---

 

Walking down the familiar streets of Seoul, Doojoon had his hands tucked inside his jacket's pockets as he looked up at the sky. The weather was now fine and the sun was up compared to when it was gloomy and raining in the morning. Dragging himself across the rough road, he decided to just stroll aimlessly to wherever his feet take him. He was up and about so early even though he did not manage to get a good sleep the previous night because he could not get his mind off the news he heard just recently.

Passing by a few shops and stores, he looked through the windows from the outside and saw how happily some people shopped. Suddenly, those words echoed in his head again.

'Han Min Ae-ssi is back in Korea.'

 

FLASHBACK:

"Hyung! Hurry up or we will be late." Hyunseung shouted as he continuously knocked on Doojoon's front door.

"Do you intend to break the door?" Doojoon shot a glare at his friend as he opened the door. "You're just too excited. It didn't even start yet." He glanced at his watch and confirmed that there was still ample time left for them to prepare.

"Of course I am! We're going to see them again after many years." Hyunseung said as they walked to the garage.

For the first time since they graduated, Doojoon and his batch mates are going to gather through a reunion. Thinking about this made him happy, although a part of him wished that Min Ae would be there too.. but he knew it was impossible.

 

- At the reunion -

The restaurant started to get crowded as more alumni arrived one by one, some alone, some with their families, some with other classmates and friends. That made Doojoon wonder more if how Min Ae is coping with her own life away from her hometown.

"Hyung!" Hyunseung broke his train of thoughts when a huge group of people came and gathered around the table.

"Sukhoon? Hwang Sukhoon hyung, is that you?" Doojoon exclaimed as he pointed to one of the guys there before giving him a tight embrace and tapped his shoulder. "I almost didn't recognize you. Looks like you've changed so much. Whoa! So what do you do right now?"

Sukhoon was one of his closest friend back in college and he had helped him quite a lot of times too.. be it academic or personal problems.

"It's great to see you here, dongsaeng! How long has it been, huh? Aigoo.." Sukhoon replied as he returned the embrace briefly. "Well, right now I am about to start my own business. How about you?"

"Oh.. I decided to pursue photography.." Doojoon said as he took the glass he was holding a while ago and stared at it for a bit.

"Ah.. that was Min Ae eonni's dream too, right?" Sori, one of the ladies, absentmindedly blurted out, causing Hyunseung to nudge her.

"Ya! Wae?" She glared at Hyunseung, feeling slightly irritated.

"Pabo! Stop being so careless with your words." Hyunseung shot a glare back.

"Mind your own business!" Sori defended.

"You guys are still the same.." Doojoon laughed at the sight of them. "You're still bickering over the slightest things." Then he turned to Hyunseung and tapped his arm. "Gwaenchanha.. hearing her name isn't a big deal." He smiled to everyone, trying to convince them.

Almost everyone in the batch knew that Doojoon and Min Ae were one of the sweetest couples in their college years. People even thought that things would go smoothly for them but everything changed the day after their graduation.

He once again remembered all the incidents that happened before, not minding the chattering of their other batch mates until he heard something he didn't expect to.

"Oh.. by the way, do you know that Han Min Ae-ssi is back Korea?"

"Mwo? Ya, you're just joking, right?" Doojoon laughed it off before turning away then mumbled to himself. "How can she be here when she's somewhere far?"

"Ani. It's true! She's really here. She sent me an e-mail yesterday, saying that she just arrived." Hani, the one who broke the news, told him.

"Is that true?"

"Ya, why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"So did you meet her?"

"What else did she say?"

"For real? Of all people, why were you the only one she contacted?"

All those questions were thrown to Hani that she didn't even know which one to answer first.

Doojoon was happy when he heard that but he did not want to get his hopes up because he knows that Min Ae was no longer the same Min Ae he was with before.

-end-

 

Doojoon was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't realize he was already standing in front of a big bookstore.. the bookstore where he and Min Ae used to go to before just to read books inside because they could not afford to buy most of expensive books they wanted.

He suddenly smiled at the thought, and heaving a sigh, he decided to go inside. Walking towards one section where they used to by-stand, he looked at the huge shelves in front of him before letting his fingertips touch the the edges of the books. It was then when a certain book caught his attention. He took the book out from the shelf and opened it, flipping through its pages. By doing so, it only made him miss Min Ae more because it was one of her favorites back then. Taking the book with him, he headed to the cashier and presented the book. But as he was about to pay, the cashier apologized and said that someone had already reserved the book earlier but they forgot to take it out of the shelf.

"But don't you have another stock for this book?" Doojoon asked.

"We practically ran out of it too. Sorry for the inconvenience."

