27

The sky was painted in plain blue—without any clouds and unseen sun, which could be clearly viewed from the back side of the crematorium, where Junhong sat on the stone-made bench alone while staring at the grey smokes slowly coming out of smokestack.

Slowly flying away, until they blent together with the sky.

And he could somehow see that girl was finally finding her way to the sky.

"What are you doing?"

Junhong turned, finding Hyosung was already sitting on the other side of the bench without looking at him.

"I don't know the people inside," he reasoned.

Hyosung just smiled, somehow could sense the lie on his answer.

"Have you told Yongguk?" he glanced at her.

She nodded, once. "He has the right to know."

Junhong looked at her whose still having expressionless face on, trying to figure out what she felt inside. "Are you okay?"

For that question, Hyosung finally replied his stare. "I feel much relieved. I believe Sarang is much happier now as well."

Junhong made a slight nodding, had to agree with her thoughts somehow.

"I think you should go back to Seoul now," she let out a small sigh. "I can handle this alone."

"It's okay," he denied right away. "I will wait until Yongguk comes here."

"You really don't have to," she insisted, but quickly changed her mind when he saw his annoyed face. "Whatever."

A smile appeared through his thin lips, feeling the victory to make that girl listened to him. "This may be the last time we met so I want to make sure you're already alright."

He was indeed a good guy—and that was the reason why she really wanted him to go instead. Having him by her side just remind her of everything that she has done to him, and his loved one. Which she truly felt sorry for.

"Thank you," she muttered, still looking deeply into his eyes. "Thank you and I'm sorry for everything."

His steps were wide yet stable as he proceed to walk through the empty hospital corridor, making his own stepping sound as the only thing to be heard.

He couldn't even sense the heavy medicine scents that he hated the most, or the coldness that used to bring uncomfortable feelings to him. His mind was already filled with one and only thoughts—to get into that room faster, regarding how unready he actually was.

And when he finally got closer to the familiar room, he saw someone was sitting on the side chair alone, directly looking at his arrivement.

"You're late," Junhong commented, flat but cold enough.

Yongguk didn't say anything. In fact, it wasn't like he could find the things to be said afterall. After a while, he chose to turn to get inside the room instead but a hand suddenly stopped him from doing so.

"She is paying the hospital bill on the second floor," he told him.

Hearing that make Yongguk to sigh in frustation, later taking a sit on the other chair across the taller. He was really worried over that girl—since she wasn't a strong type and couldn't really think straight between the problems, which might leading her to make a wrong decision instead and he didn't want her to make another stupid thing at all.

She only had him afterall.

And how he repeatedly blamed himself to leave her alone like that.

"Don't worry," Junhong remarked, after seeing his guilty face. "She's okay. She didn't even cry."

Yongguk tilted his head back, couldn't exactly believe him. "She's not that strong."

"She is really strong," he emphasized every words. "You are the one that always think she is weak enough to keep relying on you."

Yongguk sighed. He knew that guy was right afterall.

"You have to start looking at her with different perspective. I believe you will find that she is actually not as weak as what you thought," Junhong said, later blowing a soft sigh through his lips before standing up from the chair. "Because you're already here, I guess I can leave now. Take care."

Yongguk watched him turned around and walking away from his eyes, halfway throughout the corridor when he suddenly got the urge to tell him something. "Choi Junhong!"

Those tall guy turned, tilting his head a little as a sign of question.

"Jieun—she doesn't choose me," he said, a little loud so that he could hear it clearly.

Junhong pressed his lips together, avoiding the chance to ask him what was happened to them.

"She doesn't like me anymore. I'm just her past," he continued, wasn't really sure why did everything suddenly spilled out of his mouth without him trying until he got into the point, where he realized that Junhong was the one that she was waiting for instead. "Go and find her. She is waiting for you."

Junhong's lips slowly lifted up, curving a huge grin on his face before he replied him with an overwhelmed confidence, showing he was already know what to do better than him.

"I'm telling you, I can always find her. No matter what."

"Cheers for proudly single club!"

Jieun almost choked even before gulping on her wine to hear their shouting, totally couldn't believe they were literally yelling it out loud in public like that.

