It was quiet. Too quiet.

The streets were deserted. There was a faint chill in the air, despite it being late summer. He sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets as he increased his pace. Something didn't feel right. There was a strange feeling welling up inside of him. The little hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and he felt his posture stiffen. He began to hear footsteps behind him, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

So he was being followed.

His fingers brushed up against the cool metal blade hidden in his pocket. His ears perked up, listening for the slightest movement. However, the footsteps had stopped. It was only then, when he heard coughing, wheezing, and screaming did he allow himself to turn around... and his face went white.

"You promised me that you would protect me!"

She screamed at him. She collapsed to the ground, her body trembling harshly as she silently sobbed. His eyes widened and he extended his hand towards her. He began to run, but she was only shrinking in his vision. Why was he moving backwards?

He wanted to scream and cry, but no sounds escaped his lips. Everything suddenly went black. Everything shattered all around him, and he found himself falling into an endless, black void.

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His eyes popped open and he sat upright. He was panting hard, large beads of sweat rolling down his face and chest. It took him a moment to realize that he was back in his room, safe and sound. He let out a long breath and got up to go to the bathroom. He rinsed his face off and stared at his reflection.

Not again. He thought that he was past this. It had been months since he had last dreamt of her, and he thought that he had finally found peace. It looks like it wasn't enough. It looks like she wasn't ready to let him go yet. When would the pain and suffering end?

Suddenly his reflection morphed into something else - her face. His eyes widened and he jumped back in shock, his back colliding with the wall harshly. She just stared at him with a pained expression - the same expression she wore when he last saw her.

No, don't look at me like that.

Please don't.

He rubbed his eyes harshly and stared at the mirror again. His own reflection stared back. He felt his body relax and he slumped to the floor, leaning against the wall. His nightmares were getting worse. Not only would his mind repeat that horrifying memory in many scenarios, it was beginning to affect him outside of his dreams as well.

He was on the verge of insanity.

Inhaling deeply to calm himself down, he stood up and got rid of his boxers. He turned the shower on and let the liquid wash over him. It was cold, splashing harshly against his heated body. It felt relaxing. He leaned his head against the cool tiles and closed his eyes.

Please take the memories away.

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Yongguk leaned against the counter and began to clean several glasses. It was a quiet Sunday night, and there were only a few customers in the bar. Yongguk always preferred nights like this, since it wasn't so busy and he could have some time to himself.

A box was suddenly placed in front of the older male, and he smiled as Cecilia took a seat across from him. "Hey," He paused to give her a glass of water. "I haven't seen you in two days... How are you feeling?" It was a ridiculous question. He could obviously see that the girl was not feeling alright. Dark bags were visible under her eyes, her skin looked pale, and she looked like she was ready to pass out at any moment. 

Although she felt her energy hit rock bottom, she still managed to fake a smile and pulled out her phone to type a reply.

  I'm sorry to make you worry. I hadn't been feeling well and I decided to just rest.

She purposely left out details of the attack that had shaken her.

Yongguk reached for one of the girl's hands and sighed. "Well, I'm just glad to see that you're alright." He paused for a moment and pointed at the box. "What's inside?"

Cecilia kept her face neutral although her heart was pounding inside. She swallowed hard and inhaled deeply as she slowly opened the box to reveal its contents. Yongguk raised his brows in surprise as he realized that the girl's songs were inside. Cecilia immediately lowered her head and bit down onto her bottom lip. Oh, she hoped that Yongguk wouldn't question her so much.

"Why did you bring your songs?"

Cecilia's fingers were trembling as she slowly typed her response.

  I want you to hold onto them for me. I've come to the decision that I want to abandon music because it's just too painful. 

My songs will continue to haunt me, so I don't even want to look at them anymore.

"What?!"

Yongguk's cheeks flushed red as several of his customers turned their heads, surprised at his outburst. He cleared his throat and adjusted his shirt collar before leaning in slightly towards the girl. "What do you mean?" He whispered, furrowing his brows in confusion. Cecilia looked away for a moment and swallowed hard again. This was tougher than she thought.

  The doctor says that I may lose my voice permanently. What's the point of going on with music if I can't sing?

My dream won't come true. I can't continue because it'll be a painful reminder of why my dream won't happen.

"This isn't right," Yongguk sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I mean, you don't have to stop here. You can still get your songs well known. I can contact an entertainment industry and get them to hire you as a songwriter. Someone else may sing your song, but it's your song and it can become well-known."