"Oh~ She's the one who reserved the book.." Exclaimed the other cashier as she pointed outside the bookstore.

"She?" Doojoon turned around and caught a glimpse of the person's back before she rode a blue car and sped off. She was wearing a baby blue blouse and had a brown cap on. Then turning back to the counter, he excused himself. "It's alright.. it's not that important anyway. Maybe I can buy it next time."

He exited the bookstore empty-handed. Not that he really wanted to buy something but seeing that one book made him want to have it. As he continued walking to the end of the street and turned to his right, another familiar structure greeted him.. the movie-rental shop that once became his favorite ever since Min Ae first brought him there. He smiled bitterly as he recalled what had happened a day before their graduation.. as well as the next days after.

 

FLASHBACK:

"Joonie! Let's rent these out, ne~?" Min Ae tugged on Doojoon's sleeve and hugged his arm as she showed him two CDs that she picked from the racks.

"What's this?" He took one CD from her and read the title out loud. "Secret?" Then flipped the CD case. "Oh.. Taiwanese movie..''

"..And this one's 'Baby and Me..'" Min Ae excitedly chirped.

"Are you sure you're going to watch those two movies? Why not just choose one?"

"But we have nothing to do today anyway.. so might as well have movie time. Plus, I haven't seen those movies yet but it seems interesting especially 'Secret'." She smiled widely and clasped her hands together. "Please please please.. my handsome namchin.."

Doojoon laughed at her cuteness and finally agreed. "Arasseo, we'll get those two." And headed to the counter to rent the CDs out.

 

- in Min Ae's house -

The house was empty and quiet as Min Ae's family was out to have more preparations for their flight, which Doojoon wasn't aware of. Running to the living room, Min Ae placed her bag on the floor before setting the television and DVD player on.

"Which movie should we watch first?" She turned to face Doojoon, her smile still not fading from her face. "Do you want the time-travel love story first or the comedy?"

"Up to you, jagi.. I'm sure I will still enjoy this movie time with you." He smiled and sat down on the couch while waiting for her to finish setting it up.

"Arasseo.. then lets go with 'Secret' first.." Min Ae placed the CD inside the player then grabbed the remote control before walking back to the couch and sat beside Doojoon. "Oh~ it's starting." She cuddled up against him as her arms were around his waist and her head on his chest while his right arm wrapped securely around her shoulders.

The first few minutes of the movie kind of made Min Ae sleepy as she yawned a little but fought it back because she really wanted to watch it. Doojoon noticed this and to help her, he chatted with her while watching the movie but Min Ae hushed him.

"How are we going to concentrate on the movie if you will distract me?"

"Wae? I'm just helping you not to fall asleep." He chuckled and continued talking with her about random things. Min Ae just smiled and finally let him be as she tried to listen to both the movie and him.

But halfway through the movie, Min Ae noticed that Doojoon became quiet. She initially thought that maybe he was too engrossed to the movie to talk but when she looked up, she saw a sleeping Doojoon, with his head leaned back and his arm loosened around her shoulders.

Sitting up straight, she cupped his face and slowly pulled his head to her lap to make him comfortable. Min Ae looked at his sleeping face and his hair lightly before sighing softly.

"Joonie, I'm sorry. Eomma actually told me to spend this entire day with you.. just you. Let's be happy today, okay? I know this wouldn't last.. but I hope you wouldn't hate me when you find out about it." She whispered those words to him, thinking that he was asleep. What she didn't know was that he heard it all.. and it had him thinking what those words could mean.

 

- graduation day; after the ceremony -

"Woohoo! We're finally free.. yes!" Hyunseung shouted and threw his hat up in the air. "Minnie, what do you plan to do after this? Oh, I know now! Date with hyung, right?" he teased Min Ae and pinched her cheek lightly.

Min Ae only smiled a bit before saying, "Ani.. I have to head home right away because my parents told me that we need to settle some things." She looked at Doojoon with apologetic eyes before glancing at her parents, who were waiting not far from where they are.

"Then it means I won't be able to see you for the rest of the day? Aigoo, is this why you asked to watch two movies yesterday so we could spend more time with each other?" Doojoon pinched her cheeks and laughed. She, on the other hand, tried her best to smile to prevent her threatening tears from falling.

"I'll see you tomorrow then.." Doojoon embraced her tightly. "I can visit tomorrow morning, right?"

"S-sure, I don't think we will be busy." Min Ae broke the hug and tapped his left cheek. "Arasseo, I'll get going now. Mom's waiting!" She waved to Sori and Hyunseung, Hani, and to the rest before briskly walking to the parking lot, where her parents are waiting.

The sad truth is, she will be using the rest of the time to pack all her things for their flight the next day.

