Chapter 1!

I took my phone and called my secretary so she could fix my schedule the next day.

“Min, I want those documents ready by 10, do you hear me? Okay, make sure that they’re on my desk by the time I arrived.”

I went to the bathroom and prepared myself some warm bath.  I took off my robe and settled myself in what seemed to be my friendly seclusion- the bathtub. For nowadays, my life had only these things- work, family dinners every weekend and more work.

“Hyo, why don’t you take some time off, baby?”

“Yes, I think your mom is right, baby, you’ve been beating yourself up. Your brother and I could very well manage without you, a week or two won’t hurt.”

The same requests… same old rants coming from basically the same people. It’s not as if I never wanted some time off. It’s just that, I don’t want to go to some secluded island just to have the break that I needed. I wanted my routine. Life is… manageable… that way.

I may have dozed off for what greeted me was the resounding alarm.

“Geez… If not only for my love for my witch best friend, Yuri.” And just like that, I ended my short reprieve via a quick shower and an immediate trip to my closet.

Yuri and I have been friends since high school and tonight, she invited me to a party that she generously hosted. The crowd was quite big, not to mention unfamiliar, simply because Yuri had to invite certain people from the advertising agency where she clearly worked.

I went to the bar and ordered myself some mojito. I was never really into drinking. Neither do I smoke. And as I took another sip of this plain mojito in my hand, the more I am convinced that this night would be boring as hell.

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Seeing this pretty lady… clad in a -colored ensemble that highlighted her natural curves, I did take the time to glance… stare. Seeing her with Yuri earlier, I knew that she was a friend. I might have heard Yuri mention her name but who knows, if I’m even referring to the same girl.

“Hyoyeon.”

“What?” I said and looking over, I saw Nickhun, a co-worker.

“Her name is Hyoyeon. Yuri introduced her a while ago. Isn’t she something?”

“Hmmm…yeah.”

The night went by with me just stealing glances. For each time I tried to make a move, something about her prevented me. I don’t know but her eyes… though undeniably beautiful… seemed to be… looking so… so empty…. lonely.

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“Hyo, are you sure you’re okay? You want me to stay the night; I can go home tomorrow if you like?”

“No, it’s okay, go, I’m fine, haha!”

“Okay, so… see you on Friday?”

I nodded and just like that, I saw how my lovely friend sped off, leaving me, alone… again.

For how many times do I have to do the same things?

For how many times do I have to spend days without him?

I am now standing in front of my unit yet somehow I could not get myself to open the door and see what an expanse my life has been in the past two years.

Today is March 3. It’s his birthday. And while Yuri’s invite provided some escape… my heart knew that I had to be somewhere else. It’s just that… I was trying not to pay him a visit.

I then entered to see nothing but a dying space… an unlit haven. I continued walking and turned the lights on… revealing a set of pictures atop the table near the TV set. I then picked one up and stared at a lovely face of this young man, who had been my first love… my first in everything.

And as I find myself smiling… tears trickled and there goes the barrage of memories.

Dressed up to bid the night farewell… the same memories brought me to the kitchen. I prepared some tea for I want something soothing. I readily went to the terrace for some fresh air…. the midnight blue skies always reminded me of those days… when someone used to keep me warm and cozy.

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Seeing her and taking glances, something seemed so not right… Nickhun said that she had been single which made me question why.

From the time I saw her sitting by the bar to the very moment when she and Yuri left, images of her ruled my head.

I then went outside the terrace for I could not sleep… and as I try to see the figures of cars down the road as well as the well-lit buildings across my unit… I saw her… with merely a couple of units separating us… she was alone… mesmerized by her own thoughts in the middle of this cold March evening….

And as I watch her delve into her thoughts… as I witness how she sips from her cup. The image of an undeniably pretty Hyoyeon occupied my already pre-occupied mind.

*TBC

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