"Yoona-yah, can you help me?"

Yoona was reading the autobiography of Allegra Kent, a famous ballerina, when Sooyoung's panic voice suddenly filled the quiet room. Like always, Sooyoung did not knock the door.

"What is it?" Yoona took her reading glasses off.

"I've promised to meet Jungshin tonight, but suddenly an urgent matter come up," Sooyoung paused, explaining that it was related to SNSD performance at the Fine Arts Festival, "so can you cover up for me?"

"Wait, wait. Why are you meeting Jungshin?" Yoona asked.

Sooyoung briefly explained about her phonecall with Jungshin and the whole Yongseo-couple fiasco.

"Come on, you don't have anything to do tonight, do you?"

Yoona pouted her lips while shaking her head slightly. "Nope, I am free like a bird."

 

"I think I am the one whom you'll be meeting today."

As Yoona tried to digest the situation, she recalled her previous conversation with Sooyoung inside her head. She remembered hearing no words about meeting the "Zeus of English literature department", the one and only Lee Jonghyun. Sooyoung only mentioned Jungshin, right?

"I am sorry, but, I thought I supposed to be meeting Jungshin?"

"Technically, yes, until Jungshin suddenly asked me to come instead because he needed to finish a project tonight," Jonghyun said.

The situation was somehow too bizzare for Yoona. "It's funny... Sooyoung also asked me to cover for her too."

Yoona let out an awkward laugh while Jonghyun just shrugged his shoulders.

After the situation finally sank in, Yoona widened her eyes and looked up at Jonghyun. Her brown eyes directly met a pair of cold eyes that seemed to be observing her reaction, making Yoona felt intimidated. Jonghyun stood in front of her with confidence written all over his face, while Yoona struggled to maintan a cool expression.

Meeting Jonghyun again was perhaps the last thing she could imagine today.

The silence made Jonghyun slightly uncomfortable, so he abruptly cleared his throat.

"Oh, you were saying?" Yoona said suddenly.

Jonghyun frowned. Did I say anything? But instead of saying the first thought that came up to his mind, Jonghyun said, "Nevermind. Let's take a seat, shall we?"

As they sat across from each other, Yoona realized that people around them started to fuss. Some even stared at their direction when whispering to each other. 

Maybe they wondered why the famous Ice Prince suddenly sat together with her. They might guess that Jonghyun was just another man who adored Yoona, or they might try to predict whether Yoona would finally date someone. People and their never-ending gossips.

Yoona sighed as she tried to brush away her negative thoughts.

While Jonghyun was busy typing on his phone, Yoona stole a glance at his figure. Honestly, Yoona already recognized Jonghyun since the first time she entered the door, although she did not have any plan to greet him. Well, someone who perfectly resembled a handsome vampire from Hollywood movies would naturally stand out, right?

But still, the fact that she had to spend her evening with Jonghyun alone while talking about their frends' problems were...

"It has been awhile, hasn't it?" Jonghyun's soothing yet cold voice broke the silence between them.

"Wasn't that what I said earlier?" Yoona asked back. "Anyway, I never expect to see you here."

Jonghyun shrugged his shoulder. "Neither do I."

"Life surprises us, don't you think?" Yoona said in her usual cheerful tone of voice. "Today is not an exception."

"Well, life does surprise me," Jonghyun answered in his usual yet blunt manner.

Much to her knowledge, Jonghyun was not a fan of wishy-washy greetings. He always spoke straightforwardly and often drove people crazy because he always said what was on his mind; whether they were short sentences or long arguments.

"I believe so, Lee Jonghyun-ssi," Yoona slightly smiled, "How are you doing these days?"

Jongyun raised his left eyebrow, his eyes threw her a questioning stare.

"Im Yoona-ssi. Do you mind if we just talk comfortably like we used to?" Jonghyun answered with another question.

Yoona was taken aback since she never expected that Jonghyun would actually realize that she had used honorifics with him, while they were same-age friends. Let alone she expected Jongin to actually care. Not bad...

"Oh, sure... I don't mind," Yoona said.

"May I ask why you use honorifics with me?" Jonghyun crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Yoona pursed her lips. She knew that Jonghyun was not being harsh, but his way of talking still left a strong aftertaste.

There was a time when she already used to his blunt manner, but maybe it needed more time to get used to it again.

"Well... I thought it will be awkward for us to... suddenly talk informally. We haven't seen each other for awhile," Yoona said.

