CHAPTER 17: REMEMBER

It was 11 in the evening, and the rain poured from the dark-violet sky and met the grounds of Seoul with a calming sound. Under one umbrella, the two greatly enjoyed the peaceful ambience it provided as they took a stroll around a nearby park while waiting for their friends to come back. The absence of the people due to the time and rain made them even more comfortable, especially for Naeun who can rarely walk around the streets freely.

“So, did I do a great job as a substitute manager?” Eunji asked with a smile.

“Hmm…” The latter pretended to ponder, which turned Eunji’s smile to a pout. Naeun then giggled at the cute sight in front of her before she nodded in approval. “Thank you for staying with me this long. Sorry for bothering you like this…”

“Hey, it’s alright. You’re not bothering me at all, okay? Besides, it’s a nice experience to see a live movie filming. It’s a first for me. I knew that it looks harder than it seems but I never knew that it would be this stressful and tiring.” The older one stopped on her tracks as she looked at Naeun seriously.

“W-why are you s-staring at me like that…?” Naeun stuttered as she felt her heartbeat race. She only took glances at Eunji, not being able to look directly at the latter.

“Naeun-ah.” Eunji called, and once the younger one finally looked at her, a beaming smile accompanied with her crescent moon-like eyes appeared on her face once again. “You’re really amazing, you know.”

Being praised isn’t something new for someone like Naeun. She got compliments from Bomi, her fans, the directors she has worked with, and from her co-actors and actresses. It always made her feel grateful and satisfied, but it’s different when it comes to Eunji. Compared to other people who write and say lengthy sentences just to flatter her, Eunji does it short and simple.

Short and simple, but enough to make her feel overwhelmed with mixed, contrasting emotions. She can deny it to other people, but she can’t deny her true feelings from herself anymore.

Naeun pretended a sigh. “What are you talking about…” she said before walking away from Eunji out of shyness. Walking away has always been her escape from such situations with her, even though right now, the older one won’t probably see her reddening cheeks because of the poor lighting and her face mask.

“Yah, you’re going to be sick!” With her arm extended forward, Eunji immediately followed Naeun after seeing her walk away and get soaked under the rain. “At least take my umbrella if you want to walk alone.”

Upon hearing those words, it was Naeun’s turn to stop walking and give Eunji a judging look. “What will happen to you then?”

“I’ll be fine, you know. I love the rain anyway.” She responded with a proud smirk.

“Says the one who got sent to the hospital before…” Naeun argued back, pouting. “Besides, why would I let you get soaked under the rain…” her voice faltered as she looked down.

“What did you say?” Eunji pretended not to hear the second sentence and tried to keep a straight face but she just can’t help but be happy about what she heard. She then laughed when Naeun realized her lie and slapped her on the arm. The younger one glared at her for a few seconds until she got Eunji’s happy virus and laughed as well.

Guided by the orange light given off by the post lamps, the two found themselves speechless once again as they continued walking. With her left hand inside the pocket of her red hoodie, Eunji unconsciously hovered the umbrella more over the taller girl’s head and did not notice her left shoulder already soaked under the soft rain. Meanwhile, Naeun subtly pulls Eunji closer every time when she finally noticed the sweet gestures that the latter displays.

Throughout the peaceful stroll, the only thing that the two exchanged with each other were stolen glances.

“What are you thinking about?” Naeun finally broke the ice and asked Eunji about the thing that was bothering her since a while ago.

“Hmm…?” The latter snapped back from her thoughts and looked at the questioning beauty beside her.

“I mean, you’ve been smiling non-stop. I’m just wondering if there’s something funny…” She reasoned out.

“Ah, I must have looked stupid.” Eunji scratched her head as she chuckled. “Well, I just remembered something but it’s nothing funny at all to be honest. But even though the situation at that time was something dreary, I still considered the entire thing as a happy memory. Does it even make sense?”

“It does, Eunji-ah.” Naeun answered after a few seconds of contemplating, which made the latter slightly tilt her head and furrow her eyebrows. Eunji was startled with the response because for her, the question at the end was more of a question addressed to herself, and not towards Naeun. The younger one, on the other hand, furthered her explanation.

