Jiyeon fell silent as a melody came into her head. Glancing at her guitar, she slowly slid out of bed and sat down on the chair. A bitter smile adorned her face, a tangy aftertaste left upon the tip of her tongue. Distasteful. Disgusting. Bordering on repugnant. And yet, it was also a taste she clung to as she began to hum the even more bitter melody playing in her brain, her hand trembling as she spilled out all of her bittersweet feelings onto paper.

Do you know? Your sweet song still lingers inside my head.

I savor every note, every word that I hear,
As you sing your song so dear.
My heart beats like a drum
That I hear in your song and the guitar you lovely strum.

Desolate, silent and lonely
When the sound of the guitar is no longer audible.
My heart feels weak
When you're far gone. 

The guitar is noticeably lifeless;
Will these strings get broken?
I feel as if I can't move my body,
When you are not by my side.

I can't get myself to pick up that guitar,
Because every time I do
I think of all the times you would sing to me
That melody that rang in my ears.

"Jiyeon, my love for you is true; this is not a lie. I see women every day, but your beauty is what I can't throw away. You're the melody that appears in every song I write." She ripped up paper and crumpled into a ball as Myungsoo's words kept ringing through her head like the ticking of a clock. The girl still remembered clearly the way he revealed those words; his eyes sparkled like a diamond in the summer's sunshine and his smile shone brighter than the sun.  

"Kim Myungsoo, why did you become such a jerk!" she shouted as she tossed the crumpled paper on the floor. The tears pooled in her eyes, but none escaped as she looked at her guitar again.

"Myungsoo, you're a liar. I don't need you," Jiyeon mumbled under her breath as she shot out of the chair and strolled over to her guitar. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, as if trying to get rid out of him. The pain and emptiness that she felt were beyond words and haunted her every single day, for she loved him with her very soul. Now, she was so tired of being tormented by the memories of him.

As her hand reached for the neck, the guitar seemed to glow, as if it were itching to be grabbed, to be played. "My lovely guitar, I'm sorry for abandoning you. I promise I won't break your strings just like he did to me, and I hope you will stay with me forever." The corners of her lips curled up into a faint grin; her eyes were glazed with unshed tears as she grabbed her guitar. The warm, smooth neck felt perfect in her hands. Jiyeon placed it in its case before she walked towards her mirror. She fixed her hair and straightened out her outfit.

After putting on her ankle boots, she left her room and started walking down the street with her guitar case in her right hand. As the wind blew through her hair, Jiyeon felt more alive than she'd ever felt before. She hummed under her breath until she reached her destination, the street corner near the Seoul Station. Then she set the guitar case on the pavement. 

Looking up at the sky, she saw that the clouds were parting way for the rays of light to shine through. Jiyeon smiled up at the glimmering sun and held her arms wide open, letting the warmth bathe her. It was the first time she could enjoy the warmth of the sun after the break up. Jiyeon wondered, would she find someone else? Would she remain alone? These unknown answers seemed worse than her relationship—even if it was an unhappy relationship, it was still a relationship. 

Myung, as long as my guitar is still with me, I'm sure that I can live without you; I can go on without you, and I'll prove it to you. She closed her eyes briefly before she sat down, crossed her legs on the pavement and opened the guitar case. She took the guitar and placed it on her lap. She had a big smile on her face as she caressed the guitar body lovingly. Slowly, she strummed her thumb up and down against the bass strings, picking up the rhythm, rocking her left hand back and forth on the second and fourth frets. The guitar was perfectly in tune. Lowering her eyebrows, she let her hands freely strum on and on, pouring pent-up feelings out of her heart. She sunk inside her own melody; her strums picked up rhythm and pretty soon she was singing her heart out with her eyes shut: 

Without you, I thought I would go insane.
The sorrow too much to bear
I felt like the heartache would kill me
With memories of you everywhere. 

But I know I'm strong enough;
I just need time to face this bitter reality,
And I won't let my world fall, crumble apart 
Just because of you. 

The beautiful rhythm of the guitar and the sound of her soft but vibrant voice gave the feeling of warmth and fuzziness, which made some of the pedestrians stop in their tracks. They stood in front of her, watching her performance, bobbing their heads in time to her music's rhythm. Jiyeon didn't realize that they dropped money into her guitar case, since she was in her own little world, strumming the minor chords and singing, keeping her eyes shut. 

I loved, and I lost—but I'm not beaten;
Yeah, life does go on without you.
Now it's just my guitar and me 
I—

Her body felt stiff, her fingers numb, and a few stray tears escaped her eyes as she heard a deep male voice: "Park Jiyeon, I think you're already dead."