Jonghyun tilted his head with his lips pouting, as if he was thinking whether Yoona's words made sense.

"Okay, but I am gonna drop the honorifics now, so suit yourself."

Yoona nodded plainly.

"Anyway, to answer your question before, I am doing well these days," Jonghyun said. His eyes were constantly checking on her, "I assume you are well too?"

"Just like you said," Yoona smiled as she began to feel at ease with the warmer atmosphere between them. "Was it the day of summer theatre event—the last time we saw each other?"

"Yes, almost 9 months ago," Jonghyun nodded firmly. He stared at Yoona for awhile before his eyes widened, recalling an important fact. "You did not come to the closing event."

The last sentence was a statement, but Yoona felt that it was also a question.

"Ah, yes. About that..." Yoona's voice faded. She quickly tried to steer the conversation away from the subject. "Wasn't it the day when our friends began dating each other?"

Jonghyun did not give an immediate answer. He knew Yoona knew that he meant something else, but she just avoided it.

"It was. But now they are fighting and make us troubled," Jonghyun let out a light laugh.

They chuckled as they remembered the purpose of their meeting: to find solutions to Yonghwa and Seohyun's problems. Jonghyun straightened his seat position, knowing that they should get down to the real business immediately.

"Mind if I start explaining the problem first?" Jonghyun asked.

He started telling Yoona about the couple's problem seen from the guys perspectives. Jonghyun's explanation was brief, but it covered the entire problem. Yoona followed to explain Seohyun's roommates' point of view to Jonghyun, as her hands moved every now and then with her eyes making comical expression, much to Jonghyun's amusement.

Jonghyun tried to listen through her long explanation, but as time went by, he could not stand the boredom. In his view, women gave too much details when they spoke, when all he needed to hear was just the exact problem.

In other words, let's say that Jonghyun wanted to tell Yoona that his phone was broken. He just needed to say, "My phone was broken because I clumsily dropped it on the street." But women always wanted to hear—and tell—the details. What was he doing, how the phone slipped away from his hands, his first reaction, and other useless things became so important for them—in Jonghyun opinion.

As he tried to stay focus to Yoona's story, Jonghyun's stomach started growling. He remembered that the last time he ate was at lunch, so he quickly grabbed the menu from the table. Yoona stopped her explanation and stared at Jonghyun in disbelief.

"Are you listening to me?" Yoona frowned and crossed her arms on her chest. 

Instead of answering, Jonghyun kept flipping the menu while talking to himself.

"Aish, there is no pork rib soup here..." Jonghyun casually looked up and asked Yoona, "Do you want to eat something?"

"Yah, Lee Jonghyun! I asked you a question, but you—"

"I heard you—I am listening, okay? Eey, this woman," Jonghyun seemed irritated, "I am sorry, but I am kind of grumpy when I am hungry. I need to fill my stomach first. Help yourself if you want something."

"Aish, you didn't change at all," Yoona whispered, rather to herself. She stared at him from the corner of her eyes, silently cursing at his blunt attitude.

Jonghyun immediately called the waiter and ordered a portion of club sandwich and a can of coke. "Yoona, do you want something?" 

"I want choco-mint ice cream," Yoona said firmly.

After listening to the waiter repeating their orders, Jonghyun turned his face and looked at Yoona, who was also staring at him. Jonghyun smirked, showing off his signature dimple smile. 

"You did not either," Jonghyun said.

Yoona frowned and pouted her lips. She opened , as if wanting to say something, but Jonghyun abruptly shut her off. 

