Empirical Dream
DamnationHyunjoong
I hastily approach the door and look through the peephole; seeing a dark, hunched figure ponders me whether I should open it or not. After a minute of reluctance, I finally give in and open the door warily.
''Yes?'' I ask with an unsure tone, squinting my eyes to see who it is. The figure turns out to be an ahjumma carrying some sort of a file with documents. This village never fails to surprise me.
''I need to speak with you, can I come in?'' she asks with a mild voice. I nod and open the door widely to allow her in. As I notice ahjumma limping, I guide her carefully to my armchair and gesture her to sit. She thanks me and I sit on an old, unstable chair, balancing myself to not fall.
''Ahjumma, is there a problem?'' I ask attentively. She pulls out the file and places it on the coffee table, eyeing me to take a look at it.
I pull out pictures, documents and old news articles. Every one of them is about the twins.
''Why are you showing me this?'' I ask, going through the pictures and the birth certificates of the twins. She leans toward me;
''I think the second twin is still alive,'' she says.
''What makes you think that, ahjumma?'' I ask curiously.
''I keep having recurring dreams of that baby as a grown man. A tall, brown-haired, handsome man who looks intelligent... and the eyes of his mom,'' she whispers intently. After explaining it, she looks directly at me;
''You are the lost twin,'' she explains. I laugh nervously at her statement but stop mid-way as I see her serious face.
''Maldo andwae, ahjumma,'' I sigh and point at the pictures; ''I've never had a brother and I was born in Seoul. There's no way I could be the ''lost twin''. I think you have me confused of somebody else,'' I say and rub my temple.
''Is that why you keep having the very same nightmare where you can't breathe, can hear screams and have a blurry vision?'' she points out. I jerk my head up; ''How do you-''
''I know because I was there. I was there when the fire happened, Hyunjoong-ah,'' she snaps. I look apologetically at her and try to rationalize the situation.
''Hyunjoong-ah? You know my name?'' I ask tentatively.
''I'm your imo, your mother's sister,'' she says quietly. My heart drops from astonishment and I try to take in everything she says about my past right now.
***
After several hours of the never-ending discussion; ahjumma, I mean imo, had to take her leave and head home before someone saw her coming out from my house.
Slowly and swiftly have I processed the information she has given me. Never would I have thought to be the ''lost twin'', despite the fact that I'm Seunghyun's hyung... and the real, unknown leader.
Can this get any worse?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Seunghyun
Seeing imo leaving Hyunjoong's house angers me and I approach her. She stops with an expressionless look on her face.
''What were you doing in that house?'' I ask sharply.
''It doesn't concern you,'' imo says coldly and makes a move to leave. I grab her wrist; ''Imo...'' She tries to wriggle out of my grasp and I let go. With a turn on her heel she starts walking again.
''What did you tell him?!'' I hiss quietly and she continues walking away.
How does imo know Hyunjoong? Aish, I shouldn't have let her walk away like that. Hyunjoong mustn't know about my real identity at all costs.
I decide to head home to Hyomi's for some company.
Hyomi opens the door looking freshly showered and radiant as always. As she sees me she makes a bored expression and sits on the sofa, reading a book. I close the door and fling myself on the sofa beside her. I twirl her hair playfully and she ignores me, not even giving me a glance. Observing amusingly at her for a while, I speak up;
''Those ddeoks were delicious,'' eyeing her carefully. ''Did you give some to Hyunjoong?'' I ask concisely. As a response to that, Hyomi drops her book onto the floor and her lips start to tremble, hardly noticeable. I reach down to pick the book up and I place it on the table.
''W-what do you mean?'' she asks, trying to keep a steady voice. I whisper into her ear;
''Do you think of me as a babo?'' I ask in a fruity voice. Seeing as she nervously folds and unfolds her hands repeatedly, I decide to tone it down a bit.
I lean back on the sofa and fold my arms behind my head.
''I think it's time for you and me to go on a short trip, away from Jeungsan,'' I say in a honeyed voice.
''Seunghyun... please.. I.. I'm sorry. I won't do it again.. I-''
''Kiss me and we won't go,'' I interrupt. Hyomi's moonstone eyes bulge out and she bites her lower, rosy lip. I look pleasantly at her hesitation as she suddenly starts nearing me, her eyes not meeting mine.
One little movement and our lips finally meet with a warm sensation. I feel something wet on my cheek as I notice Hyomi tearing up. As our lips slowly parts away, I can still feel her plump lips lingering on mine. I get up from the sofa and grab my coat to leave. Before I open the door, I kiss her on the cheek. As I turn to leave I say;
''You should be happy that it was just a kiss and nothing else.''
With that, I close the door and head to the monastery to arrange a meeting, leaving behind a devastating Hyomi.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hyomi
I wake up with the sun shining brightly and I decide to text Hyunjoong:
5:56 A.M
H.M: Oppa, are you awake?
H.J: Neh, what's up?
H.M: Seunghyun knows that we met up yesterday...
H.J: Jinjja? Eottoke?
H.M: Mol lah, I should have known, it's all my fault.
H.J: Don't say that, at least you're not hurt.
H.M: Mmm.
H.J: Hey, can you meet up with me now?
H.M: Neh, my dad won't arrive here until afternoon and Seunghyun is still sleeping at his place. Why?
H.J: Come to my house in 10 minutes.
H.M: I will, but oppa, did anything happen to you?
H.J: Kind of, I have something to tell you.
Comments