“What are you thinking?” Kyuhyun asked the bad driver dubiously.

Jessica smiled ecstatically. The adrenaline from making horrible decisions was thrilling. “I've been thinking how this isn't one bit fair to you. I don't know how long you will wait for me.” She could not lose the person who had been cared for her all along. “I'll prove to you that I'm over Donghae.”

Kyuhyun was alarmed by her rash act. “You don't need to rush things. I'm not going anywhere.” He was not ready to lose Jessica either.

His confidence was failing him. Who knew what would happen to them when Jessica and Donghae meet again?

Jessica, on the other hand, was not convinced. Too many things had gone wrong lately. Maybe if she took charge of the situation for once, their fate would be different. “You don't trust me? I don't miss him at all. You'll see who I'm thinking of once you see the truth yourself.”

What is the truth? The truth was that Kyuhyun had no idea what was going on in her head this time. He realized that he did not have much knowledge about Jessica. Had she always been just a pretty face among SNSD? Though he had felt the pressure when he'd knew about “Mission For Two”, he'd been curious about the Ice Princess. It had been a wonder how he'd known so little about a person whom he associated with for more than ten years.

Despite his doubts, he still found the headstrong Jessica adorable. “I still need to get my stuff though. I can drive us back to the hotel first.”

“I got your stuff already. Your bag is at the back.”

Kyuhyun retrieved his duffel bag. He started to look through it to check if she had missed anything. There were his clothes, socks, face wash, shaver, boxers... The blood vessels in his cheeks expanded.

The idea of Jessica going through all of his personal things made him extremely uncomfortable. “Yah! Don't do this again. Tell me beforehand if you're going to take me somewhere.”

Jessica peered at him and saw what had upset him all of a sudden. “Ah... that. Not like I haven't seen those before.”

“That's not the point! These are mine!” Kyuhyun could not fathom why he got flustered. He zipped up his bag. “Just don't.”

Jessica chuckled seeing him blush.

Fortunately, Jessica did not encounter much problems on the road. The ride was peaceful and tedious. Soon, Kyuhyun was dozing off from the day's fatigue...

***

“... a serial killer is on the loose!” Kyuhyun woke up to an acquainted voice. It was Shindong hyung on Shim Shim Ta Pa.

It was night already by the time he woke up from his slumber. His eyes searched the darkness groggily. Where's Jessica?

She was gone.

“... The boyfriend is waiting for her to return to the car,” Shindong continued in his low creepy voice. “He's waiting for the three knocks that signals it was his girlfriend, not the killer...”

Kyuhyun's hair stood on edge. The rain ripped the roof of the car and shadows danced in the storm. An uneasy feelings settled in his stomach...

Did the sky turn even more black? He inspected the view outside the window. He was at the side of a lonely road. No one was in sight. Kyuhyun was engulfed in the lightlessness. If he screamed, no one could hear him.

Where is she?!

“...One knock. Two knock. Three knock. Is his girlfriend coming back?...”

One knock.

Two knock.

Three knock.

“...Then the knock goes like 'tut tut tut!'...”

Something cold brushed across Kyuhyun's back, freezing his body. His quivering hand brushed against the radio, trying to turn off Shindong's voice.

“...He opens the car and finds his girlfriend hanging off the tree. Her feet kicks the car each time the wind thrashes. It goes Tut! Tut! Tut!”

Tut!

Tut!

Tut!

Kyuhyun jumped. He screamed at top of his lungs when the knocking became urgent. His body froze in place and his eyes went wide.

Jessica! The picture of the lifeless Jessica hanging limp in the storm was enough to kill him. He reached for his cell phone to dial the emergency number.

“Yah, Cho Kyuhyun!” Jessica's shout was muffled. “Open up!” Kyuhyun scrambled to the door to grant her entry.

Jessica was drenched and was visibly shaking. Kyuhyun seized her in his arms.

In the dark, she could not perceive how pale he had become.

“Where did you go?” he asked in a trembled voice. He did not know which was worse: losing her to another man or losing her forever?

Jessica fidgeted. “I was asking for directions...” Then she tried to change the subject. “There's a motel five minutes away. We can go to Mokpo tomorrow morning.”

Kyuhyun encircled her tighter. “I don't care anymore.”

Jessica's head swam by the sudden confession. “What?”

“I said 'I don't care anymore.'” He held onto her shoulders at an arms' length. “As long as you're happy, you don't have to try so hard to prove to me anything.”

Jessica slumped back to her seat. “I thought you understand why I'm going through all this trouble.”

“Jessica...” He touched her shoulder, but she shrugged it off.

Kyuhyun was scared. He saw the wall that was constructed around her, prohibiting him from entering her heart.

***

The mist of dusk chilled Sung Ah to the bone. The top of the mountain was still unreachable, so she stayed immobile. “Are we there yet?” she complained.

Donghae, who was a feet ahead of her, raced down to her side. “We're almost there, Puffy. I can see our spot already.”

“Yeah. If you squint hard enough.”

“Come on now. We can make it!” Donghae extended his hand for Sung Ah to take.

She took it without thinking. Sung Ah instantly caught her breath with his support. Donghae and Sung Ah marched side-by-side.

Their familiarity amused Donghae. “I thought you want to keep distance from me.” He regretted pointing out the fact when Sung Ah let go of him immediately.

Her stubbornness refused to enable Donghae to win over her. She could climb the mountain by herself too if she had done it as a small child... “Ah!” she cried as she stumbled upon a crack in the rock step. Donghae caught her arm swiftly.

