol and I would come to the library to study too.

Lately, thoughts of Ban Eunhyeol crossed my mind from time to time.

It had almost been a month since I last saw him.

What on earth was he doing and where?

Whenever I called, it connected as an international call, so it seemed he was overseas for some reason.

But I hadn’t heard a word about what that reason was, or when he’d be coming back to Korea.

‘The college entrance exam is soon. What is he going to do?’

He’d said he wanted to attend university in Korea.

Could he possibly just leave Korea for good and settle in another country?

With no way to reach him, all sorts of thoughts crossed my mind.

Are we breaking up just like this, or did we already break up without me even knowing?

Do Ihyun’s plan to make him jealous never even got a chance to be used.

How could I make Ban Eunhyeol jealous when he wasn’t even in Korea?

At the time, I thought there was no other way and quickly agreed to the plan, but now, thinking back, I was truly relieved I never got to carry it out.

Aside from the plan, I continued meeting Do Ihyun regularly.

“Can’t focus?”

I was just sitting there blankly, lost in thoughts of Ban Eunhyeol, when Do Ihyun quietly asked.

Only then did my eyes regain focus.

“No.”

I answered briefly and tried to force myself back to my studies.

Do Ihyun looked like he had more to say, but soon closed his mouth and lowered his head.

‘It seems like his trauma has gotten a lot better now.’

I looked at Do Ihyun, studying across from me, with a complicated gaze.

There was all that talk about making him jealous and such, but the real reason I met with him was to help him overcome his trauma.

See? I was in that accident, but I’m right here, alive and well before your eyes.

My goal was to keep showing him this and let him see my arm completely heal.

After getting the cast off, my arm got a lot better, and I made sure to see him once or twice a week to show him how healthy I was.

I couldn’t just cut him off because he liked me.

After all, he’d helped me so much, and we had a good friendship.

So, I thought the least I could do was worry about him and look after him like this.

But maybe now it was okay to stop seeing him.

My relationship with Ban Eunhyeol wasn’t even properly settled, so I couldn’t keep meeting Do Ihyun like this.

‘I’ll talk to him on the way home today.’

Since it was obvious Do Ihyun still liked me, there wasn’t much to think about.

Time passed, and by the time it was starting to get dark outside the window—

“Shall we head out now?”

I was the first to pack my bag and stand up, and Do Ihyun followed suit.

Sensing that my mood was different than usual, Do Ihyun stayed silent and just walked beside me.

“I’ll just go to the bathroom for a sec.”

Telling Do Ihyun to wait a moment, I headed for the bathroom.

In truth, the bathroom was just an excuse.

I needed a place to organize my thoughts.

‘How should I bring this up?’

As I washed my hands, I went over and over in my mind what to say to Do Ihyun.

***

While waiting near the stairs for Dana to come out of the bathroom, Do Ihyun overheard a conversation.

“Looks like Dana still doesn’t know that Eunhyeol’s parents suddenly forced him to study abroad in America, huh?”

“Yeah… Because of that, I haven’t seen Dana lately. I feel so bad keeping it from her.”

“How is all this going to turn out, seriously?”

Eunbada, Han Jibin, and Ji Ganghan were coming up the stairs, chatting as they went.

The moment he heard them, Do Ihyun instinctively hid around the corner and listened to their conversation.

“His parents always wanted him to attend school in America, right?”

“Still, who leaves to study abroad right before the college entrance exam?”

“Yeah… but they say he’ll have no problem getting into university anyway.”

“That may be true, but isn’t the timing terrible?”

What was all this about?

Do Ihyun furrowed his brow and listened more closely.

“I wish he could at least contact Dana soon…”

“I heard his mother’s monitoring him too. She told him not to contact Dana.”

“But why? It’s not like our Dana did anything wrong.”

“Who knows…”

“Probably just cares about family background.”

“But his mother… she was a fan, wasn’t she? Couldn’t they at least talk about that?”

“No way. That’s a secret.”

From the sound of it, his parents had forced him off to America.

It seemed they were monitoring him so strictly, he couldn’t even contact Dana.

‘With that much opposition, Dana must be having a hard time too.’

Still, no matter how closely he’s being watched, he could have at least told a friend to pass on a message.

Dana had been struggling, waiting for contact all this time.

Though she seemed cheerful spending time with me, there were moments when her expression clouded over.

