Sari felt a strange sensation welling in her chest. The pain that she had been experiencing all these years was suddenly gone in an instant, as if something was pulling away at that spot. It was almost as if that person behind him had taken away the agony that caused the pain.
Before she could say anything, the man who called out to her asked, "Are you about to head home?"
He sounded concerned. She blinked her eyes a couple of times and stared at the man standing beside him. He wore glasses which covered most of his face. But she recognized his voice, too.
"You're... Professor Kang Soohoon."
His name came out as a whisper and that seemed to surprise the man.
"What? You know my name?"
She nodded, feeling somewhat nervous about meeting Professor Soohoon again since the incident. "My friends told me about you." After that, she took a deep breath. "I'm sorry if I sound rude, but... how do you know me?"
"Your friend Han Seoha told me. You seem to be new around here."
She nodded shyly and looked away from him. Though she knew the rainy heaven must have conspired to give her such a chance to look at the professor's eyes again after a long while, she felt that it would be rude to do so to someone whom she had only met for the second time.
And then she noticed her hands trembling. It was like she was having some sort of attack, or maybe even a nervous breakdown.
'What the heck? Why is this happening? I don't think there's anything I should be anxious about, right?'
The rain started falling more heavily as the seconds passed by. At this point, Sari thought that it would take her longer than anticipated to head home.
"I'm glad you're alright now," Professor Soohoon started, breaking the silence between them.
Hearing his voice made Sarin's heart beat crazily fast, for some reason. And it wasn't because she found it soothing. It also felt... familiar. Again. Honestly speaking, why does she keep having that kind of feeling ever since she saw those visions from the professor's eyes?
"I-I don't think it's enough to take me down." Urgh! Did she really decide to joke around like that?
Though she felt bad for saying those words, it doesn't seem to be the case for Professor Soohoon.
"Well, I'm glad. It would make me feel horrible if you died because you decided to save me that day."
Her mouth fell open. That statement actually left her speechless. Her mind went blank for a moment, and that was when the man chuckled lightly, clearly amused by her reaction.
She looked up at him.
That was when she realized what he said, and blushed. What did he mean by that, though?
Soon after, a frown appeared on her face as a certain vision flashed in her mind. It was from one of the professor's past lives as he was sobbing while holding a woman's dead body in his arms and embracing her tight. He kept crying out the words "please forgive me" and "I'm sorry you ended up like this."
And before she could stop herself from thinking about it, her thoughts were already racing.
It seems like the professor noticed it because he was staring at her, seemingly trying to read her mind.
"Is everything okay?" He asked softly.
She tried to calm her breathing and answered, "Sorry. It's just..." Would she say it?
Sari didn't mean to feel awkward or anything as she now stood beside Professor Soohoon whom she had saved before. And also the one she wanted to see again since that day. But with the way her heart was beating fast at the moment, how could she actually stay calm?
"Umm... Are you about to head home, Professor?"
He nodded and turned to her, a wry smile on his face. "But my car was in repair for now, so I'm commuting in the meantime. I didn't think the rain would pour down like this tonight. And the bus seems to be running late, as well."
The bus. Right. That was what they were going to use in order to get back to their home.
She sighed. The rain continued pouring down, drowning out any noise they might have been making otherwise.
Professor Soohoon looked at her once again. "So, how have you been after that?"
"H-huh?"
"Are you dealing with some after-effects from the stab wound you sustained?"
She didn't want to admit it, but it shocked her to hear the professor ask her about her condition after that event. Was he worried about her?
Sari shook her head and said, "No. I'm fine now. Besides, nothing happened afterwards."
"I'm glad."
The relief in his tone as soon as he said it filled her heart with warmth, for some reason. He really did look worried. Maybe because he cared about her wellbeing? Or, perhaps, because he didn't want to see her get hurt again?
Either way, Sari smiled at him.
The blowing of a car horn had soon cut off that seemingly good mood between her and the professor. Both of them turned to the source of it, only to see Seoha inside his car in the front seat with his driver Walter.
"Seoha!" she exclaimed, not exactly expecting her friend to still be there. "What are you doing here?"
"Shouldn't I be the one asking that to you? You're supposed to be in your apartment already an hour ago." His gaze shifted over to Professor Soohoon and his eyes widened, but only for a short while. "Professor, you're here, as well."
Professor Soohoon nodded. "Well, let's say the rain caught up with me and now I'm stuck here until it stops falling hard like this."
They smiled at each other after that before Seoha turned towards her.
"I have a feeling that both of you need a ride, huh?"
She nodded sheepishly. "I don't think the bus is going to come here any time soon because of the rain."
"Then get in, both of you."
Sari frowned before glancing at the professor for a little. "Are you sure? I live in the opposite direction, remember?"
"And I don't mind driving you there, okay? Besides, the professor lives in the same apartment building as I do. So I'll drive you there first before he and I go home."
She had no idea what to make of that, however. But this was Seoha she was talking to. And if there was one characteristic that he had always made himself known for, it was his persistence.
At least, when he knew he had a point and that he wasn't hurting anyone.
Seoha faced Professor Soohoon with a grin. "You don't mind if we take her home. Right, Professor?"
'Seriously, Seoha! Do you have to do that?' She could really kick her friend for this.
Though she wasn't looking, she could feel the professor's gaze land on her. It didn't feel uneasy, but it was enough to make her heart pound faster than usual. And also... felt familiar.
Why did it have to feel that way?
"I wouldn't feel at ease if I took your offer and she intended to stay here even longer to wait for the bus. So if we can convince her to accept that ride to her apartment, even if it's in the opposite direction, then it would make me feel better, as well."
'He didn't really have to go that far...' Then again, Sari could only complain in her head.
"Okay," she muttered quietly, not knowing what else to say. After all, what choice did she have?
"Great. Let's get going, then."
She nodded and quickly ran to the back seat of Seoha's car, followed by the professor.
xxxxxx
As Sari sat in the backseat while Seoha's driver drove, she couldn't help but notice how comfortable she suddenly felt when the car was moving along. There was something oddly satisfying about it, especially considering how fast her heart was beating.
Then again, she never thought that having Professor Soohoon beside her in such a close proximity would make her heart feel so restless like that. And it had never happened before.
After a few more minutes, they arrived at Sari's place.
"Thanks again for the lift, Rein. You too, Mr. Wang."
"You know we don't mind assisting you as long as we can see that you need it," Mr. Wang said with a genial smile.
She bowed and faced the professor, her smile starting to become forced.
"It was nice talking to you, Professor."
Professor Soohoon smiled and nodded. "I hope this isn't going to be the last time I see you again."
As much as Sari wanted to react to that statement, her expression remained blank. She just blinked for a few moments before she bowed again. With that, she opened the car door and rushed out, not stopping until she reached the porch of the small house.
She turned towards the car just as it blew its horn and waved to the people inside of it with a smile. After that, the car left. And when the car vanished into the distance, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she leaned against the wall of the small house's entrance. Once she felt calmer, she stepped away from the wall and walked toward the front door of her apartment. She was about to place her key inside the knob when she noticed her open bag.
'Wait a minute... Have I opened my bag at some point?'
She slowly opened the bag and placed her hand inside it, searching for the object that she remembered placing there earlier before she left the apartment. Panic crept up to her when she couldn't find it there.
"Oh, no! Where is it?"
She searched through the entire bag, hoping it was not lost somewhere inside.
There was no sign of it inside. Her father's leather journal --- kept beside her all this time since his disappearance --- was nowhere to be found.
No comments:
Post a Comment