A few weeks ago…

HER POV:

            “Are you sure you’re going to be ok? Do you have everything you need? Are you sure you don’t want me or any of your friends to accompany you on this trip? Taeyeon-ah…”

            “Umma! I’m fine. I’m going to be ok. You don’t have to worry about anything. You all know where I’m going and how long this vacation will last. It’s only a week.. Besides, I don’t really need a chaperone. I’m 28 years old. I can handle it.” I tried to convince and calm down my mother who has been crying ever since I told her I wanted to go on a solo vacation. Not only her but the rest of my friends (sans Lee Jong) were worried that I might never come back.

            “Unnie, is this really necessary? Are you sure you’re going to be ok on your own?” (Seohyun)

            “I think one of us has to come with you, just in case.” (Tiffany)

            “Make sure you’re only going to be gone for 7 days, Kim Taeyeon! Don’t try to pull anything funny and disappear without a trace!” (Sunny)

            All of them kept talking as I was busy packing up my stuff. The noise is irritating me so I had to put an end to this.

            “HEY! LISTEN UP EVERYONE! Why are you all so tense and scared? Look, I’m not going on a suicide mission. How many times do I have to tell you that I can’t even stand those shots when I was hospitalized? What makes you think I’d try to mutilate myself? Ewww, no. I can’t. Ugh. A broken leg and that horrible body pain I got from that accident are good enough for a lifetime. I’m so done with that drama.

            I just want to go and relax. Have fun. I want to think things through, and I know that I have to go on this trip on my own. Please. This is a chance for me to rediscover myself – everything. My dreams, what I want, etc etc.  I need to figure out my life. If it makes you feel any better, I’ll update you every day. I’d send a text or email. BUT! None of you are allowed to call or flood my phone/emails with messages. PLEASE! If you plan on following me, then can you at least let me enjoy the first 5 days ALONE before doing so?”

            They sighed and finally succumbed to my demands; but then I saw them exchange these looks again. I know what those looks meant and so, before any of them could ask, I took the opportunity to speak up first.

            “DON’T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT TELLING LEE JONG ABOUT THIS.” I threatened them.

            “But…what if he asks?”

            “Then tell him you don’t know or just make up some story. The minute I see his shadow lurking in Cancun, I’m going to shave your heads!” Shave heads? Really, Kim Taeyeon?! That’s so high school. Ugh. I should’ve thought of a better-sounding threat! Now they’re all laughing at me.

            “Omo. You’re in love with him that much to even recognize his shadow? Kyaaa!” (Tiffany)

            “Hahaha! Taeyeon unnie knows what Jonghyun oppa’s shadow looks like!” (Krystal)

            “You’re really, daebak, Kim Taeyeon. I didn’t know you’re that into Lee Jonghyun to the point of even knowing what his shadow looks like!  Hahahaha!” (Hyoyeon)

            “YAH!!!”

            “Arasso. We promise we won’t tell him anything….” (Yuri)

            “BUT! If he figures it out ON HIS OWN, then you can’t hold it against us. Ok, unnie?” Seo Joohyun. You! Trust this maknae to find a plot hole in my threat. Why didn’t I think of that? I was going to think of a rebuttal to her statement but I came up with none. I sighed and slumped my shoulders.

            “Fine. You’re off the hook only IF Lee Jong figures it out on his own. No help or any sort of hint must come from any of you. Arasso?”
           

            “Deal.” (All)

            Well then, Cancun, Mexico, here I come.

HIS POV:

            It’s been three days since she left the country and I still have no lead about where she is. I’ve been exhausting all efforts and connections I have. I’m suspecting that everyone knows where she is. They’ve been so secretive and wary of me. Even my band mates refuse to have a conversation with me that’s longer than five minutes. When I do corner them to talk, they’d only blabber about the event preparations I asked their help with and nothing more. They won’t even establish eye contact!