"Im Yoona. I don't think we should talk until our orders arrive. I really don't want to eat you alive."

~~~

 

SIU's Dormitory Building 911 D, house no. 711

It was 11 PM when Yoona arrived at the dorm.

The light in the living room was already turned off since the only members who had come home, Yuri and Seohyun, already asleep. As far as Yoona knew, Sooyoung, Sora and Nicole had said they would come home late.

Yoona threw her body on the sofa and slowly let the exhaustion sank in. Today's schedule drained the hell out of her; three classes from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., dancing practice until 6 p.m., and meeting Jonghyun (as Sooyoung's replacement, of course) until night. Tomorrow, her class started at 8 a.m.

She looked up, staring at the ceiling while remembering the important things that she would say about her meeting with Jonghyun to the girls tomorrow. However, one particular moment she shared with Jonghyun in front of the restaurant kept replaying in her head.

The same moment she had thought about when she walked on the street, when she crossed the park near her dorm building, when she opened the front door awhile ago.

The same moment that she was thinking about now.

After they finished their talks, Jonghyun and Yoona decided to call it a day. At the cashier, Jonghyun took care of their meal expenses and refused to tell Yoona about the bill. Yoona insisted on paying for her part, but Jonghyun turned her down. "Just say thanks and let it go."

The night's cold air greeted them as soon as they stepped outside. Jonghyun tightened his jacket and Yoona took out a blue scarf from her leather satchel; the two stood side by side, trying to warm themselves on their own.

"Where are you going now?" asked Yoona while she was wrapping her scarf around her neck. 

"Home, but I need to run some errands first," said Jonghyun with his head looking up at the black, starless sky. 

Yoona was about to say goodbye when Jonghyun suddenly asked her the most random question to date.

"Im Yoona, do you know Greek myths?"

She blinked her eyes blankly several times. "Well, I've watched Percy Jackson before..."

"Do you know the story of Orpheus and Eurydice?" Jonghyun asked again. 

Yoona shook her head with a hint of confusion on her face, so Jonghyun simply smiled.

"There was a man named Orpheus, who was a gifted musician. He had a wife named Eurydice. One day his wife died and he could not accept it. So Orpheus travelled to the Underworld and begged Hades to get Eurydice back to life. Touched by his sincere heart and soulful voice, Hades granted Orpheus' wish in one condition: he had to promise not to look back until both of them arrived at the earth."

Yoona stared at Jonghyun, as if asking "why suddenly a story?". Amid questions about Jonghyun's unpredictable move, Yoona admitted that Jonghyun was always a great storyteller. The way he talked with his soothing, soft (yet icy cold) voice seemed to add into the story a dramatic sequence.

"So the two took the journey to come back to earth. Orpheus walked in front while Eurydice quietly followed him," Jonghyun paused and turned his head to stare at Yoona.

"But Orpheus was worried. He was afraid that there was something going on with his wife or if Hades didn't fulfill his promise. So in order to reassure himself, he took the risk and glanced over his shoulder. By the time Orpheus looked behind, Eurydice began to fade. And at last, he lost his true love forever."

Yoona waited for the next passage of the myth, but Jonghyun just stood still, signaling that the story had ended.

"Wait, so at the end—after all he had done for her—he lost her? Just like that?" Yoona seemed disappointed.

"It was because he could not keep his promise. Remember? He promised not to look back."

"But that's not fair, don't you think?"

Jonghyun shrugged his shoulder. He put both of his hands into his jacket's pockets. "Should I tell you? Life is not fair, Im Yoona."

Yoona pouted her lips. Her mind was still trying to comprehend the final end of the tale. How could a sincere person like Orpheus ended up losing his wife just because a small, stupid mistake that he had not intentionally made?

Jonghyun suddenly turned his body to her direction, standing before her petite figure. He looked down and stared at Yoona's head hung low.

"Why didn't you come to the closing party of summer theatre event last year?" 

Yoona raised her head and found a pair of cold eyes staring back at her. She gasped.

He still remembered?

"Lee Jonghyun. Did you—"

"You know what—Nevermind," Jonghyun stopped everything Yoona was about to say—or ask.

Yoona bit her lower lip; a part of her wanted to ask him again, but another part of her was afraid. Besides, Jonghyun seemed... hurt?

Jonghyun looked away from Yoona and let out a sigh.

"It's already late, I've got to go," Jonghyun said as he zipped his jacket and started walking away. "You should go home too. Say hello to your noonas from me, will you?"

"Aish, Lee Jonghyun, listen to me! Did you—"

But Yoona's words just hit Jonghyun on his back. He walked further away, until his back disappeared at the corner of the street.

He really didn't look back.

 

Author's Note:

Hello! Good evening to you all :p

Finally after a week, I decided to give all of my imagination for this couple today. And this is the result! How is this chapter so far?

I bet all of you guys are confused and wondering what is the exact relationship between these two in the past right? I didn't want to tell you guys in this chapter because I want to tell you later.

Anyway, a little part this chapter contained a bit philosophically hidden meaning. Can you guess? Oh, and does any of you know the story of Orpheus and Eurydice? It's so sad, isn't it...

So, thank you for all of you who always bear with me and continuously read my updates! Hope I won't disappoint you! Please subscribe and comment if you are interested.

Thank you! xx