When they reached home, Min Ae's mother also asked her to change her contact information, both her mobile number and e-mail address, as well as other means of contacting her, saying that it will be better to have a fresh start after they have moved places. As much as Min Ae didn't want to agree with this, she had no choice at the moment but to adhere. The two hours that she spent in her room for packing her belonging seemed like a day to her because half of the time, she would space out and think about Doojoon.

"Mianhae, Joonie.. I didn't really want to do this.. but I don't know what to do either.."

Wiping her tears away, she continued folding her clothes one by one before placing it in her luggage.

 

- the next day -

"Ajumma, please take care of this house while we are away, okay?" Min Ae heard her mother talk to the housekeeper as she descended the stairs. Then taking one last look around the house, she stepped outside, pulling her luggage along. To her surprise, she found Doojoon there standing across their house, with his smile suddenly faded as soon as he saw her with the luggage.

"Min Ae!" He called and approached her with a confused expression on his face. "Are you going somewhere? Ya, I've been calling you but you're not picking up." Then his eyes landed on her luggage. "Is it an out-of-town trip? With wh-"

"Min Ae is leaving for Italy.. and she's not coming back anymore. She's going to get married there." Min Ae's mother suddenly cut him, making his eyes widen in shock. "I told her not to inform since you might influence her to change her mind.. but given that you're here now, I think it's better that you know the truth too."

"Joonie.." Doojoon turned his gaze to Min Ae again, this time already frowning.

"I have no other choice.. I'm sorry.."

"Is this the end for us?"  He held Min Ae's right hand tightly and brought it close to his lips.

"I-I'm afraid s-so..'' Min Ae's voice started to crack. "I d..idn't know how to tell you.. I'm really s..orry."

She was still about to say something when her mother called out to her to get into the car.

The fact that Doojoon wasn't able to do anything else aside from stand there and watch them leave made him angry at himself.

-end-

 

He was browsing through the racks of CDs when a couple of words had caught his attention, making him turn around.

"Mianhae agassi but all of 'Secret' CDs has been rented out for the day. If you want, you can place a reservation and we'll see if it will be available by tomorrow."

He saw that the attendant was talking to a lady who had her back facing him. She was quite familiar, like he had already seen him somewhere.

'Secret'

Now he could not stop thinking about Min Ae anymore because it seemed like almost everything that day reminded him of her. He was about to approach the counter when a man carrying a pile of boxes bumped into him, causing the boxes to fall. Doojoon apologized and offered to help gather it back but when he looked up again, the lady was no longer there.

As if being drawn by a magnet, he rushed out to follow her but she was already gone from sight as soon as he exited the shop. He looked from left to right but couldn't see her anywhere.. it was then he figured that she was the same person from earlier.. the one who reserved the book in the bookstore.

Doojoon sighed once again and continued walking around. He has already been restless for the past few nights and this day didn't do any better because he only keeps missing Min Ae more and more. He knows that she's already back in Korea but couldn't do anything since has no means of contacting her.. unless he approaches Hani - something that he hasn't thought of before.

Grabbing his phone, he dialed Hani's number before putting the phone to his ear. While waiting for her to pick up, he glanced around his environment and wondered for a bit why things related to Min Ae keep on happening that day. When he slowly came to his senses and realized that he was roaming around her old neighborhood, he tapped his forehead once.

His train of thoughts was suddenly broken when Hani spoke on the other line.

"Ne, oppa? Whoa, pigs must be flying right now because you called me. You rarely do that." Then she laughed. "Do you need a favor?"

"You have Min Ae's e-mail address, right? Can I.. can I ask for it?"

"Aigoo.. but I'm at work right now and we were told that we can't access the internet for the day. I can't leave the office either because it's peak hours. Can you wait until this evening? I will send it to you via text message after I check it at home."

"Arasseo.." Doojoon whispered. "That will do.. Thanks, Hani." Then he ended the call and kept his phone back in his pocket.

Heaving another sigh for the umpteenth time, he decided to have a short stop at his and Min Ae's favorite coffee shop since he was already near there anyway.

Opening the two big doors, he looked around and noticed that quite a few things have changed.. the flooring and the walls have changed but the interior design was still the same. He slowly walked towards the counter to order and he noticed that even the staff have changed too. After all, it had been five years since he last visited.

"One latte macchiato please.." A lady appeared beside him and had placed an order first while he was taking his wallet out.

He couldn't see how she looked like because her brown shoulder-length hair covered half of her face but one thing he noticed was the blue blouse which was pretty similar to what the lady back in the bookstore and movie shop was wearing.

"And what would you like to have, sir?" The attendant interrupted him.

