Eunji didn’t know what exactly was going on. One second, the guy, who was supposed to be the owner, was obviously angry at Dongwoo, and the next, he was frozen in place looking at her the same way he’d look at a ghost. His face had gone way paler than it already was, his hollow eyes became dark, pain and dread hooding them, while his breath became labored and loud enough for her to hear it. Soon enough, he fell to his knees, covering his ears with a pained expression, as if he was trying to block some invisible sounds. But he didn’t tear his gaze away nevertheless.


Dongwoo was fast to react as he blocked him from her view with his body, his hands cupping the guy’s face.


“Hey, look at me! You need to calm down and stay focused.” he said with a hushed tone, but Sunggyu didn’t react to his words, so he dragged him away in the quietest way possible, hoping that the other customers didn’t notice what just happened.


Eunji on the other hand had her own share of the mental breakdown with one and only thing going on her mind that overshadowed the whole situation. 
It was the pair of eyes that locked with hers for a few seconds.

A few seconds that were more than enough to drain her from any energy and paralyze her, completely. 
It started with a rather small flame in the deep insides of her thumbing heart, that sent a cold wave to the rest of her body with every heartbeat, making all of her muscles tense and mind go blank.  
Never in the last four years did she experience such an intense sensation. Not even in the last few weeks. 

She couldn’t understand what triggered those feelings within her but she was sure that if Dongwoo didn’t take the guy away, she could’ve fainted because of the overwhelm caused by them. There was no way for her to control such load of unexplained new sensations.

They weren’t all bad feelings. For an unknown reason, there was a bit of relief and joy withing the sea of dark emotions that made her feel wary.


‘What was that just now? And why is my heart beating so fast?’ 








-







Dongwoo locked the door of the break room then knelt in front of his shivering brother who was now sitting on a chair.


“Sunggyu, please calm down.” he stared intently in the youngest eyes.


“I-I’m… I-it’s ha-ppening again.” Sunggyu was a stuttering mess, even his voice was shaky.


“No it’s not. What you saw out there is real. Eunji is having her lunch out there at this very moment. You are not seeing things.” 


Those words were supposed to make Sunggyu calm down, or that’s what Dongwoo had thought.


“NO! This must be some sick joke or something! This can’t be happening! She’s supposed to be-”


“In New York? No, she came back two weeks ago.” 


“What?!” Sunggyu’s eyes widened, begging for Dongwoo to take back what he had just said. “It can’t be..” 


Sunggyu was going through another dilemma. “How? Why? You knew? Why didn’t you tell me?”



“Yes. We all did. Actually, she was at the party yesterday too.” Dongwoo replied calmly.


The youngest frowned, fury taking over him.


“And how long were you going to hide it from me? What could’ve happened if I met her while none of you was around? Huh? Do you know how dangerous it could’ve been for her?” his tone was supposed to be scolding and angry, but it came out breathy and wavering at some point, showcasing how scared he was.


“Mrs Lee told us not to get involved, so we stayed away. Eunji only met with Sungjong because he was her guide and Sungyeol and Myungsoo because of work. that’s why they invited her to the party in the first place and how we ended up meeting. Call them and they will tell you the rest of the details.” Dongwoo stood back on his feet. 
“I have to go back to her now. She’s probably confused as hell and I’d need some excuse to explain the situation. You can stay here to calm down or go to the pub. I will tell you when she leaves.” 

With a final pat to the youngest head, Dongwoo left the room.



-



“I’m sorry about that.” he said once he went back to Eunji’s table. 


Fortunately, Eunji had finally managed to regain her composer. It was hard, but pretending was one of the things she did best after all. 


“It’s okay. Although I don’t understand what actually happened.” 


“Let’s just say that he’s going through a hard time.” 


It wasn’t completely a lie, and Dongwoo was praying for her to at least pretend that she’d let it go, which was what she did, despite the big amount of questions that swam around her brain. She dropped the matter, as if she was too afraid to ask. 


The rest of the lunch passed with the two talking about less serious matters, the event from earlier being pushed to the back of Eunji’s mind for the moment so that she could enjoy her time with Dongwoo. 
She had decided that she had never got along with someone in such a short period as much as she did with the eldest.


