That familiar scent woke her. She took a deep breath, still with her eyes closed. How come Seunghyun's couch smelled like her pillow at the dorm? But actually, she could've swore she knew that scent from before, cause the scent always made her feel like home, where ever home was.

She opened her eyes when she realised that she couldn't have been sleeping at Seunghyun's couch, cause the surface she was sleeping on was definitely bigger than the couch. White sheets and plaid blue blanket were the things she noticed first. The room was foreign, with white walls and a small closet. The curtains were closed, but Aerri could tell that it was already late in the afternoon, cause the sun was shining so brightly. As she got up and rubbed off the remnants of sleep from her eyes, she realised that she must have been sleeping in Seunghyun's bedroom. The thought of him carrying her to bed brought the blush up her cheeks.

She got off the bed and went out the room. But Seunghyun was nowhere in sight. Aerri sat on the couch and saw a note on the coffee table. She took the note and read it.

Hey.. I got a job early in the morning so I had to leave. You were still sleeping so i didn't want to wake you.

There’s some food on the table. Eat up. You have to stay down here till this evening, right? You can wait here until you can go back to the dorm. See you later.. :)

Aerri glanced to the dining table to see some food there. The flutters in her stomach were back, thanks to Seunghyun's kindness. But along with it, there was also that sting in her heart that appeared out of nowhere, like a warning that the flutters she felt were not something that she should be having. She didn't know why she felt that way. It was like a reflex of her mind and heart.

Aerri shook her head in confusion. But she shrugged the feeling off and took a bite of the food on the plate. She was already hungry again, even after that tuna sandwich she had the night before. Aerri couldn't imagine the state of hunger she would have felt if Seunghyun didn't find her and gave her some food the night before.

She finished her lunch in minutes. After washing her dirty plates, she took a quick refreshing shower. But after all that routines, she still have some free time before she could go back to the dorm.

"Now what?" she muttered while she sat on the couch. She felt like she couldn't do anything in the foreign place without feeling like an intruder. After all, the place was not hers.

As she looked around the living room, she noticed some picture frames on a work desk at the corner of the room. Aerri found it weird. Why would a Reaper that supposedly couldn't remember anything from his life had such a personal stuff like a picture?

So she approached the picture frame curiously. As she picked it up in her hand, she could see that it was a picture of a boy and a girl that she couldn't recognise. They looked so happy, laughing together while having a picnic.

Aerri noticed 3 other picture frames on the work desk. All of them were pictures of the boy and the girl, some of the pics were taken with some of their other friends. Each picture was taken in different locations. But who were they and why would Seunghyun have those pictures?

Aerri stared at the pic a bit longer, trying to dig her brain to remember. Had she ever met them before? Probably on earth? Or at the dorm? As she remembered nothing, she had no other choice but to put the picture frame back on the table while trying to suppress her curiosity. Considering how Seunghyun could turn distant and secretive in mere seconds, Aerri figured that it was no use of trying to ask him about the pictures. She was just a temporary guest at the apartment. She had no right to poke around at Seunghyun's business, asking about some weird picture frames in his apartment.

She flump herself back to the couch, bored and desperate to find something to do. She could've watched TV, but she just didn't feel like it. After some thoughts, she decided that she could use the time she had to try and make some food for Seunghyun. Just as a sign of gratitude for his kindness.

She checked the fridge and decided that grilled cheese sandwich were the only thing she could make, since there were only some bread and cheese and some other stuff for sandwiches in the fridge. So she set up all the ingredients and start to make the sandwich.

After a plate of grilled cheese sandwich were ready on the table, she glanced to the clock and saw that she still had an hour left before she could go back to the dorm. She exhaled desperately, not knowing what else to do to kill time. "For God sakes, what does a girl has to do to kill time down here?" she muttered.

Then she saw a guitar on the corner of the living room. She didn't see it at first, because it was placed between the bookcase and the wall, almost as if it was hidden on purpose. Aerri looked at it, wondering if she should brave herself to play a guitar again or not. The rush of feelings she got every time her fingers started playing its strings can be overwhelming at times. But then again, she got nothing else to do. If boredom could kill, she would have died twice already.

So she grab the guitar, wiping the dust off its neck and body. The poor thing seemed like it hadn't been played for a while. Then she sat on the couch, and started playing on it. She focused her mind to play a song other than that tune that always haunt her. Thankfully, she succeeded. It seemed that the familiar tune wasn't the only song she could play on the guitar.

So she played song after song after song. Sometimes she even hum or sing some lyrics of some unknown song along with the melody of her guitar. It was amazing how she felt lighter and better just because of a piece of instrument.