He laughed. “You still trip over the exact same spot?'

Sung Ah looked beneath her. The crack in the stone had given her countless of cuts and bruises. She chuckled at the fond memory too.

Donghae laced his fingers with hers, and she allowed the pressure on her hand this time.

Their destination up on Yudulsan Mountain overlooked the quiet city of Mokpo. The sky was clothed with shining stars as its camouflage disguising its true nature.

The couple were astonished by the sight of the endless display of the faraway galaxy. No artificial light polluted the gifted sight. It was only Sung Ah, Donghae, and the open sky.

Sung Ah missed the old summer nights. She and Donghae would stay out until the stars had waken up from their slumber, then they would race home against each other. Donghae would lose to her sometimes to encourage the little girl to race him next time. There were always more races in their childhood.

Donghae squeezed her hand. The same thought recurred in his mind. All memories of the endearing past were intrigued. Their eyes found each other briefly.

“You have no idea how happy I was when I met you in Seoul,” blurted Donghae before Sung Ah would look away. “I'd never thought I would see you again.”

“Me either,” admitted Sung Ah. “You could come back and visit though, but you never did.”

A painful dire memory was dug up as well amidst the sweet ones.

Sung Ah had been relieved to find Donghae practising at the soccer field as usual. She had began to think that her parents had lied to her. How dare they played a mean prank on her?! Donghae would not leave Mokpo behind.

He would not leave her behind.

Donghae had spotted her standing at the sideline right away. However, he had pretended otherwise. He'd needed to perform his best at his last practice... until his coach had called him to switch out.

“Thank you, Mr. Kim. It won't be long,” Donghae had heard her talking to the man while approaching her. Her inquiring eyes had bored into his.

They had climbed to top of the rusty bleachers. As they had gazed down the field, they had both wondered if they would return to this playing field anytime soon.

Sung Ah had dabbed his glowing neck with his towel. He had almost gulped down the entire bottle of water. Time had been stalled.

“Are you really going to be a singer?” Sung Ah had tried to initiate the subject in her usual joking voice. “It's not a scam, is it?”

Sung Ah had expected him to laugh along with her, assuring her that all of it had been an unfortunate misunderstanding, but he hadn't. “I'm leaving tomorrow.”

The truth had came from Donghae's mouth itself stabbed her heart. “Why didn't you tell me sooner?” Their trust had been betrayed.

Donghae had not have the heart to look into her tear-brimmed eyes. This had been exactly why he had allowed her to know indirectly through her parents. At the age of fourteen, Sung Ah had been the closest definition of love. “Puffy, I-” Donghae had wished that he'd known love later. At least not now. “-I will write you often. I'll visit you too, so don't cry!” His own tears had been rolling in his eyes, threatening to fall.

That had been the last summer Donghae and Sung Ah had seen one another.

Donghae had done neither.

“I was too busy after debut. I'm sorry, Puffy-ah.” It was a believable reason, but it did not explain the whole story.

Only Donghae knew the real reasons why he had not seek his dear friend for the past thirteen years.

***

The ajussi led the couple to their room, oblivious to the edgy tension between the couple.

Kyuhyun fumbled with the key awkwardly. He gestured her to go in first.

She brought her suitcase towards the small bed farthest from the window. She first retrieved her pyjama. “I'm going to use the bathroom first. Go get some rest.”

Kyuhyun nodded nonchalantly, unwilling to reveal the effects Jessica had on him. He flung himself on the squeaky mattress and squeezed his eyes tight. Did he mess up with her feelings? It hurt him much worse when she's turning into the Ice Princess she once had been after they got intimate. The harder he attempted not to lose her, the farther she was drifting away from him...

He covered his flushing ears with his blanket when he heard the water running. Get a grip, Kyuhyun! He was heating up under the stuffy cover.

He would rather die of suffocation than in her palm, controlling his emotions.

***

Jessica could barely see his silhouette in the dark. Maybe sharing a same room with Kyuhyun was a bad idea.

How could she possibly tell him that she felt secured with him by her side? After she had shunned him for his uncertainty? The combination of wind and rain was menacing. They clawed into Jessica's dream. She thought that having Kyuhyun with her would help her sleep. She was wrong.

If she stretched her hand further, she could touch his back. Jessica smiled at the rebellious idea. In fact, the whole journey to Mokpo was quite unruly. Honestly, she was not sure of her reaction once she witnessed Donghae and Sung Ah together. Maybe Kyuhyun was right. Was she overestimating herself?

Kyuhyun tossed and turned in his sleep. The noise alarmed the ever-watchful Jessica. She could kind of see his face distorting into a frightening image. She got out of her bed.

She sat on the edge of his bed. Her hand went to his flinching cheek. It seemed that he's having a nightmare.

“Ssh. Kyuhyun-ah,” coaxed Jessica. “It's okay. It's not real.”

Jessica gasped as his eyes flew open. He grabbed her hand. His eyes begged her to stay.

Author's notes: Ah mystery... some more drama coming maybe?  

Ah.. I always find childhood friends are such a sad topic for me... /sigh/

Hang in there readers!  We're so close!  

Hwaiting to me <3

Thanks for reading and subsribing and the comments!  I read every single one of them. :)

See you all next time.

Can't wait for snsd going on Radio Star this week <3

"The friend label is a label that I got to hate
The feelings I’ve hidden still remain as a painful secret memory
The photos that can’t define our relationship is a heartbreaking story
I’m sorry, summer, now goodbye, yeah."

- "Goodbye Summer", f(x) ft. D.O.