CHAPTER 25: FRAGMENTS

"Mr. Jung, there are rumors saying that your relationship with Ms. Son is on the rocks at the moment, that's why you plan to go overseas for a year or two. Is this true?"  

With gentle eyes, Ilhoon glanced at Naeun as he placed his hand on top of hers before turning back his attention to the press. "I can confidently say that it's not true. Naeun and I...we're perfectly fine." He smiled, and albeit slightly, it showed his famous smirk. "But it is indeed true that I am planning to go overseas for work, since I am aiming for global expansion. Everything is under preparation already, so maybe I'll be able to leave after a week or two." 

"What about Ms. Son? Won't she get lonely if you stay away that long?" Another reporter asked.  

"It's not like he won't visit me anymore, right?" Naeun answered next. "Besides, if Ilhoon is going to be busy with his business, I will also be very busy with my new projects, starting with the SBS drama. Filming starts in more or less two weeks, which is why I'm very excited." Naeun explained, this time placing her hand on top of Ilhoon's. "I guess this is the best way to keep me occupied while he's away." 

The last one to ask is a columnist. "How do you maintain such lovely and harmonious relationship despite your busy schedules?" 

"Communication." Ilhoon answered without hesitation. He took another loving glance at his goddess-like girlfriend before continuing. "I think it's the key to avoid any misunderstandings so we tell each other everything. That's why we promised to always have dinner together, so we can just...you know, talk about what happened that day. Am I right, hun?"

Naeun nodded and lovingly smiled at her boyfriend. "Honesty comes along with it too. We always make sure that what we tell and show each other is the truth."

And with that, it was time to let the photographers do their job for the last time. With Ilhoon's arm s around her waist, the two stood close together as they both waved at the sea of cameras that kept on flashing; capturing every moment and detail of this event.

Smile, Naeun. The actress convinced herself once more, and she again pulled off her signature smile; the one that everyone got used to, the one that always swept everyone's feet, and the one that's to die for. Everyone is envious at how beautiful it is, and according to her fans it was the kind of smile that really shows that she's at the happiest time of her life.

Unfortunately, she's not.

It may be her most beautiful smile, but it is also the most painful one. It hurts her not only because of the fact that she's deceiving others, but because she was deceiving herself as well. Every day she is wearing this mask full of needles, and no one knows that deep inside she breaks down little by little, knowing that she's trapped inside a pretentious world full of lies. 

---

"Damn. Ilhoon is one lucky man..." Hayoung muttered; her glistening eyes still fixed on the television as she watched her idol's press conference. Another close-up on the celebrity, and her face softened as she dreamily sighed. "She's so pretty...when will I ever see you..."

Namjoo folded her arms and expressed immediate disgust upon seeing her friend gawking in front of the  tv screen. "Look at this kid..."

Soo-ah, who has been standing beside Namjoo the whole time then slightly leaned her head towards Namjoo. "Give her a break, Namjoo. Like what you said, she's just a kid. Although...I do quite fear for her reaction when she finds out." she whispered.

"She's already in her 20s, for goodness' sake! And I can't even imagine, to be honest. To think that she already cries whenever she watches random clips on Youtube...what more when she sees her personally?"

"What are you guys doing?" a voice asked, echoing throughout the spacious lobby. "Are you guys picking on Hayoung again?" 

"Yeondoo!!!" Hayoung quickly got up from her seat and happily approached her friend. "Look, look!" The youngest one excitingly dragged the older one towards the tv. "Isn't she very pretty? My Goddess Son..."

She was pretty sure that Hayoung still said something else after that, but for some reason, everything around her blurred out the moment she looked at her friend's #1 idol. Unconsciously, the corner of lips slightly went up as she watched her smile and wave at the camera. Yeondoo then noticed how her hair smoothly went over her shoulders whenever her head turned, how elegant she looked in that white dress that perfectly wrapped around her curves, how her smile can make millions of people swoon over her beauty...

She was stunned, again - just like when Hayoung showed her picture for the first time.

"Oh...she looks familiar." Yeondoo tilted her head as she tried to dig within her incomplete memories. She then glanced again at Hayoung's phone wallpaper.

"Of course you've seen her before." The younger one boasted. "Sometime in your past you probably saw her on tv. She's too popular for you to not know." With her eyes shooting hearts and smile showing her sparkly dental veneers, she continued describing on how famous her idol is.

The latter shrugged. "I still can't remember her name, though."

"Son Naeun." Hayoung introduced. "Damn. Even her name is so pretty that I doubt you would even forget it."

Yeondoo then repeated the name as she took one last look at the phone.

"Son...Naeun." And just like before, the name naturally came out of , and Yeondoo still finds it very weird that there was a sense of familiarity whenever she said her name. 

Hayoung then went on telling stuff related to the actress - that she likes the color black, she used to draw, she's clumsy enough to drop a prestigious trophy - but none of it seemed to register as Yeondoo stayed focused on the television. "Uh...Earth to Kang Yeondoo?" The youngest one tried to get back the latter's attention, but after a few seconds, her face that was full of curiosity is now plastered with a smirk. "Did you just fall in love with Son Naeun?"