When they had finally separated, Dongwoo had to go back to Sunggyu and see if he’s still angry and Eunji went for a walk before going back to her apartment, where a surprise was waiting for her.


‘I knew that you were alive, Jung Eunji. Someone has been waiting for you for years and wants to meet you again. Go to the address bellow on Friday at ten in the morning. I got you a pass so use it.’ 


This note was inside the letter that Eunji had found in her mail box, alongside a ‘pass’ that she didn’t know why she needed one for in the first place.


‘First of all, why does it say ‘Jung Eunji’? If it wasn’t for the name I would’ve said it’s been sent to a different person. Second, who’s this person that is waiting for me, and why is he or her in a mental institution?’ this was just a proportion from the flood of new questions that the letter planted in her mind.


‘I guess I would never get these questions answered unless I go there, right?’





-





Myungsoo and Sungyeol exchanged a fearful look before gulping loudly. 


“So, you’re saying that she met with you and said that she wants to work with me. You even invited her to yesterday’s party and dared to sing ‘Together’ in her presence. And Bora had found her crying afterwards in the bathroom.” Sunggyu summarized their story, his voice sounding calm, but his facial expressions saying otherwise. 


They both nodded hesitantly.


“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR ING MINDS OR WHAT?!” 


Sunggyu’s yell made them jump. They’ve never heard him yell in the last four years. He barely had any energy to do so anways.



“Do you even realize that you’re ruining everything I did by your careless behavior?” he asked weakly.


“We’re not being careless, we’re being reasonable.” Sungyeol fired back. “The magical effect of whatever we did four years ago is reversing right now and we need to stop it before it ruins everything.”


Sunggyu glared at his friend, unable to find a proper reply.


“Listen Sunggyu, we really didn’t think she’ll come to us. I know that we should have told you earlier, but Mrs Lee had asked us not to, since she knew you’ll freak out.” Myungsoo spoke, trying to ease the atmosphere.


“Tell her that I said no. If you want to work with her then I don’t mind, but I won’t be meeting anyone from now on.” Sunggyu deadpanned.


“Don’t you think it’s time for you to stop running away. I know that you’re afraid that she will never regain memories of you more than you’re afraid of her regaining her bad memories. But you’ll never know unless you try.”


“Sungyeol stop talking nonsense. We all know that such memories could destroy a person. I’d rather be forgotten forever than watch her lose her sanity.” he gritted.


“She won’t. But you’re the one who will lose his sanity if you keep going on like that.”


“SUNGYEOL STOP!” it was Myungsoo who yelled at the tall man this time. But Sunggyu just laughed airily.


“Sanity? I’ve already lost that a long time ago. If it wasn’t for Dongwoo’s insistence, my father would have signed me in a mental institute just like my dear mother.”    

Sunggyu stood up. “I’m going back to work for now. But my answer will always be a no.” 


When the door closed behind him, Myungsoo turned to his friend to scold him, but he decided not to when he saw that he was already crying.


“He probably hate me now. I didn’t mean to say it like that...” 


“You know that he doesn’t have it in him to hate you, or anyone of us.” Myungsoo patted his shoulder. “Especially when he know what kind of an idiot you are.” 


Sungyeol chuckled at the last remark. “Bastard.” 


“But we shouldn’t give up. This is for the sake of the two of them. We should keep trying till he gives in.” Myungsoo said, determined, and Sungyeol nodded, mirroring his expression. 







-


 


“What brings you here again?” This time, Mrs Kim hid in the little space between the wall and her bed when Sunggyu entered her room.


“Don’t you have something better to do in the morning rather than coming  here? Aren’t you supposed to be a celebrity by now? A singer or something? Aren’t you afraid that paparazzi will see you coming in here and discover about our relationship?” she asked, hugging her legs to her chest.


“I have nothing to fear. I’ll risk anything just so I can see you in this state.” he smirked seeing her sticking her body closer to the wall.


It was partially true, he just didn’t want her to know that he wasn’t a celebrity. He didn’t want her to know anything about his current state or his life because it will only make her fear him less.


‘He will be as good as dead.’ 


He didn’t want her to think that she won, because she did. 



“You really changed from before. It feels just like yesterday when you were on your knees begging me to spare Eunji’s life. Her death was probably what made you heartless, right?” a hesitant smirk was on her lips that grew more confident when she saw him wavering.


