"But I have my life, I'm living it. It's twisted, exhausting, uncertain, and full of guilt, but nonetheless, there's something there." Hei-Ryung finished penning the last few words and sat back to admire the carefully copied quote. "How is it that someone who has never met me can so accurately describe my life?" Chuckling, she peeled off the sticky note and pressed it at the bottom of her monitor, smoothing the paper with her thumb until she was sure it would stick for some time. When the binding seemed solid enough, she pushed her seat back and away from the desk and slowly spun in circles, staring blankly up at the ceiling. After taking a day off to sort herself out emotionally, she had started on her work again and spent the majority of the day typing away. Now, as the sun was setting, her eyes were beginning to grow sore and her fingers felt that they would fall off at any moment.

     Which meant that, despite not wishing to, she was going to have to take a break from writing and move on to another task. Sighing, Hei-Ryung rested her chin on the chair's backrest and stared out the window. The plan, after burning her notebook, was to move on from the past and reassimilate herself into society, and yet she had done absolutely nothing with herself since then. It had only been a day, and she did still have to focus on her work, but Hei-Ryung couldn't help but beat herself up over the fact that she had done nothing but sit at her computer all day.

     "I'll take the first opportunity I get to try something new," she determined, dragging her foot along the floor to bring the chair to a stop. Squeezing her eyes shut to banish the faint spinning sensation in her head, Hei-Ryung carefully shuffled her way to the couch and sat down heavily. When she opened her eyes, they immediately landed on the discarded and nearly forgotten DVD Daehyun had brought over while she was sick. Although she had meant to return it by now, there had never been a good chance. The one time she had managed to slip out of the apartment, he wasn't home, and all other times she was either busy burning past memories or fervently writing a nonexistent future.

     Perhaps if she texted him first, it would be easier for the two to come up with a time when she could come over.

     Reaching past the DVD case, Hei-Ryung scooped up her phone and began searching for the last message she had sent to Daehyun. It wasn't hard, as he was one of the three people she regularly kept in touch with. All other numbers were banished to the bottom of her history, and mainly consisted of advertising offers she had accidentally signed up for while shopping online. Fortunately, Seulki had shown her how to remove her number from the mailing lists. Hei-Ryung kept all the old messages around, though, to make her phone look less empty. It was so rare for her to receive text messages, after all. Even the junk mail she found every so often would float around the apartment for a few days before she finally either stored it in a shoebox or threw it away.

     Shaking her head, Hei-Ryung resolved to fix this problem, too, before she started typing.

     Hey Daehyun! I was wondering

     Daehyun, when do you think a good time

     Hey, it's Hei-Ryung

     When would be best for me to

     I have your DVD still and was thinking about

     With a groan, Hei-Ryung tipped her head back. It shouldn't be this hard to send a text message, but no matter how many times she tried writing, it never seemed to work out. Maybe it would just be better if she went over there without texting him, and if he wasn't home then she could always try another time. Before she could stand and implement this plan, however, her phone let out a three-note trill that announced someone had sent her a message. Glancing down at the screen, she was surprised to see it was Daehyun.

     Do you have something to say? I noticed my phone kept showing me you were typing, but I haven't gotten  any messages ;)

     Shrinking into the couch, Hei-Ryung cursed the conveniences of modern technology and buried her face in her hands. She had no idea why fate had decided to have Daehyun check his phone right as she was struggling with texting him, but whether the intention was to humiliate or help her, she decided to get the most out of the situation. Pulling her feet up onto the couch, she wrapped her arms around her knees and carefully typed out a response.

     When do you want me to return your DVD?

     Across the hall, Daehyun turned and tossed yet another beer can into the garbage before picking up his phone to see what Hei-Ryung had responded with. Behind him, he could hear the distinct metallic sound of the can hitting its peers, then bouncing onto the floor. He should have taken out the trash before he opened that case, because now he didn't trust himself to move three steps without toppling over, let alone go through the motions of actually leaving his apartment. Not that it mattered. He was used to waking up in the morning in a sea of beer cans and with a pounding headache. It was what happened every time something went wrong, after all.

