Chapter Two : Bring Me Back To My Past

TWO YEARS AGO (2012)

“We’re getting married!” a guy shouted at the beautiful calming sea, his face filled with joy and bliss.

“Not so loud! Everyone’s looking at us,” said Gyuri, feeling slightly embarrassed and so she covered her face.

“I want the whole world to know that Park Gyuri is going to be my wife, and nobody is going to ruin that.”

He looked around to see if anyone was indeed around. A man in his mid-sixties walked pass them, triggering him to do the next thing.

“Sir, we’re getting married! Congratulate us please,” said Hyunwoo.

Gyuri widened her eyes, and pulled Hyunwoo away from the elder. Her cheeks were redder than red roses.

“Hyunwoo! What are you doing? Keep it down,” said Gyuri. She then faced the man, apologizing, “I’m really sorry. He’s a little bit drunk. Ignore him.”

“I’m pretty sure he’s absolutely sober. Congratulations to you two! You make a great couple,” said the old man with a laugh at the end of his speech.

Hyunwoo and Gyuri thanked him as he continued his journey elsewhere. Gyuri looked at Hyunwoo as if Hyunwoo had just committed a terrible crime. She then playfully slapped his chest with both of her hands, like a kid asking her dad for some ice cream.

“Okay, okay, stop! That hurts,” said Hyunwoo as he grabbed her soft and silky hands, and embraced her.

The seal stopped flapping its hands, and hugged the love of her life as tight. Thank you, for everything, she thought as she heard his heart beating, like it was only beating for her.

“Stars die and people die. What lives forever, is my love for you. I love you. Eternity holds that truth,” said Hyunwoo, resting his hand on her head.

 “I love you too,” said Gyuri, smiling slowly as her arms pulled Hyunwoo in even tighter.

---

“How long have you been lying to me?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Don’t you think apologizing now means nothing?”

“I know I shouldn’t have kept you in the dark, but please hear me out.”

“I would have been less upset if you told me about your past. I’m angry because I had to find out. I’m upset because you don’t trust me.”

“I trust you. It’s just that I’m having issues with my family and I wanted you to be out of this,” said Hyunwoo, placing both his hands on her shoulders, staring straight into her watery eyes.

“Is it true that your family assets are valued up to billions?”

Gyuri waited for his answer. She waited for the truth. It didn’t come out of his mouth, but his face was showing all of what she wanted to know. Gyuri nodded in disbelief, and reluctantly she said, “I think we have problems of our own. I don’t think marriage is the right thing for us right now.”

Upset, she left Hyunwoo in the room, who stared blankly and had visible tears in his eyes. He was only awoken by the sound of the door being slammed behind him.

“Gyuri,” he shouted as he tried to catch up with her.

“Stop chasing me. Leave me alone. I need some space,”

“Please, listen to me. I can explain,” said Hyunwoo, trying to persuade his fiance to hear him out.

“I’ve heard enough of lies,” she screamed at his face. She looked at him briefly as her tears started to flow, “I can’t make myself see you right now.”

“I’m sorry. I really am. Please forgive me.”

Please. Please. I really don’t want to see you right now. Seeing you just reminds me of the lies you made, and how fake my life has been.

“Have you ever loved me?” said Gyuri, breaking free from his grasp, and pushing him away as far as she could with her bare hands.

All of a sudden, a truck appeared out of nowhere and approached Hyunwoo. It was only ten metres away from him. There wasn’t time for him to escape death. The headlights shone upon him, and he wasn’t moving, nor was he trying to move. It was as if, he wanted to die.

“Look out!” Gyuri screamed hysterically.

In merely five seconds, Gyuri’s life changed. What she had witnessed right in front of her was reality. It could not have been more real. Her face was filled with terror and shock, and she felt every muscle in her body becoming numb, limiting her motion. She wasn’t crying. Her legs suddenly became tired she had to kneel down. Shaking, she slowly crawled towards Hyunwoo, whose body was badly injured. Blood was everywhere.

“Hyunwoo,” said Gyuri softly with her scared shaky voice.

Gyuri leaned in and let his head rest on her lap. Hyunwoo was in agony, but he tried to not show what he felt. He adjusted his head, and held Gyuri’s hand with all the energy he had left. He tried to speak, but words seemed to be stuck in his throat.

“Shhh, don’t speak. The ambulance will be here soon. Just rest,” Gyuri couldn’t help but cry.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” said Gyuri as she touched his tender face. It felt like time had stopped for a long time.

Hyunwoo could only smile bluntly at Gyuri. There were so many things he wanted to tell her, yet he could only tell her one thing.