Cecilia shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. Tears nearly surfaced to her eyes because of Yongguk's words. As much as she wanted to believe them and let them pull her in, it wasn't that easy. Nothing is ever easy in the world.

  Things never work that way. Besides, it wouldn't feel the same.

Knowing that someone else will sing my song instead of me... I wouldn't be living out my dream.

I want to stand on stage and sing. I want to release many albums and show my songs to the world... but I can't.

Cecilia was on the verge of tears again, and she really didn't want to cry in front of Yongguk again. With a quick bow, she stood up and darted towards the stairs, nearly bumping into a man who was just coming in. As soon as she reached her car, she finally let her tears flow free. She couldn't believe that she was doing this. Was it the right thing to do?

She did it to escape the pain, to avoid the rising insanity inside of her but...

Letting go was so hard.

So, so hard, because music was all that she had left.

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"Excuse me sir... Hello? Sir!"

Jongup blinked in surprise and nearly stumbled on the treadmill. He slowly reduced his speed and turned to find a man staring at him, a mixture of both amusement and confusion on his face. 

"You've been running on that treadmill for hours... Your stamina is no joke," The man chuckled, and Jongup faked a smile before reaching for a towel. The man smiled in amusement and leaned against the treadmill. "Exercising yourself to death won't do you any good. It's about a girl, right?"

Although he felt his body stiffen for a moment, Jongup shrugged and began to wipe the sweat trickling down his face and neck. The man didn't seem offended by Jongup's lack of response and simply chuckled. "You're not much of a talker, are you?"

Jongup's lips curved into a small smile and he reached for his phone. He quickly typed something out and showed it to the man.

  I'm sorry. I don't want to be rude. I'm Jongup.

The man was genuinely surprised for a moment, and Jongup thought that he was going to call him a freak. Against his expectations, the man laughed and reached for his hand. 

"So, it's like that," He smiled at him and shook his hand. "My name is Yuhan. It's nice to meet you." Jongup smiled in return and typed something on his phone.

  It's very nice to meet you. Well, I'm going to go and rest now. Thanks for stopping me because I would've continued running.

Yuhan laughed at Jongup's text and playfully punched his shoulder. "You're funny. I like you," Jongup smiled and bowed his head at him. "Don't over-exercise again though." Jongup smirked and nodded, waving as he hurried out of the room.

Yuhan sighed and glanced at the clock. "Three hours of running, and he wouldn't have stopped, huh...?" He mumbled to himself, leaning against the treadmill. He let out a low chuckle and smirked.

"Well, this should be interesting."

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Cecilia had managed to calm herself down after two hours had passed. She had gone inside to apologize to Yongguk for her behavior, but she made sure to leave as quickly as possible. Her heart was in pain and she just wanted to go home and lie underneath of the covers.

Cecilia gripped the steering wheel tightly as she drove home. Her thoughts were on what Yongguk had said before - about her not giving up on music. It was a difficult decision, but she felt that it was better this way. She felt that it was better to let go than just continue on with crushed dreams that may never come true. The memories that would surface to her mind would only remind her of the painful struggle that she has to endure for the rest of her life.

The girl sighed and focused on the road instead, but then her vision focused in on something. It was a shadow figure at first, but then her headlights shone on the form of a person. Eyes widening, she slammed her foot down on the brakes, causing her car to violently halt. She jerked forward, nearly hitting her head against the steering wheel. Panting hard in both shock and fear, she glanced up and saw the shocked face of a man, whose hands were on top of the car hood as if to prevent it from hitting him.

Oh, thank heavens that she hadn't killed him.

Biting down onto her lip, she jumped out of the car and quickly approached the man. She was expecting a string of curses to be thrown at her, maybe a punch in the face, but strangely enough, the man remained calm. It was if it didn't even matter that he had almost gotten killed because of her carelessness.

Cecilia pulled her phone and frantically began to type an apology, but her fingers were shaking so much that she ended up dropping her phone. To her surprise, the man picked it up and held it out towards her, a bright smile on his face.

Then it dawned on her.

That smile was all too familiar. Cecilia stared at him for a moment, studying his face. Small eyes, a bright smile, high cheekbones - this was the man that had saved her two nights ago.

He cleared his throat and snapped her out of her thoughts. Cecilia's cheeks flushed red and she slightly bowed her head as she took her phone and finished writing out her response.