Mrs Kim started fearing Sunggyu for some reason after she was moved to the mental institute and it remained like that, unless she brought Eunji up. that’s when tables turn.

But even though he knew that whatever she’s going to say will affect him, he had never stopped visiting.


“Too bad she had to leave us so early. You miss her, don’t you. Well sorry I’m not sorry for your loss. She deserved what happened to her.” she then started laughing hysterically making Sunggyu’s blood rush in his veins, but it wasn’t just anger.

 

‘Sunggyu just walk away and try to stay focused. Remember what Dr Choi had always said.’ he tried to calm the rush in his brain with complying to his inner voice’s order, but it didn’t prevent him from doubting his thought.


‘I’m so sorry for your loss.’

‘When the right time comes, we will tell him that Eunji is alive.’

‘EUNJI’S NOT HERE! SHE’S DEAD! GONE! YOU NEED TO WAKE UP!’

‘Eunji is having her lunch out there at this moment. You are not seeing things.’

‘Bad thing Eunji died.’

‘Too bad she had to leave us that early.’

‘Jung Eunji 28/04/1991  -  28/04/2009’



The tangled thoughts and memories had made him dizzy. He made a bee line through the lobby, on his way to the parking. 
He had almost managed to tame his thoughts a little bit when he reached the main entrance, if he didn’t come face to face with Eunji herself.


‘Another hallucination.’ he panicked at the sight of the young woman. 


And even though she smiled to him and was about to greet him, he walked past her, trying his best to ignore her. 
Sunggyu got in his car and with shaky hands opened the dashboard for his pills. He dryly swallowed three and leaned back in his seat. After long minutes, his thoughts started to get less blurry, but he needed to make a call, asking someone was always a must.
He took out his phone and after a few seconds of contemplation, he decided to call his friend.


“Hey bro!”


“Myungsoo, I’m going to ask you a question and you you need to answer clearly.” 


Myungsoo sensed the tensity of the situation and worry crept inside of him. “What is it?”


“Is E-Eunji ali-ve?” the words stuck in his throat.


Myungsoo on the other end of line, run a hand through his hair furiously. He hated those situations. He hated that question.


“Yes she is. Not everyone knows about it, especially not Mrs Kim.” he replied. “Now tell me where you are.” he insisted.


“I’m in the parking area of the asylum.” Sunggyu replied after sighing in relief.


“Don’t tell me you’re going to drive in that state?!” he asked furiously.
 

“I took my pills, I will be fine. Don’t worry.” 


“You stay where you are. I will be there in a few minutes. You better wait for me or else I will confiscate your car’s keys!” 


“Alright alright. I will wait.” Sunggyu gave up. He was used to Myungsoo’s overreacting. Especially whenever he calls him during one of his episodes.


So he didn’t have any other choice than to wait. He already had Dongwoo waiting for the chance to take away his driving license. He can’t give him a reason to do so.




-




Eunji kept staring at the guy walking away after he ignored her, not that they knew each other anyways, but she recognized him. Getting over that short encounter, she went inside the asylium.

‘Well I don’t like this place.’ 

The sight of the lobby alone sent creeps through her body. In fact, if it wasn’t for the hopes of getting some answers, Eunji would never willingly come to such a place. 

But the note said ‘Someone has been waiting for you for years and wants to meet you again.’ and she hoped that this someone would be the guy from her dreams. 

She arrived to the level that was on the address and showed her pass to the two police officers, who looked at her suspiciously before finally letting her in.


“Last door.” one of them commented. “You have thirty minutes.” 


Well, she didn’t know if thirty minutes were too much or too little because she didn’t know why she was there in the first place and who was she visiting anyways.


‘Kim Misook.’ she read the name plate next to the last door in the long hallway.


The name alone sent creeps to her whole body and she suddenly felt the urge to turn back, run as far as possible and never turn back nor come back.

But that didn’t happen, because she needed to find out who that was inside that room, thus, she pushed the door open and took two confident steps in, closing it behind her.


A woman was sitting on the floor in the middle of the room, wrapped in the bed covers with her back turned to the door. 
She lazily turned around with a bored expression, but as soon as her eyes fell on Eunji, fear took over her face and she started crawling backward until her back collided with the wall.