“I – love – you.”

He looked at Gyuri and smiled. He lifted his heavy arm and tried to reach her face, but he couldn’t. The air in his lungs had been out almost immediately. His eyes closed, and his other hand was no longer holding hers. His last breath was his last words to her.

“Hyunwoo. Wake up. Please. Don’t do this to me. Wake up!” Gyuri started screaming at his dead fiance, shaking him hard trying to revive him.

Hyunwoo only lied on the ground, unmoved.  She pummeled his chest, believing that he was putting up a show to gain her forgiveness, but he wasn’t. His pulse stopped beating, confirming that he was indeed gone for good. She couldn’t stop her tears, and her vision faded slowly. Gyuri fell unconscious right next to her fiance.

PRESENT DAY (2014)

Gyuri stood up with her eyes locked on the target. Hyunwoo, is that you? Please tell me it’s you.  She sped towards the entrance and stepped out of the bakery. Just as she was about to turn left, a brown-haired guy with little facial hair just around his chin bumped into her, spilling his coffee onto the ground.

“Are you alright?” asked the guy apologetically.

“I’m sorry. Yes I’m fine,” said Gyuri, looking around for the Hyunwoo lookalike.

The brown-haired fairly tall guy followed her eyes, “Are you looking for someone?”

“Yes I am. I’m sorry about that,” she said, and promptly ran towards the direction the doppelganger had taken off.

She ran as fast as she could, fearing she would lose sight of him. Suddenly, the place was packed with people chattering all over. She turned three hundred and sixty degrees in every direction, but he wasn’t there anymore. Did she just lose him?

“Gyuri!” a guy exclaimed loudly from afar.

For a second, Hyunwoo came into her mind. That voice. Smiling, she turned around to see, but to her disappointment, it wasn’t Hyunwoo. Her smile faded in a blink of an eye.

“Why did you dash off without telling me? You worried me,” said a concerned Seungho.

“I saw him, Seungho. I saw Hyunwoo.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Should I wear this or this,” said Seungyeon to herself as she was deciding which earrings to wear.

It was already 6.30pm, but she wasn’t ready to go out yet. Her date with Jonghyun was set at 7.30pm, and of course she had to make sure she looked pretty in front of him. A pink and ladylike mini dress lied on her bed, ready to worn. Her phone rang in the next second.

“Hello?” Seungyeon picked up her phone without looking at the caller’s ID.

“Seungyeon, it’s me!”

“Hara Goo?”

“Yeah! Are you free tonight?”

“Sorry, I’m not. I have a date with someone,” said Seungyeon, giggling at her last sentence.

“With who?”

“A friend. Anyway, where are you?”

“I just came back from America. Not leaving till the end of next year, so we can have more sister bonding time!”

“Good! I haven’t seen you for too long,” complained Seungyeon, brushing her eyebrows to straighten them up.

They chat for at least ten minutes before Seungyeon had to find an excuse to cut the conversation as she was running late. She quickly put her simplest make up on, and wore her pink dress and high heels. She heard Jonghyun liked girls with less make up, therefore would do anything to live up to his preferences.

Thirty minutes later, Seungyeon arrived at the restaurant they both agreed to meet. Upon entering the main entrance, she saw the back of a slim lady wearing casual outfit, talking intimately to her dream guy. She felt a needle poking at her heart, wounding her deeply. Jealousy was all over her face, and she couldn’t hide it even if she tried to. She stood there frozen, clenching her fists, debating whether to confront them or to leave them. She couldn’t possibly leave; it was her date and her guy.

“Hello Jonghyun. Sorry to keep you waiting,” said Seungyeon, trying her very best to hide her jealousy towards the random girl.

The girl turned around and faced Seungyeon, and surprisingly, it was someone that she knew.

“Hara?”

“Seungyeon!” Hara exclaimed, her arms opened wide to hug her best friend.

Instantly the past few minutes that had gone by became history. Seungyeon forgot that she was jealous as she was too happy to see Hara after so many years. Jonghyun, on the other hand, was dumbfounded.

“You two know each other?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were meeting Seungyeon?” Hara tapped on his shoulder lightly.

“I didn’t know you knew each other,” said Jonghyun, shrugging to prove his innocence.

“Why are you here, Hara?” Seungyeon asked, looking straight at Hara’s eyes eerily as if she was about to blow the whole restaurant up.

“Well, we had some discussions together. I’m leaving so don’t worry,” said Hara vaguely, as if she was hiding something from Seungyeon.

