Chapter 3
Destiny's Timing
After many hours of waiting for someone to notice him, Wooyoung gave up the small hope he had.
He had watched friends and family come through the door. So many people had come to visit him, which was flattering yet depressing him. More people that he couldn’t talk to anymore. He saw all his friends, except there was one person that hadn’t come yet. He wasn’t even sure if she knew he was in the hospital.
He heard confessions from the people, some of which he wish he hadn’t heard. He listened as people pleaded for him to wake up. Each time someone walked through the door, he would walk right up to them, waiting for them to notice him.
They didn’t.
Even his mother couldn’t see him. She had come to Seoul right away after hearing the news with his dad. The woman that had raised him and helped make his dream become a reality could not see him.
He had walked right up to her, tears in his eyes. He hadn’t seen her for months because of his busy schedule.
“Mom?” he had said aloud, hoping for a response. But just as the many times he’d tried before, there was no reply. It was just silence, except for the crying sounds from his mother.
He watched as his usually stoic dad comforted his mom as she cried over his bed, completely unaware of the Wooyoung who was watching her as she continued to cry.
Wooyoung had even given her a back hug at some point, hoping she would notice him at least for a moment.
She didn’t. And it hurt.
His dad even started crying, not noticing his son right next to him. He never cried, and it was a bit scary seeing him in that state.
Once they finally left, Wooyoung had felt so empty.
It was as if he didn’t exist anymore, as if he truly was dead. He actually might have preferred that more. At least he wouldn’t have to watch as people passed by him, crying for him to wake up.
He hated tears more than anything. Especially when they came from people he loved.
Wooyoung sat in a chair next to his own hospital bed.
“Wake up me. I wanna feel alive again. Or maybe we should just die. What kind of a chance is this if I’m just sitting here watching people I care about in pain?” he said to himself.
‘Are you sure that’s what you want?’
Wooyoung looked around, hoping to see the owner of the voice. Perhaps he wasn’t all that forgotten. There was no one around.
He crinkled his eyebrows, perhaps he heard wrong.
‘Don’t you recognize by voice, Jang Woo Young?’
Wooyoung’s eyes widened. The voice of the star in his dream.
“Why did you send me here if I can’t even do anything?”
‘I gave you a chance.’
“Does that mean I just got a chance to see them? There’s no difference, I’m going to die.”
‘I already told you before that the end of your journey will be determined by what you do with this chance.’
“But there’s nothing I can DO!”
‘Remember, I gave you a chance to do the one thing you truly wanted to do before you died.’
He suddenly shot up out of his seat. IU.
…........
IU suddenly woke up from her small trance after she had received the news about Wooyoung. It was almost as if someone had called her name.
She looked around her room, then looked outside her window.
Since when did it get dark? she asked herself.
She hadn’t noticed that time had passed so much. She was a little distracted.
She leaned back onto the soft back of the couch she had been sitting on. It was pretty new.
She had picked it out on the set of Dream High. She was looking through a catalogue full of furniture. Wooyoung had come up to her and told her this one fit her style the most. She hadn’t even noticed it on the page until he had pointed it out. She didn’t know how she missed it - it had been exactly what she had been looking for.
Wooyoung just had that way of seeing things that other people couldn’t see. She had always wanted to have that talent.
She sighed at the memory. She was making herself even more depressed.
While leaning on the back of the chair, she brought her legs to her chest, hugging them close to her body. It had gotten chillier than it used to be, even though it wasn’t even autumn or winter.
She got up and walked closer towards the window. She put her hand against the glass.
It was still raining, leaving small water droplets on the window. She traced the droplets with her index finger.
Even the sky is crying.
….....
Wooyoung stood in front of the apartment building.
He had been so close to making it there when he got into the accident. It had been raining too hard, and he had been impatient. He hadn’t seen where he was going, he had just been running like a lunatic.
Now, Wooyoung didn’t even feel the raindrops fall on him.
He watched as people around him ducking for shelter from the rain. Some people rubbed their arms from the chilly weather.
He didn’t feel any of that. He didn’t feel rain or cold.
It was as if time had stopped for him.
He sighed and walked into the building.
He decided to take the stairs, as if he was trying to stall time a little bit longer.
He just dragged his feet up the steps, wondering how much it would hurt to see IU but knowing that she wasn’t being able to see him. He wondered just how much it would pain him to not be able to talk to her.
He had missed her so much over the months they’d lost contact. It was as if one of the most important people in his life suddenly disappeared.
Now, once he finally gained the courage to confess to her his real feelings, she wouldn’t even be able to hear him. She wouldn’t even be able to see him.
He wondered what would happen once he actually fulfilled his last wish. Would he just die and truly disappear?
Maybe he would wake up from his coma? Maybe? But that was most unlikely. That would just be too easy, and he knew that life, or in this case, death, was never easy.
He finally made it up to the fifth floor.
He had taken her home one day after a dinner they had together, so he knew where she lived.