“Although I have experienced a lot of sad memories in my life, there are some of those in which I wanted to keep on remembering. Sometimes, there are certain impressions that I initially considered as something regretful until I viewed it in a different perspective and realized that they were actually something that I should be thankful for.” Unknowingly, the corner of her lips went up; forming a tender smile after justifying her point.

Son Naeun is a woman with a few words that’s why it amazes Eunji whenever the latter expresses herself in a more detailed way. It’s not because of the number of words or the length of sentences that she was saying, but because of the heavy content that her speech held. The younger one just spoke her thoughts, and it made her really happy to know that they’re on the same page.

Eunji beamed a bright smile. “That’s exactly my point! Wow… See? I was right. You’re really amazing.”

“That’s not the topic here, Jung Eunji.” Naeun shook her head and chuckled at her friend’s unnecessary flattery. “So, care to share that memory with me?”

The bright smile on Eunji’s face then turned into a gentler one as she lovingly gazed right through Naeun’s inviting eyes. “But Naeun-ah, I’m sharing that memory with you.”

“Huh…? What are you talking about?” The younger one tilted her head with narrowed eyes.

“The rain, the umbrella that we’re using, the mask that you’re wearing…Time sure flies by so fast, don’t you think?” Eunji asked.

It took her a couple of seconds before she finally got what Eunji meant, and it instantly made her smile. Who would have thought that they were both reminiscing to the same thing? It turned out that she wasn’t the only one reminded of that rainy day when a kind stranger gave her umbrella to an ungrateful celebrity while they were wandering around the quiet area.

“Ah, that…” Naeun responded, followed by a tight-lipped smile.

“Yeah…” The latter deeply exhaled as she glanced at the blue canopy that was shielding them from the rain, which only made her recall more of what happened during that day. “It has been over a year since I first met you.”

For Eunji, it was unfortunate that she had to meet Naeun in that kind of situation but she also believed that things happen for a reason. Sure, there are other factors that led to their meeting but it’s this one that she thought was the most crucial because if it wasn’t for this reason, Naeun probably did not need to run away and get soaked under the rain, while Eunji would not have taken a different road and just headed straight home.

The funny thing is that until now, she doesn’t have any idea what that reason is about.

“Honestly, I still feel guilty whenever I remember what happened.” Naeun remarked. “You wouldn’t have been sick the next day if I immediately accepted your help. I’m sorry.”

Eunji replied with a reassuring smile. “There’s nothing to be sorry about, Naeun-ah. You needed the umbrella more than I did. Besides…”

Naeun looked at her friend, perplexed when she suddenly stopped talking. “Hmm?” she added as she waited for Eunji to continue what she was about to say.

“If you didn’t try to reject any of my help and if I didn’t lend this to you, we probably wouldn’t be together here right now.” She continued, with her face full of positivity as always. Naeun on the other hand, just replied with a nod as she fully agreed with what Eunji has said.

Once again, silence befell the two of them as they continued walking around the park. But compared to a while ago, it didn’t last quite that long when Eunji decided to throw a question at Naeun. “What about you, Naeun-ah? Did the rain remind you of anything?”

“Well…it reminded me of one of the tankas I’ve read before. It was one of my favorites.” Naeun scratched her forehead as she lied. She thought that it wouldn’t be fun if she answered truthfully since Eunji already shared about the day that they met so she searched deeper inside her memory bank for a different one.

“Oh…is that so?” Eunji slowly nodded her head as she fixed her attention on Naeun. “What is it? Can you recite it for me?” she requested.

“Of course, but…it’s in Japanese so…” Naeun’s voice wavered as she hesitated.

“It’s fine, don’t worry.” Eunji assured Naeun as she urged the latter to continue after sensing her reluctance. “I still remember a few things from my Japanese Literature subject back in high school.”

“If you say so, then…” Naeun lightly coughed before she recited the following sentence in Japanese:

“A faint clap of thunder, clouded skies, perhaps rain will come. If so, will you stay here with me?”