Hara glanced at Jonghyun, who lost his smile in an instant. Seungyeon looked back and forth at the two, like they were criminals and had to be caught. There was a pause, and Seungyeon decided to break the silence.

“Is there something that I should know?”

Just as Jonghyun opened his mouth to let out a word, Hara interrupted, “We’ve been friends since elementary school. I used to have a huge crush on him.”

Seungyeon let out a giggle, but wasn’t fully convinced with Hara’s statement. Hara, who noticed Seungyeon’s curiosity growing, thought of an impromptu plan of leaving the spot to clear any suspicions. She couldn’t risk anyone finding out the reason why she was here, talking secretively to Seungyeon’s dream guy.

“How did you know Hara?” Seungyeon asked right after Hara left the picture.

“Like she said, we’ve been friends for a long time.”

Afraid she might scare of her prince charming, she stopped questioning although her inquisitive side was still bugging her. It became quiet and awkward between them, until Jonghyun stepped in to melt the ice barrier.

“So, have you thought of how we’re going to convince the owner of Taeyang Resorts to invest?”

“Are we getting Taeyang Resorts to invest?” asked Seungyeon, looking very surprised.

“That’s the plan I guess. Why do you look so surprised?”

Seungyeon shoved it off and smiled. Of course she would be surprised. Taeyang Resorts belonged to the Han family, which her father intended to pass down to her. She worked so hard the past few weeks just to escape from his father’s grasps, and yet there she fell back into the old traps.

“Actually, I have something else to tell you. But I don’t know if I should or not, because it will probably affect our relationship right now,” said Jonghyun with a slightly worried expression.

“Tell me. I won’t let it affect me,” said Seungyeon, eager to know what he wanted to say.

“I’ve thought through about it. I think we should give each other some time to think about our current relationship. I mean, as you know pretty well, I separate work and personal lives. And I really hope things stay as they are.”

After having said that, he stood up and was ready to leave the place. She stared at him, finding it hard to believe his words. Why is he saying this? Have I done anything wrong? She felt her eyelids twitching, and her eyes became teary. Adrenaline rushed through her blood vessels, causing her heart rate to increase by quadruple. Jonghyun let out a little whisper saying ‘Sorry’ and started walking. Distance between them increased as seconds passed.

“Is it because of Hara?” Said Seungyeon, stopping his stride.

Jonghyun looked over his shoulder, glancing at Seungyeon, somehow feeling a bit sad and regretful that he had said things he perhaps shouldn’t have. It’s for your own good, he thought. He continued to exit the restaurant, leaving Seungyeon in despair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun cleared away the clouds, leaving a blue sky. The air was unusually fresh, and the wind was light and nice, blowing away the fallen leaves on the road. Seyeon stopped for a while, letting herself loose as she felt the tense in her shoulders. She looked up at the sky, and smiled. She then looked over the bridge, gazing at the calm water underneath, reflecting her shadow. She reached for a coin in her pocket.

Seyeon observed the features of the coin carefully, feeling its shape with her thumb.  Shutting her eyes tightly, six years has gone by, and that is how long you have been missed. Please come back. After a brief few moments, she tossed the coin up high and far. Gravity pulled the coin downwards and it fell into the water, just like anything with mass would. After taking a deep breath, she left the bridge to walk to her first step to her future; Seoul High.

It would have taken her less than twenty minutes to walk from home to school if she hadn’t stopped by the bridge. The school was surrounded by strangers, well at least, to Seyeon. She had only five minutes to look for her registration class, and she had more than five buildings to look into. Oh great, I am so going to be late for class. Slightly panicking, she started to speed walk, taking a random direction to start with.

Five minutes later, the whole school seemed empty. Everyone was already in their respective classes, while Seyeon was still struggling to find the classroom she had been assigned into.

“I probably should have just asked somebody,” said Seyeon, sounding a little bit agitated.

“Hello! Do you need any help,” asked somebody from behind.

To Seyeon’s surprise, she had met this person before. She even had a brief conversation with her the previous day.

“Hey! We met yesterday! I’m sorry I bumped into you. I’m Jin Seyeon, a new student here,” said Seyeon happily, finally feeling a little relieved that she had at least an acquaintance.

“I’m Kang Jiyoung. Nice to meet you again,” Jiyoung chuckled.

“I’m kind of late to class, but I can’t seem to find it anywhere. The school is so big,”

“I’ll help you with that. Can I have a look at the paper?” Jiyoung pointed at the small piece of paper Seyeon was holding.