It was the day they filmed the Pilsuk weight loss. She had been so happy knowing that she wouldn’t have to come 5 hours earlier anymore to do her fat transformation. It had taken a lot of strength out of her, and she had been ecstatic about taking it off.
The only thing that worried her was that the director would not be harsher on her due to it. The director had let her off for some mistakes due to her tiredness, but now, she didn’t have that excuse.
Still, she had been happy.
Wooyoung swallowed a sudden want for him to cry. He would probably not see a happy IU for a really long time, even though he had always told her she looked prettier with a smile.
He turned right at the apartment hallway. Her apartment door was the second one on the right.
He looked under the flower pot on the ledge right next to the door. He had walked her up to the door the day he had taken her home. She had forgotten her keys, causing her to have to use the emergency key. He didn’t know why he remembered all those details, but he did.
He remembered how she had told him to pretend he didn’t see her hiding place and then laughed. Those were the good old days.
He unlocked the door and walked into the apartment. He had never been inside before, but it really did seem like her house.
There was even a big IU poster on their living room wall.
IU had told him about it. Her dad loved showing off that IU was his daughter and was not afraid to announce it. He had put it up for any guests that entered the house to see.
He sighed and looked around for her room.
It was not too hard to find.
There was a white door with a sign on it. “Jieun’s room. Little brothers may not enter.”
He chuckled.
His fingers grazed the knob of the door. He was still hesitating to walk in. He was scared of saying what he knew he really wanted to say.
It would be like he was finally admitting it to the world. Then, he would have to go. He didn’t know where, but he would have to leave. He would have to leave her and that scared him.
He took in a deep breath and opened the door softly and slowly.
She couldn’t see him anyway, but he still wanted the door to open slowly. He didn’t want to scare her, and if he just opened it normally, she might be a little freaked out. This way, she would just think it was the wind.
…........
IU suddenly heard the click of the door opening, but didn’t really look towards it. The wind often did that with her door.
She continued to look outside the window. She thought the pit-patting of the rain on her window was calming, and she was trying to calm herself. If she kept distracting herself, she wouldn’t have to cry.
That’s when she heard footsteps behind her.
Her eyes widened. That was definitely not the wind. She suddenly grabbed a nearby book, seeing as that was the only thing she could possibly defend herself with.
She turned around swiftly, ready to attack any intruders.
She dropped her book automatically because of what she saw.
The realization of who it was didn’t process into her brain for a couple of seconds. It looked exactly like him, right down to the slightly chubby cheeks.
“Wooyoung?”
He had watched friends and family come through the door. So many people had come to visit him, which was flattering yet depressing him. More people that he couldn’t talk to anymore. He saw all his friends, except there was one person that hadn’t come yet. He wasn’t even sure if she knew he was in the hospital.
He heard confessions from the people, some of which he wish he hadn’t heard. He listened as people pleaded for him to wake up. Each time someone walked through the door, he would walk right up to them, waiting for them to notice him.
They didn’t.
Even his mother couldn’t see him. She had come to Seoul right away after hearing the news with his dad. The woman that had raised him and helped make his dream become a reality could not see him.
He had walked right up to her, tears in his eyes. He hadn’t seen her for months because of his busy schedule.
“Mom?” he had said aloud, hoping for a response. But just as the many times he’d tried before, there was no reply. It was just silence, except for the crying sounds from his mother.
He watched as his usually stoic dad comforted his mom as she cried over his bed, completely unaware of the Wooyoung who was watching her as she continued to cry.
Wooyoung had even given her a back hug at some point, hoping she would notice him at least for a moment.
She didn’t. And it hurt.
His dad even started crying, not noticing his son right next to him. He never cried, and it was a bit scary seeing him in that state.
Once they finally left, Wooyoung had felt so empty.
It was as if he didn’t exist anymore, as if he truly was dead. He actually might have preferred that more. At least he wouldn’t have to watch as people passed by him, crying for him to wake up.
He hated tears more than anything. Especially when they came from people he loved.
Wooyoung sat in a chair next to his own hospital bed.
“Wake up me. I wanna feel alive again. Or maybe we should just die. What kind of a chance is this if I’m just sitting here watching people I care about in pain?” he said to himself.
‘Are you sure that’s what you want?’
Wooyoung looked around, hoping to see the owner of the voice. Perhaps he wasn’t all that forgotten. There was no one around.
He crinkled his eyebrows, perhaps he heard wrong.
‘Don’t you recognize by voice, Jang Woo Young?’
Wooyoung’s eyes widened. The voice of the star in his dream.
“Why did you send me here if I can’t even do anything?”
‘I gave you a chance.’
“Does that mean I just got a chance to see them? There’s no difference, I’m going to die.”
‘I already told you before that the end of your journey will be determined by what you do with this chance.’
“But there’s nothing I can DO!”
‘Remember, I gave you a chance to do the one thing you truly wanted to do before you died.’
He suddenly shot up out of his seat. IU.
…........
IU suddenly woke up from her small trance after she had received the news about Wooyoung. It was almost as if someone had called her name.
