http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0HS2MjVadc

Byul- Reminds of You

---------------------

A light breeze floated inside the cozy room, and the curtains fluttered on impact. Bright sunshine streamed in through the room. The warmth touched a long pair of legs. The sun beam stretched upwards until it settled right on the sleeper’s face. She felt the hot sun and scrunched her face up. *It feels so warm. Is that the sun?*

At the thought, her eyes shot wide open. As always, she was greeted with black. Yet, she wasn’t disheartened.

In fact, her heart rate tripled.

She stretched out her hand and felt the warm of the sun on her skin.

*The sun is up. That means it’s morning. Then that means…Luhan oppa.* Her heart fluttered at the mere thought of him. She couldn’t imagine his face at all, but she could tell he was a warm-hearted person. Motivated by the thought of reuniting with her closest friend for the past four years, Haewon got up and made her way towards her private bathroom.

After washing and dressing, Haewon used her hands and memory to guide her towards the cafeteria. When she smelled bacon and scrambled eggs in the air, she knew she had come to the right place. Smiling, Haewon entered the dining hall.

“Good morning, Haewon unnie!” “Hello, Haewon noona!” The other students greeted.

Haewon turned her head towards the voices and waved. The number of students had increased over the years. Now, there were twenty-four disabled children at the institution. Still, Luhan and Haewon were the oldest ones.

Someone grabbed her hand and tugged on it. Haewon shifted her gaze downwards.

The tiny grasp was familiar, and she knew who it was.

“Hi, Wonnie unnie.” A quiet voice spoke.

Haewon smiled warmly. “Hi, Saera. How are you today?”

Hong Saera was the youngest student at Cheongsangdo Institution for Special Education. She was only six years old, and yet, she had suffered greatly already. When she was four, she had been in a bad fire where she had lost her parents and older sister. Due to that fire, she had permanent third-degree burns etched on the left side of her body, including her face. She was nearly blind in her left eye and suffered somatosensory disorder. She couldn’t feel pain on her left side and often felt numb from all touches there.

Haewon felt like she was seeing a mirror when she was with Saera. They both had vision impairments and had lost their beloved families in terrible accidents. When Saera had first come to the institution, she cried endlessly and wouldn’t open up to anyone. That’s when Haewon had reached out to her. Ever since then, Saera had become attached to her. Haewon realized it might be because she resembled Saera’s late sister in a motherly way.

“I’m good. Do you want me to help you to the buffet table?” She asked helpfully.

“I know my way. Why don’t you go finish eating?” Haewon suggested. Saera remained silent.

Haewon softened knowingly. “You were waiting for me, weren’t you?” Saera rested her forehead on Haewon’s arm and nodded. Haewon touched the soft strands of Saera’s short, black hair. “I’ll be there soon. Go eat first. I know you’re hungry.”

“Hurry, okay?” Saera whispered. “I will.” Haewon held her pinky out.

Saera smiled a little and hooked her tiny pinky through Haewon’s longer one. Haewon waited until she heard Saera’s footsteps fade away. Smiling at the thoughtful, little girl, she made her way to the buffet table.

Haewon picked up a plate and went down the line. She used her fingers to read Braille for the menu. Haewon placed hash browns, scrambled eggs, biscuits, and sausages on her plate. She placed her fingers on the tag and lightly tipped her head to the side. *What is this? Blueberry pancakes?* Haewon reached out but a warm hand enclosed over hers and stopped her. She paused as her heart skipped a beat. She recognized the gentle grip anywhere.

Haewon slightly turned her head towards his direction. “Oppa?”

Luhan pulled her hand away from the pancakes. With a gentle smile dripping with affection, he flipped her hand around and wrote on her palm. “You shouldn’t eat those. You got sick last time.”

Haewon pulled her hand away with a look. “That was because I had the stomach flu. There was nothing wrong with the food.”

Luhan studied her lips and knew exactly what she had said. He was getting better and better at reading lips, particularly Haewon’s. “Still.” He wrote on her palm. Luhan moved her towards the end of the table and put blueberries on her plate. Then he exchanged her biscuit for a bagel.

“Eat healthy.” Luhan wrote on her arm.

“Thank you, Doctor Luhan.” Haewon dryly muttered.

Luhan smiled at her sarcasm. He grabbed a plate and began to fill it with a variety of foods.

Haewon made her way over to the table. Carefully, she sat on the bench and reached out. Saera touched her hand by her side, confirming that Haewon had found her. Haewon smiled, her hair, and began to eat. Luhan came and sat across the table. He met eyes with Saera and smiled sweetly. Despite her scarred face, he thought she was adorable.

Luhan did sign language. “Good morning, Saera.”

Saera shyly nodded. She understood enough sign language to converse with him.

“Did you have good dreams?” He asked. Saera nodded again.

Luhan reached over and pinched her cheek softly. *Ke-ai.* He looked at Haewon, and his smile broadened.

