“Comfortable?” Yonghwa asks Seo Hyun.

            “Hm.” She nods shyly.

Since she hurt her knee, he decided to give her a piggyback ride home.

            “You really can’t survive a day without any trouble, can you?” he says teasingly.

Seo Hyun pouts.

            “I know that you’re a fast learner but remember that you’re still a beginner…Don’t try to pull out those kind of tricks again, okay?”

            “Yes.”

It is their first date as a couple. It is also her first school ditch. Honestly, she did a lot of firsts today….From her first over the wall climb and bicycle fall to her first piggyback ride.

Seo Hyun looks at the 2,000 won ring on her finger. She actually did it….sharing couple items with Yonghwa….a common trend among youngsters.  Strange, but it brings good chills under her skin. But the highlight of their date happened a few minutes ago…..their first kiss. Yonghwa kissed her in the forehead before but tonight, the kiss is hundred times better than that. She secretly touches her lips and her cheeks turns hot.

            “Does it hurt?” Yonghwa asks.

            “It felt good…” she replies without thinking.

            “How could a wound feels good?” Yonghwa turns his head to look at her.

            “H-huh?! Ah….the wound? The w..wound definitely hurts…..B..but it’s fine now!” she says stutters. She bit her lower lip for being careless.

Yonghwa nods.

            “The kiss felt good for me too.” He genuinely says.

Seo Hyun’s eyes become big and her face turns red. She tucks her face in his back because of embarrassment.

            “Oh Crap!” she exclaims. If she can, she wishes to shrink smaller and smaller ‘till she disappears.

Yonghwa smiles widely. Seo Hyun seems to be finally getting accustomed with the common expressions. He also finds her cute now that she’s blushing and extremely shy.

            “Your grandma will surely make fuzz once the wound leaves a scar…” Yonghwa says after a few minutes changing the topic in hope of making Seo Hyun forget about her unintentional kiss remark.

And it looks like it’s effective since Seo Hyun moves a bit from hiding her face.

            “Don’t worry, it’s just a small scratch…” she replies.

Yonghwa breathes in and turns to her.

            “In case it leaves a scar, tell your grandma that I’d take responsibility.”

Seo Hyun’s heart flutters. He means that if nobody marries here because of a scar then he’d take responsibility of her. It’s not a joke….he really mean it.

Oh God….why I’m not meant for this man? A bitter feeling clings to her happiness.

She forces a smile and tightens her grasp on him into an embrace.

            “Thank you.” She whispers to him. …..and I’m sorry….her mind adds.

________________________________________________________________

Yonghwa and Seo hyun open their lockers to get their bags when Yumi and Ji Ah arrive.

            “Good morning!” Ji Ah greets with a teasing smile.

            “Good morning.” Seo Hyun returns the greeting. “Thanks for putting our bags here.” she adds.

Yumi gives a slight smile to say ‘you’re welcome’.

            “Where did the two of you go yesterday?” she asks after.

            “We ditched….” Seo Hyun replies shyly.

Ji Ah and Yumi give her the Obviously-you-did…but-where-did-you-go? look. The four of them start walking. It’s almost time for the first class.

            “We went on a date.” Yonghwa casually says.

The girls smile sweetly upon his confirmation. Seo Hyun blushes.

            “By the way, we saw CNBlue..I think they’re filming a new MV.” Says Yonghwa.

            “Huh?!”

            “For real?!”

Seo Hyun nods.

            “Gosh! We should’ve ditch school too!” Ji Ah mutters in a regretful tone.

Yonghwa and Seo Hyun smile as they continue to walk towards the classroom. They notice that everybody stares at them the moment they enter the room. Seo Hyun sits while Yonghwa goes to his sit at the back.

Not long after, Mr. Jin arrives and everyone greets. He did his first routine….checking of the attendance.

            “Jung Yonghwa.” He says as he closes his attendance checklist.

            “Yes?” he responds.

            “Seo Hyun.”

            “Y-yes, Mr. Jin?” Seo Hyun responds to his call. Mr. Jin asks them to stand.

            “I received some reports from Mr. Kim Jong Kook, Mr. Lee Kwangsoo, and Mr. Haha yesterday. According to them, the two of you didn’t attend their classes.”

Seo Hyun swallows hard. She feels that her face is burning due to embarrassment. At first, they plan to ditch P.E but they had fun and decided not to return to school making them to ditch Math and Philosophy classes too.

            “Where did the two of you go?” Mr. Jin asks.

Seo Hyun bit her lip because she doesn’t know what to say.