"Oh.. latte macchiato too.."

The attendant gave one to him right away since there were a few that were already prepared. Taking the cup, he paid then bowed before turning around and looking for a favorable spot. Without him realizing, he headed to the same table where he and Min Ae would usually stay whenever they were there.. a place next to the windows. Min Ae liked it because she can look at the view outside as she enjoys her coffee. As he was about to take a seat, the lady he encountered earlier pulled a chair out as well while looking at her mobile phone.

"Sorry miss.. but I got this place first." Doojoon tried to sound as nice as possible.

"Oh? Is that so? I thought I was f-" She stopped midway when she looked up from her phone and saw Doojoon right in front of her - something that she really didn't expect to happen.

"H-Han Min Ae.." Doojoon was just as surprised as she was. "Min Ae.." He uttered her name again as he walked closer.

"Yoon Doojoon.." Min Ae broke into a smile. "It's been.. so long! Who knew we'd see each other again? And moreover.. in this place." She chuckled as she placed her coffee on the table. "I can now sit here, right?" She asked before keeping her phone and sitting down and Doojoon just nodded before taking a seat as well.

"So.." He started. "How have you been? I actually heard that you're back here during the college reunion."

"Ah that.. I actually felt bad because I wasn't able to attend. I managed to send a short e-mail to Hani because her address was the only thing I could remember."

"I see..." Doojoon smiled and nodded then took a sip on his coffee as he looked around and behind Min Ae. "So.. did you come alone? How about your family?" He waited for her to answer but she only laughed instead. Then he glanced at Min Ae's left hand when she brought the coffee cup closer towards her.

"I know what you are going to ask next, Mr. Yoon." Min Ae grinned then looked at her hand shortly before looking back at Doojoon. "I didn't get married.. if that's what you want to ask."

"Mwo? But.. five years ago.."

Min Ae sighed softly before continuing, "Ne, it was my father's silly deal with his best friend before. They had agreed that if one is going to have a daughter and the other a son, they would arrange for their children to get married.. thus, the case with me." She calmly stated while looking at the view outside the coffee shop.

"But you never once contacted me in those five years.." Doojoon frowned.

"I changed all my contact information, right? And besides, we were miles apart then."

"What happened with the guy you were arranged with?"

"Well, at first we tried for the sake of our parents.. we even got engaged.. but it eventually did not work. Probably because my heart wasn't with him." Min Ae chuckled. "Luckily, he was able to understand me when I finally decided to open up to him. He said he loves me and would want me to be happy that's why he set me free."

"Are you saying that you still love me?" Doojoon asked her, feeling a bit hopeful after listening to her narration.

Instead of truthfully answering, Min Ae shot a question back, challenging him a little. "It's been a long time.. do you think I would possibly feel the same way as before?"

"But you said your heart wasn't with him that's why you didn't marry.."

"But I didn't say it belonged with you, did I?" Min Ae was just holding herself back but she already felt like laughing at Doojoon's expression at the moment.

Min Ae's heart never changed but her attitude kind of. She learned how to joke around more and tease people.. she mostly learned from her supposed-to-be husband.

"Ah! I have to go now.." She suddenly exclaimed when she took a glance at her wrist watch and saw the time. "By the way, I was only teasing you just now.." She stood and grabbed her bag, slinging it on her arm.

"So that means you still love me, right?"

"Take a guess.." Min Ae grinned and Doojoon frowned again.

"Can I.. walk you home again? Just like old times. That's if you're still living around here." He offered but she lightly shook her head as she pointed to a blue car that was parked outside the shop.

"That's yours?" He asked and Min Ae nodded.

"Then you're the at the bookstore earlier.. and the DVD shop too.."

"How did you know I was there..?" Min Ae asked, suddenly curious and surprised at the same time.

"Blue blouse.. blue car..." Doojoon whispered and laughed at his late realization before Mni Ae tapped his arm.

"I should get going.."

"Wait! Can I have your new number? Just so.. we can keep in touch again."

"Sure.." Min Ae smiled and gave one of her business cards to him. "And by the way, you're right.. I still live here.. same place actually.."

"So can I visit you tomorrow?"

"Hmm.. we'll see.."

"Ya, why do you always give me uncertain answers? Are you teasing me again?"

Min Ae only laughed. "Anyway, I'll really go now. I will be late for the gallery exhibit. Run into you next time, okay?" She waved at him before exiting the coffee shop, leaving him speechless.

 

 

Fate was what tore them apart, but it was also fate that made their paths cross again. For the first time in five long years, Doojoon felt really happy and hopeful. And using this hope, he is going to try his best to win Min Ae back and turn things to like how it used to be... when they were still a couple.