The Past - Part 6 (Final Part for the Past Timeline)

[This chapter contains no scene from the Present Timeline]

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The plane ride was long and tiring, and although Solar had reached her new destination, she did not bring with her the cheery spirit to celebrate. The bustling airport was filled with new wonders; filled with laughter; filled with people excited about the coming holidays, but it could not reignite the joy within her heart.

Solar looked at her phone, knowing the one person she wanted to hear from would no longer speak to her. She didn’t want to turn it back on, but she had to since she needed it to find her foreign contact, who was supposed to meet her at the airport. Whee-In’s message popped up as soon as her phone came on.

“Unnie, tell us when you’ve arrived. We just want to know you’re safe.”

When she was about to reply, her foreign contact messaged her. She thought it would be rude if she didn’t answer straight away as she needed to give details of her whereabouts. Once that was established, she messaged Whee-In to assure her she’d arrived safely. In the midst of the crowded sidewalk, the rowdy children bumped into her, causing her phone to slipped out of her hand. She tried to catch it but ended up knocking it further away. It slid into the street and was crushed underneath a passing vehicle.

She sighed at her misfortune and thought to salvage what she could before any more damage could be done. She carefully retrieved the broken pieces, which took more time than she’d intended. When she turned around to head back to her luggage, a commotion had erupted with her suitcase being the object of interest. Two men were wrestling for it, each grabbing onto one side.

The argument settled quickly with one man walking away irritably. She rushed back to her luggage, unsure if she’d be able to get her belongings back. Luckily, the young man handed it to her without fuss.

“You shouldn’t leave your things unattended.”

“Thank you. I’ll be more careful.”

He noticed the name tag on her luggage. “Are you Miss Kim Yong-Sun? Here for the doctorate program?”

“How did you know?”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Yoo Seung-Ho. A second year in the same program. The campus sent me to pick you up and show you around. Did you get my messages earlier?”

“Ah, it’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry if I didn’t reply to your messages, my phone broke.” She held up her tattered phone.

“No worries.” He gave a gentle smile. “You can use the phone on campus. Shall we get going?”

“Yes.”

On the way to campus, Seung-Ho told her of a few places she could visit if she ever wanted to explore. He also warned her of the places to avoid. Once she was done with her paperwork, he showed her the campus grounds, giving her tips on the best ways to get around if she ever was in a rush to get to class.

They ended up having a meal together, although in her current state Solar knew she wasn’t a good companion to be around. There wasn’t much she could do, she wasn’t able to control her broken heart. Without realizing, her tears dripped onto her food. She apologized, but instead of prying, Seung-Ho told her his infamously lame jokes. It brought a smile to her face, however slight. On the walk back to her dorm, he gave her his number and told her to call if she ever needed help.

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The next day Seung-Ho introduced Solar to a few places where she could get a part time job. She threw herself into her studies and her work, it became her anesthetic. And just like that, the days turned into months. She made new friends and began to smile more naturally.

At first, she kept herself from contacting Whee-In and Hwasa, giving excuses that she was too busy to chat for long. In truth, it just reminded her too much of her past. Eventually she spoke to them more, however they all avoided talking about Moonbyul. Every so often, she’d get a message from Mi-Cha about the latest gossip and newest muses.

MC: Ms. Soek has an indoor garden

DoReMi: What!?

DoReMi: Isn’t she a clean freak!?

MC: I know

MC: I was surprised too

DoReMi: What does she plant?

MC: Carrots

MC: Carrots

MC: And only carrots

DoReMi: What?

DoReMi: What for?

MC: Her bunnies

DoReMi: What!?

DoReMi: She has bunnies?

MC: Yep

MC: I think she has like 10

DoReMi: 10!?

DoReMi: When did she get them?

MC: Her husband’s birthday

MC: You know he adores bunnies, right?

MC: She got them and planted the garden to surprise him

DoReMi: Aw~ that’s so sweet.

MC: I know, right!?

