CHAPTER 12

[Byun Baek Hyun’s POV]

“Hanna’s buying a new house, Baekhyun. She’s moving out of the dorm.”

Manager Song’s words felt worse than being stabbed over and over with a knife. It’s the sort of pain that hits you all at once and flows down throughout your whole body – leaving every nerve and cell in your body tingling with the unimaginable searing pain.

I felt my knees buckle, making me grab hold of the nearest chair to steady myself. Manager Song took a worried step towards me but I held a hand up to stop her.

“S-She’s leaving?” I muttered under my breath. My voice shook and sounded so lifeless, showing how much the news affected me.

Manager Song didn’t speak but just nodded her head grimly.

With my hand clutching the chair tightly, I asked breathlessly, “It’s because of me, isn’t it?”

Only silence followed but I don’t need Manager Song’s reply to figure out the answer to my question. I dropped to the floor, strength draining away completely from my body.

 “Baek,” I heard Manager Song gasp as she knelt beside me. I could feel her hands on my shoulders, shaking me, but my mind was too fuzzy to even comprehend a thing.

She’s leaving… She’s leaving… I kept thinking over and over. My hands slowly balled into fists, leaving trailing marks on the red carpet. I could feel my nails digging into my palm but even that isn’t enough to beat the burning pain I feel inside.

All this time I have contented myself watching Hanna from afar – eyeing her when she’s busy enough not to notice; standing as close to her as possible; and talking to her as much as I can. Breaking up with her has left such a huge dent in my heart that I found myself incapable of surviving if not for these small things I could do behind her back. Not a day passes by that I don’t long for her. Not a day passes by that I don’t feel so close to losing my mind. And only the fact that I could look at her, be with her, see her, anytime I want kept me from falling apart.

And now that she’s leaving, how am I supposed to survive?

No more nights waiting for her at her veranda. No more nights sitting outside her bedroom door, listening to every sound she makes. No more thoughts about a single wall dividing us to comfort myself. No more cute and adorable Hanna descending the stairs fresh from bed. No more Hanna requesting every night is a movie night. No more Hanna who would cry from simple drama scenes but would sat pokerfaced in every horror movies. No more Hanna to look forward to every morning. No more Hanna inside the dorm.

The thoughts filled my mind in a rapid burst that I wasn’t able to stop myself from connecting my fists to the floor in endless cries and sounds of grief.

“Baekhyun!” I heard Manager Song scream but even her hands aren’t enough to stop me. I hit the floor over and over until my knuckles burst and warm blood flowed, creating webs spiraling around my fingers.

“Baekhyun, please stop!” she groaned and if it wasn’t for the fact that she’s already begun crying, I wouldn’t have made myself calm down.

“What am I going to do now, Manager?” I asked in plea, shaking my head aggressively. “I don’t want her to go. I can’t let her go. What am I going to do without her?”

Manager Song imprisoned my face in her hands as she forced me to look straight at her.

“There is nothing else we could do, Baekhyun. Hanna has already decided for herself,” she explained, her voice sad and begging. “And we both know Hanna wasn’t meant to stay in that dorm forever. She’s bound to leave sooner or later.”

“But I’ve already lost her, Manager,” I wept. “Having her in that dorm is only one of the few remaining things I could hold on to. That no matter if we’re over, she’s still there with me – beside me, close to me. And if she  leaves…”

I broke off as more tears escaped my eyes.

“It’s like losing her all over again.”

Manager Song closer her eyes and breathed deeply before gazing at me again, this time with a hardened expression, “You’re the one who pushed her away, Baekhyun. You’re the one who made her do this.”

Her words felt like a huge slap on my face, making me flinch and look away.

“Isn’t this what you want? For Hanna to move on and forget about you?” she continued, all the sympathy in her voice gone. “How do you expect her to do that if she’ll continue to live in that house with you?”

I bit my lip and continued to avoid her gaze, more and more tears falling from my eyes as I continued to blink.

“I know this is going to be hard for you, Baekhyun. But you have to think about Hanna too. If you want her to move on and completely forget about you then you have to start to let her go. You can’t hold on to her and expect her to start anew. You have to let go.”

***

[Sol Han Na’s POV]

“May I help you with anything, Ma’am?” one of the salesladies approached me as I walked down the glass shelves filled with camera lenses of different brands and lengths.

