Hyemi let out a long and satisfying sigh as she stared at her reflection in the mirror.

Another successful concert…as expected…she thought to herself. She smiled, brushing a few strands of hair away from her face. She had long overcome the nervousness of performing on a stage in front of hundreds of people. There’s always this small rush that runs through her before she performs, but it’s more of excitement than it is nerves. Hyemi loves being on stage…she loves singing from the bottom of her heart. Although the people she sings to hardly even know her, the beauty of music allows them to somehow catch a glimpse of her soul. That’s something she learned as a student at Kirin. The longer she was around music and people who genuinely loved music as well, the more she came to understand how beautiful music really is; it speaks the unspoken words of your heart.

Her eyes travelled over to the far left corner of her mirror as she gazed at the picture she had placed there. The six faces that looked out at her gave her a sense of peace and she unconsciously smiled. Memories from their past came flying through her mind and her smile widened. Hyemi knew that she couldn’t have come this far without them.

“Hyemi-yah!”

A pair of arms hugged her from behind as Baekhee’s smiling face appeared next to hers in the mirror. Hyemi smiled and turned around to fully embrace her best friend. Baekhee squeezed her body a little in a reassuring way, letting out a small sigh as she did so.

“You were amazing tonight, Hyemi!” Baekhee exclaimed.

“Of course. I’m Go Hyemi after all.” Hyemi said proudly as the two broke apart from their hug. Baekhee scoffed a little, giving her a look.

“After all these years, you still haven’t changed…” she muttered.

Hyemi laughed. “It’s my charm, don’t you think?” she boasted. Baekhee chuckled at her words.

“Hyemi-yah! Congratulations!” Pilsook came barging in through the door of her backstage room, a bouquet of flowers in her hands and a broad smile on her face. She handed Hyemi the flowers before engulfing her in a hug. Hyemi’s smile widened as Pilsook lightly rocked their bodies from left to right, giggling to herself.

“Yah…don’t suffocate her.” Jason’s low drawl came from the doorway.

Hyemi looked up while still tight in Pilsook’s hold, to see Jason, Yang-saem and Kang-saem enter in through the door. Pilsook gave her one last squeeze before pulling away. She immediately rounded on Jason and raised her fist threateningly. Jason cowered slightly under her gaze and quickly grabbed her wrist, an innocent smile spreading across his face.

“Heh heh…I was just kidding.” He said. Pilsook gave him a look before lowering her arm.

“Congratulations on your 100^th concert, Hyemi.” Kang-saem said as he handed her another bouquet of flowers.

“Where’s Shi-saem? Oh…I mean, Mrs. Kang.” Hyemi asked, readily accepting the flowers being handed to her.

“She had to watch Min tonight. Our nanny was busy. She told me to tell you she’s very proud of you, as am I. You’ve come a long way. All your hard work is finally paying off.” Kang-saem said with a smile. Hyemi smiled in return, nodding her head a little.

“The flowers are from me too, Hyemi!” Yang-saem said, motioning to the ones that Kang-saem had just handed her. Kang-saem gave him a look.

“No they’re not! The flowers are from me and Kyungjin. I told you to go buy your own flowers!” Kang-saem said. Yang-saem cleared his throat a bit and pushed Kang-saem a little to the side before turning a cheeky grin to Hyemi.

“Congratulations, Hyemi-yah! I can’t believe it’s your 100^th concert already! It feels like it was only yesterday you walked into Kirin as robot-Hyemi. Look at how much you’ve grown from then!” Yang-saem exclaimed, his face lighting up fondly as he stared over at Hyemi. Hyemi raised her eyebrow, her expression as nonchalant as it had been the first time she’d met Yang-saem. His smile faded a little as he let out a nervous chuckle.

“Thanks for coming, everyone. It really means a lot to me.” Hyemi said, her eyes meeting each of theirs to show just how grateful she was for their presence.

“Oh…you still have this picture?” Baekhee asked, taking a couple steps closer to the mirror, her eyes locked on the picture in the left hand corner. She smiled as she gazed at it.

“You’ve all come a long way since then. And I’m proud of each of you.” Kang-saem said. Baekhee turned away from the picture and smiled at him.

“Unnie! I brought someone with me!” Hyesung’s voice trailed in from the hall in a happy and teasing tone. Seconds later, she entered with a wide grin on her face. A couple steps behind her was Jingook with yet another bouquet of flowers in his hands. He smiled widely at Hyemi, who returned his smile, before walking over to her.

“Congratulations.” He said, handing her the flowers. “I told you I’d make it in time.”

She scoffed a little, taking the flowers into her already full arms. “I never said that you wouldn’t. I just said you didn’t have to rush on over to make it. Knowing you, you probably skipped some things on your schedule to come tonight, huh?” she said. Jingook gave her a smile and shrugged his shoulders a bit.

Kang-saem clapped his hands together and they all turned toward him. “Let’s go out and eat together! My treat. It’s been a long time since we’ve last eaten together.” He said. They all nodded in agreement.

“Hyemi-yah, let me carry those for you.” Baekhee said, extending her arms out to the bundle of flowers she was carrying. Hyemi smiled and handed them over.

