It was raining heavily that day. Jung Taekwoon bid the nice family goodbye before making his way to his car. The wife offered to give him an umbrella but Taekwoon with a gentle smile on his face refused politely. He took off his jacket and threw it on the back seat, ruffling his wet hair while looking at the front mirror. There it was again; the black Mercedes car he had followed since the past few days.  The black suited man on the driver’s seat seemed to have realized that Taekwoon was watching him so he drove away. There was no need to follow him anymore now that he had got his answer. Taekwoon sighed, resting the back of his head on the seat, thinking hard. Eri need to stay away from that guy before the thing he feared most happen. Taekwoon had no choice but to meet her again and tell her everything.

“Eri you can’t – please don’t – ” Taekwoon mumbled silently.

Something was tickling her feet that morning. She grunted and rolled the other way. Eri felt cold all of a sudden and as her hands searching wildly for the blanket, someone was spraying cold water on her face.

“WAKE UP PRINCESS!”

She woke up with a start. It was Hakyeon – of course it was him. Her best friend was standing beside the bed with a spray bottle on one hand and a key on the other. Guessing that he had asked for a spare key for Eri’s room from the staffs, she threw her pillow furiously at him.

“You don’t enter a girl’s bedroom without permission Cha Hakyeon!”

Hakyeon scrunched his face, mumbling hateful insults under his breath. Shamelessly, he grabbed Eri’s wrists and dragged her out of bed to the living room. Jaehwan was sitting on one of the couches with a remote on his hand obviously watching the television. Eri got up so fast and fixed her hair behind Hakyeon’s back without knowing why.

“The princess is up so it’s time for a family meeting. Yang Eri, sit down” ordered Hakyeon, pointing a finger at her and then to the space beside Jaehwan.

Eri however, chose to sit on the farthest couch away from Jaehwan. She could feel her cheeks blushing and she hated herself for it.

“What family meeting? What do you want?” Eri asked lazily.

“We’ll be going out today and we’ll stick to the plan – my plan in which I have arrange everything that we’ll be doing while we’re here from day one to day five”

“Day five? We’re going to stay here for five days?! What about the café?” Eri shouted.

Hakyeon dismissed her retorts by shushing her. She slammed her body back on the couch muttering ‘unbelievable’.

“As I was saying –” he continued on as though Eri had never spoken to him, “according to the plan, we’ll be going to Loveland”

“Excuse me but what’s that again?”

“I said Loveland – and we’ll be doing some heart-to-heart talk with each other”

Even Jaehwan was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Eri gaped at him as though she had never seen him acting weird like this before.

“Are you feeling alright?”

It was Jaehwan who had asked this time. He seemed to be finding the whole thing ridiculous even though he clearly remembered that Hakyeon had told him that this was his brilliant plan to get him and Eri together.

“Give me ten reasons why I should follow you see people’s private parts being exhibited in statues” said Eri coolly.

“We’re adults – we should see adults’ stuff” explained Hakyeon as if it was the most normal thing people do and that Eri was being childish.

Eri exchanged looks with Jaehwan for the first time since the past few days. He shrugged and signaled to follow him. Leaving Hakyeon who was reading the tour guide book for the tenth times now, Eri and Jaehwan went to the kitchen.

“What the hell is wrong with him?” Eri began. She was addressing the cabinet behind Jaehwan instead because she found it hard to look directly into his eyes.

“Let’s just do what he wants for now. You know he won’t stop bugging us about it”

Eri turned her gaze to the floor, crossing her arms because she didn’t know what to do with them.

“Whatever…” Eri mumbled under her breath.

Jaehwan knew it was the sign for him to leave but when he did move, Eri grabbed him by the wrist. She was still speaking to the floor.

“I know we haven’t been talking much and – and I – I want you to know that I – I – I’m sorry and I -” Eri stuttered, her grip on Jaehwan’s wrist tightened with every word.

“It’s okay. We can talk later” said Jaehwan gently.

Eri looked up and found Jaehwan smiling at her. She could feel her cheeks flushing and her heart beating madly inside. Eri quickly let go of his wrist and turned around. Jaehwan grinned and walked away.

They followed Hakyeon everywhere from the beach, museum and finally their last destination; Loveland park.

“My stomach hurts – why don’t you two go and have a look around without me first” Hakyeon complained once arrived, his hand clawed at his stomach as he crouched on the street.

Eri dragged Hakyeon as far as possible from Jaehwan.

“There’s no way I’m going in there with him!” hissed Eri.

“Why? Oh don’t tell me you’re nervous?” asked Hakyeon cheekily.

“Wha – I am not nervous! Why should I be?! It’s just – it’s not appropriate! Why do you think it’s a good idea to come here anyway?! This is a theme park!”