“W-w-what a-re you d-oing in he-re?” Mrs Kim asked with a lot of difficulty.


Eunji didn’t have the time to wonder why was that woman afraid of her because she was feeling the same. Hate, fear, despise, anger and all the similar feeling invaded her body. A part of her wanted to jump on the woman and kill her in the spot, while another part wanted to run away in fear. 
Eunji did neither and just kept standing in the same spot.


“Aren’t y-ou su-pposed to be dead? W-why did you co-me back? A-are you here ta-ke me?” the woman was shaking in fear at that point and not so surprisingly, Eunji didn’t pity her.


“You tell me. Why am I here?” she crossed her arms, trying to use the current situation to her own favor.


“Don’t tell me you’re here to revenge!” another wave of terror struck the woman. “It wasn’t me who killed you! I only asked them to. And I only did so because you wanted to send me to prison and take my wealth away from me!” the woman said with a louder tone, her words making Eunji frown.

“Well at least you had a reason to kill TOP. He shot you and had killed your brother. But what’s your reason to kill me? I know I was a bad mother and had took you away from your real parents before. But I had never killed anyone with my bare hands other than my own parents.” the woman had a sick look in her teary eyes.

“Why is that my kids can’t appreciate me? Even the one whom I raised with a lot of love didn’t visit me, not even for once. And Sunggyu, that bastard, because I switched him with you after your birth, he lived a beautiful childhood with your parents. But since the moment he discovered that I’m his real mother, he didn’t stop threatening me. And I guess you’re here to kill me because of the same reason. Well, he’s the one who lived in your place for years. shouldn’t you kill him instead of me?” the woman finished with wide innocent eyes that didn’t fit with what she had just said. 


Eunji, who was stunned for the whole time Mrs Kim was speaking, started finally to react. Her head started feeling dizzy and no matter how much air she inhaled, she still 
felt like suffocating. 

The room started spinning around her, making her reach for the nearest wall and lean on it to keep standing. 
Her mind wasn’t exactly processing that stack of new information. She heard it all and had it somewhere stored in her brain. But at the moment, her brain was busy dealing with the sudden flashes of memory she was seeing.

Yes, flashes of memory. That’s what they were. 


A much more younger but threatening and spiteful version of Mrs Kim was giving her a cold look before she walked away and yelled at one of the maids, pointing at her.

‘Get it out of my face. It’s annoying and loud.’ 


Another flash with the woman looking at her in pure amusement. 

‘What’s wrong dear? Is it unfair? Well that how life is so deal with it.’ her voice turned darker at the last part.


The flashbacks were brief and blurry, but they all had Mrs Kim in them, mistreating Eunji in all the possible ways. The woman was no longer a stranger to her, instead she was labeled as ‘mother’ in her mind and Eunji suddenly knew everything about the woman in front of her.


But the memories had their stroll on her and brought her to her knees, hyperventilating. 

Hopefully, the thirty minutes came to an end and one of the guards came in, so when he found her in that state, he helped her out of there and tried to calm her down. 

Mrs Kim watched thee scene evolve in front of her, coming with a certain conclusion that made her smirk.


“So she really is alive. Well this is interesting.” 




-




“You’re not going to tell Dongwoo, right?” Sunggyu asked hesitantly when Myungsoo parked the car in front of his apartment complex.


“Give one reason not to.” his friend replied with a sigh. “Why do you keep going back? Just why?” 


Sunggyu stayed quiet for a while before he spoke. “To face my fears. If I want to get rid of all of my fears, I need to face the worst of them all, that’s my mother. If her words don’t affect me anymore, then I will stop going there. Think of it as a training. If I get exposed to my biggest fear too often, I may get used to it and maybe beat it. It may sound stupid but I run out of ideas to hold in the last few strands of my sanity.” 


“Sunggyu that’s not stupid. It’s brave.” his friend’s courage had always succeeded in surprising him. “But do you know what is the best way to fight fear?” 


Sunggyu looked at him questionably.


“Love. Love is the best way to defeat any kind of fear, no matter how strong it is.” he replied with a smile. “And you’ve got that inside of you more than anyone else. So give yourself another chance. Believe in the love that is inside of your heart and you may get back what you had lost.” 