MC: I want to meet someone as sweet as her

DoReMi: If you don’t even start a relationship, how would you find one?

MC: Eh, it’s just not for me.

DoReMi: Eh, then you might not find one.

MC: LOL funny

MC: Gotta go.

MC: A patient is throwing up.

DoReMi: K.

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It was a year later when Solar finally asked about Moonbyul, to which Hwasa replied that Moonbyul’s arm had made a full recovery and she’d gone back to work. Solar was happy to hear the news, but she was saddened at the same time. She is better off without me. The thought brought her pain, her aching heart felt as if it was only shattered yesterday. Her tears dripped onto her textbook as she tried to numb the pain.

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Moonbyul wanted to face Solar again as a better person. She didn’t want to disappoint Solar anymore. With this renewed dedication, she finished her physical therapy and went back to work. It wasn’t long before she was promoted and became a detective. Kang-Dae, however, failed to get promoted.

After Kang-Dae played his part in sabotaging her relationship, he moved on to a different couple. This time, the victim was a young police officer who had just entered the force and had become Kang-Dae’s new partner. After watching him from the sidelines, Moonbyul finally realized why Solar had hated him and she felt foolish for ever defending him. She warned the young officer about Kang-Dae and silently watched over her.

Kang-Dae was up to his old tricks, pushing all the work on his partner. Whenever Moonbyul witnessed this, she’d reprimand him. He’d also stopped hiding his displeasure and his jealousy toward her, admitting to the fact that he’d let her get injured, taunting her about the things he’d said to Solar. She wanted to punch him, but knew it would only work in his favor. She could only scoff at her own stupidity.

It’d been half a year since she’d made detective. Moonbyul and her team were on their way back from an investigation when they saw Kang-Dae without his partner. She knew he was up to something and stopped to watch him. He was staring into an alleyway and smirking to himself. It reminded her of the incident she was in.

Moonbyul went to check and her team followed closely behind her. It was as she’d anticipated, Kang-Dae’s partner was getting attacked. They quickly intervened and arrested the two thugs, who confessed to being blackmailed by Kang-Dae. He’d instructed them to break his partner’s leg. If Moonbyul had gotten there a few minutes later, the young officer would have become a cripple. It made her realize that the man who’d caused her injury was most likely blackmailed by Kang-Dae as well. She was furious.

Kang-Dae ran towards them to stop the arrest of the two assailants, who could become witnesses and testify against him.

“You can’t arrest them!” He commanded. “This is my turf! You don’t have jurisdiction here!”

Moonbyul looked him in the eyes and scoffed. “Watch me.”

Kang-Dae gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. is always looking down on me! He swung at her just as she’d anticipated. She leaned back and dodged his punch with ease. He tried again but one of her teammates pushed him away.

“Keep your hands to yourself!”

“Don’t ing touch me!” he screamed.

“Officer Kang-Dae!” The young man spoke in a commanding tone. “We do have jurisdiction here. Detective Moon outranks you and you tried to attack her. Do you know the consequences of attacking a superior officer?”

Kang-Dae furrowed his brow and pushed the young man. “Try me,” he challenged.

“Stop,” the young man slapped his hands away. “I’m warning you.”

“What are you going to do about it?” Kang-Dae pushed him again. “Nothing, that’s what I thought!”

“Dong-Yul,” his teammates called, “stop playing around with him.”

“Be right there.”

“You’ll go when I let you,” Kang-Dae continued his taunts.

He grabbed Kang-Dae and slammed him against the wall. “You’re under arrest for obstruction of justice, blackmail, and assaulting an officer of the law.”

“What the !? Get your ing hands off of me!” He squirmed. “I am an officer of the law!”

“No, you’re just a crook.” He confiscated Kang-Dae’s gun.

“What the !? Give me my gun back!”

“You can make your case down at the station.” He pushed Kang-Dae toward the car.

“ you! Let me go!”

“Walk!”

