Synopsis: Song-Fic; It's been a year since Hayi had gotten out of her relationship with Hanbin. Flashbacks of some of the times they shared race through her mind after coincidentally bumping into him on her way to moving on. I really recommend listening to the song while reading this, it really helps set the mood as well. 

The sound of the swaying wind
Shakes my heart and passes me by
I hurt as much I need to hurt, how much more do I need to hurt
In order to feel alright

It was an autumn evening when Lee Hayi found herself walking along the streets of Samcheong-dong. Students and couples filled the streets as they hung around on a Saturday night as the cool weather seeped in. She didn’t know why she ended up there, but her friend Eunjae suggested that she should go on a blind date as a favor. Hayi thought that there was no harm to it since she’s been single for a year and she did owe Eunjae a favor for covering her shift at work. The young woman could only chuckle to herself at the thought of actually stepping out of her comfort zone and getting back into dating. She wasn’t even sure if she was ready, but remembering how Eunjae talked her ear off for already achieving her goal, Hayi just went along with it. As the smell of freshly made hotteok and waffles filled the air, she aimlessly walked around. With her hands in her pocket, Hayi looked at her surroundings as she took in a deep breath. There was still a good thirty minutes before the person she would meet up with would show up. Her eyes roamed around her surroundings as she continued to walk around the area. If only Hayi had known who the person was, but all Eunjae sent her was where to meet and how she should dress up.

Curse that playful girl and trying to keep everything a surprise for me…

A sigh escaped her lips as she stood in the middle of the sidewalk and looked to her left. The familiar clenching of her heart could be felt as she looked at the mural. Since Samcheong-dong was a hotspot for couples, this mural held a special place in her heart. Couples would usually stop to take pictures and imitate the couple painted on the wall. Her mind flashed back to when he took her there for their first date and she was so embarrassed to do something cheesy like that in public.

“Are you serious right now?” she hissed and continuously tugged on the sleeve of his coat as he looked around for someone to take the picture for them.

He looked down at her and smirked. Pulling her closer to him, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and nodded.

“I want to make sure that I capture every moment of this date.”

Hayi bit her lip and played with her hair nervously as she felt her cheeks warm. “I don’t get why we have to take so many pictures…this is the fifth one we took since we got here!”

Her eyes widened as he ruffled her hair affectionately and pecked her cheek lightly. “The girl of my dreams finally agreed to be my girlfriend, of course I’m going to preserve the memories we make.”

Warmth spread throughout her body as she smiled softly at him and met his gaze. She didn’t see Hanbin as the type to actually want to take so many pictures to capture every moment of theirs. But he had proved her wrong when he constantly insisted to take pictures with his phone. They stayed like that for a moment, gazing into each other’s eyes and he gave her a bright smile.

“As much as I want to stare at your beautiful face all day, let’s take this picture and then grab some lunch, alright?”

She punched his arm and he laughed before spotting someone in the area. Hayi smiled in amusement as he winked at her before he walked up to the guy and asked if he could take the picture for them. Seeing that the man agreed, Hayi could only face palm in embarrassment as her boyfriend stood in front of her with a playful smile.

“Are we really doing this right now, Kim Hanbin?”

Hanbin nodded and imitated the stance of the character he was imitating by putting his hands behind his back and leaned slightly foreword. Hayi hesitated at first but seeing as he was coaxing her with his eyes that it was going to be fine, she begrudgingly did the same thing as him. She mentally died of embarrassment as she heard people around them complimenting them about how cute they looked together as they waited for the man to finish taking their picture. Once the man returned Hanbin’s phone to them, he immediately slipped his hand into hers and they looked at the picture. A small smile crept onto her face as she noticed that they did indeed look quite adorable. Hanbin nudged her in the arm and she looked up at him.

“We make a great couple, don’t you think?”

Hayi rolled her eyes playfully and looked the other way. “It’s only the first date, how can you know for sure?”

The two began their way towards the café they were going to eat at and Hanbin hummed in thought.

“It’s because you’re the only that makes me feel this way, Hayi-ah.”

