3 July 2011

Hello! I joined some Yongseo writers to write a fantasy theme. This is long overdue. But still, here you go!

****************************************************

Ancient Korea, 650 AD

He’s the High Priest of Shilla Kingdom.

She’s the Royal Healer from Baekje Kingdom.

He was able to see the future.

She only needed to say a few sentences and everyone she touched was healed.

He was married to his king’s eldest princess.

She was the most beloved wife of Baekje’s Left Minister.

Both of their countries had been enemies for so long. That was why Shilla gave the second princess to marry the crown prince of Baekje, in the hope for ever lasting peace.

The wedding was held in Baekje. It was a grand, lavish wedding. Full of music, endless flow of the best
drinks, delicious food from both countries, and elegant dancers that mesmerized everyone from one tune to the next.

In the midst of it all, the Royal Healer and the High Priest from both kingdom only sat in silence, staring to
each other across the tables. Hypnotized, as if painting each others' profile in their heads.

There were things people called attraction. To someone who was your equal, whom you could meet in so random an opportunity, and it was overwhelming as well as exhilarating.

It’s like having a chance to peek into God’s well thought of plan of the universe.

It’s like holding water in your hands before it slipped away.

It’s like persuading destiny to be in your favor.

It’s when you realized you had met your soul mate.

The party kept on going around them. But the highly respected Royal Healer and High Priest stared into each others' eyes, they were ignorant of everything else.

He admired her features, like a painting of a beautiful Goddess. Dressed in layers of pale yellow and skin as white as porcelain.

He gripped his Soju cup so hard when their stare was broken, when her husband touched her arm and
whispered something in her ears. She nodded politely and smiled to her husband. When she was done, she looked back at him.

She didn’t understand what happened. She doubted that she would ever understand. She heard of his famous name, that for generations his family had helped Shilla decided their future. That he could see fortune and calamities and advised his king of it. She had long respected and admired him.

But she was more than surprised when she met him. He was wearing his royal attire, and he looked…..like a hero from a childhood story she used to hear.

She felt her heart stumbling in its rhythm, her blood simmering and rushing under her very own skin. She fell in love that very moment. It was wrong. It was forbidden. It was insanity. But that very moment, she swore she would do anything if she could be in his arms.

He felt like she pulled him. Because he saw the fire in him mirrored in her eyes.

A goddess. On earth.

But unreachable. Impossible.

Or so he thought.

************************************

Nobody could forget that night. Tried as hard as they might, the calling was too great.

So one moonless night, the Royal Healer went with her most trusted guards to cross the border to Shilla and knelt on the feet of the High Priest.

She couldn’t find anything to say. So she just knelt, head bent down and hands shaking, hoping against all odds that her prayers would be answered.

The High Priest touched her chin, making her looked up at him, before saying,

“Lady, in all my life, you are the biggest temptation that fell upon me. I could see most of tomorrows. I assure you, if you spend your life with me, however brief, your life will be gone in the most terrible way”.

“Sire,” she uttered, voice shaking, “I am not ignorant of the consequences. I am willing to face whatever
suffering it may be, as long as I could…..be with you. However, the choice is yours. You can send me back, and I will go in silence, bearing my shame alone”

There was silence as the High Priest pondered and the Royal Healer waited for her destiny.

“Lady…..” he called, pulling her up on her feet, “You are everything that I don’t possess. I could see you in my visions. I worship you long before I met you. So how do you think I could refuse you?”

“ Sire, I can’t hold on to my virtues. I already consider I’ve lost everything I have. Dignity, and honor. When I left my husband and crossed the border tonight, I am nothing but your humble servant”.

The High Priest watched her ever changing expressions. The pale, anxious face. The quivering, trembling
lips. And the eyes that was wet with tears. The eyes that could steal every man’s mind away.

He reached for her hands, holding it tight.

“My lady…..I’ll believe if you are the incarnation of a Goddess. But a humble servant? No, never!”

He pulled her into his embrace.

That night, they gave themselves to each other. Sin or bliss, they chose not to care. For if they couldn’t be
together, it was not life anyway.

