-Thursday-

As usual, Saehee’s self-learning ends at 9pm and the bell is ringing to tell that the time is end. Saehee put her books into her bag, she spends her self-learning time to review about Kim Ki Chung for Korean Literature lesson tomorrow. She actually wants to review Biology lesson too, but her eyes didn’t let her. It’s already screaming to be close.

Maybe my eyes tired because I didn’t sleep yesterday. She thought. I will just sleep after arrived at home.

“Attention!” Jonghyuk, her class president, start giving a command, “Greet!”

“Kamsahamnida~” said the students while bowing.

“Study well~” said Kim Seonsaengnim, their homeroom teacher, before walking out from the class.

Saehee lead her steps out from class with a head low. She’s start digging something in her pocket, took out her earphones and put it in to her earhole. She has to listen to some energetic songs that to keep herself awake.

Saehee sighed and sat on the chair at the bus stop, waiting her bus to come.

“Why it’s not coming yet?” She said to herself, look at the direction to where her bus will come. “Hoaaam~” she yawned. “I guess I didn’t get enough sleep.. So sleepy..”

Saehee closed her eyes and listened to her song in her earphone. When she’s concentrated listening to the song’s lyrics, she felt that her left earphone is being pulled out. Saehee turned left.  

There’s one guy, that always doing some kind things to her, like giving her coffee when she’s sleepy, giving her energy drink when she’s tired, giving her recommendation books to study, and the list still goes on. Even though Saehee didn’t close to him, he just doing it out of reason. His name is Yook Sungjae. He’s actually quiet popular in her class, because of his good-looks and his family that she heard is wealth or something. But his action sometimes make her confused, because she barely exchange words to him.

“What kind of music you’ve been listening to?” Sungjae said while taking a seat beside, he put the earphone and nodded his head to the music. “Oh.. Epik High?” He turned to Saehee, “So you like Epik High..”

Saehee shrugged, “Yes.. well.. I like the lyrics..” she said unsure. Sungjae just nodded.

“Hoaa-! Mm..” Saehee yawned, but closed immediately.

“It’s kind of energetic song, why are you sleepy?” Sungjae asked.

“I-I don’t sleepy because of the song..” Saehee said slowly because she’s shy, “Just.. sleepy, I think?”

Sungjae smiled ad start digging something in his pocket, “Here.” He handed her a can of coffee. “If you drink this, you won’t be dozing off on the bus.” He point to the direction where her bus will come.

She looked down at the coffee that she just received, “O..oh.. Gomawo.” She said.

“Ah! My car’s here.” He pulled off Saehee’s earphone and put it back into Saehee’s ear, making her jerked a littler. “I’ll be going first, okay? See you tomorrow, Saehee.” With that, he climbed on his car and leave.

“I’m home~” said Saehee after she arrived at the orphanage. She looked at Mrs. Jung that sat on the couch in the living room.

“Oh, you’re here.” She said after saw Saehee enter the living room.

“Oh, is Eunsun Eonni hasn’t comeback yet?” Saehee asked. Eunsun is Mrs. Jung’s daughter, she’s now a college student that always comeback home late.

“Aniyo,” she chukled, “She’s slept at her friend’s apartment near her school because she has some presentation to do tomorrow.”

Saehee nodded, “Ooh… But, why Ahjumeonim hasn’t sleep yet?”

“Me? Oh, I’m waiting for you.” She said.

“Waiting for me? Waeyo?”

“Saehee-ya..”

“Yes?”

“Umm… can you come home early on Monday?” she asked.

Saehee nodded, “Sure I can, Ahjumeonim. Why is it?”

“You’ll know on Monday, darling.” She smiled. “Now quickly go to bed, or do you want to eat first? You haven’t eat right? You forgot to bring your lunch today.”

Saehee smiled at Mrs. Jung warmness to her. “Aniyo, I ate something before going home. I’ll just straight to the bed, my eyes are so tired.”

Mrs. Jung nodded, “Arasseo, you have to have enough rest, don’t be sick, okay?”

“Ne~ Good night, Ahjumeonim”

***

-Sunday-

Different from any other Sundays that usually Saehee has, she has another things to do today and it’s a first to her. Time on her watch shows 11 o’clock, Saehee now is going somewhere with a guitar strapped on her back. She took a 15 minutes bus ride and arrived at the destination. A destination that is one of the famous street in Korea, where there is a lot of coffee shops in this area, many boutiques, where people dancing, and singing in this street.

Yes, this is Hongdae. Saehee already made an appointment to sing at somewhere here. All the children in the orphanage loves to hear Saehee’s voice. Mrs. Jung and Eunsoo once suggested her to try some audition or something. Saehee is not that confident to do some auditions, but to just singing here, she guess she can.

Saehee took her phone from her bag. “Umm.. in front of.. Kajok coffee shop.” She read the text message from Yoon Doojoon, someone that will lend her performance tools like mike and speaker.

“Where is Kajok coffee shop?” She wander around but she doesn’t see any coffee shop named ‘Kajok’. “Aigoo.. Where is- AH!” she accidently bumped someone in front of her because her eyes didn’t look forward.

She looked up and saw a bunch of boys wearing a classy hip-hop clothes.

“Ya!” One of them yelled, “If you bumped in to someone, you should apologies!”

“A..ah.. ne.. I’m so- Wait, did you guys often come to Hongdae?” She asked all of the sudden.

“What?” The guy with white cap responds.

“Do you know where Kajok coffee shop is?” She asked.

