Whether it was a week or two since the last time they met, Jieun couldn’t exactly remember. And it had been a month or maybe more but Jieun hasn’t called yet nor Myungsoo made an effort to contact her. It’s not because his lack of free time, being a trainee suddenly brought a lot of things to mind. He has a lot of thoughts in mind that he found it quite burdensome. Moreover, contacting Jieun would be a waste of time since that girl must be busy.

It felt horrible though, knowing it was once time that separated the two. They were once crumbling apart because of it. And now, an old friend of it has come, dropping by to separate the two – distance. It was scary; knowing crumbling apart won’t be a hard at all and holding on has turned out to be something almost impossible. Right now, he can’t even bring himself to think about what would happen next.

Being a beginner was easy; less people brought pressure upon them. Some takes them easy, while some others looked down on them. Their dorm was located somewhere near Mangwon station, quite far away from their house. It was a two-story rusty old house that would leak every time it rains. It was quite a surprised to them, how that house was the dorm of some seniors in music industry.

The dorm consisted of two floors which they took the first one. The walls weren’t sound proof at all that sometimes fans could hear their talks. Of course, it wasn’t their fans. They were envious of those seniors who live in the other part of the house, having fans holding up their name during days and nights.

The seniors, some are kind enough and some looked down upon them. Although they had a lot of free time, they’re working hard, and they didn’t plan to be a trainee that seniors would look down upon forever. They didn’t want to be pitied or looked down.

It took him the whole month to adjust himself to the dorm. It was quite hard for a man who moved from a grand mansion to such a rusty old house; despite the fact that it was warmer and cozy, living together with the INFINITE. It was filled with boys that it was very messy. Sometimes, they would get caught up in an argument or two.

It was a peaceful Sunday morning, where most of them were still lazing around. It was their day off without any dancing or vocal training, not even acting lessons. They were enjoying it very much, when a knocked on the door bothers them.

***

Jieun hasn’t called Myungsoo yet. Honestly, she didn’t have the time to do so. She was too busy; she didn’t even have the time to text or to check on her phone. Even blinking her eyes would only be a waste of time. She was that much busy, as usual – yet Kim Myungsoo, too, didn’t even make the effort to call her, although in the end of the day, she won’t be able to pick it up. He didn’t even bother to leave her some simple text like ‘hi’ or ‘how are you?’ not even a ‘good luck’. It made her think he was truly very busy.

She hasn’t been sleeping well for the past month. She felt guilty for not calling him over the past month. She was busy sketching new clothes and also searching affiliates for her new shop. She needs more branded clothes, and also she needs to introduce her own brand and new style of clothes. Not to mention, she has received invitations from around the world to attend fashion weeks and shows. She would have to leave in a week and this time she did not know when she will return. It could be a yearlong or if they’re lucky it will be months long – five for the shortest.

But Jieun didn’t even know where he lives right now, since he has to move to the new dorm. It was the first Sunday when she could finally enjoy her time and laze around, enjoying her cup of tea. She suddenly felt the urge to visit him early in the morning, that she decided to text one of them. Rather than texting the sleepyhead Kim Myungsoo, she texted Woohyun – the only person among the INFINITE which she is in a good term with.

It was quite a surprised to her, finding the dorm is no different than a rusty old house. Jieun could find traces of water leaking through the walls. It wasn’t sound proof at all that Jieun could hear the talks among them, in a low unclear voice. It was quite far away in Mapo, somewhere near Mangwon station, where she has to take the subway. She settled in front of the door, before knocking three times on the wooden door.

 A man with a slightly brown hair popped out, giving her a surprised yet guilty look – Kim Sunggyu. Jieun, in the other hand, lowered her gaze to avoid the man. They haven’t been in good terms, even after Myungsoo decided to sign up with the contract. Surprised yet guilty, he awkwardly greeted her. Faintly, she quickly made her lips curl up to a smile.

***

“Jieun...”

The name rings a bell. Myungsoo ear perks up at how beautiful it sounded. The name slips the eldest tongue, making almost all of them turn their head to the door. It didn’t even take him a single second to jumps up and rushed to the door. He found the familiar petite figure on the door.

“Jieun!”

His smile widen, ear to ear. He shove off the oldest, making Sunggyu groaned and curses at him. He was glad to see her, very glad. The fragile figure let her lips curl up to another beautiful smile.

“Wha.. no.. I mean.. how…”

“Should I go back home?”

“No, no, don’t!” he waved his hand in front of her, “You should have called, I would have showered and fix myself.”

“No wonder you stink so much.”

“Welcome to our dorm.” He smiled.

***

It was very messy inside that Jieun gasped at the sight of it. Dirty clothes are scattered all over the place and some are mixed with the clean one. Books and DVDs are all over the place and it seems they haven’t thrown away the trash for days. It stinks so much.

Jieun ended up being their personal maids, cleaning up and tidying things. She was ordering them around and the INFINITE ended up working hard on leisure Sunday morning. When the sun was high enough, all of them fall limp on the couch. They spent half of the day cleaning up, although in the end, it felt refreshing to have their dorm cleaned.