He sat down and refused to cooperate. “What are you gonna do?”

Everyone shook their heads and sighed. “Man, where’s your dignity?” A woman came up and crossed her arms as she looked down at him.

“Jade!” Dong-Yul said happily. “Want to give me a hand?”

“With pleasure.”

“Guys, don’t be too rough,” Moonbyul said as she handed the young officer a drink.

“Roger.” They answered in unison before grabbing his arms and dragging him to the car.

“Moonbyul! I’ll make you pay for this!” Kang-Dae tried to kick her as they threw him into the backseat. “You two better not say anything!” He stuck his head out the door and screamed at the two assailants, who were being loaded into a separate vehicle.

“Quiet down!” Dong-Yul pushed him back in and closed the door.

Moonbyul took care of the young officer while they waited for the ambulance to arrive. Once she was in good hands, Moonbyul and her team headed back to the station with Kang-Dae and the two assailants. Kang-Dae made a scene as they dragged him into the station. The Police Chief summoned them into his office, before any further embarrassment occurred.

“What the hell is going on!?” the Chief questioned angrily and ordered his blinds to be closed.

Moonbyul recounted the attacks, the blackmail, and everything else she knew about Kang-Dae’s actions to him.

“Kang-Dae, how could you!?” The Chief sighed angrily.

“It’s a lie, Chief!” Kang-Dae protested, slamming his hands, which were still cuffed, onto the desk. “They’re framing me! They set me up, Chief. You gotta believe me!”

“There are plenty of witnesses,” Moonbyul added nonchalantly.

“They’re at your beck and call. They’ll say anything you want!” he turned toward her and hissed.

“What about these?” Moonbyul dropped a thick folder onto the Chief’s desk.

The Chief opened it and Kang-Dae saw the content. “Chief, it’s not—” Kang-Dae tried to plead.

“Enough!” He sighed loudly. “Kang-Dae, hand in your badge and gun. You’re now under investigation.”

“Chief!”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.” He furrowed his brow and glared at Kang-Dae.

Kang-Dae gritted his teeth, pulled out his badge, and tossed it on the table as though it was a piece of trash. Dong-Yul placed Kang-Dae’s gun down next to it. Kang-Dae clenched his fists, his fingers digging into his flesh; an insatiable fury was burning inside of him as he glared at Moonbyul. Moonbyul was standing in front of the Chief’s desk, listening to his instructions. Kang-Dae nabbed his gun and pointed it at her head. Her teammates, who also went into the Chief’s office, pulled out their guns and aimed at him. She turned toward him, raised an eyebrow, and smirked as though she was challenging him.

“Kang-Dae! What do you think you’re doing!?” The Chief stood up and slammed his right hand down on the table. “Have you not embarrassed yourself enough!? All of you, put your weapons away!” he screamed.

Kang-Dae knew he was outmatched, he threw his gun back on the table.

The Chief sat down and rubbed his head. “You’re under house arrest until this investigation is over.” He sighed. “Take him away.”

“You’ll pay for this,” Kang-Dae hissed at Moonbyul.

“We’ll see,” she smirked.

“Moonbyul, you’ll pay for this!” he screamed as they dragged him away. “You’ll pay!”

The Chief dismissed everyone but Moonbyul. “Sit.”

“What is it, Chief?”

“Couldn’t you have done this a little quieter?”

“I tried, but you know how Kang-Dae is. He’s not one to go quietly.”

The Chief gave out a long sigh. “Just try to be more discreet next time.”

“I’ll try.”

After a few months of investigation, they unearthed even more of Kang-Dae’s crimes. He was officially fired and sentenced to thirty years in jail. The court gave him a chance to make his appeal. However, on the day of his hearing, he killed the officers who were transporting him, fled the scene, and hadn’t been seen since.

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Solar had been sitting at her desk, staring at her laptop. How should I start this paper? She rested her chin on her hand as she scrolled through her research. It wasn’t long before her phone started buzzing. She tried to ignore it, but it kept ringing, so she flipped it over to look at the caller ID. When she realized who it was, she answered.

