Chapter 16 – An insomniac’s cure….

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[Flashback]

*panting* I clutched my chest tightly as I tried to catch my breath. I could feel cold sweats covering my entire body. *sigh* ‘Another nightmare….’ I thought.

I got up from the bed and  headed towards the small bathroom of my apartment. I opened the faucet and splashed water on my face. I slowly looked up at the mirror on my medicine cabinet and I just stared blankly at my pale face. There were dark bags under my eyes and my lips where chapped. I couldn’t believe I was staring at my face. ‘Is this what I’ve become, a distressed insomniac?’

After washing my face, I headed back to my bedroom. I sat still on the bed, my back leaning on the backboard, and my arms wrapped tightly around my body. I began pondering about that incident.

Seven years had passed since I last saw her. Although it had been years since that incident, it was still fresh in my mind. I can still remember everything that had happened perfectly. I could still remember how she stared at me with fear in her eyes; how she pleaded to me, and how I ignored her cries. I can't believe that incident is still haunting me even today. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself for what I did, nor will I ever escape that nightmare….

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The next day I woke up at eight in the morning. I found myself in the same position I was last night; sitting on my bed, my back leaning on the backboard, and my arms around my body. When I stretched my arms I could feel a stinging pain around my biceps. ‘Ugh, I shouldn’t have slept like that last night. Now my whole body is aching.’

I walked over to the bathroom and I took a quick shower. After my short shower, I put on a blue plaid shirt and a pair of blue jeans. I grabbed my black messenger bag, an apple from the counter and headed out my apartment.

“Good morning!” I said in English to old man as I made my way out of the apartment. I nodded at him as he greeted me back.

Three days after that incident with Maki, I decided to migrate to America. I left without anyone knowing. Not Meisa. Not even Eunhyuk. After that incident I vanished from their lives and started a new life in a new environment. Of course I made new acquaintances and I also found a great job with loving co-workers.

“Good morning!” I greeted Jacob, my co-worker and my neighbor.

“Good morning!” he greeted me back. Ever since I moved here, he’s been one of the few close people that had helped me all this time. He was also the one who found me a job and a place for me stay.

Of course he wasn’t the only close friend I have; I’ve also met another vampire, Hyunjoong. He’d been here on Earth for thousands of years, so he’s basically an expert in ‘human rituals.’ Now and then he’d teach me a few facts about them. He had also told me stories about his life and his adventure here on Earth. He told me about his romances and his unrequited loves from the past and how he coincidentally met them again. He said it's because 'this is a small world.' I was amazed by his stories. His life is like a never ending drama.

I headed to the back of the restaurant and into the locker room where I changed in my uniform. After I finished changing I punched in and I went out to the front and helped Hyunjoong in setting up the tables.

“Hey, how are you coping? Are you still having trouble sleeping?” He asked me as I pushed in the chair under the table.

“Not so well. I had another nightmare. It took me forever to fall back to sleep.”

“You should really see a doctor.” he recommended, but I just shook my head. ‘A doctor is not who I need to see.’

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I checked my watch for the time; ‘6:02, it’s almost the end of my shift.’ I thought. Suddenly a group of new customers shuffled in to the restaurant. I hurried over to the entrance to greet them.

“Good eve—” I stopped when I recognized one of the customers. ‘Maki….’ I immediately thought. Our eyes met and we were immediately locked onto each other like a magnet. I could feel my heart racing ecstatically and I could feel my lips slowly shifting into a smile. But it stopped when I noticed her expression. She looked somewhat…..disappointed. ‘Is she not happy to see me?’

After I snapped out of my daze, I saw a hand waving right in front of my face trying to get my attention. “Hellooo? Are you still there?” One of Maki's friends asked.

“Eh?” I immediately bowed my head and apologized to her. “I’m so sorry. This way please.” I grabbed five menus from the counter and led them to a table.

After they had seated on their seats, I handed the menu to them. I stood at the side waiting patiently for their orders and staring intently at Maki's face. I noticed that she had kept her head down the whole time. ‘I’m probably making her feel very uncomfortable by staring at her.’