Myungsoo handed the tired Jieun a cup of cold water to cool down. He took the seat next to her and casually holds her hand. He misses the warmth of her fingertips.

“I wonder how boys could be so messy.” Jieun murmurs.

“Well, this place lacks a woman touch. That’s why you need to come here very often.” Woohyun let his body bump to the seat next to her.

“Nuna, I want some lemon candy.” Sungjong pouted.

“What? Do you think she’s a lemon candy shop owner or something?” Sungyeol smack the youngest head.

“Yah, hyung! That hurts!”

“Oh, who cares?”

Again, another argument that made Jieun chuckled at their childish act. Myungsoo silently grab his lover hand and dragged her outside to grab some fresh air. Woohyun, the only person who noticed, made his hand to a fist and lightly hit his chest with a faint smile on his lips.

“Finally, a moment for two.”

“There you go. You’re being cheesy again.”

“How is it going there? I really miss you.”

“It’s… great. My shop is quite crowded nowadays. That’s why I haven’t called you yet. I was too busy.”

“It’s good then. Well, being a trainee is quite a challenge but I think I’m enjoying it.”

“Myungsoo…” her soft whispered of his name made him anxious, “I’m leaving.”

“Leaving? I’m used to that Jieun. When will you be leaving?” Despite the fact that he cracked knowing she’d have to leave soon enough, he knows she’d never stayed for long. They’ve been in such a relationship over the past years.

“Next week. But this time… I truly don’t know when I will return. It could only be a few months, if we’re lucky, or a year long. I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

She was lowering her gaze and biting her lower lips. She was scared and anxious. It was the first time they would be busy doing their own business. Myungsoo used to be free, she could call him anytime and he’d always called her despite often being unanswered. They’ve never been apart for that long, maybe three or a maximum of six months, but never a year.

“Jieun… even if you don’t return, I wanted to hold on to you. We’ve managed to work things out.”

“I know. That’s why… I’m going to call you every day, I will texts you. You’ll have to pick it up. That way, I’ll be holding on to you. I will miss you.”

“And Jieun… I won’t be sending you off. And when you return, if I have debuted, I would like to sing with you on stage.”

“So then… this is goodbye?”

“You know, I hate goodbyes. But I guess this is goodbye.”

“Until we meet again, Myungsoo.”

“Until we meet again, Jieun.”

It was the day on the history of ours, when we parted ways and destruction comes by.

***

Time seems to fly rather quickly and luck doesn’t seem to be on their side. It was a year without meeting, filled with countless unanswered called and no reply text messages. The promises that were broken through time and busyness and soon distance become quite a problem. It would be a lie to say their relationship is fine – a lot needs to be fixed.

The young lady – barely in her twenties – entered the café with a pink strap guitar on her back. She took the seat that hasn’t been occupied for the past year. It was the place where they used to spend their time together, but now she’s enjoying it all alone. She dropped by the counter, dropping some coins at the table and ordered a tea. It took her fifteen minutes to enjoy her tea before standing up, bringing her guitar, and once again dropping by the counter.

“Replacement for Kim Myungsoo and his friends.” She said, firmly.

“You’re a year late, then.” The butler coldly replied.

“Considered us being rehired.” She dropped some coins and money on the table.

She quickly rushed up to the stage and strums her pink guitar. The butler, in the other hand, was busy counting the money she has given earlier. Her soothing voice soon filled the room, enjoying the blooming season of spring. And an hour later, after her last song, she never knew she would end up in the same situation as Kim Myungsoo was a year ago.

“Hi there. I see you’ve got quite some talent.” It was the greeting he gave.

Both of them settled at Jieun’s favorite table. He was giving her some detailed information, some are even unnecessary – like a swindler trying to convince its prey. Unlike how Myungsoo described his recruiters, Jieun’s seems to be a lot more educated. He was wearing a proper suit; Jieun knows it was a branded one. He was carrying a suit case and very neat files, everything was arranged nicely. The way he talked was rather nice, just like how a well-educated person should be.

And when you return, if I have debuted, I would like to sing with you on stage.

Those words of his suddenly spin around inside her head. It was echoing around, putting her in agony. She was very sure about rejecting the offer; she doesn’t want the fame or the huge amount of money it offers. She loves singing, but not as much as she loves designing clothes. Yet his figure and those words suddenly come to mind and it haunts her.

“So what do you think?”

She was supposed to push it away, the file that he offers her. Yet she ended up pulling it closer, reading each and every sentence and ended up taking it home to bring it to mind.

“I will think about it. I’ll be giving you a call.”

Her petite figure was hidden behind her huge pink straps guitar. It was the last thing the man could see after she left. It was quickly disappearing, shrinking as she walked away. The bells created such a beautiful tingling sound, as the young lady exited the place. It was three days later, when a call saying a ‘yes’ was received.

Hello, there! It's been a long time since I updated! I miss writing and updating! I've just finished my hiatus after six weeks of non-stop exams and homeworks. It's refreshing. The case is, it's been too long since the last time I wrote something and it seems I have lost some of my abilities.Can somebody put me back to my writing mood? I need to adjust myself a bit more before providing constant updates. If you spotted any errors, I would be pleased to be notify. Thanks for reading!