  I'm so sorry that I almost hit you! Please forgive my carelessness. You're not hurt are you?

It's really late, please allow me to give you a ride back home. It's the least that I could do to apologize for this.

Cecilia swallowed hard as she showed the man her phone. His eyes widened in surprise and he stared at her longingly. Then he lowered his head and she watched as his hands balled into fists. At first, she thought that she had evoked anger in him, and she was still waiting for the curses to be thrown at her. It never came. Instead, the man pulled out his own phone, and much to her surprise, wrote a response.

  I'm not hurt. I was surprised because you almost did hit me, but I'm not angry. 

If you're offering me a ride... I'd be happy to take your offer. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Cecilia felt her body relax, and she was relieved that he could've forgiven her so easily. The man hesitated for a moment, but he got into her car and leaned back in the seat. 

  My name is Jongup.

Cecilia lightly smiled and kindly introduced herself as well, but Jongup's response surprised her.

  I know.

Cecilia just stared at him. How did he know her name? She bit down onto her lip (it was becoming a habit now), and looked away from him. Maybe he was just one of the usual customers who goes to Yongguk's bar. Maybe he went there to listen to her sing, considering that most of the customers knew her name. She just brushed it off and continued to drive, paying attention whenever Jongup motions for her to take a turn. Her heart was still racing from fear.

A wave of exhaustion hit Jongup and he closed his eyes for a moment. There was a heavenly sweet scent in the air. It reminded him of vanilla and roses. It also reminded him of her.

Cecilia was surprised when she pulled up at Jongup's apartment. He actually lived nearby, a few minutes away from her own apartment. She turned towards Jongup, and was shocked to find him bent over. His face was buried in his hand, and his skin was glistening with sweat. Cecilia panicked for a moment because she didn't know what to do. She gently shook his shoulder to get his attention.

  Are you alright? Oh gosh, I really did hurt you, didn't I? Do you need to see a doctor?

Jongup was breathing hard as he sat up. He forced himself to chuckle at her, and with shaky hands, he reached for his own phone.

  No, I'm fine. I'm sorry to worry you.

Thank you for driving me back home. Good night, Cecilia.

Jongup smiled at her and bowed his head in gratitude as he stepped out of the vehicle. Cecilia just smiled at him and waved, although something about him bothered her. She really doesn't recognize him... yet he knows her name. It was weird and it sent chills down the girl's spine. She shook her head and just decided to drive back home. So many things happened to her in such short little time, and she wasn't sure how much more that she could handle.

Jongup slumped to the floor as soon as he heard the roar of Cecilia's car engine fade into the night. He let out the breath that he didn't realize that he was holding and closed his eyes again. 

Really Jongup? Just get into her car because she offered a ride?! Oh gosh, idiot! Why did you do that?!

This was so wrong. He shouldn't have accepted her offer. He should've just kept walking and let the girl be. But he just couldn't. Maybe it was because she reminded him of her. And now, her face would pop into his head again, haunting his thoughts every second that she can. He was desperate to seek escape from the insanity within.

Jongup let out a long sigh as he felt a tear slide down his cheek. The thin barrier within was slowly breaking apart, making way for more pain to seep in.

Why can't you just let me go?

Why can't I... just let you go?

Author's Notes

Hello my lovelies!

I hope that I didn't confuse you with Jongup and Cecilia's conversation. I put their pictures up to help! Lol, I felt like this chapter was centered more around Jongup... but oh well.

So, this story is becoming more angsty than I thought... Anyway, Jongup finally unviels, and wow... the boy is a mess. You know the dream in the beginning? I'm sure that you can guess who it belongs to, but why do you think that he is experiencing dreams like that? And who is she? I'll just leave you all to wonder about that. ^-^

So, moving onto Cecilia. She wants to let go of music forever. If you were in her shoes, wouldn't you do the same? Think about her situation, and think about how an idol would feel about losing their voice/dance skills/whatever makes them famous and unique. Also, isn't it weird how both Cecilia and Jongup are in different situations, yet they both want the same thing and are experiencing the same feelings? :P (Sort of) 

I've introduced Yuhan! A new character! What do you guys think about him? :) This story is really angsty than I had originally planned... Also, I DID write this in only a couple of hours, so forgive me if I made you wonder TOO much xD ....

Why am I still writing long a/n notes? .___.

Anyway, I hope that I left you all "wondering" xD Lol, maybe not. I try...

Until the next update, XOXO~ ^-^

~BAPisPerfect~