Marion sat at the coffee shop alone, a large mocha latte in hand.

 

Her earphones were stuck in her ears, rendering her oblivious to outside sounds and noise. She couldn’t hear the people talking, the soothing classical music playing over the café’s speakers. Only one song was on loop on her iPod.

 

You’re my only one way.

 

_____

 

Until last night, she and Stephen had been together for 7 blissful years – including the 4 years they had been college sweethearts at Kyunghee University. They were both in the College of Music – she majored in Voice, he majored in Composition. They didn’t always have the same classes, but when they had free time they made sure to spend it together.

 

Stephen was handsome - soft, brown locks of hair that were always somewhat messy yet somewhat neat, a bright grin with sparkling teeth, that soccer player’s body that was well-toned and not overly muscular. He was the dreamboat of the Music department – but then again he was quiet. Perhaps a little too quiet for some, but not for Marion.

 

Marion was a little overweight, but her body was well-proportioned. She had curves in all the right places, and she was proud of it. She always thought that not being skinny made her special. And besides, she had a voice – one with soul, one that had a genuine sincerity to it. She loved music since she was a little girl, and she had been singing for as long as she could remember. She was outgoing, and made friends easily with just about anyone. She had a knack for always finding to talk about, and she also had an uncanny ability to make people laugh. It was just what Stephen needed to help him break out of his silent, solitary shell.

 

They met in one of the rehearsal rooms while practicing for their examinations. Stephen had heard someone singing after school hours, a soulful voice doing a rendition of “I Wanna Know What Love Is” to a CD player. He carefully sneaked into the room to watch her, but unwittingly closed the door loudly behind him by accident. She froze, and the moment their eyes met and she realized who had just saw her sing, she slipped on a little puddle of water on the floor where her water bottle was and knocked the player over. Recognizing that the girl now had no accompaniment for her practice, he immediately walked to the piano. He had no problem playing the song, it was one of his favorites. Nodding his head to cue the girl, she began to sing again. She finished rehearsing with a renewed confidence, with a lighter feeling. It was probably because the person who had just played accompaniment for her was looking at her, wonderstruck the entire time.

 

They both passed their examinations with flying colors.

 

They began hanging out more often, talking more often.. and soon enough they were a couple.

 

_____

 

Besides the usual requirements for school, Marion and Stephen did little projects together. In their last semester of senior year, they played gigs at one of the nearby cafés that one of their friends owned at the time. The couple were always applauded by the audience, even being asked for encores and song requests. It was then that their friend decided to start jam nights at the café so that everyone who wanted to come and sing a song with friends and share it over coffee and snacks was welcome. The event became so popular that the couple ended up working at the café for over 3 years after they graduated university, doing what they loved together – making music.

 

One spring night after a usual gig at the café, when everyone left except for them and their friend who owned the place, Stephen came up to her.

 

“Babe, I’ve been writing a song for you.. For us.”

 

She almost choked on the mocha latte she was drinking. “Really?” Marion never expected him to write a song for her – he was her boyfriend, but he was always very focused on schoolwork. He was never the openly affectionate type, but when it was the two of them together he would show her how much he loved her. There were times that he would sing lullabies for her over the phone when she couldn’t sleep. He would teach her how to play piano – they were on basic chords now. She was the more affectionate of the couple, but it didn’t mean she didn’t hold Stephen’s efforts and gestures any less important. To her, it just meant that those moments should be treasured even more because they only happened occasionally.

 

Stephen gestured for her to sit beside him on the piano bench. He had put up some sheet music on the piano’s stand. “I’ll play it for you.” As he played the melody, Marion began to hum along. Learning quickly, she sang along with the lyrics that he wrote on the sheet.

 

“널위해서매일웃고널위해서기도하고
니생각에잠들고널부르며눈을떠
내옆에서지켜주고내옆에서감싸주는
넌나의천국인걸

(Neol wihaeseo maeil utgo neol wihaeseo gidohago
Ni saenggage jamdeulgo neol bureumyeo nuneul ddeo
Nae yeopeseo jikyeojugo nae yeopeseo gamssajuneun
Neon naui cheongugingeol)

[I smile for you every day, I pray for you
With thoughts of you, I fall asleep - I open my eyes as I call for you
You protect me by my side and you embrace me
You are my heaven]

 

You're my only one way
오직너를원해내가니곁에있음에감사해
You're the only one babe
힘든세상속에사랑을알게해준너하나로나는행복해
(You’re my only one way
Ojik neoreul wonhae naega ni gyeote isseume gamsahae
You’re the only one babe
Himdeun sesang soge sarangeul alge haejun)

[You're my only one way
Only for you - I am thankful that I am next to you
You're the only one babe
You taught me love in this harsh world - I am happy with you alone]”

 

She stopped singing and tears started to fill her eyes. Stephen kept playing, closing his eyes as he played the melody he practiced for many hours, the melody he composed for the love of his life, the melody that told her how much he loved her. Soon he felt a pair of arms wrap around him, and he knew who exactly it was. But there was something he wanted to tell her so badly, something that he knew would break her heart.

 

_____

 

 

A teardrop fell on the saucer next to Marion’s mug in the café. Slowly wiping it off her cheek with her sweater sleeve, the same song was still playing through her earphones.

 

우리함께라면we will never cry never never cry

(Uri hamkkeramyeon we will never cry never never cry)

[If we're together we will never cry never never cry]

 

Browsing through her iPod’s photo gallery, she scrolled to a photo of her together with Stephen. Most of the photos in the gallery were of the two of them in the classroom, at the music studio in his house, at the mall, in the park, or at concerts. But this particular photo was different. This photo was taken last night, at the hospital.