Even without asking, I could tell it was because of Ban Eunhyeol.

But Ban Eunhyeol had already gone overseas and wasn’t coming to school or answering Dana’s messages.

So as far as I was concerned, it was as if they’d broken up.

If that weren’t the case, Dana would never have spent time with me like this, even if she was worried about him.

‘I absolutely refuse to see her go back to a guy like that.’

If he couldn’t even ask his friends to pass on a message because of his parents’ opposition, then there’s no way I’d let Dana get back together with him.

Hearing the Four Heavenly Kings talk like that only strengthened my resolve.

When Dana came out of the bathroom, I looked at her and made up my mind.

I would never help Dana get back with Ban Eunhyeol.

But then…

“Dana, don’t cry…”

We’d just left the library and were watching the leaves fall, when tears started rolling down Dana’s cheeks.

My mind went blank at the sight.

I tried my best to comfort her, but having never comforted a crying girl before, I had no idea what to do.

“The leaves are already falling, and he still hasn’t contacted me… It’s so frustrating.”

“…You’ve been waiting all this time for Ban Eunhyeol to contact you?”

“I can’t just end it like this.”

The moment I saw Dana wiping away tears, my mind changed.

First, I soothed her and took her home.

Then, I stared for a long time at Ban Eunhyeol’s number buried deep in my contacts.

Before I knew it, I’d gotten home, and as soon as I entered, I took out my phone and sent someone a message.

[Tang]

Then I tossed my phone onto the bed and headed to the bathroom to wash up.

A moment later, my phone vibrated and a new message appeared on the screen.

[I’ll be there soon. – That damned guy]

***

Ban Eunhyeol was on the verge of going mad after receiving Do Ihyun’s message.

[If you’re going to make Dana cry like that, then I’ll just take her myself. Take care of your own girl properly. – zThat damned guy]

Dana cried.

All this time, under the strict watch of his parents, he hadn’t been able to contact Dana.

The image of Dana looking after Do Ihyun first had vanished completely from his mind.

Having been forced to go far away so suddenly, he missed Dana desperately.

He had tried to get word to her through Eunbada, Ji Ganghan, and Han Jibin, whom his parents allowed him to contact.

But he didn’t want to show Dana how powerless he felt.

He also wanted to hide the fact that his parents were against their relationship.

‘I planned to solve this and go back to Korea to explain everything to her…’

But maybe he’d only been thinking from his own perspective.

After what happened between Onsaemiro and the Four Heavenly Kings, Dana hadn’t even had a proper chance to reconcile with him.

And in the midst of all that, he suddenly disappeared, so of course she’d be worried and waiting for contact.

‘I never thought about it from Dana’s perspective.’

His head had been so full of plans to solve things that he’d been a fool.

The fact that Do Ihyun sent a message saying Dana cried made him even more uneasy.

But now wasn’t the time to be upset about that.

“What are you doing?”

He was packing his suitcase when his mother came into the room and asked sharply.

“I’m going to Korea.”

“There you go again. If you miss your friends, just invite them here.”

“Don’t pretend not to know, when you know there’s another reason for this.”

“…How long do you think those feelings will last? It’s just puppy love—”

Ban Eunhyeol cut her off as he stuffed his things haphazardly into his suitcase and stood up.

“Dana is the first girl I’ve ever loved.”

“What?”

“And now, I hear she’s crying.”

He pulled his suitcase behind him and, turning his head slightly, spoke as he walked out.

“I have to go wipe those tears, so I’ll be going now.”

“Ban Eunhyeol!”

“Oh, and I’m moving out. Don’t try to find me.”

Ignoring his mother’s shout, he left the house that felt like a prison.

He got into the car of the acquaintance who had helped him prepare to return to Korea.

“Long time no see! How have you been?”

It was Mark, who used to be number one in the American rankings.

As soon as Ban Eunhyeol got into the passenger seat, he skipped any greetings and said urgently,

“How long to the airport?”

Sensing the urgency, Mark immediately stepped on the gas.

While living in America, Ban Eunhyeol had been preparing to break free from his parents and become independent.

His feelings toward Mark weren’t all positive, but there was no one more helpful in America than Mark.

Mark had taken the initiative to help him escape America and prepare for independence.

It was just in time—everything was almost ready, so he could leave right away.

Early in the morning, the plane carrying Ban Eunhyeol soared into the sky, heading for Korea.