Sunggyu turned to his friend. “You want me to accept the deal?” it was more of stating a fact than asking a question.


“I know that you are afraid, but you can’t keep avoiding it forever. Her wanting to meet you without even knowing who you are is a sign itself, a sign that you’re meant to be.”


Sunggyu passed his hand through his hair in deep thought. “I need time to think about it. I’m still confused about the whole deal.” 


Myungsoo nodded in understanding. “It’s okay. Now get off, I need to go back to the company and I didn’t bring my car. So I’m taking yours.” 


“Okay okay! Just make sure to return the keys later. And tell Sungyeol to come to the pub when he has time. The bastard think that I’m mad at him. I didn’t see him in days.” Sunggyu said as he hopped off.


Myungsoo watched as his friend got inside the building with a sad expression.  


“How can he stay this kind-hearted and strong after all that he went through?” he sighed for the umpteenth time that day before driving off. 




-




Childhood memories were supposed to be happy, or that’s what Eunji had always thought. Having parents like hers, it couldn’t be that sad, even if she had lost her brother at some point, there would still be a few happy memories. Well, that little hopeful idea came crashing after that morning.


Not when her parents turned out to be probably not her parents and that horrible woman had raised her.

Calming down was far from possible for Eunji, but as soon as she went back home, she started sorting all the new information and her memories to understand whatever the woman was talking about. Maybe that way she could finally understand her childhood.


“So according to that woman, I and some guy, Sunggyu she said, were switched at birth. He lived with my parents while I lived with her. Now, I’m living with my biological parents and Mingyu really is my brother, right?” she was scribbling undecipherable words, adding some arrows and line, making it look like a messy scheme.


‘But if that was true, when did I take those pictures with my real family?’ she flipped through the album, eying it very suspiciously. ‘Pictures can be photo shopped but not my memory.’ 


“Kim Misook was rich and famous, right?”


With that in mind, Eunji started a through research about the woman, finding another important piece of information on the Internet.


‘… After getting arrested, all of Mrs Kim’s shares were divided between her two children and Nam Woohyun, who became the head of the company. ... According to Mr Jung, his child had been threatened more than once and had became mentally unstable. Thus, he wasn’t ready to reveal his identity to the public. He had also revealed that Jang Dongwoo had been the guardian of his younger sibling since his grandfather had passed away…’ 


‘Dongwoo?’ Eunji frowned while reading the articles that dated four years ago, a fact she’s been ignoring made its way through her skull.


‘How couldn’t I see it earlier?! She’s Dongwoo’s mother…’


“I’ll just assume that I really was switched at birth. Does that mean that I actually spent my whole childhood and even teenage years here, with Dongwoo as my brother?” 


Eunji felt like crying again at the realization. The realization that she was fooled before the accident and even after the accident. The memories of her first meeting with Dongwoo during the party and their second meeting coming back to her. 


‘I’m so stupid! It was all written over his face for God’s sake!’ 


‘Was it even a car accident? She said that I was shot by some guy.’ she sighed in exhaustion. 


The missing piece that she was desperately searching for had finally seen the light, but it only made her ten times, no hundreds of times worse. 


Feeling betrayed was one of the worst feelings ever, especially if those who betrayed were the people you trusted most. Looking at one of her family pictures, Eunji felt her blood surpass the boiling degree and with the little strength left in her body, she flipped the whole table.


She laid back on the couch, sobbing, hiding her eyes with her arm while her other hand was grasping on the heart locket.


‘My whole life was a lie. LITERALLY!’ 





-





After his visit that morning, Sunggyu had to take his medication again and sleep for five good hours to calm down. He felt better after talking with Myungsoo, but he needed to be careful. Without those pills, he can easily go through another episode.

But despite being horribly sick, he forced himself to go out of bed and go to work, wishing that none of his friends will show up that evening, knowing that they will certainly scold him for working in that state.

Well, as if his wish was granted, no one had stopped by, but someone else did.


Sunggyu was mixing a cocktail for a customer when a distressed Eunji sat to the bar, not noticing his presence yet.
He was kind of grateful for that, it gave him time to have a mini mental break down and recover from it without her noticing the change in his expressions. He also had the time to observe the new Eunji from close. 