            “Seo Hyun didn’t do anything wrong.” Yonghwa starts. “I made her ditch school with me so I would willingly take responsibility for it.”

Seo Hyun turns to Yonghwa with a surprised look on her face.

                “It’s my fault…I’m very sorry Mr. Jin.” Yonghwa bows a bit.

            “No….” she utters then looks at Mr. Ji Suk Jin. “Mr. Jin, I was at wrong too…He didn’t force me. I agreed to it.”

                “Seo Hyun.” Yonghwa calls her.

                “Please punish me as well…” she bows her head too.

Mr. Jin has the confused look on his face.

            “Jung Yonghwa…Seo Hyun, what are you…? What’s happening here?” he couldn’t react well.   

________________________________________________________________

            “Hyunie, sorry we can’t help you…we got cram school today.” Yumi tells her.

            “You don’t have to help…It’s our punishment.” Seo Hyun says.

            “Are you going to be okay with it?” Ji Ah asks.

            “Yes, I am. After all, Yong is with me.”

Mr. Ji talked to them in his office. He said that he wants to let it go since it’s their first offense but couldn’t because other students might do it too so he decided to give them the detention that’s effective for a few days. Yonghwa and Seo Hyun are in-charge to be the classroom cleaner. Some of their classmates teasingly thanked them earlier for taking the cleaning duty from everybody.

            “You must go now or you’d be late..” she tells the two.

Ji Ah and Yumi feel sorry for them because of the punishment but relieve to see that she’s just okay.

            “Okay….call us later..bye!”

            “Hm. Bye.”

Seo Hyun picks up the eraser and starts erasing the notes on the blackboard while Yonghwa closes the windows. They stare at each other and burst into controlled grins.

            “Aren’t you regretting?” Yonghwa asks pertaining to their decision to ditch school.

She shook her head slightly.

            “It was worth it.” She says.

Seo Hyun picks up the broom to sweep the floor. Yonghwa does the same while helping her to move the desks. Cleaning the room for a few days is not a big deal for Seo Hyun however, she’s fully aware that the clock is ticking on her. She only has a few days left after this….

________________________________________________________________

She must organize everything before she left. Two months ago, she already arranged everything with her lawyer about her last will. Things will take action after her death….she wants to give their former house helps some money as a compensation for serving their family for a long time and same goes to the lawyer who helped her manage the business. As for her assets and businesses…..she doesn’t care anymore…the government can have them. People might say that she should have donated her wealth to charity but she couldn’t care any less. Her parents used to donate a lot to different charities and Seo Hyun perfectly understood that they did that not because they care or helping these people interests them but giving is something expected from wealthy people like them. She also sponsored some charity events before but nothing about it interests her. They thanked her but she doesn’t find any importance to that….they are needy and she has the money. That’s it...nothing mor, nothing less. It’s not that she doesn’t pity the less fortunate but she just can’t relate to them and to their predicaments. She simply doesn’t care deeply.

Upon arriving home, Seo Hyun decided to clean up too.She packed her things and labeled the boxes for their designated places. Her clothes and shoes are ‘For charity’ while the box filled with her books as ‘For library’.                                                                                                

Seo Hyun enters the room which serves as the stockroom. She’s carrying a huge box containing some of her stuff. She tries to place it on top of a shelf but then a random box fell down while she’s doing this.

Seo Hyun blows out some air and bends down to pick it up. The box contains some envelopes and folders….some business related reports from her father’s time. She picks them up and tosses back inside the box but while doing this, a particular folder caught her attention.

KIM TAEHUN---written on the cover. A name that holds a painful memory for her.

Seo Hyun blinks her eyes for a bit before her hands move and pick it up. What is this thing doing here? She brushes off the dust with her fingers and breathes in before opening the folder. The folder contains information about Kim Taehun….her first boyfriend. Obviously, this is a background check made by her father. Having someone investigated…she finds it ridiculous but it’s her parents’ way to thoroughly know anybody who tries to associate with them.

His family roots…his education background…employment record….favorite things to the place he often visits….all of that is in here. He came from a poor family, graduated from a small provincial college, and had an annual salary which is the same amount as their employees. No wonder they don’t like him. Having all these information…they knew him more than she did.

There is an old photo in between the pages. It is his picture….Seo Hyun swallows…this is the first time she sees his face again after the day they agreed to elope. This photo reminds her of what he looks like…something which had been a blurry part of her memory. This is the face her mind tried so hard to erase.

Suddenly she wonders….how is he? Did everything turn out right for him after he decided to turn his back on her? Did he live a happy life with that woman he married? Maybe….maybe she’s a better option than her. If he chose her, she could only be a burden for him….maybe he did the right decision---she thought.