"Proudly what?" she chuckled, narrowing her eyes in ridicule.

Sunhwa glanced at her, before turning to her other friends to say, "oh, we got a new single woman here! Give her loud applause!"

Jieun widened her eyes in utter shock, feeling like want to seal her friend's mouth with tape yet she couldn't really do anything but smiled when the crowds gave a long and loud applause for her. It was ridiculous but fun at the same time though. A group of weird people—she would prefer to call them that way.

"New member, drink more, drink more!" one of the blonde haired guy whose Jieun appearently forgot his name, poured the wine into her glass in such nice manner which causing Jieun to not being able to refuse and just muttering an unclear thank you instead.

She finished it in one shot, without any problems since her job as an editor forced her to have a lot of drink with client anyway. Though, she was going to refuse the third glass when she suddenly remembered how much Junhong hates to see her drinking alcohol like that.

"Why do you have to be so pious? Have fun, Jieun-ah!" Sunhwa, who already lost her consciousness pulled another wine for Jieun, forcing the girl to take it and drink it regardless how hard Jieun tried to stop her insanity.

That was why she always refused to come into their drinking party though. All of them were a heavy drunken and totally didn't care whether they would waking up in what year later while Jieun really wasn't going to turn herself like them.

She promised her ownself that this would be her last drink and afterwards, she would leave them right away. She wouldn't care about them at all.

That was her thoughts two hours ago and suddenly, Jieun found herself already weakly sitting on the couch with her head placed by the table full of alcohol bottles around.

She couldn't remember how much she drink but her head was so dizzy and she wasn't able to make a clear vision as well. Everything was turning and badly blurry—and now, she didn't have any idea how to get up and walk home without being collapsed on the road.

"Jieun-ah," Sunhwa mumbled, making Jieun had to open her heavy eyelids just to find that girl was on the same position as her.

"Hmm?" Jieun groaned, already closing her eyes back.

"Do you regret now?" Sunhwa hiccuped, yet still managed to continue somehow, "both Yongguk and Junhong are gone."

Jieun chuckled. "Ah—yeah, a little."

Sunhwa cursed once, but later laughed in no reason. "You are so stupid! Should have sticked with Junhong instead!"

No. She wasn't agree with her.

"I feel really relieved now," she muttered, almost losing her consciousness. "I hope he does feel the same."

"I think he is crying right now," Sunhwa giggled, causing a single hiccup slipped off again. "But I think you do cry when you are alone too. Right?"

Jieun smiled, a huge one. "I've been crying a lot lately. I don't think I have tears anymore."

"Oh really?" Sunhwa lifted her head up, looking at Jieun through her blurry vision. "Hey, Jieun?"

Those girl didn't move at all. Instead, Sunhwa could hear her soft snoring that was indirectly telling her that she was already leaving her into dreams. A chuckle escaped Sunhwa's lips once, still not fully get over the hangover yet but she knew she had to do something when she found the other friends were already leaving—one by one, mostly right after they called their friends or family to bring them home.

She blinked her eyes once, trying to find her phone around while running her hands on the table and quickly grabbed it once she touched its existence with the end of her fingers. She fought her droopy eyes to at least take a glimpse of the screen before she remembered she had speed dial function on her phone. She immediately pressed number two—which she suspected as taxi agent, without thinking twice and later pressed the phone against her ear to wait until they accepted her calling.

"Hello?" the guy voice appeared, after a while.

"Ah—hello how are you, handsome?" Sunhwa giggled, but quickly remembered her main point afterwards. "Can you send one taxi to Octagon Club in Gangnam-gu? Please be hurry, and just come inside to help me and my friend walk. She's in bad hangover, okay?"

Sunhwa hadn't finished the call yet when she couldn't hold back the urge to purge anymore, causing her to quickly ended the call right away. She believed it was already clear enough though, so she calmly put the phone back into the table and rested her head on the table back.

"Don't worry, Jieun. The cab will come soon," she muttered, right before she drifted into sleep along with Jieun—without knowing who was the one that eventually came and sent them home.