When Your Pain Becomes Mine

"Hah..." Sun sighed in frustration.

It was clear that something was going on with Ari, but she didn't seem like she would tell Sun even if she forced her.

Sun looked at Ari for a moment and suddenly entered the store.

A moment later, Sun came out with two cans of beer and gave one to Ari.

"What is this?"

"I don't know what's going on with you, but I know you're frustrated."

At the same time, Sun began to pick up the beer and started drinking it.

As the cold beer went down her throat, she felt a little better.

Ari, who was fiddling the cans, looked at Sun and started speaking carefully.

"Was it fun with Dr. Park?"

"... Yes." Sun nodded slowly.

"... I'm sorry if you were embarrassed, but I wanted you to meet someone like Dr. Park. He's so sweet and warm; he can also love you a lot."

On Ari's heartfelt words, Sun smiled and was lost in thought.

After a moment of silence, Sun slowly started speaking.

"Actually, maybe I also wanted to lean on him a little bit."

Sun recalled Eunwoo when he embraced her.

'... I'll help you forget him.'

She thought about Eunwoo's calm voice and the way his heart trembled a bit as it beat.

"He is such a cool, sweet, and warm person, as you say. Unlike the other one."

Ari exhaled a long sigh as she watched Sun smiling bitterly.

"... However, I suddenly thought about whether or not I'm taking advantage of him to forget Gyeonhui. I didn't want to use anyone else to forget someone. I hated it."

"Sun..."

"Thank you for your thoughts about me and your consideration, but now, I really want to overcome the trouble in my mind by myself."

"... Hah..." Ari nodded slowly with a sigh.

The wearable watch that Sun was wearing caught Ari's eyes.

Ari looked at Sun and asked slowly, "Wasn't there anything that happened today?"

"Anything?"

"No, I mean, Mr. Woo... I wonder if he had come to bother you again."

Hearing Ari, Sun recalled immediately what had happened in the restaurant.

However, Sun slowly waved her head. 'You really did this right here in my building instead of going somewhere else in Seoul just to make me feel bad? Didn't you?'

"... Nothing happened today."

Ari's expression sank further as Sun's response came out with a long sigh.

"Hey, Sun..."

"Yes."

Ari hesitated many times to confess, but she couldn't say anything.

"I'm sorry..."

"Huh? Sorry for what?"

"... It's just... It's all my fault."

"What are you talking about?" Sun smiled and asked.

Ari was so frustrated and eventually started gulping down the beer all of a sudden.

"Pu, puhat." Ari suddenly spewed the beer.

"Why? What's wrong?" Sun hurriedly asked Ari.

"What's wrong with the beer? It tastes bad."

Ari looked at the beer while furrowing her eyebrows.

"Is the taste strange?"

Sun took her beer and sipped Ari's beer with doubt.

"Oops."

Sun frowned immediately and spat out the beer.

"It's completely gone bad, right?"

"Give it to me."

Ari was handed the beer again and quickly confirmed the expiration date.

"It's okay this thing will expire after a year... in 2014. No way. It's already been two years after the expiration date."

"I didn't know that beer also has an expiration date."

Sun seemed surprised to find the expiration date on beer for the first time, confirming the expiration date once again.

"Hey, there is nothing that doesn't have an expiration date in this world," Ari said, seemingly frustrated.

For a moment, Sun was lost in thought, and she nodded slowly while smiling bitterly.

"... You're right."

"What else are you thinking?"

When Ari saw Sun's sunken face, she asked her with an anxious expression.

"Nothing. Let's get up. We have to go home to go to work tomorrow in the early morning." Sun said while struggling to smile.

"... Sun."

"Come on. If you're late again tomorrow, I'm sure Eunyoung will kill you."

Ari had seen her smiling brightly and reluctantly rose from her seat.

"Let's go. I'll take you to the bus stop."

"It's okay. I can go home alone."

"There are a lot of dark roads here."

"I said it's okay. It's more dangerous for you than me. You also have to go home soon to put Labong to sleep."

Ari glanced at Labong, who was asleep in Sun's arms.

"Hey, you're all grown up, Ari."

She said it like Ari was cute while tangling her hair.

"Hey, stop. You're ruining my hair."

"It's cute even if your hair gets ruined at your age. Go on. Don't be late tomorrow."

Sun turned her body and waved her hand to say goodbye to Ari with a smile.

"Hah.."

Ari stayed in that spot and watched Sun calmly walking away.

Her expression sank sharply because of a feeling of guilt.

"... I'm sorry, Sun..."

With her lower lip bitten, Ari breathed a long sigh.

***

Sun slowly walked toward the house while holding a sleeping dog.

'Bzzzz.'

A message arrived on the phone in her pocket.

'Did you get in?'

It was a text from Eunwoo.

"He's such a sweet man." Sun smiled and mumbled to himself.

Suddenly, Sun remembered what she did with him at the Han river in the evening

His touch, his hard c.h.e.s.t, and his crisp scent came to her mind.

'... I'll help you forget him.'

His voice was filled with sincerity.

The longer she remembered him, the more conflicted her heart became.

However, Sun shook her head hard.

"... Hah…"

As she sighed heavily, she noticed a black silhouette in the alley in front of her house.

The tall physique. Sun could see who it was just by only looking at his silhouette in the darkness.

He also seemed to recognize her; he walked out of the darkness and started walking toward her.

She only looked at him with a firm expression.

"Why are you coming here so late?" He stopped right in front of her and asked. He seemed heavily drunk. "Have you been staying with him until now?" Gyeonhui continued while asking after seeing that Sun wouldn't answer.

"… Have you been sleeping with him?"

His words pierced Sun's heart like a sharp dagger.

Her fingertips started trembling in shock as if she could not breathe.

"It's funny... all of this." Her eyes were filled with anger and pain.

"Did you just say that It's funny?" Gyeonhui asked her again while furrowing his eyebrows.

"Hah…"

Her voice was slightly trembling with a shallow sigh.

When she had calmed herself down a little bit, she started speaking again while looking at him.

"Don't worry. I haven't slept with him."