“You and me, just like this without changing

I will love you with just one heart”

“What!” That was the first thing Da Young had remembered what she had said as soon as she entered the room, to be faced by three other pairs of eyes, all staring at her with mixed emotions; anxious, fear and scared.

All she had wanted to do was to run into her room and blushed all day long when she recalled Ji Hoon in her mind. So she was quick at putting her little sister in her bed before walking out of the room. She kept blushed and held her face in her hands before smiling once again. She admits, he did give her a tingly feeling but she never knew her heart was going to take it to the next level.

But, as if god had cursed on her, she did not managed to get to her room. She was just standing there, motionless, just like a statue. She heard mummers coming from the door beside her. There were three voices, each distinctive from one another and Da Young recognized each of those voices.

“She saw the photo album,” the first voice jabbed in urgently, ignoring the other two voices that were definitely in a debate. “Hello?”

“How did your little sister get her hands on that album?” The second one hissed and Da Young realized the three of them were talking about her.

“I don’t know… but in the first place, how could the two of you not take care of the album? Now she’s going to get suspicious,” the first voice replied.

“She wouldn’t… unless someone mention this to her. She doesn’t even know something is happening,” the third voice answered.

“But what are you planning to do now?” The first voice asked. “What if she finds out?”

“Then we’ll have no choice but to move away. I don’t want to risk her being in danger again near him. You saw how she was right, Youngmin? When we found her at the beach, almost dying?”

“Will moving awa-“

Da Young’s hand moved swiftly onto the doorknob, twisting the door open with a huge bang. She didn’t know what to do next, now with three pairs of eyes looking at her.

“D…da Young,” her mother stuttered, her eyes widen when she found her daughter looking straight into her eyes with sadness.

“What do you mean move away?” Da Young asked immediately, starting to shake her head. “Yo-you promised! Never to move away from this neighborhood! Tell me why we have to move away!” There were tears glistering in her eyes now. She was hurt as she continued to look at her family members in pain; from her father to her mother and lastly, to her brother who was always there for her.

“I’m waiting, give me a reason why we must move!” Da Young tried controlled her voice level, forcing each word out of her lips. She was refraining herself to scream, that would disrupt the entire neighborhood.

“We have no choice D-“

“What’s your reason?” Da Young asked again.

Mr Im glance nervously to Mrs Im and then back at Da Young, letting out a huge sigh.

“It’s nothing at all,” Mr Im replied. “It’s nothing at all, just a small problem.”

“Just with the boy you always hang out with,” Youngmin cut in before he paused. His eyes widen immediately when he realized what he had said. He gasped, covering his mouth with his hands. Mrs Im gave the boy a threatening look before looking back at Da Young.

She opened , but no words dared to come out.

“What is it about Ji Hoon? You don’t even know him! I have never spoke of him before to you guys,” Da Young asked. She now gasped the entire situation; she knew what her parents were discussing about.

“Remember the picture in the album; the one with you and the boy? That boy is the one you call as Ji Hoon. He’s not dead and you’re… you’re in danger, my darling,” Mr Im sighed, unable to look straight into his daughter’s eyes. “Because of that boy.”

“Danger?”

“You might not know that but you and him knew one another when you guys were just little kids… about 3-4 years old. You two had a long history within the two of you. We moved into the same neighborhood with the other family and we were close. They were powerful and rich, we knew that, but we never knew that their traits would get them in danger… as well as us.

“One day, the two of you were kidnapped and were taken off in the kidnapper’s boat when suddenly, the two of you fell into the ocean. We never knew, until we found you on a beach the next day… only you- just as the other family found Ji Hoon. You two lost your memory and we thought that it would be for the best if we just go on our separate ways. We never know what happened to the kidnappers and we just wanted to be safe. And it was going so well, until he appeared again.

“Youngmin told me that he saw the two of you together but he said that the two of you were doing a project, so I thought that after the project, you two would just go on being strangers and not as friends. I was wrong, definitely. You two were friends, good friends. And I’m afraid that the kidnappers would remember the two of you…” Mr Im drifted off, unsure of what to say now.

“Da Young, my dear, please, can you promise us one thing?” Mrs Im pleaded out of nowhere, holding her daughter’s hand. “T-that you would avoid him at all cost? Cut off all the connection you two hold together and everything? It’s only for the safety for the two of you… please.”

Da Young looked into her mother’s pleading eyes and nodded. “Yes, mother,” she whispered, not realizing that she would regret promising her mom.

✩ ✩ ✩

I guess it’s not that bad now, it was the first thought that hit Da Young the moment she stepped into the school, beside her cousin, Dae Hwi, the other only person that knew about her story with Ji Hoon. It has been a couple of days after hearing the news and for the past few days, she had confined herself in the room, locking herself from the outside world. She could not bear herself crying just by looking at his face, so she might as well stay in her room for the rest of her life.

Her friends came over and talked to her about coming back to school, not knowing the reason why she suddenly stopped coming and after a few lecturing from her student body president and vice-president, Eui-Woong and Yena, and her best friend and cousin, Seongwoo and Dae Hwi, she had finally agreed to come to school, but it was hard, very hard for Da Young.

She had been ignoring Ji Hoon for the past few weeks because of the threats she received from the school’s worst drama queen, Baek Herim, but now, she had to intentionally ignore him no matter what, meaning no connections or conversation at all. The way she had ignored Ji Hoon before realizing the truth was much more easier and familiar, but now, since she knew what was going to happen if she did talk to him made her fear, fearing for both hers and Ji Hoon’s lives. Her heart immediately sank every time she sees him but she knew, she had to be strong so she could save the both of them from grave danger.

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