She had changed, physically at least. She grew taller, or it may be the heels she was wearing. Her hair was ink black, and slightly wavy. Her skin had gone paler than before and she looked slimmer but healthy nevertheless. 
Sunggyu still remembers how she used to glow before, but not anymore. Her smile was just polite, there was no feelings underlining it. And her eyes looked lost. He’d seen it once before, just after he broke up with her. How much he hated that gaze. 

He had gave up everything to never see it before. And at that moment, he felt like everything that he ever did was worthless. Eunji wasn’t supposed to look that sad, lost and stressed. 


Sunggyu knew that she’d feel like that once she came back, and that’s why he had spent the previous day arguing with Mrs Lee.


‘It’s going to happen eventually.’ Mrs Lee had said. 


‘I know. But it’s still early. What if she regains her memory?’


‘Sunggyu dear, I’m doing this for a reason. Please trust me. We will talk more when I come next week.’



All he could do was to sigh in defeat, hoping that whatever was going to happen, it won’t end up making Eunji suffer. 


“Here’s your drink.” he placed the filled glass on the counter in front on the customer before taking his courage between his hands and standing in front of Eunji’s spot. 



“May I get you something?” he was just glad that the words came out without stuttering, even though they were barely audible.


Eunji didn’t know why she ended up going back to the pub. She just felt like drinking her self to oblivion and the only place that came to her mind was that pub. 
But when she heard the concern in that voice and her eyes met those gorgeous pair of eyes again, she couldn’t be more glad that she took the decision to come back there.


For Sunggyu, it felt like time stopped at that moment. The person that he loved and missed the most was looking directly into his eyes. But whatever he used to see in her eyes before, he didn’t see it anymore. Even though his heart was beating too fast for the first time in a long time, he was sure that she didn’t feel anything while looking at him. 

A stranger, that was the key word. She was looking at him as if he was some stranger. A passerby you meet once or twice in life by pure coincidence and you forget about once he’s out of your eyesight, that if he actually made it to your memory in the first place. 

Sunggyu knew he shouldn’t feel like that. He was the one who brought them to that point. But the ache was too much to ignore.


‘As long as she’s happy, nothing else matters.’ he reminded himself, forcing himself to smile. 


As for Eunji, the same bittersweet sensation invaded her chest again, slightly more powerful that before but her heart also skipped a beat and all of her thoughts eased at once, only the thought that everything will be okay remained.

She came to order something strong, but this guy’s presence did what even the strongest drinks couldn’t, so she just stuck with a simple beer.


“That’s him right?” 

“Who?” a conversation between the two girls just sitting next to her caught her attention.


They were obviously talking about the bartender, since one of them had pointed at him, when he was not looking.


“You don’t remember him? That third year who made a scene on the graduation ceremony. He was Doojoon’s classmate.” the first one added, talking rather loudly, and Eunji was sure that the guy had totally heard them.


“Ahh! The famous guy who went nuts after his lover disappeared?! It can’t be...” the second girl didn’t seem convinced.


Their talk came to a stop when their center on interest turned to their direction.


“Are you okay?” Eunji asked when he placed her order on the counter, ignoring the curious looks of the two girls. “You seemed quiet agitated the other day at the restaurant.” she added when he gave her a confused look.


“Ah about that. It was nothing. I’m better now. Thank you for asking.” he forced his lips to curve in a smile.


‘You look sick and that smile was far from convincing.’ that’s how Eunji wanted to reply, not liking how fake his expression was. But again, she barely knew the guy. And no, she didn’t want to admit that he looked as familiar as her own reflection in the mirror.



“HEOL! It’s totally him! I remember always seeing him with Myungsoo oppa and the others!” the girl, who was previously uncertain, gasped in disbelief when he walked away to serve a table.


“Told ya!! I had never heard of a Woollim High graduate becoming a bartender though. Even the bottom ranks get their shares of opportunities. And according to Doojoon oppa, he was one of the best. And by the best, he means first to second rank, nothing less.”


“It’s scary how love can destroy someone’s life.” they both nodded.


Eunji wasn’t one to believe in gossips, but the two girls looked certain about whatever they were talking about, they even mentioned Myungsoo and Sungyeol. 
She knew that there was a lot of pain hidden in his dark orbs. But she could feel that their was more to it than a broken heart or a failed love story.