“Unnie!” Whee-In and Hwasa screamed, waving excitedly through the video chat. “Happy Birthday!”

Solar smiled sweetly, “Thank you.”

“Do you have any plans?”

“Not really. Just trying to write my paper.”

“You’re not going to celebrate?”

“It’s dark out, and the 21^st isn’t till tomorrow.”

“Oh, we totally forgot about the time difference.”

“That’s alright. I’m happy all the same.”

They chatted the night away and Solar was glad to be distracted from her schoolwork. It was already past midnight by the time she bid them farewell. She was tired before she got in bed, but couldn’t fall asleep. She sat up and brushed her hair back with her hands. The moonlight drew her closer, she placed her hand on the window and rested her forehead upon it. The cool glass felt frozen, but the hands that were embracing her were warm.

“Happy Birthday,” a sweet voice whispered into her ear.

Her heart ached upon hearing it. She smiled wryly and opened her eyes. The warm embrace had faded and all that left was an empty dark room. She looked up at the moon and tears fell from her eyes.

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Moonbyul had been up since early morning. She was baking a small cake in the flat she’d rented for her week-long vacation, this cake was her third attempt. I hope this cake turns out well. She looked at the previous two that were sitting desolate on the counter, a hurriedly scribbled note was laying beside each one.

Cake 1: Too coarse. Not sweet enough. Add water and sugar.

Cake 2: Too sweet, but the softness is good. Less sugar.

The oven signaled it had finished baking her cake. She carefully placed it on the cooling rack and waited. If the taste was good, she could move on to the decoration phase. It was ready to be tasted. She took a deep breath and broke off a small piece. She chewed it for a moment and smiled. It’s good. I think she’ll like it.

She grabbed the pastry bag to decorate the cake. When it was done, she gave a long sigh and shook her head. It’s uglier than I thought. I guess it’s a good thing she can’t see it. She added the candles and sang to herself. She clasped her hands together and wished with all her heart.

“Happy birthday, Solar.” She smiled sadly, “If only I could tell you that.”

She took her time to enjoy the cake, reminiscing the happy memories with Solar. After she was done, she glanced at the time. It’s almost noon. She donned her black cap and grabbed her journal. It was a ten-minute walk to the campus grounds. She sat by the water with her back against a tree. She began recording in her journal.

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Journal Entry 10

This is my second time here. Tomorrow will be the last day of my vacation, but I still haven’t been able to find you. Regardless, I know I could only watch you from afar. Even so, I wish I could see your smile before I leave. If only wishes could come true so easily.

The other day when I thought I saw you, I hid myself. I realize I was scared, afraid of how you’d react if you saw me. Afraid that you’d treat me as if I was a stranger, not wanting to be reminded of the pain I’ve caused you. If you did, I wouldn’t blame you. I was relieved when she turned out to be a stranger. Don’t you think it’s silly? I want to see you, but I’m also avoiding you. I’m a coward, aren’t I?

I baked a cake earlier for your birthday. The first two weren’t great, but the third turned out pretty well. Although it was quite ugly once I decorated it. I think you will like the taste, even if it wasn’t good looking. I took pictures of the cakes. Maybe I’ll be able to show you one day.

The scenery here is beautiful. I only discovered this spot the other day. I wish I had seen it earlier. I wonder if you’ll enjoy it as much as I do. I wish I could watch it with you by my side.

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She looked up to watch the ducks, swimming in the water in front of her. The sound of the guitar caught her attention. She turned to her left and heard a man singing. He was on the other side of the tree, so she couldn’t see him. She listened to it attentively and smiled. What a beautiful song. It wasn’t long until another man interrupted his song.

“Seung-Ho!”

“Hey! What did you find out?”

“I asked. She’s still in the dorm. Her next class is at two.”

“Thanks.”

“Will you finally ask her out?”