The idea of visiting him plays in her mind. What for?—Nothing, just curious. Can you bear seeing him sit side by side with his wife as they happily watches over their children and grandchildren?Seo Hyun closes her eyes and traces any bitterness or hatred if ever she’d see him again but there’s none…Her chest is completely light. Her lips curl into a slight smile. She knows…she’s finally over it.

Just a simple ‘Hi, how are you?’ would be enough. Also, tell him that you can now forgive him. Put an official closure to your past together….

Seo Hyun nods to herself. She reached a decision…but what’s in the next page is something far beyond her expectation…..

BUS ACCIDENT KILLS 7 and INJURES 16.

Seo Hyun reads the newspaper clipping dated back in 1965. Her mind isn’t absorbing the details but her hands tremble as her eyes reads down. The names of seven people killed are listed and a particular name is encircled by pen. Seo Hyun immediately covers out of shock. She shakes her head for her mind refuses what she just read.

________________________________________________________________

She spent the whole night feeling confused and bothered with that old article. When the morning comes, she carries the folder and hails a taxi.

Seo Hyun lost track on how long she spent sitting there. She doesn’t even remember how she got there….in the library where she first met him…..Kim Taehun. Memory starts playing as if she’s watching a film in front of her. The young Seo Joohyun often visits this library where she enjoys reading different books. One day, she had a casual chat with the youngest librarian in the place…Kim Taehun. They mainly talked about books…With this same interest; they became close and later on developed fondness for each other. They make sure to meet here regularly. Kim Taehun’s stories about the outside world feed Seo Joohyun’s curiosity.  She’s a Canary who has a limited view of the world from her restricted enclosure while he’s a Robin who enjoys the ability to fly and explore freely. He’s a young man with an absolute goal in life…to walk the earth with his own feet and see its view from every angle. Because of him, Seo Joohyun finds the will to reach out her hand thinking that he’ll pull her out of her cage.

Seo Hyun blinks and the apparitions of young Joohyun and Taehun disappear. Her eyes lands on the same folder in front of her. He died….forty nine years ago according to this    newspaper clipping. How is it possible? She recalls it clearly that her parents told her that the reason he stood her up was because apart from her, he’s also seeing another woman and he chose this woman over her. He married her not long after…..

What’s the truth? Did he really ran off with another woman or did he die in that accident?

She reads the address written in one of the pages before picking up the folder and stand up.

________________________________________________________________

            “Young miss, why are looking for Mr. Kim?” asks the middle-aged man who introduced himself as the landlord.

Seo Hyun stops walking halfway inside the compound’s entryway and turns to him.

            “He’s my grandparents’ friend. They wish to see him since they haven’t met in a long time….I heard that he lives here.” She lies.

            “Is that so? Such a shame, he and his family moved out three weeks ago.…he didn’t left any contact details…”

Seo Hyun nods a bit. Maybe the Kim Taehun from that news clipping is a different man after all…

            “Is this the house?” she asks.

            “Yes.”

The man leads the way and let her enter the small house.

            “Really….that Kim Banseok. How could he left like that, when I’m his good friend…” he mutters.

            “Kim Banseok? Mister…..did I hear it right?” Seo Hyun asks.

            “Yes…Kim Banseok is the name of the last occupant. Isn’t he the one you’re looking for?”

She shakes her head.

            “No….the one I’m looking for is a man named Kim Taehun…” she says.

            “Then you got the wrong place then…”

            “But this is the address, isn’t it?” she let him reads the address written in the paper.

            “Yes…this is it.” He agrees.

            “Don’t you have any records on your former occupants? Please, mister…”

The man is definitely younger than her or Taehun so he probably couldn’t remember him but he said earlier that this place belonged to them for a long time.

            “Kim Taehun…..his name sounded familiar anyway. Kim Taehun…Kim Taehun.” The man repeats to himself while thinking.

            “Before I took charge of this place, my late grandfather is the original landlord…..he often mention back then a specific tenant. I think he’s a Kim too…” the man thinks carefully. “He was a librarian if I remember it well…”

            “Yes. He was a librarian.” She has the feeling that he got the right Kim this time.

            “My grandfather was fond of this young man….he said that he’s a nice young fellow and his favorite among all the tenants.”

            “What happened to him? The last thing our family knew about him was that he got married.”

            “Yes…my grandfather told me that the reason he left here is that he’s planning to elope with his girlfriend.”

A slight crest form in Seo Hyun’s forehead.

