It was the 7th of June. It was her birthday and the day Woohyun was going to rush back from Japan to celebrate with her. Really, birthday didn't matter but Woohyun's presence would. It'd been days since he'd been working non-stop in the branch company in Tokyo and despite the lack of time, she still expected him to at least give her a call and just simply wished her good night or sweet dreams like he usually does but her phone never rang. There was no sign of him. She missed him so much that if circumstances allowed, she'd have flied to Tokyo and throw herself into his embrace. She missed his scent, his good old jokes, the three words he would say to her. But, she didn't dare to call him. She knew how busy he was and being his girlfriend, she would never try to bother him. Today was the day, wasn't it? She could call him and she should call him. 

Just as she was about to retrieve her phone from her pocket, Myungsoo passed by with his ever-present notebook that has all his lousy music that he deemed was good. Good? Then what should she label her own music? Perfection? It was unfair. Someone as talented as she was couldn't be of the same position as him. "Hey, you may use Suzy's practise room today. She's gone off to Osaka for a concert," he said noncholantly without even looking at her before entering his office room. Jiyeon could have laughed out loud. Why would she use Suzy's room when there was nothing but a scent of iness and ? Her room would only make her sick to the stomach. Ignoring Myungsoo's offer, she fished her phone out of her bag and called Woohyun at once, eager to hear his voice. 

"Hello. Who is this? Woohyun is currently taking a bath so maybe you can call him later? I'll let him know you called." Jiyeon heard a woman's voice. A woman. A woman using Woohyun's phone, especially when her voice sounded so familiar. Where did she once hear that voice? She remembered somewhere; She remembered she had heard -

Suzy.

How could Suzy possibly just go to Osaka for a concert and not see Woohyun at all? Jiyeon was seething with indignation by the time Suzy hung up the phone. She was too upset to even bother how others thought about her and profanities flowed from her like raging waterfall. Her phone buzzed after a few minutes and she picked it up. Great, this was the perfect time for her to vent all her frustration. This unlucky person will have to suffer. "What?" she shouted, anger building up.

It was Woohyun. "Hey, baby. I know you'll be upset but listen to me, I never knew that she would just come to my hotel room-"

"And you let her in! What were you thinking?"

"Jiyeon, she's my fiancee."

"I'm your girlfriend. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"You mean everything to me but I can't just leave her outside knocking on my door, knowing that I'm inside and refuse to let her in, right?"

"I don't know. Your arrnaged marriage, that piece of crap, is none of my concern." I just want her out of my life, out of your life. 

"You know I love you and this marriage is just a temporary illusion to please her family. By the way, I can't come back today because my parents want me to spend a day or two with her here."

"A day or two with her?! Today is Sunday, Woohyun!"

"I know but there's nothing going on in my office on Sunday. I'm allowed to have 2 days break. I promise, we'll just spend the whole day staying a 5 metre distance with each other. I'll be-"

And Jiyeon hung up the phone. Tears formed in her eyes. How her heart ached. She was crushed to the point where she could hardly breathe. Her lungs burned as she tried desperately to cry and breathe normally. You mean everything to me. Lies. lies, LIES! If she had meant everything to him, he wouldn't have forgotten that today was her birthday. She wasn't upset about birthday since birthday meant nothing to her but the fact that Woohyun would rather spend the day with Suzy that celebrating her birthday was heart-wrenching. Why was falling in love so hard? Why was falling in love with Woohyun so hard?

·   ·   ·

He stopped playing the piano when he heard whimpers coming from the corridor. Inching towards the door silently, Myungsoo creaked the door open and he saw Jiyeon sitting on the floor, hugging her knees as she cried uncontrollably. Her eyes leaked with pain and melacholy. It suddenly dawned on him that Jiyeon's usual cockiness and know-it-all was merely a facade that she intended to hide her fragility. Despite her being the only one outside his office room, he would never have thought that it was her crying until he saw it himself. It was as if she was surrounded by a dark cloak of depression, she seemed to be suffocating from what was hurting her deep inside. Myungsoo was almost sure that spears or blades couldn't have hurt her more than this. Something was breaking; Something was crumbling; Something was collapsing. Her soul.

He opened the door wider and called out to her, "Hey, come in." To his surprise, Jiyeon's eyes dilated in shock. She had never let anyone seen what was beneath her mask but Myungsoo ... She wiped off her tears hastily with her hand like a kid who refused to cry even if he had fallen down over and over again. She was unlike any woman he had seen. She was tough, independent despite her broken soul. "It's not 8.30 yet and as far as I'm concerned, I'm not under you now so you have no right to tell me what to do. So, piss off!" 

Swearing under his breath, he strode forward and lifted Jiyeon swiftly as if she was nothing but a feather. She struggled, hitting Myungsoo's chest repetitively but to no avail. "Let me go. It's not 8.30 yet!" He landed her in his office room and sat on the chair as he blew his bangs away from his face. As Jiyeon swirled and walked towards the door, Myungsoo's words stopped her in her tracks. "You hold the decision to your life. Broken or bliss, it's all up to you."

Myungsoo threw his fingers back onto the keyboard, playing every black and white key with all his enthusiasm as he immersed himself in the pool of music notes as though he poured his soul into that piece of music. The melody pounded on Jiyeon's eardrum with full vitality and had allowed her to see what had never left her side this whole time - Music. She was so occupied with Woohyun that she had forgotten her passion that was her drive to keep going and the beauty in her life that made it worthy to live in despite all the ordeals she had to overcome alone. Unconsciously, she found herself walking towards him and sat beside him as she played along with his fingers movement, forming a piano duet. She never felt so alive, so free from all the troubles in life, not even when she was with Woohyun. Woohyun had no interest in music and he would rather spend an hour dealing with his business than a minute just listening to the music she had composed. 

If only you were him. If only ...

·   ·   ·

Empty wine bottles scattered on the table, a stream of wine dripping down the coffee table and damping the carpet. Beside the coffee table lain red-faced Woohyun who was still gripping his glass of wine mumbling to himself and Suzy looking at him with apprehension creeping up her spine. She had never seen Woohyun in such miserable state. Woohyun had always been a successful young man, confident and charismatic. Nothing could ever steal that from him but what melted his usual social grace? It pained her to see him trying to get drunk and drift into a numb oblivion, giving not a single damn to all the things around him. Not his business, not her.

She leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on his lips. Surprisingly, Woohyun's grip went loose on his glass as he cupped her face to kiss her fiercely. His hands moved down her back as the kiss got deeper. His eyes fluttered open as if he had woken up from a dream, he pulled himself away from her. Suzy bit her lips that was swollen from the kiss in disappointment. Woohyun just didn't love her as much as she did no matter how much she had done for him. She just didn't exsist in his eyes. But she wasn't going to let this opportunity slip through her finger as her instinct of possession took over her mind and body. "Let's spend this night together. Just the two of us."

And they kissed.

“   The world is full of lies.   ” 

                                                                                                 - CL