Seyeon didn’t hesitate to show Jiyoung the scrap paper which had the name of the class she was supposed to go to. Jiyoung let out a tiny laugh as she saw the writings on the scrap paper.

“We’re actually in the same classes!” said Jiyoung rather loudly.

“What do you mean “classes”?”

“We do the same subjects, and you and I are together in every one!”

Both Seyeon and Jiyoung laughed as that came out of Jiyoung’s mouth. It felt as if Seyeon’s day had just gone all good all of a sudden. And then she thought, school.

“We’re late for class, aren’t we?” said Seyeon, snapping Jiyoung out of her unstoppable laughter.

“Let’s go!”

----

“Kang Jiyoung, I know you’re very busy with other things, but that does not give you the advantage of having to come to classes ten minutes late,” said Mr Hong angrily, causing the whole class to burst into laughter.

“I’m sorry, but I kind of saved a person on my way here,” said Jiyoung, trying to lift up Mr Hong’s moods.

“Hello,” said Seyeon shyly, giving two ninety-degree bows to the whole class.

“Who have we got here,” said the bearded teacher, looking at the registration list with two additional names. “Jin Seyeon,” he continued.

“Yes, sir.”

“Well everyone. Welcome Miss Jin Seyeon,” said Mr Hong, putting his hands together, and the whole class followed.

Jiyoung smiled at Seyeon, and her hand gestured to ask her to come over.

“Sit next to me,” whispered Jiyoung.

Seyeon nodded. Just as she was about to sit down, another student walked in. He had hazel hair cut stylishly, dark brown charming eyes and very kissable lips. His tie was a little bit loose, and his shirt wasn’t properly tucked in. He surely had a fatal smile.

“And you must be Lee Jongsuk,” said Mr Hong, who seemed to be getting a little bit bored having to mention another name.

“Hey everyone,” said Jongsuk, instantly killing all the girls with his smile.

“So I heard you’re an exchange student from the UK?”

“Yes I am. I will be here for six months, so please bear with me.”

“What a gentleman, isn’t he?”

All the girls started chattering about the new guy; his hair, his looks, his personality, everything. Jongsuk saw a vacant seat next Seyeon, so he walked towards it. He glanced at Seyeon, smiling at her as if she was the only girl in the world.

“Do you mind if I sit here?”

“No I don’t,” said Seyeon sweetly.

That was how the conversation ended. The two only exchanged awkward glances and smiles at each other. The whole class suddenly went vile when the self-proclaimed prince arrived. Kim Hyeongkon.

He had very good looks, and a smirk which every girl would fall for. It was obvious that he came from a rich family background; everything he used was of different famous brands. He, like Jongsuk, greeted everyone, but in a different way. He smirked as a way of greeting. Nonetheless, all the girls were fond of him.

“He’s Kim Hyeongkon, presumably the richest guy in the school,” Jiyoung explained as her eyes followed Kim Hyeongkon’s motion.

There was a short interaction between Jongsuk and Hyeongkon. He glared at Jongsuk as he passed him by to reach his seat. He then looked over and saw Seyeon sitting next to Jongsuk, jotting some notes down.

“I haven’t seen you before. I’m assuming you’re new?” Hyeongkon asked.

“I am,” said Seyeon, not giving her slightest attention to him.

Hyeongkon smirked again. This time his face expression was stranger than the last.

“Kang Jiyoung. What time is the audition for MTO Note?” Hyeongkon asked in a rude tone.

“Break time. Why? Are you auditioning?”

“Why not if I can sing?”

All the girls screamed at his sentence. The whole class went crazy again for the umpteenth time over Hyeongkon’s little announcement.

“He’s a bit proud now, isn’t he?” muttered Jongsuk to Seyeon, attempting to make a joke out of it.

“He is, kind of,” Seyeon giggled.

Again, Hyeongkon glared at Jongsuk. Apparently he seemed to be a little jealous over the fact that Jongsuk had got on well with Seyeon, perhaps better than him.

“Right. Kim Hyeongkon, sit. You’re holding us back,” said Mr Hong finally.

Lessons started right after that. All the girls seemed to have forgotten about Jongsuk, and they were still talking about how suave Kim Hyeongkon was. Jongsuk obviously didn’t mind as he was just an ordinary exchange student. However, Seyeon caught his attention right from the beginning, when he first saw her a few moments ago. It became obvious to him that he was attracted to her.

“I’m Jongsuk by the way,” he whispered softly as he leaned in towards her.

“I’m Seyeon,” she smiled at him.

They met each other’s eyes and their faces were less than five inches apart. Jongsuk stared right into her eyes for a little while, have we met before?