     The DVD is yours. You don't have to give it back

     Well now she felt stupid. Groaning, Hei-Ryung snatched up the nearest cushion and buried her face in it to hide her burning face from the invisible faces she felt were watching her. When she felt calmed enough to respond, she carefully peeked her eyes out over the cushion and hurriedly sent another message. Technically speaking, the conversation was over, but for once she didn't feel like sticking strictly to business. It had been a while since she had spoken with Daehyun and, surprisingly even to herself, she actually missed it a bit.

     What are you doing right now?

     Freezing in place, Daehyun held his newly opened beer suspended in the air and glanced at his phone from the corner of his eye. He hadn't expected Hei-Ryung to keep texting him, and yet there really was a response from her on the glowing screen of his cell phone. Raising an eyebrow, he set down the beer and slipped off his couch and onto the floor, where he sat cross-legged and tried to think of how to answer. He couldn't exactly say that he was listening to depressing music on repeat while downing an entire twelve-pack of beer, but he didn't want to lie to her either. Biting down on his lip, Daehyun tapped his fingers against the phone's back and tried out a few responses in his head.

     Listening to music. You?

     What was she doing? Besides bothering Daehyun with her chattering, she didn't exactly have anything to occupy herself with. After a quick look around her apartment to see if there was anything for her to use as an excuse, she lunged for the television remote and used it to power the device on. The first program to appear was an infomercial for a product she didn't care about, but it was good enough for Hei-Ryung.

     Watching TV.

     Smiling, Daehyun reached behind his head and pressed the space bar on his laptop, bringing an end to the music.

     What show?

     An interesting one.

     So it's a secret? Is it dirty?

     NO! It's a very informative documentary!

     About?

     Interesting things that don't concern you!

     Such as?

     Pouting, Hei-Ryung wrapped her arms more tightly around the cushion and tried to think of something good. Daehyun was being incredibly persistent, and she didn't think she could keep being vague for very long. A quick glance around her apartment yielded very little material she could use, though she supposed a general subject was better than nothing.

     Books

     Are they talking about any of yours?

     I'm not good enough for anyone in a documentary to discuss my work. Everything I write is just romantic fluff; it doesn't have any substance to it.

     I wouldn't say that

     Have you ever read any of my books?

     Not exactly

     Then your opinion is invalid

     Daehyun burst out laughing after reading Hei-Ryung's message. Whether it was the alcohol or her incredible sense of humor, he wasn't sure, but regardless of the combination of factors, he couldn't seem to stop. Biting down on his lip to keep quiet, he struggled to write a coherent message while his shoulders shook uncontrollably. Thankfully, spell check prevented him from looking like a complete imbecile.

     I do know you though. You have a lot more to you than you might think

     Smiling, Hei-Ryung buried her face into the cushion again and slowly tumbled onto her side. She hadn't realized just how exhausting a long day of sitting around doing nothing but moving your fingers could be. Of course, she was still recovering from many sleepless, sickly nights. After a quick yawn, she rolled onto her stomach and started typing.

     Thank you, but you're incorrect. You're the one with all the unrealized potential. For all I know, you could be a superhero in disguise

     "If only," Daehyun mumbled, leaning his chin in the palm of his hand. As he spoke, he could feel his throat complaining and reminding him of how raw he had caused it to become after spending hours in Hongdae trying to be noticed. There had been dozens of performers there, though, which made him just another decent voice in a sea of singing. Without Yongguk there, Daehyun hadn't stood a chance, but he had refused to give up. It wasn't until his guitar string snapped and sliced his finger that he called it a day, and even then he had been reluctant to stop. There wasn't much he could do when the blood on his hand made it impossible to keep a firm grip on the remaining strings, though.

     Something good had come out of the experience, though. After showing up at Yongguk's doorstep covered in blood, the older man had, against his better judgment, told Daehyun about a party that would be happening at one of the local bars. A lot of the underground artists in the area would be there, which meant that it would be the perfect attraction for any companies looking to find new talent. Yongguk himself couldn't attend because Jieun had insisted they go to a movie that would be out of theaters soon, so he had spent an excruciatingly long time lecturing Daehyun about how he needed to remain professional and not drink himself into a stupor. It wasn't until Daehyun had promised he would find someone to come along with him that Yongguk had allowed him to leave.

