What Time Did
Solace in Solitude
Fortunately, the three of them had nothing much to do after their meetup in the cafe. Sungjong had immediately dragged Myungsoo to the café right after school so they had an ample amount of time left and so they decided to go to Sungyeol's house. They need not worry about curfew because it was a Friday evening.
"Oh?" Sungyeol's mother scrutinized the unfamiliar young lad that Sungyeol had brought back. "Who is this young man?"
Sungyeol introduced Myungsoo to his mother as Sungjong's friend and soon he and Sungjong were whisked away into the world of video games, eyes staring at the television screen. Myungsoo had refused to participate in gaming and decided to watch them have a go at it instead. He was amused at the fact that his best friend was acquainted with this... Lee Sungjong, a man that he had just met not too long ago.
After an hour or so, Sungyeol and Sungjong finally finished their game and Myungsoo found himself seated in a circle with both of them on either side of him. Silence lingered in the air for a few moments.
"So, what happened during the period of time I was in Japan?" the ravenette's voice rang out, breaking it. He sensed that both of them were hesitating to tell him. "Just spill. Since you said that it was mentioned in your letters, it's even better that I'm here now so you can tell me the entire story." Sungyeol took a deep breath and began to narrate to Myungsoo, with Sungjong listening to him as well.
"On the same day that your family moved to Japan, everyone's memories went haywire. The ones who were associated with Jiae, that is. Everybody had forgotten who Jiae was. For now, those whose memories are still intact are yours, Sungjong's, mine and Soojung's," Sungyeol explained.
Myungsoo interjected, "Moonsoo's memory is still intact. He told me to say hi to Jiae when I came. Does Miae still have memories of her sister?"
"Now that you mentioned it, I don't know," Sungjong spoke up. "I've never brought up Jiae in front of her because I didn't want to make her feel even more distraught than she already was. I hoped that she gather enough courage to talk to me or Yeol hyung about it but come to think of it, do you think that she never mentioned Jiae was because she has no recollection of her...?"
So many questions were appearing in their minds. Unfortunately, these questions could only remain unanswered.
"The day before, she had asked me to go with her on a date," Myungsoo continued. "We were supposed to go on a date on the day of her death. The police had concluded it to be an accident but there's a possibility of it being a murder as well. Jiae is rather meticulous. I highly doubt she would hang around somewhere that is considered dangerous." He took a look at his wristwatch.
"Thanks for having me over, Sungyeol. It's nice catching up with you but I've got to go," he said as he stood up to leave.
Just as he was about to close the door, he heard a gentle voice calling out to him.
Myungsoo...
He froze for a moment. Nah, it couldn't be.
Jiae?
"Myungsoo-sshi."
He twisted his body around and came face to face with Sungjong.
"Whatever is said here stays within these walls. We don't want any chaos regarding this phenomenon. The Blinking is the name that we gave this phenomenon."
Myungsoo nodded and walked out but not before telling Sungjong that it was perfectly fine to address him as 'hyung'. After today, he did feel more ease with him around.
Part of him wonders why.
Comments