Suddenly I snapped out of my daze again and I could hear one of her friends reading out her order. She stopped and stared at me weirdly. “Hey, are you writing these down?” She asked me curiously. I nodded my head in response and I began writing down her orders on my pad. ‘I should really stop daydreaming.’

As I was writing down their orders, Hyunjoong suddenly popped out from beside me. “Hey Maki!” he said out loud. My head immediately turned towards his direction. ‘WHAT!? He knows her?!’

“Hey, Jae you should go get changed, it’s almost the end of your shift.” I looked at him with a bewildered expression.

“But-" I tried to protest but he interrupted me.

“It’s ok, I’ll finish taking their orders for you. I know how tired you are, so get plenty of rest tonight ok?” He said before he grabbed my pen and my pad and pushed me towards the back. 'EH?'

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I checked my watch again; ‘6:15, my shift is finally over.’ I headed to the locker room and changed my clothes. As I was buttoning my shirt, Jacob came in.

“Are you heading straight home?” He asked as he turned the dial on his locker.

“Erm, I guess so.”

“Ok, I’ll see you later then!” he said as I exited the locker room.

I headed out to the front of the restaurant, but I stopped when I saw her again. She was still chatting with Hyunjoong. ‘How in the world does he know her?’ I gritted my teeth in jealousy. Without taking another look at them 'chatting' merrily with each other, I rushed out of the restaurant.

I stomped my way out, my lips pursed in pure anger. 'How could she talk so comfortably with him? How does he know her!?!?!' 

After walking for a while, my anger and my jealousy slowly disappeared. I walked around the block for a bit, just pondering about her. 'I can’t believe we met again. All of these years of avoiding her, I can’t believe we just met like this so easily.'

"I guess Hyunjoong was right. 'This is a small world' after all." I chuckled at that thought.

After circling the block for quite sometime, I decided to go back to the restaurant to check if she was still there. I peeked inside the glass doors and scanned the room for her presence. But she wasn’t there. The table she and her friends were sitting at was now empty. I sighed in disappointment.

Suddenly I heard a voice from behind me. “I knew you’d come back.” The voice said. I immediately recognized the voice. I turned around and found Maki standing right in front of me.

“Maki….” My heart beat began racing again.

“How have you been?” She asked me.

“I-I’m fine. How are you?” I asked her back. She gave me the same response. “What are you doing here in America?” I asked her curiously. Suddenly, my ‘hopeful meter’ went up. ‘I wonder if she found out I was living here and decided to come see me.’ =)

“Oh, we moved here because of my job.” My hopeful meter immediately fell after hearing her response. ‘Of course she wasn’t here to see me.’ =.=”

“How long have you been living here?” she asked me.

“I’ve been living her for about seven…..” That incident suddenly came rushing back to my mind. “…..years.” I bit my lips and looked down at the ground.

“Oh…..ever since that day huh?” I didn’t respond to her. “Umm…..I have to go. I guess I’ll see you around. Bye.” She turned around and I watched her walk towards the parking lot.

I hit myself lightly on the head. ‘Babo! (stupid!) Why did you say that!? I should’ve just lied.’

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When I arrived at my apartment, I headed straight to bed. I laid there staring at the dark ceiling and thinking about my coincidental meeting with Maki today. Even though we only talked for a short time, seeing her made me really happy. Seeing her face and hearing her voice again brings back all of the happy memories I shared with her. The features of her face still looked the same; her eyes, her nose, and her lips. Although her face still looked the same, somehow her presence and her attitude seemed to have changed. There was a hint of maturity on her face now than before ‘Waah! It’s only been a couple of years and she already looks so different. She looks like a real woman now.

The thoughts of Maki soon led me to sleep. That night, I slept comfortably on my bed. I dreamt about all of those wonderful memories I shared with her: our first date, our little dates at night, and the moments we spent together in school. Seeing her again made me forget about that incident temporarily. At least for now I could sleep soundly and peacefully without worries or regrets.

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A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the late update. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I promise I will update earlier. Really sorry! Anyway, comments would be very much appreciated! Pls comment, review, or whatever you want to call it. It really motivates me when people leave their 2cents. Stay tune for chapter 17!!! =P

(11/6/09)/ (12/15/10)