Naeun, who had a hard time looking right back at Eunji most of the time, finally stared directly at the latter as she delivered the last words of the said piece of literature. Her eyes looked like they were begging for an answer as she stared at her intently, even if she knew that Eunji lied and probably didn’t understand a thing about what she said. On the other hand, Eunji’s narrowed eyes were full of confusion, as her limited knowledge of the language was not enough to decipher the whole length of what Naeun has said. All she was sure of was it was a question, since it is a given on how Japanese interrogative sentences are ended.

The both of them stopped on their tracks as their eyes were locked with each other. The sound of the falling rain seemed like a background music as the two got more in each other’s gazes, unknowingly falling deeper into their unspoken feelings. It somehow has become a competition as neither turned away, but it was until they were forced to break the eye contact after squinting their eyes when a bright flash of light blinded them for a second, which was followed by a thunderclap that roared throughout the area.

At the same time, Eunji’s phone vibrated as it rang inside the pocket of her hoodie. It was Bomi, informing the two that she and Chorong already arrived back at the filming set. A sigh escaped from as she returned the phone back into her pocket before looking back at the younger one with a forced smile.

“They’re already back. I also think we should start heading back now even before the rain gets the best of us.” She suggested, with her smile slowly disappearing since she wanted to spend more time with the latter. At the same time she noticed Naeun’s trembling hand, and she just knew that the chill already have crept up throughout the latter’s body. “You’re getting cold now…”

After transferring the umbrella from her right to the left, Eunji took all the courage she can get before she managed to hold Naeun’s hand. She gave it a light squeeze as she glanced at her for a few times and waited for any protest to be voiced out. After hearing nothing from the younger one, she then took a step further and intertwined her fingers with the latter’s before putting both of their hands inside her hoodie’s pocket for more warmth.

“Shall we go?” Eunji asked with a concerned look on her face. “Do you feel better now?”

Naeun hung her head low as she nodded, feeling shy with sudden intrusion of her personal space. Pulling her hand away crossed her mind, but there’s no use in denying the happiness that she’s feeling right now. There’s so many things that she can admit to at the moment; things that she badly wanted to confess, but she chose not to because of the consequences that will follow suit if she did. But if she chose to not care about what the world would say, Naeun would opt for a very short summary as a confession.

It has only been over a year, and yet she knew that it wasn’t some simple liking that she’s feeling. She has fallen in love with the latter, and a simple “I’ve fallen for you” would work for her. Naeun didn’t bother to wonder how it happened that fast, because she believed that anything is possible with love.

“Thank you.” Naeun softly said, and the older one warmly smiled as a response. She then brought her vision back on the puddled pavement as she heaved a sigh, dissatisfied that right now, it’s the only thing that she could say to express herself to Eunji. Another sigh escaped from as she adjusted her fingers to grab on to her friend’s hand tighter.

“How I wish I could say something more than that.”

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A/N: A MIRACLE!!! I UPDATED!!!! /cricketsounds/ /getsbricked/

Kidding aside, I would like to sincerely apologize to all of you for taking me forever to update. Aside from the laziness, I was also fighting against something named writer's block, and it really hindered me to get any inspiration even if I badly wanted to update. This has been my problem as a writer: I think and write slowly. But even I think that these aren't enough for an excuse for not updating. I should have tried and worked harder. And with that, I'm really sorry. I promise to do my best from now on.

I also promise that I will not abandon this because I have no intentions of doing so in the first place. 

Thank you for those who are still waiting for my update. Thank you for not unsubscribing. Honestly I was more surprised that you guys didn't unsubscribe yet because I would totally understand if you guys did. So, really, thank you very much. I also understand if you don't remember anything from my story. I know you guys would probably need to reread a few chapters (if not all) just to remember what happened. I'm sorry again for the hassle. I'll really try my best to update on a weekly basis.

Anyway, I hope you liked this 2Eun centered update. I tried my best to be fluffy but I don't know if it came out like that. Like what I always say, thank you for PATIENTLY waiting, reading, subscribing, commenting, and liking this story. I love you all ^^

If ever you want to contact me about anything or whatever: CLICK :D