“I just want you two to spend some quality times together”

“Not like this! Seriously Cha Hakyeon, why are you doing this?”

“Do you hate Jaehwan?”

“What kind of question is that? Of course I don’t!”

“Then you shouldn’t be complaining and just go with it”

“This isn’t even – what – I – are you mad?!”

“Why are you getting all flustered for? This is a vacation – enjoy it!”

Eri was starting to lose her patience. Hakyeon had never acted this way before.

“Don’t you remember what happened yesterday?”

“I’m under the impression that we agreed to never talk about it again”

“I never agreed to that!”

“Then just let it go”

“What if he’s right and Jaehwan’s in danger? What if he’s trying to hurt him?” Eri shouted. 

“You agreed to believe in my words that he’s harmless so keep believing it!”

Eri crossed her arms in defense.

“I’m taking it back. Since you’re not acting like my bestfriend, I have no reason to believe in you”

“Whatever – let’s just go inside” Hakyeon surrendered.

“I told you I’m not going in there with Jaehwan!”

Hakyeon flung his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close towards him.

“Do you want to explore the world of uality with me instead then?” whispered Hakyeon, giving her a sleazy look.

He regretted making that suggestion after Eri punched him hard on the stomach, making him crouch for the second time, only that the pain was real.

“There you go, a real pain on the stomach – as you want it” said Eri angrily, “I will kill you when we get home later Cha Hakyeon”

Eri left Hakyeon alone by himself as she went to Jaehwan. He had been standing near a board probably reading something about the park. Eri patted him on the back.

“Where’s Hakyeon hyung?”

“He’s not feeling well. Do you want to go inside? Or should we just go back to the hotel?”

“Since we’re already here, let’s just get in. I’ve never been here before anyway” Jaehwan said with a sweet smile.

It was definitely not a great idea. They should’ve just gone home instead. The moment the two stepped inside the park, they were greeted by a statue of a couple making out with each other. Eri’s hand unconsciously went to cover Jaehwan’s eyes and dropped it when she realized that Jaehwan was giggling at her.

“This is a bad idea… this is a bad idea… why am I here…” muttered Eri, her eyes wandering everywhere not knowing where to look.

Jaehwan who seemed to be enjoying the day plucked all courage he had left at the time and reached out for Eri’s hand. Eri who was mortified by the sudden meeting of Jaehwan’s skin on her hand wanted to push Jaehwan away but before she could do it, Jaehwan’s eyes met hers.

“Can you let me hold your hand for a while? Just once – just this time”

It had never occurred to her how beautiful Jaehwan’s eyes look like. It was harder to resist his request, not while staring deeply into that pair of black eyes. His eye contact was deep and personal, almost hypnotic; Eri could feel as though there were only two people in the park: Jaehwan and her. Someone had played a love song out of nowhere and a past memory struck her like lightning. Sweet lyrics of Lee Juck’s ‘I’m So Fortunate’ bringing the mood up for most couples around them. She shoved his hand away forcefully and took a few steps backwards.

“I’m sorry Eri, I didn’t mean to make you upset” Jaehwan quickly apologized.

“No, it’s not you – it’s just that – it’s –” Eri mumbled. It’s the damn song.

“Let’s go back to the hotel” Jaehwan suggested, though feeling a bit saddened.

“No, I don’t want to go back to the hotel. Can you take me somewhere else? Like a café or something” said Eri, unable to look at him.

Jaehwan nodded and led the way with Eri following behind him. It was just for a milliseconds but she could feel that she was about to kiss him. His deep eyes reminded her of a memory. Eri bit her lower lip thinking hard about it. Jaehwan kissing her… her wanting to kiss him… her first kiss…

It made her feel sick that she felt like vomiting. Fortunately Jaehwan was too busy searching for a café to notice this. It was that uncomfortable feeling again. She hadn’t been feeling this restless and edgy for the past few months, which was just after she met Jaehwan. Eri saw a bunch of happy couple around her and she felt left out. This feeling was stronger before that night on the bridge. Her conscience once again killing her from the inside; she needed space.

Jaehwan finally found an outdoor café after asking people around. They decided on spending the rest of the day there until Hakyeon calls one of them. Eri hated being alone with Jaehwan. It felt as though it would aggravate her already messed up feelings more. She sat down with Jaehwan in front of her, trying really hard to ignore him. He noticed the change so he ordered two cappuccinos for Eri’s behalf.

“It’s going to rain” Jaehwan said.

The sky looked gloomy, as though matching Eri’s mood. She stared at the bunch of people who passed by with a sad expression. Past memories began to unwrap by itself in her mind. Jaehwan had noticed this. He had always made Eri’s feelings a priority and he had taken notice about everything that made Eri sad. But this time, he had no clue.