“Tch,” The white cap guy turned his head disbelief, “Did you ju-“

Saehee follow the direction where the guy has turned his head and.. “Oh! I found it!” It says ‘Kajok Coffee Shop’ with red and big letters. “Thank you for your help~!” She yelled and run to the coffee shop without look back at them.

When she’s arrived, she saw some blonde girl already performed there. She crunched her eyebrows and looked at her watch. I didn’t even come late, it still 4 minutes before 12. Did I come to the wrong coffee shop?

She looked around found Yoon Doojoon, someone that will lend her the performance tools. She walked up to him. “Excuse me..” she said.

The 24 years old guy turned his head to her, “Yes?”

“You are Doojoon-ssi, right? Remember me? I’m Yoon Saehee, you said that I will perform here at 12, right?” She asked the guy in front of her.

“Oh, Saehee-ssi~” he clapped his hands remembered. Saehee nodded, expected him to apologies to that blonde girl and explains that is actually Saehee’s turn to perform there. “Sorry… your perform is canceled.”

Saehee blinked at him, “Ne? Waeyo? You said that is only me that will perform.”

“Well, now it’s changed.” He shrugged.

“But.. but I already paid for the performance tools 1 week ago for today.” She said.

“Oh, about that..” He digs some into his pocket and bought a bunch of coins. “I don’t need this, you should at least pay me a bigger to win the spot, like her.” He nod his head to the direction where the blonde girl was singing.

“But I didn’t pay you with this.” She said.

“Even though you paid me with a paper money, it even looks tinier than the coins.” He said mocking her.

She exhale a breath in disbelief, “Just because she paid you bigger than I, you let her go first?” Saehee turned her head to the blonde girl that now singing some SNSD’s song with her high-pitch voice.

“In this era, money acts more, you know?” Doojoon smirked.

Saehee rolled her eyes, prevents her tears to fall. Even though it’s not a big matter, her tears is always easy to fall in any things that disappointed her. Saehee stomped to leave the spot and watch annoyingly at the blonde girl singing and act cute to the people. Saehee looked at the cable that connect the mike and the speaker. She smirked. She went to the source, and planned to pull it off.

“It’s not that evil, right?” Saehee asked to herself, “Oh, well.. it won’t be that fatal too, right?” then, without thinking twice, she pulled the source off and  she heard the music is dead. So does the voice….

“Mwoya.. So she used some recorder?” said someone.

“It’s not her real voice? Heol daebak...”

“I will take my money back.”

“Me too.”

“I even pay her 10.000 won.”

“Thank God, the electricity is dead.”

Saehee looked at the blonde girl now, she’s now in emerge of tears and blame everything to Doojoon. Saehee laughs a little. “Well, it does reveal something.” She turned her back and leave the spot.

***

Saehee sat on the swing at some park near Hongdae. She slurp her Banana Milk with a heavy sigh.

“Humph.. I even called off my part time job today.” Saehee pouted, “Manager Kim will let his anger on me again later.. Huff..” she looked down and found her guitar beside her. “Ah, I haven’t play you today. Because of that jerk, we can’t perform in Hongdae like we thought we will.” She looked around the park, “Well, there’s not many people here.. I think I can play you right now.” Saehee smiled and open the guitar bag to take her guitar.

She strums her guitar strings and feels its sound one by one. “Umm.. what song should I play?” Then she remembered one song that she never forgets. Even though she heard it when she was little, she still remembers it clearly.

“Eomma usually sing this song for me.. even though it’s sad, it has a very sweet meanings..” she said, her memories with her mother is always beautiful even though just a short of time.

(Kim Kwangseok – With Love as the Reason)

“사랑이라는 이유로 (with ‘love’ as the reason)…” she starts singing.

“하얗게 새운 많은 밤들 (the many nights that were spent in white)

이젠 멀어져 기억속으로 묻혀 (now they are far away buried in memories)

함께 나누던 우리의 많은 얘기 가슴에 남아 (our many storied we shared stay in my heart)

이젠 다시 추억의 미소만 (and now again only a smile of memories)

내게 남겨주네 (is left for me)

나의 눈물이 네 뒷모습으로 가득 고여도 (even though my tears are completely filled with the sight of your turned back)

나는 너를 떠날수는 없을것만 같아~ (I don’t think I can leave you)

사랑이라는 이유로 (with ‘love as the reason)

많은 날들을 엮어가고 (many days are slipping in a blur)

언젠가는 우리가 함께 나눌 시간들을 위해 (for the times that we can share once again, someday)

나의 눈물이 네 뒷모습으로 가득 고여도 (even though my tears are completely filled with the sight of your turned back)

나는 너를 떠날수는 없을것만 같아~ (I don’t think I can leave you)

사랑이라는 이유로 (with ‘love’ as the reason)

많은 날들을 엮어가고 (many days are slipping in a blur)

언젠가는 우리가 함께 나눌 시간들을 위해… (for the times that we can share once again, someday)”

Saehee heard an applause and looked up. There’s a crowd of people that at first she didn’t see any, the applause just getting heavier as they giving their applause as much as they can. She saw one of them let out some tears and her eyes turned to her guitar bag that she let it opened, now it was filled with coins and money.

“That was so beautiful, agasshi.” One grandma said to her.

“I’ve got a goosebumps while listening to her voice.”

“It’s been a while since I heard this song.”

“Such a beautiful performance.”

“I can’t held my tears while listening to it.”

“Even though I didn’t hear it from start, it still so beautiful.”

Saehee can’t express what she feels. She just laughs and let her tears fall down a little bit. “Kamsahamnida. Kamsahamnida. Kamsahamnida.”