 

 

_____

 

 

 

Stephen looked gaunt, his cheeks sunken. His soft, brown locks had fallen out from the chemotherapy. His bright grin had faded into an almost lifeless smile. But what remained were his eyes – bright and bold and clear, a stark contrast to the rest of his face. He wore a hospital robe that hung loose to his skinny frame. Marion was right beside him, holding one of his hands. She smiled one of her huge smiles, the kind that made both her dimples show. Her eyes had tears, but she still smiled.

 

He had leukemia.

That was what he wanted to tell her back then.

It had been 5 months since that moment.

She still stayed by his side.

She still loved him, so much.

And he loved her so much as well.

 

He couldn’t stand the thought of leaving her.. but he had to. His time was almost up.

But before he had to go, he wanted to leave her something.

 

With what strength he had left, he beckoned for her to come closer. “Love, there’s something in the drawer for you..” He pointed to the drawer beside his hospital bed. “Bring it out and open it here, beside me.” He managed to smile at Marion, who already had tears beginning to form in her eyes. She nodded, and she opened the drawer to find a square golden box that had a white ribbon wrapped around it. Taking it carefully with both hands, she brought it to Stephen’s bedside. He pressed a button on the control panel of the bed’s remote that raised the upper portion so he could sit up. His eyes glistened as they always did. “Come, love.”

 

Marion sat on the edge of the bed. Carefully unwrapping the ribbon and lifting the lid on the box, she saw some folded paper, a set of DVDs, and a USB stick. Taking the paper from the bottom of the package, she carefully opened it.

 

 “Honey, this is..”

 

“Yes, that’s the song I wrote for you.. It’s been.. 4, 5 months?”

 

“Mmhmm..” she said, picking up the DVDs and USB stick. “And what are these?”

 

Slowly taking the DVDs, Stephen managed to smile. “This, love, is a compilation of all our performances. I asked Junho hyung to take videos of us while we performed at his café. We never told you because.. we wanted to surprise you.”

 

Marion’s cheeks started to become wet with tears. “And the USB stick?”

 

“It has the audio track of your song.. I know we never got to record it together with your vocals.. But everything happened so fast, and..” Stephen’s cheeks started to become wet with tears streaming from his eyes as well. “..when it’s time for me to go.. I want you to sing it for me at the funeral. No, for us. That song has always meant so much to me. I knew from the moment I met you that I would write you a song.. I was just waiting for the right moment to give it to you. I know it might be a little too late.. But I want you to know that I have always loved you. Always. From now until I die, and even beyond.”

 

The tears were falling freely now. Marion and Stephen held each other in an embrace for a long while, knowing that it could possibly be the last time they would be together in life.

 

_____

 

 

It was 10pm now, and most of the café’s customers had already left. She was the only one sitting on the outdoor deck. A light night wind blew and she hugged herself with her sweater and overcoat.

 

Marion’s tears fell as if it were that moment all over again. It had been almost 8 months since Stephen died, and she missed him every single day. It was winter now.

 

It was spring time when he died.

At the funeral, she sang the song.

After she sang, she ran outside of the hall to cry, sitting on a big rock near a tree.

A spring breeze glided by, blowing some of the cherry blossoms off the trees.

One landed on her hand.

She started singing to herself. And at that moment, she could have sworn she heard a piano playing.

 

The day after, she approached a friend and asked him to help her record the vocals to a song that someone she loved wrote for her. After they finished the track, she downloaded it to her iPod, along with the original music only track that Stephen had recorded for her.

 

She listened to them every single day since then, and every day it still made her cry when she sang to it. It reminded her so much of Stephen – how he was when she first met him, how they were during their four years of university, how they performed together at the café, how he told her of his condition, and how he tried to stay strong whenever she visited her at the hospital – and every moment in between. She had loved others before Stephen, but he was her greatest love.

 

And just like that, he was gone. But she never felt alone – she knew Stephen still lived in her heart, in the times they spent together and in the songs they sang together.

 

There were times that she felt 7 years was too short a time to be spent with someone she loved so much, other times she realized that that time wasn’t short at all.

 

But whenever she thought about the song, about Stephen, about her and him.. She realized the song didn’t have a title yet. The track was only labeled in her iPod as “Stephen’s song.”

 

As she finished the last few drops of her mocha latte, and as the last minute and a half of the song played over her music player, she sang along.

 

“Heaven 나만의사람그래나를지켜줄사람
어떤슬픔도어떤아픔도너와함께한다면
어느누구도난부럽지않아떨리는두손을잡아줘
내가사는이유너니까

 

(Heaven namanui saram geurae nareul jikyeojul saram
Eoddeon seulpeumdo eoddeon apeumdo
Neowa hamkke handamyeon
Eoneu nugudo nan bureopji anha
Ddeollineun du soneul jabajwo
Naega saneun iyu neonikka)

 

[Heaven - my only person, yes the person who will protect me
Any sadness, any pain - if only I'm with you
I'm not jealous of anyone else - hold my two trembling hands
Because the reason I live is you]”

 

She let the rest of the song finish as more tears streamed down her face. Looking up at the dark winter sky, it began to snow. Another light breeze blew by, and snowflakes softly landed on her face.

 

“Stephen.. I finally decided on a title for our song. It was there all along, and now you’ve been there all along.. Heaven, love. Heaven.”