“Maybe we should call Hakyeon hyung?” Jaehwan raised his tone a little bit to get her attention.

Eri was still staring at the sky. Jaehwan wished he could get inside her mind to know what she was thinking about. Her hands were on the table, clutching each other in the hopes to get rid of the cold weather. Without thinking, Jaehwan pulled out a hand, gently grasping hers. This took Eri’s mind off.

“Stop touching me” said Eri coldly.

But Jaehwan still hadn’t let go.

“The only person who hasn’t been acting weird between us is me. This is frustrating in my side. First Hakyeon hyung, now you”

Eri made an attempt to pull away from his grasp but Jaehwan was too strong for her.

“I want to talk about us” Jaehwan declared firmly.

“But I don’t want to. Let me go!”

“Stop running away from everything. You’re better than this”

It made her speechless.

“Shut up”

“Why can’t you just make this simple? If you don’t like me and you’re not comfortable with my feelings, then just say so! Why is it so hard?”

She didn’t like fighting with him. She didn’t like the feeling at all. Eri wanted to run away – like always. It had been a habit. A bad habit of hers ever since her brother died. Running away from a conflict seemed to be the easiest thing to do than confronting it.

“I don’t dislike you” Eri said slowly, her eyes fixed on their hands. “I don’t have an answer for that yet. I’m still looking for it”

Jaehwan froze.

“You – you mean, you’ve been thinking if you have feelings for me too?”

“It’s complicated”

Jaehwan’s heart weakened when he noticed how weak and sad her voice was. He let go of her hands gently.

“I’m sorry”

“No, I am, for ignoring you. It’s just that, you haven’t even regained your memories back and I don’t want to worry about other stuff right now. You’re more important”

Jaehwan smiled weakly. “Can I ask you something about Hongbin?”

Eri hesitated but nodded nevertheless.

“Do you still love him?”

“I can’t answer that” said Eri truthfully.

“If he comes back, will you be with him?”

“He won’t come back”

“How do you know that?”

“Hakyeon told me that after a few years, he gave up on me and went to America with his family. He’s probably forgotten all about me by now” said Eri miserably. There was an obvious sign of sadness and hope in the way she talked about it.

“Hyung never told me about that” Jaehwan muttered.

“Did you guys talked about Hongbin behind me?”

“Sometimes, he talks about you a lot anyway”

“Really?”

“He really knows you. I’m kinda jealous”

Eri chuckled. “He’s annoying but I’d probably be dead by now if it wasn’t because of him”

“He genuinely cares about you. I kind of expected him to disapprove of me liking you”

“You told him about how you feel?”

“He’s the closest person to you now, plus I don’t like the feeling of hiding – uhm – what I did to you from him” said Jaehwan scratching his head.

“Hakyeon’s like a second father to me. I owe him a lot”

Eri slumped back into the gloomy expression again. The waitress came by and delivered their coffees. Jaehwan took his time stirring the coffee with the spoon, eyes occasionally checking on Eri .

“Do you still blame yourself?” asked Jaehwan carefully. “You know, about what happened?”

“I can’t stop blaming myself even if I want to” Eri began, her eyes twinkling but there were no tears “No one understands how I feel”

“I do”

“No you don’t. I lost my family and it’s all my fault. No one will ever forgive me - not even me!”

“I lost my memories and who knows what else. What if something happened to me and my family in the past and I have no idea about it? At least you still have memories with them and you can see your Mother once in a while if you want to. I don’t even know what happened to my family. I don’t remember anything. I’m sure the one person who could understand you more than you do is me”

It was weird staring at Jaehwan saying those words calmly. All he ever wanted to do was comforting her.

“But your case is different, I –”

“Eri, I don’t even know why I wanted to jump”

She was dumbstruck. Jaehwan had said it. Eri floundered for words to say to him, something to express the shock that coursed through her but nothing came. Her argument was lost.

“Don’t bother apologizing” Jaehwan said when Eri was about to speak. “I don’t like seeing you in this state. If you’re going to help me with my life, then let me help you with yours”

“You don’t have to”

“I want to. You need to move on”

“It’s none of your business”

“My memories are not your business too”

Eri wanted to argue back but decided to just drop it off. The sky was clad in grey, the clouds doubling up on each other threateningly. Moments passed in silence until finally the rain that held back all day cascaded down from the heavens upon the earth.

They spent a few minutes there before Eri decided to look for Hakyeon and went back to the hotel. They walked out from the café’s protection, the rain rolling off of them in sheets, sending a shiver through their bodies. When they reached the front gate, Hakyeon was nowhere to found. He was supposed to wait there for them.