“Thanks, Hyemi-per.” She said teasingly. Baekhee sent her a playful glare. Hyemi walked a little to the side to get her coat from the rack there as the rest of them filed out of the room. Hyesung grabbed a hold of Jingook’s arm and led him out with a huge grin on her face.

Hyemi pulled on her coat and walked back over to the mirror to check herself one last time. But instead of looking at her reflection, her eyes focused on the picture instead…on the one face that couldn’t come out to her 100^th concert tonight. She sighed a little as she continued to stare at his face. If only he could be here with us…

“Unnie! Hurry up!” Hyesung called from the hallway.

Hyemi took the picture from the mirror and placed it inside her coat pocket. She turned and proceeded to walk out of the room after everyone else. Right as she stepped out though, her path was blocked by a familiar face.

“Manager Choi, I’m going out to dinner with my friends tonight. Is that okay?” Hyemi asked. The man before her nodded, a small smile on his face.

“Of course, Hyemi-shi. Would you like me to bring all the fans’ gifts to your house then?” Manager Choi asked, motioning to a table that stood off to the side of the room. Hyemi nodded, turning to look at the table herself. The piles of gifts made her heart swell but something in particular caught her eye.

She walked forward toward the table, her eyes latched onto the large garland that stood beside the table. The rest of the group stopped a little ways away, watching her curiously. Hyemi walked right up to the garland, carefully reading what was written on the ribbon tied around it.

너의 맘속에 내가 있으면 안될까?

(trans: Can’t I be the one inside your heart?)

She could feel her heart racing as she read those words over again. They were so familiar to her but she couldn’t quite place her finger on where and when she’d heard those words. It wasn’t uncommon for male fans to declare their love for her. It was something she had grown used to through the years so the silent declaration of love didn’t really alarm her. But those words…she’s heard them before…

Her eyes travelled to the garland itself and she noticed something she hadn’t seen earlier. She literally stopped breathing as she stared hard at the object that hung from the middle of the garland. She took a step closer and reached out to grab it. When her hand clasped around the familiar ‘K’ pendant, the memory of when she’d heard those words came rushing back to her. Samdong had sung those words…nearly seven years ago…

Her grip tightened around the pendant as she pulled it off of the garland. She turned and sprinted down the hallway as fast as her heels would allow, passing by the rest of the group who each had a bewildered expression on their face.

“Yah! Hyemi-yah! Where are you going?!” Baekhee called after her.

“You guys go ahead! I’ll meet you there!” Hyemi called back. She didn’t wait for them to answer as she ran out through the side doors and into the cool night.

Truthfully, she had no idea where she was running to. But her instincts told her to run…because her heart was screaming at her one thing: Samdong’s here…he came back. Hyemi allowed her feet to carry her to wherever it was that they wanted so much to be. She rubbed her thumb over the pendant as a number of questions came to mind. Could Samdong really be here? Or did he send the garland from America? Or maybe he didn’t send it at all and she was just making it into something that it wasn’t? No…it has to be Samdong…she thought as she gripped the pendant tighter in her hand.

But Samdong…wasn’t he at the Grammy Awards? She had seen a news broadcast about it a couple hours before her concert started. Reason brought her to her senses and she slowed down her run until she came to a complete stop. He can’t be here...it makes no sense, for him to be here…

Hyemi let out a sigh and gazed down at the pendant in her hand. There’s no reason for him to be here…she thought. She raised her eyes from the pendant and was surprised to see where she had stopped. She was standing outside Kirin, the grounds vast and empty before her. It was already late…no one would be here. She was about to turn back around when a light from one of the classrooms . It took her a few seconds to realize that the classroom where the light was now on was the one that they had used countless times before as students. Her eyes widened and a small ray of hope passed through her. It can’t be…

She took off in through the front gates and toward the school entrance, her heart beating faster with each step she took. Light spilled out into the dark hallway as she neared the familiar classroom. Her steps slowed, her heart pounding against her chest. Hyemi timidly looked inside…but no one was there. She walked into the room, scanning the place to be sure that she was indeed the only person here. When that proved to be true, Hyemi let out a loud sigh and walked over to the piano. She exasperatedly sat herself down on the piano bench, reaching down to rub her feet a little. Although heels were pretty and definitely enhanced a woman’s image, Hyemi preferred not to wear them because they weren’t the most comfortable. Something bright yellow caught her eye and she straightened up in her seat. Her eyes met a yellow sticky note that read:

You don’t worry about me anymore, right?

She quickly grabbed the note and read it again. There was no doubt about it now…Samdong was definitely here. Hyemi rose from her seat and looked around again, just to make sure. Seeing that he wasn’t in the room with her, she quickly left the room in the direction of where he’d most likely be. It took her a couple minutes to reach her destination, her steps slower because of the slight ache in her feet and the fact that the school was a lot scarier at night. As she descended the stairs, she saw that the wall still hadn’t been cleared of the graffiti there. She smiled a little at the sight of an angel version of herself with random kind words scattered around it.