Eunji spent the night observing the bartender/ waiter/ owner, finding a huge interest in his every single move and expression. She wasn’t even discreet about it, which made him sense her eyes following him and it made him nervous.


Sunggyu couldn’t release the sigh he was holding until she finally left the pub somewhere around midnight, slightly tipsy, but quiet sober to stop a taxi and go back home safely. He didn’t want her to leave though. 
He was even amazed by how he managed to hold himself from hugging or kissing her, or even touching her hand after all those years. Well, he couldn’t risk scaring her off or creeping her out.

What he didn’t know was that during the whole night, the slightly drunk Eunji had an odd urge to hold his hand. The only reason for her to leave was that her own feelings scared her.

Keeping the burning sensation in her heart aside, she didn’t feel guilty while admiring him with her eyes, or when she imagined herself going on a date with him. While before, such thought will make her feel like a married woman who was about to commit adultery. 
But the guilt came out eventually when she had sensed how sadness was following him like his own shadow, as if she was the reason behind it.
It also made her want to erase all of his pain at once. He just didn’t seem like someone who’d deserve to be in that much of pain.  

During those few hours of observing him, she had experienced all kind of contrasted emotions. His smiles made her smile but because of the lack of sincerity in them, she felt sad. His presence brought an unexplained sense of safety and peace to her mind, but there was fear too. The fear of losing something dear. His voice sounded like music to her ears, but she wasn’t satisfied with the tone he used, it was too flat. 
But his eyes were what captivated her most. Despite the heavy bags under them that only made them look smaller or their shallowness, she couldn’t help but think that they were the most beautiful pair of eyes she had ever seen.


“I must have gone crazy.” she mumbled, pushing the door to her room open.


“I didn’t even ask for his name or why he was at the asylum the other day. I’m such an idiot.” she cursed herself as she threw her exhausted body on her bed.


An image of his smiling face appeared in her mind and her heart skipped a beat for the hundredth time that night.


‘Am I finally falling in love? Is this what they call love at first sight?’


“But I wonder how his real smiles look like. I bet it’s beautiful.” she drifted into a deep sleep with that being her last thought.


And that night, Eunji dreamed about that leaving figure once again and woke up crying once again, with a soft whisper running through her mind.


‘I will always love you.’






-




Mr Kim and Mrs Lee came back a few days later, which was enough time for Eunji to make up her mind about the whole situation, especially now that she had regained most of her childhood memories.


‘No one needs to know that I regained my childhood memories. If I do tell them, there’s a big possibility they will try harder to hide more important matters from me. I will look for answers by myself. For the mean time, everything needs to stay as it is.’


And that’s exactly what happened. Eunji kept pretending to be the sweet daughter she was supposed to be, even though her insides were burning with anger and curiosity. The only thing keeping her busy was her preparations for her debut.
She’d stay out of the house for hours, enjoying the spring spirit and trying to get back her motivation.


The only news that brightened her mood a little bit was a call from Sungyeol.


‘Okay, I deserve a big dinner for this. He said yes!’ He yelled in excitement. ‘Myungsoo and I used a lot of our energy to convince him but he finally said yes! I can’t believe it, really! I arranged a meeting for both of you. Come to the company on Monday at two. We will be waiting for you.’ 


So there she was, at Woollim entertainment’s Headquarter, sitting in a well furnished office that seemed to be too organized and empty to be actually used, Sungyeol and Myungsoo sitting across of her. 


“We’re sorry you had to go through this. But whoever is wishing to work with him have to sign this contact.” Myungsoo said apologetically.


Eunji flipped through the contact, reading it thoroughly. “It’s okay. I don’t see anything offensive in it anyways. But it says I have to keep the location secret. Aren’t we going to work here?” she asked.


“Do you think that if he did all the work in here the paparazzi wouldn’t catch him yet? He has his own studio. that’s where you’ll meet him from now on.” Sungyeol explained.


Eunji nodded and without further hesitation, she signed the contract.


“Can I meet him now? My patience has left me long time ago you know?” she crossed her arms in a sassy manner.


Just then, someone knocked on the door and came in without waiting for approval.