            Kim Taeyeon. She must’ve told them to keep this information from me. I know they all know she’s safe. They don’t seem worried about her welfare at all which made me assume that Taenggoo has been sending them daily updates. I’m running out of time. What if she never comes back? How do you find a person who doesn’t want to be found? Worse, how do you convince your friends to tell you the truth when she made them promise otherwise?

            I decided to be rid of these thoughts and go out for some fresh air. Bad move. Everywhere I go, every corner I look, every place my feet led me to, has been nothing but a reminder of her. I’d have flashbacks of the time we spent together up until that day she asked me to let her go. I look like a pathetic man. I didn’t know how to deal with these frustrations and emotions without making a fool out of myself in public.

            “Sing.”

            I looked up to see Lee Joon hyung as he handed me a guitar.

            “I’ve been following you around since you got out of the dorm. I just wanted to make sure you don’t do something stupid again, like getting drunk and whatever. Broken hearted people, especially men, can be quite a mess and out of their minds.

Wae? Why are you looking at me like I’m some creepy obsessed stalker? Yah, I’m just playing the part of the good hyung as well as your best friend. If anyone else from our group saw you get out of the building, they’d do the same. We can’t let anything happen to Mr. Nice Guy before he rescues his very own damsel. Now, get up, you pabo and sing. Aren’t you a rocker dude? CNBLUE’s Burning guitarist? Now go there and just sing your heart out.”

            I wiped the forming tears in my eyes as I took the guitar he handed me and walked over to the street musicians in this park. I asked if I could use their amplifier and mic to perform a song. They didn’t think twice when they said yes. They even volunteered to play as my backup. A crowd was starting to gather round as soon as they recognized me. I cleared my throat as I made this speech.

            “Uh..annyeonghasaeyo. I’m CNBLUE’s Burning lead guitarist, Lee Jonghyun. I uh, I wanted to sing this song for the girl who ran away and took my heart with her…”

            The girls started to squeal and I could see Joon hyung shake his head and laugh.

            “Uh..so…here goes..”

            I turned to the band and they began their cue. Kim Taeyeon, if only you could hear me, this song is for you.

Should've kissed you there

I should've held your face

I should've watched those eyes

Instead of run in place

I should've called you out

I should've said your name

I should've turned around

I should've looked again

But oh, I'm staring at the mess I made

I 'm staring at the mess I made

I 'm staring at the mess I made

As you turn, you take your heart and walk away

Should've held my ground

I could've been redeemed

For every second chance

That changed its mind on me

I should've spoken up

I should've proudly claimed

That oh my head's to blame

For all my heart's mistakes

But oh, I'm staring at the mess I made

I 'm staring at the mess I made

I 'm staring at the mess I made

As you turn, you take your heart and walk away

And it's you, and it's you

And it's you, and it's you

And it's falling down, as you walk away

And it's on me now, as you go

But oh, I'm staring at the mess I made

I 'm staring at the mess I made

I 'm staring at the mess I made

As you turn, you take your heart and walk away

And it's falling down, as you walk away

And it's on me now, as you go

But oh, I'm staring at the mess I made

I 'm staring at the mess I made

I 'm staring at the mess I made

As you turn, you take your heart and walk away

            I barely made it through the song without pausing every now and then to even my breath and steady my voice. The audience cried along as I sang my heart out while the tears streamed down my face. I’m a mess. I should’ve told her that I love her too. I never should’ve doubted anything. I never should’ve hurt her. I should’ve tried harder to win her heart than just let her walk away. How could I not have known that girls don’t always mean what they say?

            The truth is, we hide because we want to be found, we walk away to see who will follow, we cry to see who will wipe away the tears, and we let our hearts get broken to see who will come and fix them. I know that Taeyeon-ah is hiding because she wants me to find her. I knew she walked away because she’s hoping that I’d follow. She wasn’t afraid to shed tears right in front of me because she was counting on the promise I made that I’ll always be there to wipe it off. Lastly, I’m the one responsible for breaking her heart. I know that the process to put the pieces back in place would hurt me more than it will hurt her, but that’s not enough of a reason to back down.