She continued onward toward the College Prep class, her heart pounding against her chest as she neared. The light was also on in that class, the door standing wide open. She carefully walked toward the open door, her heels clicking loudly against the floor beneath her. She stopped beside the door and took a deep breath before stepping into the doorway, searching the room. But she was greatly disappointed to find that there was no one there. She did notice that the room was arranged like how it had been when she was a student in this class; three desks in a row situated in front of the teacher’s desk. Her eyes travelled over to the desk she used to sit at, the one in the middle, and her eyes widened. She quickly walked over and picked up the award trophy that was sitting on her desk. Another yellow sticky note was pasted on the front of the award.

I showed you how cool I am, right? So, have you fallen for me yet?

Hyemi smiled, already feeling tears well up in her eyes as she took off the sticky note. Her fingers gently caressed the smooth surfaces of the trophy, gliding slowly over the engraved words, ‘2018 Grammy Awards presented to K.’ She laughed silently to herself as tears rolled down her face.

“There’s a song that’s inside of my soul…” His singing voice echoed down the hallway and in through the open door. Hyemi turned her gaze to the door, her breath caught in as he continued to sing.

“It’s the one that I’ve tried to write over and over again.” His voice was gradually getting louder as Hyemi’s heart raced faster and faster.

“I’m awake in the infinite cold, but you sing to me over and over and over again.”

Hyemi placed the trophy back down on her desk as she waited for him to appear, her breath still hitched. After what felt like decades, there he was. Samdong stood in the doorway to the classroom, a wide smile on his face. Although seven years had gone by, Samdong still looked exactly like how he did before. And as he stood there with his hands in the pockets of his favourite black coat, Hyemi wanted nothing more than to rush over to him and embrace him. But she forced herself not to…she had more self-control than that.

She cleared a little. “What are you doing here?”

Samdong made a small face at her. “Eh…we haven’t seen each other for seven years and you’re being like this? Aren’t you being too much?” he said, smiling over at her.

Hyemi quickly looked away from him. “How did you know I’d come here?” she asked.

Samdong chuckled. “I already told you…I know you better than you know yourself.” He said. Hyemi averted her eyes back to him and returned his smile. He walked over to her, stopping a foot away from her. They stared into each other’s eyes for a few silent seconds before he spoke.

“You see that?” He motioned his head over to the trophy sitting on her desk. “I’m cool, right? Much cooler than before, right? So, what do you think?” he said, smiling down at her.

“Shouldn’t you still be in America? It wasn’t that long ago when I saw the broadcast about it.” Hyemi said, looking away from him.

“The broadcast is a day late. I received the award last night…and came straight here afterward.” Samdong answered.

“Well, don’t you have other things to do…other things on your schedule? You are the famous singer K after all…” she said, her eyes focusing on a black spot on the floor to avoid his gaze. Samdong laughed a little at her behaviour. Still the same o’ Hyemi…he thought.

“Eesh…this girl…” he muttered under his breath. He lowered his head a little to stare into her eyes. “Why are you trying to change the subject? I asked you a question so why won’t you answer me?” He said, a playful glint in his eyes.

Hyemi looked up at him. “What?”

Samdong let out a low chuckle. He reached out for her and pulled her into his embrace, securing his arms around her. Taken aback by his sudden action, Hyemi’s eyes widened, her body too slow to react.

“Forget it. Knowing your stubbornness, you’ll probably deny it for the rest of you life. But it’s okay. I already know your answer. I knew it before I left.” Samdong said, letting out a sigh as he pulled her a little closer.

Hyemi smiled against his chest, loving the warmth he was giving her, both physically and emotionally. She wrapped her arms around his waist and closed her eyes, revelling in the feel of him. He was here…he was really here. It was only now that he was in front of her that Hyemi knew just how much she had missed him. Before he left, he had told her that she was his music. It wasn’t until after he was gone that she realized…that he was also her music. But she wouldn’t ask him to come back…it was his dream to stand on stage. And she wanted nothing more than to see him live out that dream.

“I’ve missed you.” Samdong said.

“Me too.” Hyemi finally admitted.

They held each other for what felt like hours but were only a couple minutes before they pulled away from each other. Samdong kept his arms around her though as he stared into her eyes. Hyemi tried her hardest to keep his gaze but found it difficult because of how intensely he was staring at her.

“There’s one thing I’m curious about though…” Samdong said, his voice trailing at bit. Hyemi raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

“Do you still carry my picture in your wallet?” he asked with a mischievous grin.

Hyemi made a face at him and pushed him away. “Yah! You told me you didn’t look into my wallet, you liar!” she accused.

Samdong laughed before he grabbed her wrist and attempted to pull her back to him. But Hyemi stood her ground, unwilling to yield to him. With one hand still encircled around her wrist, he took a swift step toward her and quickly closed the gap between them. He reached out and placed his other hand behind her neck, still advancing on her. He swooped down and placed a soft kiss on her lips, lingering there for a few seconds before pulling away.

“I still carry yours too.” He said with a smile.

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I am the master of all things cliché. Hahaha. ;P Thanks for reading!