seven;

“Who’s that?”

Doojoon turns his head, following his friend’s curious gaze. A smile then was drawn on his lips. “Ah, that.” Reaching out a hand, he called for her tenderly. “Come here!”

The little girl ran towards her brother and hid behind his legs, covering herself from the stranger she had never met.

“This is my friend. Say hello.”

“H-hello,” she bowed shyly.

Junhyung bended down to his knees and beamed at the girl. “Hi there. What’s your name?”

“Yoon Bomi.”

“Nice to meet you, Yoon Bomi. My name is Yong Junhyung,” replied him. He holds out a hand to her. “You can call me, hmm, Junhyung oppa.”

She looked up at her brother, searching for approval and encouragement. With a nod from, slowly, she took tiny steps towards her new friend and reached for his warm hand. “Junhyungie oppa.”

The sun is shining brightly outside. On the contrary, the room is dark with the only source of light coming from the sun rays that creeps in through the slits of the curtains. Junhyung jerks his open and finds himself staring at the white dusty ceiling of his bedroom. A sign of his constant absence from home and him not paying attention to the housecleaning chores.

Trying to distract himself away and fall back to the deep slumber he was in just before that, he turns to the other side of the bed. His gaze lies on a rather old photo frame on a table not far from his bed. It is a picture of three children; Doojoon, his sister, and himself. For a moment, he stares at the photo and goes back to the conversation he had with Fantasma. Ever since she asked him about Bomi, he can’t seem to get his mind off the question. He tried to relive the memories of their whole time spent together, but every time he attempted to recall his final years with her, he would start to get headaches. He could remember the first time they met, but for some reasons he can’t understand, he can’t seem to call to mind his final memories with her.

Sighing, he picks up his phone and hits the number that he memorized by heart.

Even though minutes have passed since the conversation ended, Doojoon continues to stare at his phone. Deep down in his heart, heavy worries are looming and taking place. Did he finally remember something?

Junhyung had given him a call out of the blue. He was in an important discussion with one of the upper heads of the company, but upon hearing Junhyung’s sudden question, he immediately excused himself.

“How did Bomi pass away?” asked his best friend.

Shocked, he remained silent for a while to make sure that his ear wasn’t playing a trick on him and to compose himself before questioning back calmly. "Why do you ask?”

“I was just wondering, and I felt weird that I don’t remember about it.”

“You don’t remember?”

“No.”

He takes a deep breath and exhales frustratingly. “It was a heart attack.”

“Heart attack?”

“Yes.”

“But, how? It’s not like she was sick before, or was she?”

“No, she was perfectly healthy.”

“Then why?” Junhyung asked, his voice sounded upset. “And why don’t I remember any of it, Doojoon ah?”

Again, Doojoon remained quiet and pondered on the right answer he should make for his friend’s question. “You know what? I think it’s best if you try to figure it out yourself.”