Saera glanced between the two. Even the little one could feel the chemistry between them. Saera picked up her fork and nibbled on her sausage.

Haewon chewed on her bagel. Her eyes darted to the sides. She wondered what Luhan was doing.

Was he eating? Was he staring at her? Was he even here?

To confirm her suspicion, Luhan reached over and tapped her hand. Haewon jolted upward with widened eyes. Luhan smiled and stole a blueberry. Haewon frowned in suspicion. “What did you do?” Luhan leaned over, placed her hand on his shoulder, and shrugged.

“Saera.” Haewon called on her little spy.

“Oppa stole your blueberry.” She reported instantly.

Luhan pouted. “Saera, I trusted you.”

Saera buried her face in Haewon’s side. “I like unnie better.” She muttered.

Haewon smiled and smoothed Saera’s hair. “She’s my fan. But look at you. “Eat healthy”, you said. You always steal from my plate! Am I that easy to you?” She feigned anger.

Luhan grasped her hand and gave it a squeeze. Haewon couldn’t stop the grin from coming on her face. Luhan smiled widely and placed her fingers on his lips to let her know he was smiling also.

“Director Nam!” The children squealed in delight. Haewon and Luhan pulled away from each other.

“Good morning, director.” Luhan signed. Director Nam smiled and signed back, “Good morning, Luhan.”

He looked at Haewon and touched her shoulder. “Good morning, Haewon.”

“Good morning.” She promptly responded with a growing smile.

“It’s the weekend, and instead of lessons today, I thought I would let you have some free time today. So go outside, get some fresh air, and play! The day is yours.” Director Nam encouraged.

“YES! YOU HEARD THAT?! WE CAN PLAY!” The children burst into cheers, and the staff laughed heartily. Luhan and a couple others looked around in confusion. They hadn’t heard what had happened. Director Nam explained to them in sign language. Their faces brightened immediately.

“Let’s go play baseball!” The children decided.

“Fun for you guys. Man, we’re going to be bored out of our minds.” One of the male teachers pretended to be depressed.

“Come with us, Teacher Song!” “Yeah! Let’s all play together!” The kids cheered.

“Oh, shall we?” The teachers looked at each other and laughed. “Let’s go!”

“Go! Go!” Everyone filed towards the door.

Luhan got up and followed. He loved sports.

Haewon stood up and began to stack the plates. Someone stopped her, and she looked upward. “Go outside and join the others, Haewon. You need some fresh air.” Her favorite instructor, who taught her Braille, took the plates away.

“But teacher…you know I can’t play any type of sports. I’m blind.”

“That never kept you from doing anything.” She chuckled.

Haewon jutted out her lower lip. How was she supposed to play the ball when she didn’t know if it was coming at her or not?

“Go. Don’t let the fear of being blind keep you from doing anything. There’s always a way.” Ms. Lee heartened.

“Okay…” Haewon began to walk away but stopped and turned around. “Why won’t you play?”

“You haven’t seen me play before. If I got out there, Teacher Song will laugh at me.” She sniffled sadly.

“You shouldn’t let anything or anyone prevent you from playing the game.” Haewon quoted her.

Ms. Lee chuckled, “Smart girl. Okay, I’ll come out and attempt to play.”

Haewon smiled and felt her way towards the door. Someone grabbed her hand, and she gave an involuntary yelp. She heard his laughter, and her heart rate came back to normal. Haewon whacked the air in front of her and slapped his arm. “You scared me!” Haewon yelped.

Luhan touched her cheek. *It’s okay.*

Haewon began to smile. Luahn smiled also and strongly gripped her hand. *Come on. Let’s go, Cho Haewon.* He began to pull her along. Trusting him, she ran with him. They ran out onto the open field.

“Hurry up, slowpokes!” Mr. Song shouted. Laughing, they ran over.

Luhan guided Haewon to the bench and sat her down. His eyes drifted over her face as he slid his fingertips along the edge of her face. “Cheer for me.” Luhan wrote on her wrist. Haewon smiled and nodded. She pumped her fist, “Fighting.” Grinning, he bumped her fist with his and ran out onto the playing field.

A hearing-impaired teenage boy grabbed the bat and waited for the pitcher to throw. The pitcher threw, and the teenage boy attempted a swing. “Strike!” Mr. Song hollered and signed at the same time. Irritation crossed the adolescent’s face. The pitcher, a twelve-year-old boy with dyslexia and only nine fingers, balanced the ball on his mitt with a grin. Then he swung the ball. Again, the teenage boy missed.

“Strike 2!” Mr. Song called. The adolescent boy cursed under his breath.

“Hey, hey! None of that! Be a good sport!” Mr. Song signed.

The boy rolled his eyes and gripped onto the bat. He pinched his eyebrows in concentration.

“COME ON, SEUNGPYO!” The children shouted, temporarily forgetting he couldn’t hear them. The pit