It wasn’t difficult for Mark to finally find Saemi.

After she had entered in that nationwide writing competition, he saw that her name was published as the winner along with her school, grade, and picture in the local newspaper. He read through her essay, and it allowed him to prepare for the worst possible scenario – that Saemi had completely forgotten about him.

Luckily for him, after she had disappeared, he had also taken leave from school as he tried to find his beloved, earning him the need to retake a school year, allowing him to easily transfer to her school with that spotless record of his.

After Mark’s transfer to the school, he doesn’t immediately continuously approach Saemi like any rational person would think he would do. There was something different about her, and he, for one, could easily tell. He had watched Saemi for so long before their separation that he could easily explain who Park Saemi is.

But the Park Saemi in front of him right now isn’t the one he knows.

The Park Saemi that was in front of him now was darker. Something changed within her mind. Something changed within her heart. Every time he hears her speak, he believes that she is no longer the girl that he remembered her to be. After all, it was her optimism that led her to believe that he deserved a second chance.

It was that optimism that had saved his life.

But the girl in front of him now no longer seemed capable of that act anymore. The girl in front of him now seemed like she could never accept him for who he is and the thought of that scares him. There was only one person he cares about out of the seven billion people on earth, and that one person’s heart seemed to turn as cold as ice.

The Saemi he remembers that offered him those smiles and laughs seemed to be gone, and a shadow of her former self seemed to have replaced her. She doesn’t seem like she cared about the little things anymore – not even the simplest things like the stars that they had seen in the night sky together.

Had he gotten carried away last time?

It can be supposed that the first feeling Mark receives from encountering this situation was shock. He wanted to scream at her, tell her how much he misses her, cry for her, and completely destroy the person that killed the Park Saemi he remembers. All of those emotions came rushing in at the same time, causing him to be at a loss for words.

It's hopeless for him, and he knows it. He doesn't have enough experience or knowledge to understand this situation he's been thrown into. There are some things that he just doesn't understand. He knows that he's not doing everything right, but he also knows that he needs to change himself somehow, but how can he make things go smoothly if he doesn't even know where to start, what to do?

Does he even know who this girl in front of him is? A girl with the same name, the same face, but is not the girl of his memory.

But it doesn’t take him long to recompose himself. It’s alright. He’s supposed to be calm and composed. This little setback doesn’t change anything. Saemi is Saemi regardless of who she thinks she is.

He knows exactly what she's supposed to be like.

He just needs to get her to remember who she is. This is just an obnoxious little incident that he didn’t foresee. He just needs to act like he normally does. He just needs to remember everything is fine, that there is nothing to be concerned about.

This is just some sick joke Saemi is playing.

***

“Have you been following me?” Saemi spins around, crossing her arms against her chest, her eyes meeting Mark’s.

It didn’t take a genius to see that she was completely and utterly annoyed. Recently, she had easily noticed that she sees him everywhere she goes. It didn’t matter if it was the classroom, library, or the student cafeteria. He just always seemed to be able to make himself present.

At first she thought it was all in her head. She thought that she was imagining it all. Why would someone like him follow someone like her?

The day Mark transferred to her school, it was evident that all the girls in the class also took a liking towards him. The entire school split into two – those who sided by Jackson and those who sided by Mark. With Mark’s good looks and his constant unnecessary attention towards Saemi, the girl only felt like her burden had worsened.

It was bad enough that the school gave her a tough time because Jackson was closest with her. Now that the new transfer student also has strange affections for her, everyone just seemed to be more disgusted with her.

Putting all that aside, at least she could understand why Jackson was near her. He wanted to make friends with the only other transfer student in the school because he thought that their label as transfer student made them closer on an emotional level. She knows that that isn’t true, but at least to him, it was a real reason.

So what was Mark’s reason for trying to monitor her?

With all those cute girls hanging around him, why does he even bother troubling himself with her? There isn’t a reason for him to take interest in her anyways. She doesn’t need to face these bothersome feelings right now.

But while Mark completely disregards her question, his question implied the answer she dreaded, “Who was the boy you were just with?”

“What right do you have to ask me about my personal life?” Saemi shot back, not budging in the slightest.

Mark’s eyes narrowed in slight frustration, but he manages to continue, “I heard his name is Yugyeom. Who is he to you?”

She scoffs in disbelief that the boy standing in front of her has the audacity to talk like he’s her father. Was this supposed to be an interrogation? Did she do something that was so wrong? Who is he to spy on her activities?

“What I do with Yugyeom is none of your business,” she declares, even if there was truly nothing going on between her and the boy she was tutoring.

Yes, that’s right. Yugyeom was a boy in a grade lower than her. Since she’s in an advanced level of academics, the teachers thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea for her to act as a tutor for students who were struggling academically. That’s why she always went to the library to meet him after school. That is also why she is on a first name basis with the boy.

It was also probably why she seemed to be quite close with the boy.

Mark finds himself rendered speechless as the girl who should’ve become his girlfriend began to defend another boy, “Park Saemi. Watch what you say.”

“No. You should watch what you say,” she immediately retorts, “I don’t care if you’re some new transfer student who is unfamiliar with this place. I don’t care if you seem to have some sort of emotional attachment to me. I don’t care who you think I am. Take this as my first and final warning. If I catch you following me around anymore, then I will personally turn you into the police as my stalker.”

Staring into her eyes, he knows that every single word she had uttered was the truth. He doesn't need his ability to know something like that. Just with a glance, he can see that her heart didn’t even waver for a single second. It was incredible to him how much she’s changed.

Changed to become more like the old him, that is.

While he never showed it personally in class, he knew that this amount of straightforwardness was consistent with how his mind worked before. It was only after that he met Saemi that he began to change. She taught him how to feel and react to the emotions that he was exposed to. She taught him what it meant to have someone important. She taught him the meaning of joy and sorrow.

That is when he tries to calm himself, taking a deep breath, “…Park Saemi.”

“Just go,” she interrupts, her gaze looking away, “I don’t want to see you anymore.”

However, he doesn’t move a muscle. Instead, he begins to walk towards her. Slowly but surely, he continues to remind himself that he must keep his composure. He must keep his mind clear, and he must not let his emotions influence his behavior. He is Mark Tuan, and Mark Tuan doesn’t get affected by people this easily.

This is just a girl in front of him. If things really don't work out, then he can just find a replacement. There is no harm in finding a replacement.

He'd only be losing the person who interrupted his peaceful life, the one who brought him out of loneliness. He'd only be losing the person who taught him how to have fun, be happy, the experience of sadness, and the pain of losing someone.

He'd only be losing someone who taught him what it means to be human.

But, it's okay, right?

As he finally stands before the one he loves in the first time in a few years, he could feel his mask cracking. He just wants to be with her like this forever. He just wants to be by her side. There was just no way he could possibly contain the sadness from slipping onto his expression.

“Do you really not remember me even a little?”

Hearing those words and seeing that expression, they both scare Saemi quite a bit. She’s afraid that he could be right. She’s afraid that maybe he is someone she knows, because if he really is from her past, then why is it that she feels so uneasy with him? Why does her heart pound so strongly against her chest?

If she really knows him, then just who is he to her?