When Taemin said ‘see you later’ Eunjin never expected it would be hours later in the middle of her social science class. Taemin turned out to be the new guy in class and after apologizing to the professor for being late, the prof decided there was no need for introductions (since Taemin is famous and everyone practically knows him) so Taemin made his way to the vacant seat which happened to be in front of her.

Needless to say, she was distracted the whole time (more than usual) and nothing the teacher says gets in her head. So she was glad when the bell rang and the class ended. Taemin approached her after the professor and most of the students already left.

“Let’s date. I have the rest of the day off.”

Eunjin stared at him as if he had grown two heads. “What makes you think I’ll say yes?” she asked.

“One, because you missed me. Two, because I’m asking really nicely. Three, you can’t say no to Lee Taemin.” He had a wide grin on his face that Eunjin found contagious.

She bit her lip to hide her smile. “Ok. Let’s go somewhere far,” she finally agreed.

They rode the car to god knows where. They have no exact place in mind. She just wanted to get away from everything and everyone.

They reached the outskirts of Gunsan when Taemin decided they should grab something to eat. She didn’t realize she was starving until he mentioned food. They decided to have lunch in a café nearby. She ordered pesto while Taemin had a quarter pound burger, large size pizza, and fries.

After a while, she noticed some people glance their way while others are whispering among themselves. As expected, Taemin’s presence is starting to create a fuss. He gave her a look of apology but Eunjin brushed it aside with a wave of her hand, telling him she didn’t mind.

She ordered tea and she didn’t fail to notice when Taemin raised his brow as if telling her “you sure?” She never liked the taste of tea but because people say that food preferences changes in time, she thought that maybe her taste buds had a change of heart and decided that tea is the best drink in the world. Sometimes she just wanted to do something crazy. Besides you only live once so why not make the most out of it.

But Eunjin regretted it the moment the liquid filled . She took a sip of her tea and tried not to grimace. She pretended it tastes good hoping Taemin wouldn’t notice anything. Eunjin was good at that – pretending – so she was surprised when he took the tea from her and gave her his soda instead.

“Why did you even order this thing when you don’t even like it?”

Before she could ask how he knew she didn’t like tea, a pretty girl approached them and asked, “Are you Lee Taemin?”

He chuckled then said, "No." It was Eunjin’s turn to raise a brow. She didn’t say anything, only watched as Taemin lied to the girl with a straight face.

“But you look so much like him,” the girl insisted.

“I get that a lot.” God, he's one hell of a liar. The girl left afterwards looking convinced that she got the wrong guy.

She stared at Taemin with unbelieving eyes.

“What?" he asked.

“Nothing.” She took her tea back and gave him his soda. She took a sip of her drink and grimaced, giving up the pretense because the freaking drink didn’t taste any better.

They took a walk afterwards. Taemin seemed to know his way around the city. It’s as if he had been there before. She remembered it was where her family used to live before moving to Daegu. She doesn’t really remember much about the place but somehow everything seemed so familiar. Simply being there gives her a feeling of serenity that she didn’t quite understand.

Taemin held her hand and she thinks she’s beginning to get used to it that if he suddenly let go it wouldn’t feel quite right.

“Taemin…” she said all of a sudden.

“Hmmm?”

“I always had this kind of feeling that I’ve known you for a long time. Silly right?” she chuckled. "I’ve been living in Daegu all this time with my family so I couldn’t have known you." Sometimes it’s funny how her mind works.

Taemin didn’t say anything so she decided to set the thought aside. Then she remembered that other thing that had been bothering her so she decided to ask, “When we met 3 years ago, I didn’t tell you my name, did I?”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Then how did you know my name?”

“Wild guess.” They both knew it was ridiculous. Out of the millions of Korean female names he could chose from it’s impossible to get it right and not to mention her name isn’t particularly common. But Eunjin had the feeling she’s not going to get a response even if she pried further so she decided to let it go.

“Common, I’ll show you something.” He grabbed her arm and started dragging her somewhere. He really knows his way around the place.

“Have you been here?” she asked because her curiosity just won’t leave her alone.

“I used to live here.” It was a surprise because she always thought he lived and grew up in Seoul.

