-5-

A new girl arrived at the orphanage that day, a girl wearing a white medical mask with a weak frame. Her eyes were a bit swollen, obviously fresh from crying. He was hiding behind a wall that separates the living room and the kitchen when he first laid eyes on her.

“What’s your name sweetie?” the old woman asked

“Sky” she replied softly, voice muffled by the mask she was wearing

Smiling, the older woman hugged her and patted her back gently, welcoming her lovingly in the orphanage. She kneeled to her level and wiped her eyes that went back to crying, knowing that she doesn’t know the feeling of being hugged. She shushed her softly and kissed her forehead.

“I’ll be your new mother okay?” she said to her

The girl cried once more and hugged the older woman, sobbing softly on her shoulders. Shushing her for the second time, she smiled and peeled off the mask she was wearing, revealing a bruised cheek. She rubbed the area slightly and smiled at the young girl.

“You don’t have to hide here okay? We welcome you no matter what happened to you” she said as she stood up and pat her head.

She turned around and saw Youngjae hiding, eyes a bit teary from what he saw. The older woman nodded at him, telling him to come closer and meet the new girl.

He walked slowly towards them as he blinked a few times. He looked at her from head to toe, noticing her dark brown eyes that were filled with sadness. He smiled at her and held out his hand.

“I’m Youngjae” he said with a high pitched voice

“I’m Sky” she answered as she shook his hand

“I’ll be your best friend from now on okay Sky?”

She nodded her head and tried her best to smile, wincing a bit with the pain from her cheek. But as he tried to reach out and touch her bruise, his surroundings started to swirl and for a moment, he saw her all alone, playing at the swing by herself. He made his way towards her and sat on the swing next to her. She kept swinging herself gently while sighing loudly, murmuring things to herself as she looked up the sky and smiled at the clouds. Her marks were gone by now and somehow; she was taller by a few inches.

“When will I ever have a family?” she asked herself

The question made him froze for a few solid seconds until he heard her voice once more.

“When will I have a family that will love me for who I am? A mother who will take care of me, a father who will teach me, a brother or a sister that will play with me.”

She let out a sigh as she kicked the dirt on the ground. She stood up and walked away when she felt a raindrop fall on her arm. He tried to follow her, but he couldn’t; it’s as if he was being pulled away, and even as he ran with all his might, he just couldn’t.

His eyes fluttered, and for a moment, everything was different. The smell of iodoform crawled in his nose making him jerk at the thought that he fell asleep at the hospital. He groaned a bit as he raised his head from his arm that was placed on the hospital bed. He looked up from where he was and saw the girl he saved for the second time, looking at him with amusement. Realizing that he fell asleep made him jerk up a bit and wiped his lips, trying to remove the drool he thought was there. He glanced back at the girl and for a second, for a solid second, he saw Sky.

She cleared when she noticed his curious look, breaking him from his trance. He shook his head carefully and looked away.

“Thanks” she said to him as she looked away as well, trying to not look at the man who saved him twice.

He looked at her and smiled when he saw her playing with her fingers.

“You’re welcome” he answered

And awkward silenced conquered the air for a few seconds until she chuckled, breaking the choking atmosphere.

“You know, we didn’t really get to introduce ourselves properly” she said, smiling a bit

“I’m Mirae, Ahn Mirae” she reached out

He looked at her bandage covered arm for a moment, noticing how thin she was. He looked at her hand and then at her face; it was brighter than last time; than yesterday.

“Yoo Youngjae” he said as he shook hands with her

Looking at him, she played with her fingers again and spoke with a little tone of playfulness.

“I must be such a nuisance to you, I’m sorry” she said without looking at him.

He chuckled at her words and scratched his nape, trying to not sound too awkward.

“It’s fine, I told you last time that you need help right?” he said, trying his best to converse with her

 “I’m really sorry about that, I mean yesterday when I got mad at you”

“It’s fine, I understand” he reassured her

She looked at him when he said those exact same words that ticked her off the day before. She lightly scrunched her forehead and looked at him, arms folded on her chest, and a smirk forming on her lips.

“Tell me Youngjae, what do you understand?” she asked him, trying not to be rude

He cleared his throat and looked at her eyes without hesitation.

“You lost someone you love, someone who was there for you for a long time, maybe the only person who knows and understands you well enough.” He said, trying to be careful with the words he used.

She raised both her brows a bit, gesturing an ‘is that it’ kind of look. Youngjae smiled at her innocently as a response. She sighed a bit and decided that it’s about time to tell the person who’s put up with her and her suicidal acts at least something he should know.

“I’m impressed, but those are the basics. I lost my fiancé on the day we’ve picked his suit and my gown” she said with a pained tone

She looked at her right hand and lightly touched the area where the needle and her vein are connected. She chuckled softly, remembering the dream she had with Yongguk on a beautiful tulip field.

“We’ve been best friends since we were young; we only realized that we were in love when we reached puberty. Then on, we did almost everything together and supported each other. We promised after college that we would get married, when we’re financially stable and all that. It was almost perfect, really, but accidents happen”

“What happened?” The man asked, giving Mirae his full attention

“Well, after picking up the suit and gown, his manager called him and said that he was needed at the office. Driving down the highway, two numbskull truck drivers decided to have a little race on the road. Losing a bit of control on the brakes, he stopped after he crashed Yongguk’s car.”

The two remained silent for a while until Mirae broke it with a question.

“By the way, how did you find me? I mean, I know you would figure out my name with the ID I have in my bag the last time we met, but my address?” she asked while chuckling awkwardly

Youngjae blushed a bit at her question, he cleared his throat and bit his lip as he tried to find his voice. But when he opened his mouth to tell her his answer, a high pitched voice was heard from the nearby.

“Mirae! I’m so happy you’re finally awake!” Emma screamed into her ear

She patted her back and smiled at her neighbor’s concern. Breaking the hug, Mirae looked at Youngjae for a few seconds then back at Emma who was as cheerful as ever.

“You know each other?” She asked, forehead a bit creased

He was about to answer her question before she’d misunderstand, but his phone started to ring, making him jump in his seat. He took out his phone and read the name of the caller

I have no idea what I’m writing, I’m sorry orz