He took a deep breath, feeling nervous. “I don’t know. I hope she likes this song I wrote. I couldn’t think of anything else to give her on her birthday.”

“Don’t worry so much. I’m sure she will. Come on.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

Moonbyul watched as they headed towards the nearby dorm. Good luck, she smiled. I hope your wish comes true. She continued her journal entry.

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I just heard a very beautiful song. The person is on his way to sing it to the one he loves. I wonder who that lucky lady is? Apparently, it’s also her birthday today. I hope he’ll be able to make her happy.

It reminds me of the time when we sang together. I wish I could hear your beautiful voice.

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Moonbyul closed her eyes and listened to the song, which was now playing in front of the dorm. After a few minutes, she wandered off to find Solar.

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Solar was grabbing her mail when she got startled by the sound of the guitar and almost dropped the envelopes. She turned around and smiled. Seung-Ho and their mutual friends were forming a semi circle, singing and holding up banners to wish her a happy birthday. She walked out the building to greet them and thought she saw Moonbyul near the water. When she tried to get a better look, that person was already walking off. It can’t be her, she sighed softly. She wouldn’t be here. She pulled herself together and cheerily joined her friends. She gave each of them a hug and waited for Seung-Ho to finish with his song before giving him one as well.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOLAR!!!” They screamed in unison.

“Thank you guys. You guys are the best.”

“We know,” one of them said playfully and they all laughed.

“We’ll give you two some alone time,” one of her friends nudged her and winked. “But you better come out tonight. We must celebrate your birthday.”

“Yeah!” the others agreed. “We’ll be waiting!”

They didn’t wait for an answer before they scattered. Solar waved to them before turning back towards Seung-Ho.

“Seung-Ho Sunbaenim (Senior), what are you doing here?” She gave him another hug. “I thought you left already.”

“What? Can’t wait to get rid of me?” he jested.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I’m just messing with you.”

They headed to the bench by the water as they continued their conversation.

“So what brought you?”

“I wanted to wish you a happy birthday before I leave. Did you like the present?”

“Yes, it was beautiful. I didn’t know you could play the guitar.”

“Was it dashing?”

She shook her head playfully, “Maybe.”

“Ouch.”

“We’ve known each other for so long. You’re not used to it?”

“Two years, four months, and twenty-eight days. And no, I’m not,” he teased.

“You’re no better than me,” Solar pouted.

“I try. I try,” he placed his hand on his chest and spoke.

They spent a bit more times together before Solar left for class. She promised to meet up in the evening since he had to leave the next day. When Solar was on her way to class, she saw the same person from earlier, who she thought was Moonbyul. Their clothing style and presence are the same. She didn’t have time to stop and check, so she wasn’t sure. It occupied her mind while she was in class. She faked using the restroom and ran out to find the answer, but the person was gone. She looked around, but she was unable to find her. What am I doing? She held her head and sighed. After glancing around once more, she headed back to class.

That evening, she met up with her friends and celebrated. She bid Seung-Ho farewell and wished him a safe journey back to Korea. At the airport, he almost bumped into Moonbyul. He gave a quick apology and moved on. They sat back to back at the waiting area and took the same flight home, only a few rows apart.

Solar and Seung-Ho tried to keep in contact after he left, however it was hard to find a good time to talk. Their free time just never seemed to match up. If they were chatting, it would be cut short by one emergency or another. Despite the shortness of their phone calls, they still enjoyed hearing from one another.

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It was the end of Solar’s third year, she’d finished her studies earlier than expected. The head of her department made an offer for her to stay longer. Her friends also wished for her company, but she couldn’t stop thinking about returning to Korea, so she declined. As the date for her departure to her homeland came ever closer, a mix of sadness and happiness overtook her. She could feel her heart beating uncontrollably. What will await me? Will I see her again? Byul ah, how have you been?

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*The next chapter will be back in the Present Timeline. Did everyone enjoy the Past Timeline? Was it adequate?