Taemin stopped the moment they reached the shore. In front of them is the breathtaking scene of the ocean. It’s almost sundown and the sky is smeared with shades of red and orange. She took a deep breath and filled her lungs with the whiff of the sea. The scent and the view calmed her down. Without realizing it, her grip on Taemin’s hand tightened. He responded with a much tighter grasp. That’s when she realized she had been holding on to him a little too tight. She looked at Taemin and realized he probably didn’t mind.

She looked around trying to divert her attention somewhere else. In a distance she can see some commercial decked fishing vessels and a little to the right she noticed an old lighthouse standing proudly on the edge of a nearby cliff. The lighthouse gave her a strange feeling that she didn’t quite understand. For some reason her heart started beating faster.

“Taemin, can you take me there?” she asked pointing in the direction of the lighthouse.

He looked at where she was pointing and he frowned. “No,” he said in a voice which implies finality and it made Eunjin wonder but she decided not to ask because she was too distracted by the nagging feeling at the back of her head that made her decide she’s definitely had to see that freaking lighthouse or else be damned.

She had to know why she was feeling the way she do so she walked, her feet moving towards the cliff where the lighthouse stood before she felt a hand on her arm trying to stop her.

“Eunjin, no…”

“I have to see it,” she insisted sounding more desperate than she intended.

“For godsake, Eunjin. It’s dangerous.” His grip on her arm tightened but Eunjin couldn’t find the strength to care. Convincing him was more important than anything.

“I’m not going in. I just wanted to see it up close,” she promised.

She saw how the stern look on his face wavered and a gentle tug on his arm did the trick. She didn’t notice when she reached up her hand to touch his arm in the gentlest touch. Her body seems to have a mind of its own when it comes to Taemin.

He sighed and gave up. Eunjin had no idea what a simple touch can do to his heart. “We’re not going in, alright?” he added as an afterthought.

She nodded and gave him a smile. Taemin sighed once more.

The trip to the cliff was tiring but not as hard as she expected it would be. She almost tripped once (she really have to work on that tripping thing before it becomes a habit) but Taemin caught her this time before she embarrassed herself again.

The lighthouse looked creepy up close. The tower is about 100ft tall and made of concrete. It’s octagonal and painted in white however due to its age the paint faded leaving only traces of beige on its walls. It looked as if it hadn’t been used in a really long time. There was a ‘closed’ sign at the bottom of the stairs.

Taemin was a little uneasy for reasons Eunjin still couldn’t figure out. But she decided to set the questions aside. It can wait, she decided.

Suddenly a memory went flashing in her mind. She closed her eyes and let the memories flew by, welcoming it willingly. She learned that the more she tries to block them the more painful it gets. So this time she eagerly welcomed it.  

“The stars are so pretty, isn’t it?”

“Hmmm. Very.” He agreed.

She stared at him and she noticed he’s not looking at the stars but at her instead.

“You meant the stars right?” she asked just to make sure they were thinking the same thing

“No, I meant you.”

Her heart started beating faster. She knew the memory was real and that it happened somewhere there, in that lighthouse. She forced herself to think harder. She wanted to remember everything. After trying really hard but failing, her head started to throb painfully. Then the scene changed.

She heard a sound of a gunshot. She covered her ears trying to block the sound but she couldn’t. The sound didn’t come from the outside. It was inside her head.

“Eunjin-ah, are you ok?” she heard Taemin ask. But she couldn’t answer because she was still lost in her own world. It was really dark, a boy was lying on the ground in a pool of blood, a gunshot echoed in the darkness, men holding guns. She saw the boy being shot right in front of her eyes. She wanted to scream but no words came out. She started hyperventilating. She can hear Taemin’s worried voice asking her what’s wrong.  Then she cried.

"S-someone was shot." she said in between sobs. "The boy was shot." she couldn’t see his face but for her to feel as terrible as she does means he must be someone she knew.

Taemin hugged her tight. "Shhhh… It’s alright," he said. He started whispering assurances to her telling her it wasn’t real.

“No one was shot. It’s alright,” he said. But she knew it happened. She couldn’t explain it but she knew it was real.

Taemin didn’t let her go. He kept holding her, making light caresses on her back to calm her down.