Chapter 11- Silence feels worse
938 Words
Three days passed before Sienna realized silence could hurt just as much as chaos.
Maybe more.
---
No cameras waited outside the bookstore anymore.
No girls lingered near the windows whispering to each other.
No strangers tried to film her.
The comments online slowly moved on to something else, just like people always did.
Another scandal.
Another rumor.
Another distraction.
---
Everything should have felt normal again.
Safe again.
---
But it didn’t.
---
Because he was gone.
---
Sienna noticed it in stupid little ways.
The untouched corner by the window.
The extra mug she almost grabbed automatically before remembering there was no reason to.
The way her eyes still lifted every time the bell above the door chimed.
Only to fall again.
Every single time.
---
“You look miserable.”
Sienna glanced up from the counter.
Mina stood near the register holding a stack of returned books, eyebrows raised knowingly.
---
“I look tired,” Sienna corrected.
“You look like someone kicked your heart down a flight of stairs.”
---
Sienna let out a quiet sigh.
Mina had worked at the bookstore for almost a year now.
Part-time.
Too observant for her own good.
---
“I’m fine,” Sienna muttered.
Mina snorted softly.
“Sure.”
---
Silence settled briefly between them as Mina organized books behind the counter.
Then—
“So,” Mina said casually, “was he your boyfriend?”
Sienna nearly dropped the book in her hands.
“What?”
“The idol guy.”
Heat rushed instantly to her face.
“He wasn’t—”
“Oh my god, he *wasn’t?*”
---
Sienna closed her eyes briefly.
“This conversation is over.”
Mina grinned.
“That means yes.”
“It means stop talking.”
---
But despite herself—
The corner of Sienna’s mouth twitched slightly.
Just for a second.
---
Mina noticed immediately.
“There she is,” she said softly.
Sienna frowned.
“What?”
“You smiled.”
---
The words hit harder than expected.
Because she hadn’t realized how long it had been since she genuinely had.
---
Her chest tightened quietly.
---
Mina’s expression softened slightly.
“You miss him.”
---
Sienna looked down at the book in her hands.
Didn’t answer.
Because she didn’t know how to explain something she barely understood herself.
---
It wasn’t just missing him.
It was missing the quiet.
The version of him that existed here.
The one who laughed softly in the poetry section and looked exhausted in a way that made her want to take care of him.
---
Not Seo Soohyun.
Not the idol.
Just…
Him.
---
“I told him not to come back,” Sienna admitted quietly.
Mina blinked.
“…Oh.”
---
The teasing disappeared instantly.
---
“And he listened,” Sienna added.
---
Silence followed.
Heavy.
---
Then Mina sighed softly.
“Well,” she said carefully, “that sounds like your fault.”
Sienna stared at her.
“Excuse me?”
“You told him to leave.”
“I had to.”
“Did you?”
---
The question landed uncomfortably hard.
---
Mina leaned against the counter.
“Sienna, I get why you were scared. That whole situation was insane.”
“Exactly.”
“But every time you talk about him,” Mina continued, “you sound less scared of the attention and more scared of how much you liked him.”
---
Sienna’s breath caught slightly.
---
“That’s not true.”
Mina gave her a look.
One of those looks only close friends gave when they knew you were lying before you even finished the sentence.
---
“You looked happier,” Mina said quietly.
---
Sienna looked away immediately.
Because maybe—
That was the problem.
---
The bell above the door chimed.
---
Both girls looked up automatically.
---
And Sienna’s heart stopped.
---
Not him.
---
A delivery man stepped inside carrying a large box.
“Package for Sienna Carter?”
---
Relief and disappointment crashed together so fast it made her dizzy.
---
“That’s me,” she murmured.
---
The man handed her the box quickly before leaving again.
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Mina raised an eyebrow immediately.
“Ooooh. Secret admirer?”
Sienna frowned.
“There’s no return address.”
---
That made both of them pause.
---
Slowly—
Sienna set the box on the counter.
Carefully opening it.
---
Inside—
Books.
---
Dozens of them.
Beautiful hardcovers stacked neatly inside tissue paper.
---
Sienna blinked in surprise.
“What the…”
---
Mina picked one up.
“These are expensive.”
---
Sienna reached into the box slowly.
Then stopped.
---
A small folded note rested near the bottom.
---
Her heartbeat quickened instantly.
---
Mina noticed.
“Oh my god.”
---
Sienna ignored her.
Picking up the note carefully.
---
The handwriting was neat.
Simple.
Familiar.
---
**Thought the poetry section looked a little empty without me.
—S**
---
Her chest tightened so suddenly it hurt.
---
Mina looked between Sienna and the note.
Then very slowly smiled.
“Oh,” she said softly. “You’re in trouble.”
---
Sienna stared down at the handwriting.
At the single letter.
At the proof that he still thought about this place too.
About *her.*
---
And despite everything—
Despite the fear.
The chaos.
The goodbye that still echoed painfully in her chest—
---
Sienna smiled.
Small.
Soft.
Impossible to stop.
---
Because somehow—
Even after leaving—
Soohyun had still found a way to come back.
- Writer