"Huh?" Yeondoo exclaimed as she woke up from her trance. "What?"

Even before Hayoung could answer, Namjoo cutted in; gently tugging the older one with her towards the stairs and ignoring the protests of her ecstatic best friend on purpose. "You know what, Yeondoo? Why don't you rest for a bit? I'm pretty sure you're still sleepy since you woke up earlier than usual."

"Hey, Kim Namjoo!" Hayoung was about to follow, only to be blocked by her best friend's cousin. "Tell me, why does your cousin hate my girl?" she eyed the person blocking her way.

"More like she's annoyed because you talk about her for like, 90% of the time." Soo-ah ushered the latter back to where she was seated a few minutes ago. It was always like this; she's the middle man whenever her cousin and her friend were about to engage in petty arguments. "I clearly don't have any problems with you and your fantasies, but I do suggest being a little more uh...sensitive?"

Hayoung sighed. "She gets annoyed over something like that?" Unbelievable.

"It's for you to figure out." Soo-ah replied. "But not now. We will need every ounce of energy that we have when we proceed with the preparations later, so just stay still and rest."

Meanwhile, Yeondoo went straight towards the balcony of her room, aka her second favorite spot. Aside from just enjoying the cool wind that ventilates the whole room, she spends most of her free time thinking in this area, since the calming view of the rest of the Kwon's green, massive property really helps her mind to concentrate about the same little fragments of memories that she encounters repetitively. 

And just like any other day, she was at the same spot for the same reason. 

It's been almost 3 years. Some significant time has passed ever since she woke up without any recollection of her past, and yet the mystery behind it still revolves around three scenarios: One, standing under the rain with a blue umbrella; two, being up in the air hundreds of feet above the ground; and three, being chased around by some people whom she still haven't recognized. 

Well, four, if she decided to add the odd familiarity that she's getting from Son Naeun. But then again, how is someone like her even related to an immensely popular celebrity? She cannot even find connection between the other three, what more if she added her in the picture? 

Yeondoo sighed, confused at her own feelings. She was so sure before that it didn't matter whether she regains her memory or not, but now that these pieces of her forgotten life continuously haunt her -  seemingly to remind her that she has a life and possibly a family to go back to - she's becoming more eager to rediscover who she really was.

"More..." the bothered 24-year-old amnesiac muttered. She gently combed her hair with forked fingers and stopped right at the very spot where she felt the scar. 

I need more memories.

---

One more week had passed by.

Since Naeun decided to have a vacation at the hotel -which is also one of the filming locations in that area-  a week prior to the start of the filming, everything was prepared in advance. Her clothes and belongings that she needed for one whole month were already inside the trailer van, packed in shiny metallic suitcases, while the outfits that she needed easy access to such as shoes and dresses were already neatly hung and arranged at the rear end of the said spacious vehicle. Then on the seat just in front of Naeun's space were two duffel bags belonging to Bomi.

And with everything set, the two of them headed on towards their destination.

"Are you sure you're not going to inform Ilhoon?" Bomi worriedly asked. "He's going to go ballistic if he finds out. That's for sure."

Naeun just snickered. "Well if he can leave anytime he wants without even a word or whatever, then so can I. To be honest, he probably already knows. I won't even be surprised if some of his men are already camping around the resort."

"I can't believe something like this is already normal for us...it's like we're prisoners. I...I'm still wondering why..." She then decided to drop the question upon seeing Naeun's glare through the rear-view mirror. "Fine, whatever. Anyway, give me the phone in case he calls. I'll be the one to talk to him."

The younger one just hummed in agreement. "So, about the place we're staying in, the one owned by the Kwons...how was it? Didn't you go with Chorong before she left for a vacation in the States?"

"Yeah, we did check it out and it was pretty neat. It may not be the best one, but we both agreed that you'll like it since it's the most peaceful out of all the resorts available in that area. There are also a lot of activities to try and explore, and I heard some of your co-actors and co-actresses also booked there for that reason. It's just a pity that we didn't get to tour the perimeter of the whole resort since it rained nonstop."

"That's good, then. Less people, less worries." Naeun nonchalantly replied as she scrolled through  the website of the said resort. "This place seems interesting, not going to lie."

"It really is, and I really hope it is interesting enough to make you forget about...you know, just everything."

Naeun can only sigh and stare at the tinted window now full of raindrops. 

----

A/N: It's been so long, and I'm really sorry. Can I have another chance?

To those who constantly waited for my update, I'm really thankful. I never had any intentions of dropping this fic, and you guys just strengthened my motivation to write. I cannot promise you a consistent update, but I promise to update as frequent as I can.

For those who weren't able to wait anymore, I understand. Writers like me who frequently get long phases of writers' block are really hard to deal with. Even I had a hard time dealing with myself because I really wanted to write, but I just can't come up with something. It's frustrating, I know, that's why I understand. ^^

Anyway, yeah. Welcome to both old and new readers. ^^

The Umbrella has been opened once again.

PS: I would like to thank Beeebs, my brother, for giving time to check my work and see how rusty I have become haha