“Just in time hyung.” Myungsoo smiled to the man before turning to Eunji. “This is Cha Hakyeon, he will be taking you to the studio.” 


“Have a good time.” Sungyeol added suggestively when she was following Hakyeon, so she just rolled her eyes and decided to ignore him. 


“I can’t believe I’m a fan of that guy! I should reconsider my choices.” she said in annoyance, making the other guy laugh.


“You really should! He’s too helpless. I don’t know how can people like him have fans. Myungsoo is a saint for putting up with him for all of those years.” 


Eunji chuckled at his words. The guy was too easy to get along with and he kept talking nonstop through the whole drive. 


“So Hakyeon-ssi, any advices before I meet him?” she asked once they were in the elevator of some luxurious building. “I mean what kind of person is he?”


Hakyeon looked at her hesitantly. He needed to be careful with his reply.


“He’s someone that I knew for years and even though he’s younger than me, he gained my respect since day one. I owe him a lot. Everything that I have now, starting with my mother, is all thanks to him.” the gratefulness in his voice didn’t go unnoticed by Eunji “But I have to warn you, he’s really shy. So be patient with him.” 


“I guessed that much.” she replied with a nervous smile.


If the sparkle in Hakyeon’s eyes meant anything, it would be how great of a person the guy she was about to meet was. It made her sigh in relief. Eunji was afraid he will disappoint her and turns out to be some haughty guy that had no sincerity toward what he was doing.

They reached the top floor, where the penthouse was, a sign that he was rich. Well he was successful after all.
Hakyeon entered the place with Eunji on his trail.


“Mom? What are you doing in here?” he asked when he saw his mother in the living room.


“I brought some food for that brat.” she replied with an exhausted sigh making him frown in question. “He didn’t even touch the food that I left in the fridge last week. He’s driving me crazy with his careless attitude! I swear if I do-” Mrs Cha stopped mid sentence when she noticed the young woman that was standing behind her son, recognizing her on the spot.


“Hello, I’m Kim Eunji.” Eunji bowed politely when she noticed the woman’s eyes on her. 


“Oh.” Mrs Cha blinked before finally remembering what her son had told her earlier. “I’m this idiot’s mother. You can call me mom too.” she smiled warmly. 


“Where’s he?” Hakyeon asked.


“He went inside when I started nagging.” she replied with another heavy sigh. “You take her inside and I will prepare drinks for you. But you need to make sure he has dinner later. I need to go back to the restaurant” 



Hakyeon nodded and resumed walking. “This way.” he guided her further in the penthouse.

The place was too organized with too little furniture despite the huge space. 
The open kitchen looked almost deserted and there was only a couch in the living room with a low table and a flat TV. At the far corner, there was a little study with a few shelves that barely had any books on them.
There was no pictures around or any other sign that someone actually lived there. Eunji wanted to believe that he had just move there or was too busy to decorate the penthouse, just like he was too busy to eat.

Hakyeon opened one of the few doors in the vast apartment, which was most likely the studio. It was probably the only part that looked like it was invaded by a human being in that cold place. A couch, a few chairs and a table were inside of it. Music sheets were almost everywhere alongside with few instruments. There were a door at the side, probably leading to the recording room. 

Anticipation was at its fullest inside of Eunji, she was finally in the birth place of most of her favorite songs. The only question was, where’s the genius behind them?


The door at the side finally opened, revealing the person she was searching for. 

Eunji’s eyes widened, not expecting this turn of events, but secretly liking it. For the guy who made her heart skip a beat to be the same as her role model, it was something that only happened in movies.


At that moment, Eunji was sure that life couldn’t be hiding any bigger surprises for her. 


That was until Hakyeon introduced him.



“This is Infinite’s hidden member and secret weapon, Kim Sunggyu.” 

A very late update and the longest chapter ever! 7k words!!

I'm not really satisfied with it but I hope you enjoy it ^____^  I was really busy in the last two months and will be for the next month. I really wnated to finish this story before the summer break but I'm not sure if I can do so anymore. so I would like to apologies about any delays beforehead.

BTW, Eunji's new album 'SPACE' is VERY VERY BEAUTIFUL  and so perfect for this season <3 <3 <3 Give it a listen if you didn't ;)

BYe bye for now  and tke care everyone <3