Jiyong had been working nonstop for almost twenty four hours on a melody that had been plaguing him for days. If not for Soonho who had flown over a few days before his birthday to check on him upon the request of his mom, he would not have stopped for food or drink. He stretched his arms and neck, just now feeling the dull ache on his stiffened joints. He had finally written and recorded a raw audio file of the melody that had been haunting him. He would have to do some fine tuning later but for now the driving need to recreate the tune playing in his head had been satisfied.

The door creaked open and Soonho peaked at him. Seeing that Jiyong was no longer engrossed in his work, the manager stepped inside Jiyong’s inner sanctum. “Happy Birthday, Ji.” The man smiled at his ward. “You said you didn’t want to read any of your messages that’s why you handed over your phone when you left but I think you’d want to read this. It’s the first and only message from her since you went MIA from the world.”

Jiyong looked up at Soonho then down at the gadget on Soonho’s outstretched hand. “You…you mean her… her?” Even though he was a songwriter, he’d still get tongue tied when it comes to Dara. Soonho smiled in amusement at the awkward wording of his question. “Who else would I bend your rules for?”

Jiyong reached for the phone he hadn’t touched for months. The conversation thread was already opened on the screen. “Jiyong, Happy Birthday. I wish someday you find the light at the end of the tunnel. Don’t worry for me I am happy and am continuously learning to be happy. Hengsho.”

For the longest time he stared at her message. He wanted to tell her everything at the same time he also didn’t. Because he felt ashamed of his slow progress compared to how far Dara had gone since he left. He had given up his phone but he still had access to the internet and he had established