- Three -

“We call this, ‘The River of Wishes’. Come on, let’s go there to the other end.”

Chorong led the way up the pathway of stones, carefully balancing herself on each of the small rocks while Joonmyun followed closely behind her. Although she’s the one who has been there countless of times before, her steps still appeared shaky compared to the smooth little leaps Joonmyun were taking.

Chorong stretched out her right leg, ready to jump onto the next stone which was slightly further away than the others – when her foot suddenly slipped and gave way underneath her.

Almost immediately, Joonmyun’s arm shot out and he managed to grab Chorong by her wrist, just a split second before she fell into the cold, gushing river.

He pulled her close instinctively, pressing her back against his front firmly as Joonmyun tried to keep the both of them steady on the same rock. Chorong could feel his hot breath tingling down her nape as he exhaled deeply.

“Can you not make me worry for just a minute?” she heard him asking quietly from behind.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered guiltily, looking down at the small coin that she was clutching in her left hand. “But Joonmyun...are we going to stay like this forever? I have a wish to make.”

Her question seemed to have snapped something inside of him, because he lets go of her almost instantly, only to yank her back when she nearly lost her balance again.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Go on, I’m right behind you.”

He held on to her hand tightly as she took a careful step forward, and only released his grip when she was standing safely on the next wet rock.

Chorong shot him a grin.

He watched her as she closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, lips moving quickly as she said her wishes – before throwing the silver penny into the running water.

Her eyes fluttered open and she turned to look at him.

“Your turn,” she said with a smile.

Joonmyun didn’t know what to wish for, and he wasn’t sure if he even believed in this ‘river of wishes’ but Chorong was staring at him expectantly and he knows that she wouldn’t let him hear the end of it if he doesn’t make one, short simple wish.

So he started to close his eyes like she did earlier, made a silent wish and flicked the coin into the river – all in five seconds.

He opened his eyes once again and found Chorong staring at him with a frown on her pretty face.

“That was quick,” she commented. He waited for her to say something else, but she didn’t and he took it that they would just leave it at that.

He was secretly hoping that she wouldn’t ask him what he had wished for, because then he wouldn’t know what to tell her, when the answer was as easy as a simple ‘you’.

The next day, after lunch, Chorong brought him to a small shop in the downtown area. It had all sorts of musical instruments - ranging from guitars, drum sets and pianos amongst others.

Joonmyun didn’t know what they were doing there, but as soon as they walked through the door, Chorong was already happily shouting ‘I’m here!’, to the shop’s owner who was busy cleaning up his stocks behind the counter.

A young man, who was probably around his age, looked up from the electric blue guitar he was holding onto and broke into a wide grin when he met Chorong’s eyes.

“Look at you!” he exclaimed as he walked round the counter and pulled her into a tight embrace. “I thought you’ve forgotten all about me!” they finally pulled away from each other, and only then was Joonmyun’s awkward presence acknowledged.

“You’ve brought a friend,” the other male remarked, looking over at Chorong’s companion, yet his boyish grin never left his face.

“Yes! Hoya, this is Joonmyun – the one I’ve been dying to introduce to you.”

She turned towards the apprehensive looking Joonmyun and gave him an assuring smile. “This is Howon, or Hoya as he’d like to be called. He’s a...really good friend of mine and this is his shop.”

Hoya was the first to offer his hand, which Joonmyun took with a slight hesitance.

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Hoya said. “Chorong has told me some pretty interesting stuff about you.”

Joonmyun shot her a look, to which Chorong responded with a casual shrug of her shoulder.

Apparently, she’s been talking about him everywhere and to almost everyone she knows.

“Hoya,” she tugged at the guy’s arm, while Joonmyun just eyed her begrudgingly. “Where’s Bomi? Is she coming here today?”

“I don’t know,” Hoya replied as he went back to the earlier guitar, with Chorong tailing close behind him. “She said she’ll be here, but I’m not sure what time. Hey, Joonmyun?”

Startled that he was suddenly called, Joonmyun looked at him in surprise.

“Do you play anything?” Hoya asked him in a friendly manner. “Guitar? Drums maybe? Or – “

“Piano,” Joonmyun stated. “I used to play the piano.”

Chorong widened her eyes at him.

“You’ve never told me that before.”

It’s because you’ve never asked, he wanted to retaliate but he knows it wasn’t fair to her. Chorong has always been trying to get close to him, and get him to open up about his past – but he has never allowed her to.

“It was a long time ago,” he shrugged. “I don’t think I’m able to play it that well now.”

“Well...” Hoya glanced at Chorong. “...why don’t we give it a try now? Come here, I have one that you can experiment with.”

Chorong was giving him that hopeful, puppy dog eyes that he seems to have a trouble declining every single time. He sighed silently inside and started to follow Hoya.

“Okay. But I’m not promising anything,” he warned her.

She nodded her head eagerly.

Bomi, Chorong’s friend and also Hoya’s girlfriend, came by the shop when Joonmyun was halfway into his third piece. She immediately flocked to Hoya’s side and joined the other two while they waited for him to finish up.

As soon as he hit his last note, the three of them started clapping unanimously, with Chorong’s being the loudest.

“You’re really good,” Bomi praised him earnestly. “I’ve heard and seen a lot of pianists, but I really think you’re one of the best.”

“Thanks,” he said quietly and managed a small smile. It was still hard for him to be in the presence of others, but he was trying.

He needs to try for the sake of Chorong.

“It’s getting late,” Chorong spoke up. “We need to get going now.”

Bomi pouted. “So soon? We haven’t even got the chance to play catch up.”

Chorong threw her arms around the younger girl’s neck and hugged her close. “I promise to come back soon, okay.”

“Of course you will,” Bomi patted her back lightly. “And bring Joonmyun along too,” she winked at him.

Chorong went on to hug Hoya next.

“I feel like you’ve grown since the last time I saw you.” She punched him on the arm playfully.

“I think so too,” Hoya joked. “Take care of yourself, okay? Call us, if you need anything.”

“I will,” Chorong promised. “Bye guys.”

She took Joonmyun’s hand and started pulling him along. The latter managed a small wave of his own as he bowed gratefully at them for their hospitality.

It was nice to know Chorong’s friends and be a part of her life.

He feels like as if he finally belongs somewhere.

Hoya lets out a soft resigned sigh as the pair of them disappeared from his sight.

Bomi glanced at her boyfriend, who was looking unusually worried. “You’re thinking about it, aren’t you.”

“We can’t keep it from her for much longer, Bbom. She’s bound to find out someday, now that he’s already here looking for her,” Hoya shook his head regretfully.

“Do you think he’ll ever give up searching for her?”

Hoya pondered over it for a moment.

“I don’t know,” he finally said. “You and I both know that Lu Han isn’t the type to give up easily. Not to mention, he and Chorong were deeply in love back then. They split up not because the feelings stopped or disappeared. They were forced to break apart.”

Bomi sighed. “But Chorong seems really happy now with Joonmyun.”

“I know...I know, Bomi. I know.”