There was a knock and then the door unlocked from the other side. Mr. Yang looked up from his desk to see Taeyang enter and shut the door behind him. He folded his hands and asked, “What is it?” Taeyang stepped forward and handed Mr. Yang the reports. As Mr. Yang read, Taeyang waited nervously. When Mr. Yang was done, he looked up at Taeyang, “What’s wrong? Her memory still hasn’t returned. In four months, she’ll be cleared to go home and we can all forget about this mess.”

“If GD starts asking questions again. It’s getting closer and he might want to find her,” he added, urgency in his tone.

But Mr. Yang stood, not liking the feeling of being threatened and quickly dismissed, “Well, he will not find her. We have survived this long without anything happening. We just need to keep her hidden, just a bit longer. I’m sure TOP is with me on this. Also, GD has moved on with that model.”

Taeyang sighed and turned, walking swiftly to the door. He hesitated before opening the door and asked over his shoulder, “What about TOP?”

Mr. Yang sighed, “What they shared was the most innocent of all loves at the time. I think it’s safer for everyone that it remains nothing but a dream. TOP should know this well. He had the chance to stay by her side long enough.”

Taeyang opened the door and stepped out. He shut the door quietly behind him. And Mr. Yang looked at the photos of a young woman smiling back up at him in one photo, and in another, she stood next to the Korean Pop Star GD, as he draped an arm around her shoulder and kissed her cheek, she waved at the camera.

Mr. Yang sighed and shut the folder, taking it with him as he grabbed his keys. He had worked late only because he had been waiting for updates. Now that he had them, he hoped to relieve the guilt in his conscience.

He got into a black car with tinted windows and the driver took off as soon as he said where to go. When they were on their way, Mr. Yang opened the folder and flipped through the medical records, remembering the words of the doctor the day she had been brought in, eight months ago, ‘She has suffered a great trauma and will not likely be able to remember it if we repress it from her straight away. We will need a year to observe her though,’ and Mr. Yang remembered seeing her with her head wrapped up, bruises all over her.

With the hope of a better future for her, where she didn’t remember any of the pain she had experienced, he had told the doctor, ‘Do it. She needs no reminders of the horrors done to her,’ he added and the doctor bowed out, without questioning his authority, and prepped for the procedures.

The car stopped and Mr. Yang looked up to see a bright café, ‘The Lovely Café’ it was called, running well at the end of several others, a bit away from the main city. He closed the folder and stepped from the car, leaving it in the car. He walked through the evening streets and into to the café. There, he nodded to the hostess and walked to the back, where the co-owner sat, a sweet Mrs. Kwan in pastel pink sat, looking over her books.

“Mr. Yang,” she greeted, smiling kindly, “to what do I owe this honor?”

Mr. Yang sat down and sighed, “It’s been a few long months for you.”

To that, she laughed and playfully smacked Mr. Yang’s arm, “I’ve been doing much better these months. We have become more popular and I am doing everything I can to keep us off the radar, no thanks to your girl.”

Mr. Yang smiled and leaned forward, “How is she?”

Mrs. Kwan nudged him, again playfully, and accusingly ordered, “Go see for yourself. That kitchen of hers is quite the prison you have made for her.” Mr. Yang smiled and stood. He took a few steps and then stopped, as Mrs. Kwan added, “It’s strange for you and your messenger to be here at the same time.”

Mr. Yang sighed, understanding just how bad Taeyang felt to have hurried to her side after their meeting. Mr. Yang had kept everyone from the truth except for Taeyang and TOP, only because they knew everything, having been with her at the time of her accident, and watched over her recovery, for her friends who were not allowed to be there. Mr. Yang tried to get them to forget, but something about allowing her friends seemed right, and so, he had allowed Taeyang to stay by her side. There was nothing romantic about it. Also, for the sake of selling to her the story of her life that Mr. Yang had made for her, he needed people who knew enough to help it along, and Taeyang and TOP had done just that.

Mr. Yang stopped at the door leading to the kitchen and watched as Taeyang laughed and danced with the young woman from the photos, to a heavy beat and a song he recognized as GD’s. Upon closer inspection of the scene, Mr. Yang saw TOP sitting at the table, smiling and mimicking their movements. It was quite a happy sight.

Mr. Yang sighed and stepped back, not willing to break into their time together. As much as he enjoyed her company, he knew better than to interrupt her time with Taeyang and TOP. To her, Taeyang and TOP were the closest friends she had that she could remember.

***

Inside the kitchen, Taeyang wiggled and then turned to the young woman, “Rania, noona!” and the young woman held up the spatula, and started singing fluent Korean, something else she had managed to pick up since her time there. She danced and sang as the others in the kitchen laughed and applauded. They had grown accustomed to Taeyang visiting and distracting their head chef. It was a welcome delight. Although it was rare to have him there while TOP was there, it was a welcome surprise.

When the song ended, a song by Girl’s Day came on and Taeyang turned it down as Rania smiled and put back everything she had tossed around and used as a musical instrument. She laughed and asked, “The same as usual for you?”

Taeyang slid onto a stool next to TOP and watched her move quickly, putting together his usual stacked turkey club that he only ate from her café. “You do know me best,” he smiled.

Rania smiled and added the ingredients to the slightly toasted rye bread before plating it with vegetables and fries. She slid the plate across the table and opened a can of imported soda. “Try this,” she smiled, and poured the can into a cup of green tea she had poured for him before they started dancing.

TOP rolled his eyes, “She has been harping about her newest of all concoctions.”

Taeyang took the glass and sniffed it before taking a sip. He smiled and shrugged, “Not bad, at all,” he laughed and drank more before taking big bites into his sandwich.

From the kitchen window, a runner called out, “Vegetarian omelet with soft sides!”

Rania recognized the order and shouted back, “Got it!”

As she moved to put together the dish, collecting from the other parts of the kitchen, Taeyang asked, “You still want to go to my concert?”

Rania let out an ungodly howl as the others in the kitchen ducked, just in case. Taeyang looked up to see Rania return with a steaming plate in her hand, “We received a huge catering order so I’ll be in the kitchen all day and all night! It’s so not fair,” her whining tone died as she shrugged and added simply, “well, at least the café is doing well.” With that, she walked to the kitchen door and smiled, “I’ll be right back!”

When she stepped out, TOP turned to Taeyang and frowned, “You should know better than to invite her.”

Taeyang shrugged, “I knew she couldn’t make it anyway.” And then he turned to her second in charge, Kanari, and asked, “Where is she going?”

Kanari smiled, “For that customer, she will deliver the meal personally. It’s her godfather, I think,” she added, and walked back to her station.

Taeyang frowned and hurried to the kitchen window and peeked out to see his suspicion confirmed. Seated and chatting comfortably with Mrs. Kwan was Mr. Yang. Taeyang shook his head and walked back to his stool, eating quietly. TOP, also, didn’t bother checking, already used to such behavior from Rania. They both knew Mr. Yang felt terrible about everything, but the heartless coldness he showed often was overshadowed by his eagerness to see that Rania was well.