But that certain tune seemed to be calling her, teasing her mind and begging her to play that familiar melody. So she took a deep breath, and let her fingers dance on the strings of the guitar, releasing that beautiful tune in to the room.

Aerri didn't even get to finish the song when suddenly someone grabbed the guitar out of her hand. She looked up in surprise to see Seunghyun, his dark eyes seemed.. angry? Did she do something wrong?

"The guitar was not meant to be played, Aerri." he said coldly as he put the guitar back to the corner of the room.

"Oh.. i'm sorry.. I got bored, so I.. borrowed it." Aerri stuttered as Seunghyun's anger surprised her. She watched as the boy paced the room back and forth, his hands rubbing his hair and his handsome face in frustration. Aerri was certain that she did something wrong, whatever that was.

"Umm.. I made you some grilled cheese sandwich. Thanks for your help, Seunghyun. Thanks for the food and for letting me stay here." Aerri said, half wishing that some food would make Seunghyun's seemingly bad mood to go away.

He stopped his pace as he looked at the plate of grilled cheese sandwich on the table. His face softened for a second, but he looked distant once more as he took the plate and put it in fridge. "I'll eat them later." he said. He closed the door of the fridge, and said, "You should leave, Aerri."

"What?" It was not only his words that surprised her, but also the way he said it. He had been cold and distant before, but this time was different. The way he hissed his words made it seem like he couldn't stand to be in the same room as her.

"You need to leave." he repeated his words. "I think your punishment is over now and you can already go back to the dorm. I'm leaving now as I got some work to do. I can't be late again cause we both know what happened when I was late the last time, right?"

At first Aerri was going to say that she didn't mind to tag along with him to work so that she could go back to the dorm with him. But his last sentence stung her, as it seemed that he blamed her for causing him trouble during his pick up the day before.

"Did you get punished too because of my action yesterday, Seunghyun? But you didn't do anything wrong." Aerri said. Probably that was why he was angry at her? Because he got punished too?

"No, I'm not punished too. The Miss said it herself that I didn't do anything wrong. I'm just telling you that we should do our job well and not cause any more trouble. So you should leave and go back to the dorm."

"So you're implying that the longer I stay here, the more trouble I will cause?"

"I'm not implying anything. I'm just telling you to leave." he said before he left the apartment without giving her another glance.

Aerri stood there in shock, trying to think of any reason that might cause the guy who were so playful to her the night before turned so cold and slightly mean to her just now. Was it because she played the guitar? Could something that simple turn him cold just like that?

In other circumstances, she might be furious at Seunghyun. After all, she was quite certain that she didn't do anything wrong. Well, except for the fact that she ruined one of his job yesterday. But Seunghyun didn't seem to be angry at her about that fact the night before. So something else was most probably the cause of his sudden change of behaviour. But what was it?

"Whatever.. He told me to leave, so I'm leaving. His hot and cold behaviour is none of my business. I'm having a headache just from thinking about his weird attitude." Aerri voiced her thoughts out loud, hoping to convince herself to stop putting too much thoughts and feelings into what just happened. It didn't quite work, though. As she left the apartment, she still felt sad, and slightly hurt, probably even more than she should have.

-----------------

He stared at the woman that lay on the hospital bed. Her family were gathering around her bed, some of them sobbing loudly as they knew what lay upon the woman's future. Seunghyun knew it too. In  a few minutes, the woman's fight against her cancer would be over, and he would have to take her to the after life.

But the sad scene in front of him couldn't stop him from thinking about what he just said to Aerri. He felt like a total jerk for treating her the way he did just now. But it was like he was having a panic attack. He spew out words that he didn't mean to say in a tone that was harsher than what he meant. Everything he said was said just to get her away from him. He really did want her to leave, because the fear of being with her was too real.

When he got to the apartment, he was surprised when he heard the sounds of a guitar. He entered the room to see Aerri playing it beautifully, as if the guitar was not just an instrument, but an extension of her feelings and emotion. He stood there in silence, smiling as he watched her play her heart out, strumming and humming and singing her melodies.

But then, after she took a deep breath, suddenly that melody can be heard in the room. His smile faded as the warmth he felt when he saw her playing her guitar was replaced with that sense of familiarity. And just like that, it was as if the image of the girl in his dreams materialised in front of him. In his dreams, he could never see the girl's face. But this time, he was certain that Aerri was the girl. Was he really certain? One thing for sure: that haunting melody in his dreams were the same as the one Aerri was playing on her guitar.

And then, as her guitar continued playing that melody, a vivid scene appeared in his mind.

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