Chapter 38: Chapter 38

●Nuri's P.O.V.●

We stepped down from the cab in front of a restaurant as we decided to have dinner before returning to the hotel. The restaurant was within a small walking distance from the hotel we were living in.

We were having our meal together. Daniel was quiet since I asked him about whom he came to Jeju with. I tried to talk to him, but he only answered with one word.

Was he missing her? I couldn't understand. But I was feeling sad. Hurt. I didn't know why. If he missed his ex, that shouldn't be my concern. It was his choice and his life.

Finishing our meal, we headed back to the hotel. We walked silently.

"Nuri, I'm sorry," Daniel spoke up suddenly.

I glanced up at him.

"Why ?" I asked.

"Sorry for giving you a silent treatment." He paused for a second, " I... I was feeling the old memories were coming back."

"It's fine, Daniel.

Take time." I said.

"No, no, Nuri.

What I wanted to say is …." He stopped.

I tried to peek at Daniel's face to understand what was going on in his head, but his face had a blank expression.

Suddenly Daniel held my hand and pulled me a little closer. And he silently gazed at my eyes.

"Da-Daniel..?" I tried to say something, but Daniel stopped me.

"Sssshhhhh...

Let me- Let me finish, please.." He asked with a low tone.

I stopped and stared back at him.

"The memories I was remembering were Yoonah and me visiting here.

The place was the same. The journeys were the same too. But the feelings were very different." He explained.

"Even when I remembered the old memories, I saw You instead of Yoonah in my memories with me."

My eyes widened.

"Daniel…?…Wh…"

"Please..please don't interrupt me." He requested again.

I closed my mouth again.

" I didn't know at first if I was having an illusion.

I couldn't understand how I imagined you at the place of Yoonah.

I was trying to untangle the situation until now, but finally, I realised, what was the exact problem!" Daniel said, staring down at me.

I licked my lips and asked, "Wh-what ?"

"When I came last time here with Yoonah, I felt happy, but it wasn't the happiness I wanted.

When I was with her, I felt I needed to maintain my classy, disciplined image perfectly in front of her to keep her to myself.

But with you," He paused.

"With me…what?"

"With you, I feel comfortable.

I don't need to find happiness through the incidents.

I feel happy only by your existence around me." Daniel explained while staring at the ground.

"Daniel…" My voice came out as a whisper.

"I couldn't say it before.

You make me complete. I don't feel empty when you're with me." Daniel stopped.

"I-I was abandoned by my parents.

I couldn't share it with you before. I didn't have the guts to say it at first.

Because I thought you would pity me.

I didn't want anyone's pity." He glanced up at me. His eyes were teary.

I was seeing the strong Daniel crying for the first time in normal mode. He acted so cold that I couldn't have understood how lonely he was if he hadn't gotten drunk that day.

He continued, "They left me because I wasn't a good boy.

Dad told me he will be back with ice cream and told me to sit at the bench.

I waited for him. The afternoon became night, but he never came back." Daniel licked his lips.

I could see he was trying to suppress his tears.

"I was alone at the park when a drunk man tried to kidnap me. Only I know how I saved myself from him." He looked up at the sky and gulped.

"I was on the streets for 3-4 days without any food. Finally, the ajuma from the restaurant we went to that night found me and took me to the orphanage I brought up in.

I thought about becoming a good boy again. So they can come back. But when I reached my adult age, I realised they were never going to come back."

I placed a hand on his shoulder. His grip tightened on my other hand. He was trying to look anywhere except my eyes.

"But I couldn't go back to the happy self I was after that. I tried to be as disciplined as I could be, as workaholic as I could be. So people could love me.

Though I already had started distancing others from myself. Every time someone tried to reach my heart, I would go further away.

Yoonah was the first person whom I tried to believe for the first time. But what she did to me made me retract myself even more." Daniel stopped and hesitatingly glanced at my eyes with his glossy golden-brown eyes.

"But with you… everything is simple.

You make me feel like I have found something I had lost long ago. The feeling When I believed my parents were never going to leave me. You felt like the trust.

With you I feel I could be anything. I feel I don't need to be the good boy I wanted to be for everyone.

You're the key of the lock I had bound myself with until now.

I just wanted someone to love and care for me genuinely. I wanted someone to choose me in between Thousand better choices. And only me. I needed someone to choose me when I would be at my worst."

He started crying. My heart ached to watch him so broken. But somewhere in my heart, I was feeling happy because Daniel was opening up to me. I cupped his face with my hands and carefully wiped his tears with my thumbs.

I smiled.

"Nuri…?" Daniel said with a faint voice.

"Hmmm."

"I couldn't say it until now, but I don't care anymore about anything. I just want to let you know what I have in my heart."

I nodded, permitting him.

He gripped my hand tightly and took a couple of deep breaths before glancing at me again.

"Miss India,

Mr. South Korea Has fallen----------"

Suddenly someone yelled behind us. Daniel looked over my head, and I turned my head behind. It was none other than Yoonah. She was running toward us.

I was confused watching her here.

She rushed to us and hugged Daniel, pushing me away. I took a couple of steps back to maintain my balance.

I felt something was breaking inside of my heart as I saw them embracing each other. Daniel was shocked, but he didn't protest. My eyes turned glossy. I wasn't sure what I was feeling exactly, watching them embracing each other before my eyes.

Yoonah soon parted from Daniel and said, "I knew you could never forget the day we became a couple.

Do you remember when we visited Jeju on our first anniversary? And today is the same date we came to Jeju together last time.

I was missing you, so I came here.

I was checking in at my hotel, but I noticed you from my hotel entrance.

I knew you could never love anyone else except me. You came here because you missed me, right ?"

She kept talking. Daniel glanced at me, and my eyes met his. I bit my lower lip, trying not to cry, hearing it all. I smiled brightly and gave a thumbs up to him.

Then I turned back to leave.

I ran out of there crying. I just wanted to move far away from them.

I didn't have any idea, why did I feel as if someone had snatched the soul out of my body. My tears weren't stopping. At one point, I stopped wiping my tears and just let them fall.

I ran for quite a time and reached somewhere else. I was crossing a road but soon heard a car honking. I glanced to my right and noticed a car was running toward me. My legs froze. I couldn't decide what to do. I covered my eyes in fear.

A loud car screech sound reached my ears.

I felt nothing. I thought I was dead. But when I opened my eyes, I saw two manly hands were holding me by my waist, and the car stopped at the corner of the road.

I glanced up only to find Ray there.

A weird feeling wrapped my stomach as I realised, this time Ray saved me. Daniel wasn't there anywhere.

"Are you fine ?" Ray asked with his worried eyes.

I couldn't answer anything. My lips couldn't find any words to reply to Ray. I just cried, hugging him. Ray was shocked for a moment, but soon he wrapped his arms around my waist and patted lightly on my back.

"It's fine. It's fine.

You are okay." He tried to comfort me.