Chapter 12
Laurel pov
A month later, Eric had fully settled in.
Kang Dae, Lee Joon, Nicholas, and even Seo Hee had all gone back.
Now the house felt quieter.
More like how I liked it.
It was on a Friday when Seo Hee suddenly showed up at my house.
"Where is Eric?" she asked as she walked in.
"Library. Reading," I replied. "He should be back in about an hour."
"I'll wait," she said, dropping onto the couch.
She brought out her camera. the one she always used for content.
Lately, she and Eric had been making a lot of TikTok videos together, going from place to place.
When Eric got back, the energy in the room shifted immediately.
They started discussing where to shoot their next content.
He hurried to his room to change his outfit.
Before leaving, they both came to me.
"Can we go out?" they asked.
I looked at them for a moment… then nodded.
"Be careful."
About an hour later, Seo Hee called me.
"Eric said he wants to pierce his nose," she said.
"I disagree," I replied immediately.
Not long after, they returned.
"I made dinner," I said as they walked in.
"I'm not hungry," Eric replied coldly, walking straight to his room and locking the door.
Seo Hee looked at me.
"I'm sorry… I didn't think he would take the nose piercing this personally," she said. "And I didn't think you would say no this time. I mean… you always say yes to him."
"Good," I said calmly. "Then you know what you did was wrong taking him to noise piercing studio, and I say yes to reasonable things only."
Then I walked to my room.
The next morning, she hurriedly rushed saying she Had an assignment to submit very early, at that time I was in the kitchen cooking spaghetti. Shortly after Eric walked out of his room, heading straight for the door.
"I made breakfast," I said.
"I'm not hungry," he replied.
"You didn't eat last night. If you don't eat this morning, how will you get strength for your day?" I asked.
"I'll sort myself out. I'm not a kid," he said.
"Oh really? You're not a kid?" I replied. "But you still pout because I said no to a nose piercing."
"I'm not pouting," he snapped.
"You refusing to eat is what then?" I asked.
"Me being not hungry," he said before storming out.
I stood there for a while, staring at the door he had just slammed.
It wasn't really about the piercing.
I knew that.
It was about control… about him always feeling like he had a say in his life.
And I shut it down.
I sighed and turned off the stove.
The spaghetti was ready.
But the house suddenly felt too quiet.
He didn't come back until late that night.
I was sitting in the living room, my laptop open but untouched.
When the door opened, I looked up.
He walked in like nothing had happened.
"breakfast is still on the table if you hungry,help yourself," I said.
"I'm not hungry," he replied.
"You said that this morning too."
He didn't answer.
Silence settled between us heavy, but familiar.
"Eric," I called.
He stopped walking.
"I wasn't trying to control you," I said calmly. "I just… didn't want you to do something you might regret."
He turned slightly.
"It's just a piercing," he said.
"I know," I replied. "But you just got here. I wanted you to settle first."
There was a pause.
Then he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I overreacted," he muttered.
"I know," I said.
That made him look at me.
"And I'm sorry too," I added.
That surprised him.
We didn't say anything after that.
But the tension… eased.
The next day, I walked into his room.
"Get dressed," I said.
He looked at me, confused.
"For what?"
"A surprise."
He narrowed his eyes. "What kind of surprise?"
"You'll see."
We got into the car, and he kept trying to guess where we were going.
When I finally parked, he looked out the window.
"…Seriously?" he said.
It was a piercing studio.
He turned to me.
"I thought you said no."
"I said no… yesterday," I replied.
He stared at me for a moment.
"Come on," I said, stepping out.
Inside, he still looked unsure.
"Wait… so I can actually do it?" he asked.
"Yes," I said. "But not your nose."
He frowned.
"Then what?"
I pointed.
"Ears."
He blinked.
"Two," I added.
There was a pause.
Then slowly… a smile spread across his face.
A real one.
"Two?" he asked again.
"Yes."
Minutes later, he was sitting down, getting both ears pierced.
I stood there, watching him.
For someone who had been through so much… he still found ways to smile like this.
When it was done, he looked at himself in the mirror.
"Looks good," I said.
He turned to me, eyes bright.
"I love it."
And that alone made it worth it.
Days passed quickly.
Before we knew it, my graduation day arrived.
I stood there, dressed properly, holding my certificate.
Lee Joon and Kang Dae were there.
As loud as usual.
"You finally did it," lee Joon said.
"Took you long enough," Kang dae added.
"I wasn't slow," I replied. "I was busy."
They laughed.
But one person was missing.
Nicholas.
I glanced around… but he wasn't there.
For some reason… it bothered me more than I expected.
Later that day, I met Seo Hee's parents.
They were warm.
Kind.
The kind of people you could tell raised someone like her.
"Thank you for taking care of our daughter," her mother said.
"I didn't do much," I replied.
Her father smiled.
"She talks about you a lot."
I didn't know what to say to that.
So I just nodded.
A week later, it was time.
Seo Hee was going back to South Koreaabd and still haven't heard from Nicholas.
We stood at the airport.
She held my hand tightly.
"I don't want to go," she said.
"You have to," I replied.
"I can stay here," she insisted.
"No."
Her grip tightened.
"I want to stay with you."
There was a pause.
I gently pulled my hand away.
"You'll be fine," I said.
She stared at me, eyes filled with tears.
"You're so heartless," she whispered.
I didn't reply.
Lee Joon stood beside her, trying to comfort her.
Kang Dae looked away.
And Eric… just watched quietly.
Seo Hee suddenly hugged me.
Tightly.
"I'm going to miss you," she said.
I didn't hug her back immediately.
But after a few seconds…
I did.
"Go," I said softly.
She pulled away, wiping her tears.
Then she left.
As she left, i whisper to kang dae, you have your opportunity now but don't you hurt her with it.
I stood there, watching until them disappeared.
My face didn't change.
My expression stayed the same.
Cold.
Unreadable.
But inside…
It wasn't nothing.
It was never nothing.
I just didn't show it.