She looked around her room, then looked outside her window.
Since when did it get dark? she asked herself.
She hadn’t noticed that time had passed so much. She was a little distracted.
She leaned back onto the soft back of the couch she had been sitting on. It was pretty new.
She had picked it out on the set of Dream High. She was looking through a catalogue full of furniture. Wooyoung had come up to her and told her this one fit her style the most. She hadn’t even noticed it on the page until he had pointed it out. She didn’t know how she missed it - it had been exactly what she had been looking for.
Wooyoung just had that way of seeing things that other people couldn’t see. She had always wanted to have that talent.
She sighed at the memory. She was making herself even more depressed.
While leaning on the back of the chair, she brought her legs to her chest, hugging them close to her body. It had gotten chillier than it used to be, even though it wasn’t even autumn or winter.
She got up and walked closer towards the window. She put her hand against the glass.
It was still raining, leaving small water droplets on the window. She traced the droplets with her index finger.
Even the sky is crying.
….....
Wooyoung stood in front of the apartment building.
He had been so close to making it there when he got into the accident. It had been raining too hard, and he had been impatient. He hadn’t seen where he was going, he had just been running like a lunatic.
Now, Wooyoung didn’t even feel the raindrops fall on him.
He watched as people around him ducking for shelter from the rain. Some people rubbed their arms from the chilly weather.
He didn’t feel any of that. He didn’t feel rain or cold.
It was as if time had stopped for him.
He sighed and walked into the building.
He decided to take the stairs, as if he was trying to stall time a little bit longer.
He just dragged his feet up the steps, wondering how much it would hurt to see IU but knowing that she wasn’t being able to see him. He wondered just how much it would pain him to not be able to talk to her.
He had missed her so much over the months they’d lost contact. It was as if one of the most important people in his life suddenly disappeared.
Now, once he finally gained the courage to confess to her his real feelings, she wouldn’t even be able to hear him. She wouldn’t even be able to see him.
He wondered what would happen once he actually fulfilled his last wish. Would he just die and truly disappear?
Maybe he would wake up from his coma? Maybe? But that was most unlikely. That would just be too easy, and he knew that life, or in this case, death, was never easy.
He finally made it up to the fifth floor.
He had taken her home one day after a dinner they had together, so he knew where she lived.
It was the day they filmed the Pilsuk weight loss. She had been so happy knowing that she wouldn’t have to come 5 hours earlier anymore to do her fat transformation. It had taken a lot of strength out of her, and she had been ecstatic about taking it off.
The only thing that worried her was that the director would not be harsher on her due to it. The director had let her off for some mistakes due to her tiredness, but now, she didn’t have that excuse.
Still, she had been happy.
Wooyoung swallowed a sudden want for him to cry. He would probably not see a happy IU for a really long time, even though he had always told her she looked prettier with a smile.
He turned right at the apartment hallway. Her apartment door was the second one on the right.
He looked under the flower pot on the ledge right next to the door. He had walked her up to the door the day he had taken her home. She had forgotten her keys, causing her to have to use the emergency key. He didn’t know why he remembered all those details, but he did.
He remembered how she had told him to pretend he didn’t see her hiding place and then laughed. Those were the good old days.
He unlocked the door and walked into the apartment. He had never been inside before, but it really did seem like her house.
There was even a big IU poster on their living room wall.
IU had told him about it. Her dad loved showing off that IU was his daughter and was not afraid to announce it. He had put it up for any guests that entered the house to see.
He sighed and looked around for her room.
It was not too hard to find.
There was a white door with a sign on it. “Jieun’s room. Little brothers may not enter.”
He chuckled.
His fingers grazed the knob of the door. He was still hesitating to walk in. He was scared of saying what he knew he really wanted to say.
It would be like he was finally admitting it to the world. Then, he would have to go. He didn’t know where, but he would have to leave. He would have to leave her and that scared him.
He took in a deep breath and opened the door softly and slowly.
She couldn’t see him anyway, but he still wanted the door to open slowly. He didn’t want to scare her, and if he just opened it normally, she might be a little freaked out. This way, she would just think it was the wind.
…........
IU suddenly heard the click of the door opening, but didn’t really look towards it. The wind often did that with her door.
She continued to look outside the window. She thought the pit-patting of the rain on her window was calming, and she was trying to calm herself. If she kept distracting herself, she wouldn’t have to cry.
That’s when she heard footsteps behind her.
Her eyes widened. That was definitely not the wind. She suddenly grabbed a nearby book, seeing as that was the only thing she could possibly defend herself with.
She turned around swiftly, ready to attack any intruders.
She dropped her book automatically because of what she saw.
The realization of who it was didn’t process into her brain for a couple of seconds. It looked exactly like him, right down to the slightly chubby cheeks.
“Wooyoung?”
Author's note: Apparently, I have internet connection here on the trip! Hooray!! There still might be less updates, but I will still be putting up some chapters! Oh, and thanks for the interest in the story. Please give me more feedback in the comments, they really encourage me to write more :D!
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