I pursed my lips before answering, “Uhh… I was just wondering… which of these ones is your latest release?”

“Latest?” the lady repeated before heading over a shelf on my right. I followed her as she began to explain details that my poor photography-illiterate mind cannot make sense of.  “Here are our latest releases, Ma’am. All these have been released only a month ago. They’re our best sellers right now.”

My head snapped back from left and right as the lady continued pointing stuffs and speaking words that began to sound utterly foreign to me.

“Uhh, miss?” I tried to cut her off before she grabs another gigantic lens and starts to spew alien words. The lady turned to me with an eyebrow raised and I spoke, “I’m really not familiar with these kinds of stuffs and I’m going to be honest with you when I say I wasn’t able to grasp anything from what you’ve previously said.”

I bit my lip as I waited for the saleslady to pounce or get mad at me but instead, she burst into a faint chuckle. I gaped at her in surprise.

“I understand, Ma’am,” she said brightly. “But what are you looking for specifically, anyway? You can give me just a slight description and we’ll try to find something to suit what you want.”

I scratched the side of my jaw before replying hesitantly, “I’m not sure… But the best model, perhaps? I am supposed to give it as a gift to someone.”

“Oh, you mean L oppa?” the lady gushed which made me turn to her wide-eyed. Her cheeks flushed bright pink before she cleared . “Uhh… I’m s-sorry, Ma’am… I didn’t mean to pry…”

“No, it’s okay,” I chuckled, extremely entertained by the knowledge that she recognizes me. This is the first time I went out on my own without having Manager Song watching over me and it feels quite flattering to know that some people recognizes me even without the cameras around. “You’re right. It’s for him, actually.”

“Really?” she blurted before snapping her fingers and leaning down the shelves. The lady seemed to fumble for something underneath before she finally straightened up, a long rectangular box balanced in her hands.

“L oppa also visited this shop a week ago. I was the one stationed here that time so I can clearly remember which model he has his eyes on,” the lady explained affectionately.

I mouthed a silent ‘wow’ before taking the box from her hands and inspecting it.

“I’ll buy it then,” I said with a smile and the lady wasted no time to prepare the item and sold it to me.

***

“I am what?!” I exclaimed, making the CEO raised his brow at me threateningly for speaking informally to him. I immediately lowered my head and apologized.

“Yes, Hanna, you heard it right. You’re scheduled for a comeback,” he repeated with a sigh. I had just arrived at the company headquarters after my quest at the mall when Ms. Kim held me hostage and dragged me into the CEO’s office.

My hands were tight around the already wrapped present for Myungsoo when I asked, “What song would I be singing, Sir?”

“You remember the song Jonghyun gave you? ‘Breathe’?” the CEO murmured as he drummed his fingers against his desk. I nodded. “That will be your newest single.”

My brows rose in surprise.

“R-Really?!” I blurted again, making me cover my mouth and drop my head. I know I ought to be careful in speaking with the CEO but I can’t seem to contain my emotions now that I’ve learned I’m scheduled for a comeback. I’ve waited for this for so long!

The CEO only nodded his head and sighed impatiently.

“And as for that other song---“

“What song, Sir?” I asked with a frown.

The CEO didn’t seem to mind my interruption and explained, “The one you wrote. ‘It’s Okay, That’s Love’. SBS purchased that song from us and they’re planning to use it as a soundtrack in one of their upcoming dramas. They also requested for you to sing it.”

“Really?” I gasped again before nodding enthusiastically. “Yes, Sir. I’ll sing it. No problem!”

My reaction seemed to struck as something fascinating to the CEO for it made him smile. Wow, I never knew this man could smile genuinely. He always looked so uptight, I wondered.

Our conversation went on for a few more minutes before the CEO finally finished all his instructions and had me dismissed. I happily made my way out of his room and was practically skipping towards the cafeteria to grab some late lunch when my phone suddenly rang.

“Yobeoseyo?” I answered without checking the caller. I continued humming to myself, the gift wrapped around in my arm, as I waited for the person to reply.

“Hanna?” a familiar voice spoke through the speaker, making me stop automatically.

“Oppa?” I blurted in surprise. I don’t need to check the caller ID to know who