I am the nice guy. The knight in shining armor…and she…she’s my damsel. The one I should’ve rescued a long time ago. You pabo, Lee Jonghyun. Why did you realize this only now? I wiped my tears, bowed, and thanked the crowd and the band for the impromptu performance. Just before I started to walk away, all of them were clapping and cheering me on.

“OPPA! Whoever this girl is, go and get her! If she makes you happy, then I’ll support you!”

“Even if it hurts to know that you love another girl, we only want the best for you oppa!”

“We will always support CNBLUE and your music. Go after the girl, Burning! Don’t let her get away again!”

“You heard what your fans said. Go and find this girl who took your heart with her.”

            “Goodluck!”
           

I smiled and thanked them again. I already have my friends, our families, and even my fans’ support. There’s nothing else holding me back from winning her heart again, but Kim Taeyeon herself.

I got back into the dorm. I was going to say something but I heard Jungshin and Jessica talking on the phone. I hid in a corner and tried to listen to their conversation. Don’t ask me about the first 10 minutes of their flirtatious talk. Yuck. This bad boy is wrapped around the ice princess’s finger. Tsk. I was about to give up on eavesdropping when I heard him mention Taeyeon and something about a Skype group video call. Minhyuk (who was playing some game on his phone) and Yonghwa hyung (who just woke up from his nap) joined in the conference video call.

“So, how’s Taeyeon noona doing? She sent you an email or a text?” (Jungshin)

“Email. She even sent us a picture. Kim Taeyeon is having the time of her life, I say. She looks happy and carefree.” (Jessica)

“So do you call her or what?” (Yonghwa)

“No calls. We only reply to her text or emails to let her know we received them but that’s it. Taeyeon unnie is persistent we keep the communication line that way.” (Seohyun)

“How’s Jonghyunnie doing? Is he ok?” (Yoona)

“Psh. He’s miserable, and he looks like crap too. You should see the dark circles in his eyes! Hahaha! It’s so funny! Especially one time he got home drunk and his eyes were all puffy and red and he kept talking about Taeyeon noona! Haha! Ow! Hyung!” (Jungshin)

FUNNY?! This maknae! Just because your royal highness is giving you the time of her day you make fun of a miserable broken hearted man. Aish. Thank you Yonghwa hyung. For smacking that bad boy’s head for my sake.

I couldn’t understand the rest of the conversation because all of them kept talking at once. Just as I decided to walk away, the next topic of their conversation caught my interest.

“So, is everything set for that event?” (Yonghwa)

“Yep. We’re going to recreate the park there for Jonghyun’s 12 steps.” (Yuri)

“What about the rooftop setting?” (Minhyuk)

“All done.” (Krystal)

“We just have to wait for the actual day to come.” (Sunny)

“Are you sure none of you slipped and told Lee Jonghyun anything? He doesn’t suspect a thing? At all?!” (Tiffany)

“Nope. But I wonder..how will this work? I thought you said he has to be the one to find her. How can we just drag him all the way to CANCUN, MEXICO?” (Jungshin)
 

Cancun? Mexico? So that’s where she is? I didn’t listen to the rest of their conversation. I quickly ran back to my room, booked a flight and quietly packed up my things. I waited until I was sure that everyone was asleep or at least pre-occupied before I sneaked out of the place and hailed a cab to bring me to the airport.

Just wait for me, my damsel. I’m coming to you.

Cancun, Mexico

HER POV:

            I really had nothing else to do today. Well, to be honest, there really isn’t anything on my schedule. I just go with the flow. I’ve been enjoying the past few days just roaming around the country like any other tourist. This was the first time I travelled on my own and I’m loving every second of it. I know that my friends are planning to follow me here probably during the sixth or seventh day of my stay. I made strict conditions that they let me enjoy the first five days on my own.

They did tell me they’re not worried but I also know that the reason some, if not all of them, would fl