CHAPTER 3

“Unnie! Unnie! Wake up!!!”

I heard Hyejin's voice as I slowly regained consciousness. The bright light from what seemed like a room blinded me as soon as I opened my eyes.

“H-Hyejin-ah...” I called out as I tried to get up but as soon as I moved, I felt a striking pain inside my head.

“Ughh!!!” I groaned in pain as I tried to massage my head.

“Are you okay unnie? Hold on... Here! Take this first!” she worriedly said as she handed me a glass of water and a pill. I obediently took it for I was really hoping to relieve this painful sensation I'm feeling right now.

“I'm sorry unnie! It's all my fault! I should've not let you drink. I totally forgot that you can't really handle alcohol.” she said apologetically.

“It's okay Hyejin-ah! But what happened? And where are we?” I said as I looked around the room.

“We're in the guest room of my house unnie. Actually, what happened was that--- I was waiting for you to come back to the bar when I saw you being carried away by the security guard. They said that you collapse at the hall near the washroom so they called an ambulance to take you to the hospital but I just stopped them and told them that I was with you and that's how we're here now in my house.” she continued as she took the half-emptied glass away from me and put it on the tabletop.

Oh right! I remember...

I was on my way to go to the washroom when I suddenly felt really light-headed. Then, when I got there... I remembered pushing my way in into the door but I accidentally bumped into someone instead. Right!!! I bumped into someone and I even apologized to that person but I couldn't remember anything after that.

“Ugh!” I held my head again as I felt it throbbed as I tried to remember what happened earlier.

“Unnie! Are you okay? Does it still hurt? I think it's better if you rest a little bit more.” Hyejin said as she lightly pushed my body down onto the bed and tucked me in with a blanket.

“Thank you Hyejin-ah!”

“No worries unnie! It's all my fault for making you feel this way so I should at least take responsibility & take care of you.” she said as she gently smiled at me and turned off the light of the room as she made her way out.

I slowly closed my eyes and eventually, drifted myself into sleep.

*****

I woke up the next morning feeling a lot better. My headache is still there although, it's much more bearable now compare to the striking pain I felt last night. Hyejin prepared me a hangover soup and I ate it without any hesitations. She really makes the best hangover soup I've ever tasted that I cannot control myself from finishing all of it. Well, she didn't became a restaurant owner for nothing right. She just smiled at me, as I continue to feed myself up with her delicious soup.

“By the way unnie, do you remember anything from last night? You know, before you went unconscious?” she said as she looked at me with curious eyes.

“Uhm... Well... All that I could remember was being really dizzy & light-headed as I walked to the washroom. And when I got there, I remembered bumping into someone.” I said as I finished my last bowl of soup.

“You b-bumped into someone? Who??? Did you see that person's face?” she said as she suddenly stood up from her chair.

“Actually, no. I couldn't really remember anything up until there. Why'd you ask?” I said confused.

“H-huh!? Uhm... Nothing! Don't worry about it unnie! And I think it's better if you don't really remember anything from last night too...” She said the last part in an almost inaudible voice that I couldn't even hear properly.

“Huh? Did you say something else Hyejin-ah?” I said as I looked at her for clarification but she just shook her head saying that it's nothing, so I just shrugged my shoulders as I chuckled at her weirdness.

After that, I rested a little bit more and when I didn't feel any aches from my head anymore, Hyejin & I decided to have a stroll in the city. We went to the places we used to hang out when we were still in University and even visited our old University itself. Being able to walk around the campus brought back lots of memories. And it didn't only bring back Hyejin & I's old memories together but also something else. Something I wished I didn't actually remember.

We entered my old department which was the Department of Conservatory of Music and right there, in that very place, everything started to flashback before me.

*****

September 2007 (1st year of university)

“Where are you Ahn Hyejin!!?” I blurted out to myself as I looked at my watch that said 5:30 pm

We're supposed to meet up at 5 pm for that was 10 minutes after she finished her last class but up until now, she's nowhere to be found.

It was really raining hard and I was waiting for her to come & picked me up in front of my department's building for I forgot to bring an umbrella with me. And knowing Hyejin's department (Department of Business Administration) was only across mine, it shouldn't take her 30 minutes to get here.

I was so busy looking for Hyejin in the fogged-up glass window of the building when someone called my attention.

“Excuse me, Do you need an umbrella?” A woman asked me in a light, gentle voice and I just looked towards her immediately.

I was really in awe the moment I saw her face. She really has an angelic face and long brown hair. She was wearing a light blue striped button-up shirt, black pants, and white rubber shoes with her black leather backpack hanging on her back.

I stared at her for a minute or so when I heard her speak again.

“Uhm... Are you okay miss?” she said as she worriedly looked straight back at me.

“H-huh! Ah... Yeah, I'm okay and yes I do need an umbrella.” I hurriedly said as I rubbed the back of my neck in embarrassment. I heard her giggled a little bit before speaking to me again.

“I only have one umbrella but I can share it with you up until to the bus stop if that's okay with you. Don't worry, it's big enough for 2 people to shed on it so I think it would work for the both of us.” She said as she smiled and shook her yellow umbrella up for me to see.

“That would be great! But--- Actually, I'm waiting for a friend of mine to come & picked me up. I'm sorry...” I said as I disappointedly declined her offer.

Then I just heard her laughed and that made me tilt my head as I looked up at her in confusion.

“Hahaha! Why are you saying sorry? Now, I felt like I just got rejected by my crush.” She continued to laugh as I blushed, feeling embarrassed again.

“I'm sorry... That's not what I meant.” I said looking down.

“I know! I was just kidding! I just can't help but find it very funny because you really looked so serious while you were saying that.” she said as she stopped laughing and faces me again.

“I'm Yongsun by the way... Kim Yongsun! What's your name?” She asked me as she extended her hand to me.

“I'm Byul-Yi... Moon Byul-Yi.” I smiled as I shyly shook her hand and we both laughed after that.

And that's the first time I met that person...

*****

“Unnie! Are you okay?” Hyejin said and I instantly snapped back to myself.

“H-huh yeah... Uhm, let's go...”

“Are you sure you're okay? If you're not comfortable coming here then we can go somewhere else unnie.” she said as she worriedly placed her hand on my shoulder.

“I'll be fine Hyejin-ah. Don't worry!” I faked a smile as I gently gripped her hand that's on my shoulder for assurance and then, we continued to walk.

Every place in that building holds very special memories for me... the classrooms, the practice room, the student lounge, the music room, the recording studio, the concert hall, and even the research centers & music libraries. Each one of them had memories of that person. I kept pretending that I'm okay and that it doesn't concern me anymore