     Youngjae wasn't answering his phone, though, and the hotel staff had been instructed to prevent Daehyun from invading his room again. Short of going to the Nalgae company and hoping he could convince any security that he was the best friend of the CEO's nephew, Daehyun had zero options for getting into contact with Youngjae. Besides, the company employees had most likely also been warned against any "silver-haired big mouths" they came across.

     It wasn't as though Daehyun had to bring anyone along, though. Yongguk didn't control his life, after all, and really couldn't do anything to stop Daehyun from foregoing a chaperone. Just the thought of lying to Yongguk didn't settle well with Daehyun, though, and, even if he did bring himself to go alone, the likelihood that the majority of the party guests would know Yongguk was too high a risk.

    After a few more moments of deliberation, Daehyun realized that he hadn't responded to Hei-Ryung yet and immediately began typing a reply.

     Are you busy tomorrow night?

     Relief flooded throughout Hei-Ryung when the screen of her cell phone lit up with Daehyun's message. She had been worried that he was offended by what she had said, but hadn't known how to apologize for it. Fortunately, it seemed that Daehyun wasn't upset with her. She wasn't sure how she felt about what his message suggested, though.

     Of course Hei-Ryung trusted Daehyun and knew that he would never, at least knowingly, put her in a situation she was uncomfortable with, but she still couldn't help being worried. She had promised herself that she would take advantage of the next opportunity presented to her, though.

     No, I'm free.

     Would you mind accompanying me to a party? Yongguk doesn't want me going by myself

     Alright

     It took a long while for Hei-Ryung to respond, or at least that's how it felt, so when her message did come through, Daehyun allowed him to relax and moved to lay on the floor. He had forgotten about the open beer can behind him, however, right up until the moment he knocked into it and sent the untouched liquid inside spilling everywhere. Yelping, Daehyun brushed off the lukewarm liquid from his clothes as best he could and bolted upright. When it hit him what had happened, he let out a long groan and jumped to his feet. Although it was tempting to leave the mess until morning, it would be that much harder to clean up the stain after it had dried.

     So, after staggering to the kitchen for paper towels, Daehyun got on his knees and began sponging up the liquid. When he had gotten the most he could, he tossed the towels and made his way back to his phone. There were no new messages from Hei-Ryung, so he hadn't been concerned enough about his sudden lapse in communication to inquire about his whereabouts, but that didn't mean he should continue to leave her hanging. Especially since he still needed to relay the location and time of the party to her.

     Even after he had given her all the information she would need, there was still no response, though. Raising an eyebrow, Daehyun waited a few minutes in case she had stepped away from her phone for a moment, before sending another message.

     You still there, Hei-Ryung?

     Do you want me to pick you up or should we meet there?

     Is the time going to work?

     Did you fall asleep?

     Good night, then

     Giving up on trying to get a response out of Hei-Ryung, Daehyun tossed his cell phone haphazardly onto the couch and got to his feet. There were still several unopened beers sitting in the case, but if he really was going to the party, it would be better if he didn't give himself a murderous hangover in the morning. Granted, after the first three beers, he was already guaranteed to have a less than pleasant day. Better to not push it any further, though.

     Stretching his arms, Daehyun staggered into his bedroom and collapsed on the bed.

     It wasn't until he woke up the next afternoon that he realized Hei-Ryung had exploded his phone with a bombardment of panicked messages apologizing for falling asleep and answering his questions multiple times, "just in case you didn't get the first one".

Author's Note:

I'm sorry if the story feels raw or unfinished at times. I've thought about editing the chapters before they're posted- so far I am literally using my first drafts- but that would mean I couldn't update as frequently, and I like the pace I'm going at so far. It keeps me interested and excited without becoming burned out. I'm very thankful to everyone who continues to support the story despite how lacking it is and, hopefully, it will continue to impress regardless of the lack of refinement.