Hayi bit her lip as she looked down and wrapped her coat closer to her when she felt the cold breeze pass by her. It’s been over a year since he had broken up with her and yet, her heart still hurts from the emptiness he left behind. She blamed herself for the cause of their fall out, if only she had been more considerate of how he felt. Back then, the two were fresh out of college and Hayi had been given the opportunity to intern at the company she had dreamed of being one of the top designers for. At that time, it had been three years since they had gotten together and Hayi wanted to do things on her own. In the end, she had realized too late that she had begun to put work as her top priority and unconsciously pushed Hanbin to the side. He had always been there by her side as he struggled to become a well-known choreographer by taking on multiple jobs that fit accordingly to her own.

Now here she was, walking alone with the goal she had pushed him aside for. But even if this was all she wanted, there was still that empty void that Hanbin filled. Hayi thought that she would be over him after a year of not seeing him and trying to move on, but there was no use. With just this small reminder, Hanbin was still a big part of her. He was the one that was there for her when she had hit her low point in university after her father’s business fell under and she had to take on two part-time jobs in order to help support her family while her older sister was abroad. When she wasn’t able to take care of herself, Hanbin was the one that nursed her back to health. Hanbin never complained when she asked him to be her mannequin for men’s clothing and constantly poked him with needles. He was just always there for her. If Hayi had known just how important Hanbin was to her, she wouldn’t have taken him for granted.

As if it was nothing, you
Passed me by just like that
Time goes by and seasons change,
My heart feels cold
But I don’t think I can make my heart cold
Today you
Pass me by
Pass me by again

Hayi was taken out of her daze of remembering their early years when someone bumped into her and hurriedly apologized as he approached the group of guys that was standing not too far away from her. She was about to say something when the familiar sound of his laughter filled the air. Her eyes widened as she froze in her spot with her hand outstretched in front of her as she had planned to call out the stranger for being so reckless. There was no way fate would play such a cruel joke on her. There’s no way that it could be him… Focusing on the guy that had just bumped into her, Hayi’s throat dried as he turned slightly to face one of his friends. Hanbin…

Her hand fell limply to her side as she stood off to the side and her heart ached at the sight of seeing him after so long. The hand holding her purse tightened as she watched him happily catch up with his friends. His smile was bright and it seemed as if after a year, his heart was fully healed. The light in his eyes were back that she couldn’t see during their last moments together. She blankly stared as they joked around and many thoughts raced through her mind. Why was here? How was he doing? Was he still pursuing dance? Hayi could only stay immobilized on her spot as she watched from a distance.

Hanbin had definitely matured over the time that they had been apart. He had grown a couple of centimeters and his body was much more toned. His skin seemed more tanned and Hayi assumed that he finally had the time to spend some time at the beach to let loose from the stress of his job. The color of his hair was back to a black color rather than the dark red he had when they were together. Hanbin had switched his casual street clothing to wearing more of a mature look with a loose v-neck, dark blue blazer, and khaki joggers. A nostalgic smile came onto her face as she admired him. His image indeed changed, but the childish charm to his personality was there as he slung an arm over the shoulders of one of his friends.

Hayi tensed up as he looked out of the corner of his eye and met her gaze. He was listening to something his friend was telling him and she knew that he had seen her. His actions froze for a second before recovering and gave his friend a sheep smile. She continued staring at him as he looked at what she was standing next to. Her head dropped, not wanting to see what his expression was, but there was something that pushed her to look at him again. Hanbin met her gaze once more before turning his back to her and she bit her bottom lip. I’m sorry, Hanbin-ah… Her mind flashed back to one of her favorite memories of them as she turned her body to the side and leaned against the wall.

Hayi nervously gripped the handlebars of the bike as tightly as she could. She could feel Hanbin’s presence behind her as she took in a deep breath and set her foot on the pedal once more. Once he had found out that she never learned how to ride a bike when she was younger, Hanbin made sure that by the end of their spring break she would be able to successfully ride one.

“Yah, are you sure this is a good idea?” Hayi muttered as she bit her bottom lip and looked around them.

He had decided to take her to the park near his house in order to teach her and Hayi could feel her ears warming up with people staring at her. His chuckle could be heard behind her as she set her foot on the peddle of the bike and his hands covered her own. She blew a stray strand of hair away from her face and grunted to herself.

“C’mon, what kind of person doesn’t know how to ride a bike? Trust me, once you get the hang of it, you’ll fall in love with it.”

Hanbin gave her a warm smile as he urged her with a nod and Hayi could only take in a deep breath. With a determined look on her face, Hayi braced herself and began to peddle the bike. Her first attempt was wobbly at first as she consta