            “But I don’t think they managed to get married….because he met an accident and died the same day. Grandfather is the one who took his remains!”

Seo Hyun feels that her lungs ran out of air because of this confirmation. The man suddenly remembers something and he even slap his palms together.

            “I remember now. That man is indeed Kim Taehun….how did I forget? My grandfather kept mentioning his name even when he’s already senile. He kept on saying, ‘Poor Taehun’…”

Once again, Seo Hyun felt like her senses has been cut off. She could no longer understand what he’s blabbering about.

            “Mister, can you please give me a few minutes to look around…..” she utters without looking. The man despite feeling a bit confused does as she requested without asking further.

Seo Hyun’s eyes finally look around as she stands in the middle of that house. It is small with narrow spaces…there are some parts of the wall where the faded wallpapers are ripped.  The wooden pillars appear to be brittle and old. The door and windows are creaking too.

There is a small table in the corner against the wall. She envisions him sitting there with his back on her. He’s quietly eating an instant noodle while reading an interesting book.

________________________________________________________________

Yeong Won’s POV

I stand on a distance while observing Seo Joohyun.

She holds her breath as her feet stops in front of the said tree. Under it is a tombstone covered with dry leaves. She gently brushes those leaves aside with her hand and let her eyes linger around the name carved on that stone block…Kim Taehun.

She put the white flower she brought on top of it.

            “Taehun sshi….” She utters his name.

I look down and heave a deep sigh. One who died without the person he loves knowing it and one who suffered a sad life because of the twisted truth.

            “Did you wait long?” she asks and bite her lower lip. Her eyes start swimming in tears. The awfulness of the truth she just unraveled is starting to sink in. She swallows hard and tries to control her emotion but eventually fails.

            “I’m sorry I came late……I’m sorry I didn’t know…..” she falls in her knees and cries. “I’m sorry I hated you…..Taehun sshi, I’m sorry…I’m sorry….I’m sorry…” she keeps saying sorry between her cries.

I decided to stay on my spot and don’t show myself. She needs to be alone right now to grieve this horrifying discovery.This way, she can finally send him off.

I look away. A love started a few decades ago and ended here….tragically.

            “So unfortunate…..” I whisper in the air.

________________________________________________________________

Yonghwa is outside Seo Hyun’s house. The lights are off indicating that there’s nobody home. He had been trying to contact Seo Hyun since earlier but her phone is off. Everything seems fine when they got home from school but he didn’t hear from her after that. Could something happen?

The house is empty…..is it possible that something happened to her grandmother? His worry starts to get worse. Yonghwa walks back in forth, thinking. He breathes in and decided to go and look for her but then stops when he sees her.

Seo Hyun is walking slowly. What she discovered just a while ago has been a huge blow to her…She couldn’t believe how stupid she was all these years. She let hate live in her heart for a long time and because of it, she blindly took each word of lie her parents told her. She was lost when the truth suddenly exploded in her face.

She cried and released her frustration, sadness, pain, and condemnation out of her system. She no longer wants to blame anyone for what happened….For hating that person, she decided to forgive herself….surely Taehun would tell her to do the same thing. She also forgives her parents for lying to her and controlling her life. She thinks that as parents, they have their reasons in keeping her in the dark for that long. She cried every ounce of tears she can….and accepted everything that happened.

As for Taehun…..she had probably made him wait for so long. She may be decades late but finally, she sent him off. She’s certain that he’s now in a great place.

            “Hyun!” Yonghwa calls her name.

Seo Hyun sees him. Her heartbeat accelerates upon catching a glance of his handsome face. He stands there with worry written all over his face. Her steps becomes big..…her feet move faster and faster until it turns into a run.

            “Yong…” she runs to him and embraces him.

Yonghwa is taken aback by her unexpected move but he didn’t ask. Instead, he also wraps his arms around her.

            “Where were you? I was worried about you…” he whispers.

Seo Hyun slightly shakes her head saying that there’s nothing to worry about. Yonghwa feels relieved and holds her closer.

Right…after facing her past and dealing with it herself, Seo Hyun realized that this is where she wants to be….in his arms. After going on a short trip to her past, it feels like she’s finally home. Her eyes gleam in tears as she savors each second of this moment. She holds tightly on him.

________________________________________________________________

[Author's Note]

Thank you for the comments. I hope you continue writing them...hehe.

Anyway, I noticed that most of you are already thinking about the end. The truth is this fic already has its ending the moment I decided to write it. Let us enjoy the story of Seohyun and Yonghwa's love for the meantime and deal with end when that comes.