Day One – 9:22 am

Kai sits up in bed and lets the covers pool down at his waist.  He scratches the back of his head, feeling that his hair is in disarray.  He doesn’t really care though.  It’s not like he needs to be anywhere for the next two weeks.  He sighs a sigh of relief as he thinks about the break.  Thank you manager for allowing us to have a break, he thinks. 

He looks at the door of his room.  It’s open just a crack.  He gives the sight a weird look.  That’s strange.  I usually close the door.  He thinks for a minute, then smiles.  Throwing the blankets off his legs, he stands up and heads out the door.  Walking down the hallway in his pajama pants and loose tank top, he hums the chorus of 2H1L’s latest song.  Even after hearing it over a million times in rehearsal, he still likes the melody. 

“Morning Jagiya,” he calls out, heading to the kitchen.  He stretches his arms over his head, hearing the joints pop and crack.  “Did you sleep well?”  Kai stops in the bathroom and turns on the light.  Glancing in the mirror, he sees his own sleepy self, staring back at him.  He didn’t hear a reply.

“Jagiya?”  He calls again.  He brushes the hair off his forehead and looks at his skin.  His face reflects the stress of the recent activities.  He still didn’t hear anything.

He turns away, a confused look leaving the reflective surface.  “Jagi?”

He walks into the living area, but you’re not in your normal spot.  You always woke up before him and you were always sitting on the right side of the couch, reading a book.  Today you’re not there.

Kai’s heart starts to race as an unwanted memory comes to mind.  He envisions the old model car pulling into traffic.  He recalls you sitting in the back seat.  He remembers the back of your head.

Kai backs into the wall behind him, covering his face with his hands.  You had left him.  You left him standing on the street.  No goodbye, no hug, no kiss, not even a look out the back of a car.  How could she do that to me?  Is she trying to punish me for those times I yelled at her?  Does she really hate me that much?

He slides down the wall letting tears leave his eyes with no resistance.  He remembers why the door wasn’t closed last night.  After he closed the apartment door, he broke down into a sobbing mess, unable to hold anything in anymore.  For the first several minutes, he didn’t move from the entrance.  Once he was able to breathe without choking, he crawled to his room and climbed into his bed, pushing his tear soaked face into the pillow.

“So that was real,” he said out loud.  “It wasn’t just a dream.  Why does it have to be real?”  His voice hitches and his body shutters with a quiet wail.

“Jagiya, how could you do this to me?  I told you that I always need you.  I need you now.  Why are you not here?”

Day 1 – 9:00 am

Your alarm is going off, because you forgot to turn it off.  You don’t need to get up early anymore; at least for the next two weeks.  Though, you were awake before your alarm went off.  Actually, you really didn’t sleep much last night.  The extra mattress in your friend’s room isn’t the best in the world, but mostly it’s just not yours. 

You turn off the buzzing alarm and sit up, your bear arms now exposed to the cool air of the room.  You stretch your arms over your head and flinch from the twinges of lingering pain in your shoulders.  You are definitely not going to miss dance rehearsal.  You rub the back of your head and feel that your hair is full of tangles.  You roll your eyes and sigh.  Oh well, not like I have anything to do.  Unless Unnie has something she wants to do.  You look over at your friend’s sleeping form and smile.

You get out of bed and adjust your tank top and shorts.  Then you walk over to your friend’s bed and not too gently get under the covers with her.  She groans a little and turns to you.

“Good morning, Unnie,” you say quietly.

“Mm, morning,” she mumbles back.  She turns around completely now facing you.  “Did you sleep good?”  She rubs her eyes.

“Yes,” you lie.

“Liar.” 

Instead of fighting, which would be futile, you nod your head a little.  You feel her foot nudge your leg and you realize how cold you are.

“You’re freezing,” Unnie points out.  She takes her legs and traps yours in some knot, but you welcome the movement because she’s warm.  She grabs your waist and pulls you closer to her body.  “You should have woken me up if you were cold.  Is that why you couldn’t sleep?”

Now curled up in your friend’s arms you start to finally relax.  “No,” you reply.  You think about how long it’s been since the two of you have slept in the same bed.  After you were discovered with Kai, you didn’t see her much anymore.  But before that, you two were together as much as possible.  Unnie was almost two years older than you and you two lived in the same neighborhood as children.  One day when some boys were picking on you when you were about 7, Unnie showed up and made them leave you alone.  You practically worshiped her ever since.

“It was because of Kai, huh?”  You had kept Unnie in the loop of almost everything that was going on with you, including the issues with Kai. 

“I don’t know.  It’s just a different bed then I’m used to and that affected my sleep I guess.”

You feel Unnie nod her head a little.  You close your eyes feeling safe and protected.  You think about the last time Kai’s embrace felt this good.  Oh no.  Now you’re thinking about Kai.  Your stomach turns.

“Unnie, are you sure this separation idea is going to work?  I feel really guilty for putting Kai through this.  You should have seen him on stage yesterday.  He was holding me tighter than usual and he spent more time looking at me than the audience.”  Your arms are trapped between your bodies and you fiddle with the front of her shirt.

Unnie sighs.  “Yes, Cindy.  I’m sure.  You guys just need some time to take a step back and reexamine your relationship.  It may hurt now, but it’s for the best.”

Cindy is the nickname you acquired when you were 8.  Cindy, from Cinderella.  Unnie said that your personality is just like the princess from the fairy tale.  You never really argued that fact.

“I hope you’re right,” you whisper.  You think about how you ran off stage, too afraid that if you let Kai stop you, you would change your mind.  By the time you got in the car, tears were pouring down your face.  Once the car started moving, Unnie said that Kai had come outside.  She told you not to look back, because then he would see your tears.  It took the whole 30 minute drive to calm down.

You feel a small flick on your head.  “Yah!”  Unnie says, smiling.  “Have I ever been wrong?”  She giggles and squeezes you tighter, squishing you.  You struggle against her as she laughs at you.  You find yourself laughing along too.

“Tell me.  Have I ever been wrong before?”  Unnie starts to tickle your sides.  You lose your mind as you try to make her stop, laughing hysterically.

“NO!” you shout, finally managing to form the word between the laughs.

Unnies stops with the torture, but maintains her hold on you.  You pant, trying to catch your breath again.  Your bodies are still entwined, but the blankets have been thrown to the floor due to your tickle induced seizure.

“That’s right,” Unnie declares.  “Therefore, today we are going to the spa.”

“That spa?”

“Yep.  You’re manager will let you do that right?”

“Well, yeah, but I’ve never been to one before.”

An evil grin spreads across Unnie’s face.  “Oh, really?”  She untangles herself from you and jumps out of the bed.  “Come on, Cindy.  We’ve got a lot to do today.”

You smile and get out of bed.