“Where the hell is he?” Eri snapped, with arms above her head. Jaehwan took out his jacket in a hurry and went closer to Eri, shielding both of them from the rain.

“Can’t we go back without him?” Jaehwan asked. It was cold and they were trembling.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Maybe he went back without us already, that jerk”

They took a taxi to the hotel after a few minutes spending on whether they really should leave Hakyeon behind or not. As the rain got heavier, their consciences were left behind at the front gate of Loveland. When they finally went inside the lobby, Eri asked the lady at the front desk if Hakyeon was back but he didn’t.

  Eri got into her room feeling exhausted. She took off her coat and shirt, casually throwing them on the floor. Her bedroom’s door opened without warning.

“Eri, do you know where I put my towel –”

Jaehwan froze the moment he witnessed Eri’s . He closed his eyes and shut the door as fast as he could, feeling embarrassed and anxious at the same time. Eri however was stunned to her feet. Fortunately she only turned around and  already found the door closing in or Jaehwan would’ve seen much more than her back. Eri put on a new shirt and pants, and turned the doorknob slowly. Jaehwan was still standing outside the door. He jumped and took a few steps backwards.

“I’m – I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were changing – the door was unlocked so I – I’m sorry!”

Eri chuckled, pushing Jaehwan aside gently and sat on the couch. Jaehwan, feeling bewildered as ever followed her and sat down.

“I think you put your towel in Hakyeon’s room” Eri said calmly.

“Okay”

It got really quiet after that. Eri wasn’t helping either when she kept staring at Jaehwan as though he just developed two rabbit ears or something.

“Do you think we should call Hakyeon hyung?” asked Jaehwan, unable to stand the awkward moment anymore.

“You call him”

“I don’t have a phone”

“What do you mean you don’t have a phone? What about the one he bought you after you got released from the hospital?”

Jaehwan scratched his head. “Uh yeah about that – I lost it”

“But how – when did you lost it?”

“After – after I kissed you” Jaehwan said, his face scarlet.

Eri tried keeping her face straight. It was hard but she got used to it.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“We weren’t talking much remember?”

“Right, I was avoiding you” Eri admitted. Confronting the issue was much easier than she thought. “Get yourself a new one when we’re back in Seoul”

There was a loud knock on the door making both of them jump. They opened the door together, revealing a very wet Hakyeon. He was drenched from the head to his feet. Eri stepped aside to let him enter. It was strange; the way he looked at her for a split second. Jaehwan felt the same thing too seeing how he didn’t try talking to him. Hakyeon headed straight into the kitchen with his friends following him nervously. After getting a full glass of cold water, he turned to both of them; his expression hardened.

“When did you come back?” he said. He was directing this question more towards Eri than Jaehwan.

“Half an hour ago. Where were you? We tried finding you” said Eri.

Jaehwan and Eri stood at the entrance of the kitchen, almost making it look like they were blocking Hakyeon’s way out.

“I went somewhere” he said simply.

“Where?” asked Eri. He was scaring her. She had never seen Hakyeon behave like this, not since that accident.

“A mall nearby” he replied.

Jaehwan felt something strange about the way he looked at Eri. He noticed that Hakyeon had been keeping his eyes only on Eri from the moment he entered from that door.

“Are you okay hyung?” Jaehwan tried asking.

Hakyeon finally pulled his gaze away from Eri and turned to Jaehwan. He smiled, but it was not his usual smile, it was different; like he was faking it.

“I’m just cold. I’m going to take a hot bath now. Excuse me”

They gave way for him to went into his room. He locked the door behind him. Eri swore she saw a hint of sadness in his eyes when he passed by her.

Jaehwan exchanged worried glances with Eri but both of them had no idea what to do. It was their first time seeing the always happy Hakyeon turning into this completely different human being.

“I don’t know how to feel about this. He got weird one second and now he’s like – lifeless” Jaehwan said slowly.

It pained Eri to hear this. He was her best friend and yet, she still can’t understand what was in his Hakyeon’s mind all the time. She felt ashamed.

********************************************

 I will always apologize to you guys in every chapter in the future. I'm sorry. :'( And thank you 

And and... I'm not sure if you know what's going on now but everything will be uncovered in the next few chapters (now sure how many). The end shall come! 

To new readers, I'm sorry for the messed up grammar tenses punctuation s you had to endured since Chapter 1 lol I am too lazy to check. Sawry *kneels on the ground*

Plus, I hope you DO know what Loveland is about. But if not, GOOGLE AWAY :DDDD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOAv6WjDII8#t=15  for those who don't know how I'm So Fortunate sounds like

p/s: I don't know how new readers found this fic but with the lack of description/summary about the fic, I would've leave just like that. Dyou think I should write a proper description/ foreword though?