**************************************

They spent seven nights together, though not consecutively. These days were combined in three months. It was always The Royal Healer that crossed the border to meet her High Priest. It could be achieved because her husband, the Left Minister, was a very busy man.

But one night he came home early and found his wife was not in her chamber and he was furious. Their
daughter pledged she didn’t know where her mother went. She swore Mother hugged her to sleep every night.

The next time they met, she made the excuse, “I was in my sitting room. Praying”.

But there was a foreign glow in her eyes that he had never seen before.

So he sent spies to watch her.

The result made him galloped to Shilla, sword in his hand, an army behind him.

**************************************

“My lady….” he called, touching her arm lightly, making her opened her eyes from a sweet sleep. “I have seen, and our end is near”.

She laid frozen for a second. A sculpture of white and ice. But not guilt, never guilt, he thought.

“Do you want to seek escape, Sire?”

“No….there’s no corner of this earth they would not seek to find us”

“I am sorry. My weakness has led to this”

“Don’t ever say what we have is weakness, Lady. You’re the soul mate I’ve been waiting all my life. I love you with every breath I take”.

Tears welled up in her eyes. “Sire, I too, have felt most alive since I gave myself to you…..”.

“No regrets?” he asked as he turned her and covered her with his body again.

“Never” she vowed.

So he bent down and kissed her, professing his love for her one last time. True, their world would soon end. But in this moment of heaven, they know they would have repeated their choices again.

***********************************

The Left Minister of Baekje and his army broke into the castle. Chaos ensued. The sound of swords
clashing and people screaming echoed around.

The High Priest called his guard and her lady-in-waiting.

“Tell my son, don’t fight for his father’s life. Tell him I know this is my time”

The guard took a step back in shock before running for his valiant master who was at the front, protecting his father’s name.

“Highness”, her lady-in-waiting begged, “Please let me take my lady to safety. Please. I’ll hide her, I’ll take care of her—“

“You are very loyal” she answered, “But no. There will be no use”,

Her lady-in-waiting fell on her knees, crying soundlessly.

The sound of wrath grew nearer and the High Priest quickly took the beautiful green jade from his lover’s
waist, a jewel she always wore hanging on her belt.

He used his strength to break the jade into two half circles.

“I glimpsed the future. Centuries from now, our descendants will have a chance to complete our love, if only
they found their way to each other”.

“Really?” she asked in doubt.

“Yes. They will have what we lost and be as happy as we wish. But they have to find each other first. Pass this to every eldest daughter in your family”.

She took one piece and gave it to her lady-in-waiting. “Here. Promise to give this to my daughter. Ask her to
pass this to every eldest daughter in the family. Don’t miss even one generation”.

Her lady-in-waiting could do nothing except grasping her lady’s hand.

“Now go. Take care of my daughter. Protect her from harm. Tell her, she’s the best that I got from my
marriage”.

Her lady-in-waiting knelt for one last time before leaving the room, thankful that she didn’t have to see her
lady died.

At the same time, the Left Minister broke the door with his army.

He saw the man he loathed standing ready with his sword, his wife standing beside him, eyes begging for the violence to stop.

The sight fueled his anger, so he charged full force. Only to be blocked by the Royal Priest’s son.

“Don’t you dare touch my father!” he barked, attacking the minister.

“Son! This is not your battle! Move away!”

“No!”

The High Priest pulled his son away. And fought only with the help of two guards. But he was outnumbered,
and though he tried his best, the minister still succeeded in stabbing his heart with his sword.

He fell to his lover’s arms.

Ignoring her husband, she cradled the man she loved on her lap, crying hard but busy whispering incantations to heal him, as she closed his wound with her hands.

“My Lady…..you are gifted. But I don’t think you can fight destiny”.

“Please…..” she choked, “Please…..”

“No…..this is time…..” he fought to breathe. “Son,” he called. And his son came running to his side.

“Forgive me….for following my heart and not my obligations…..”

“Father!” his son called out in grief.

“Here” he gave his son half of the jade, smeared with his blood already, “Make sure this is passed to every
youngest son in our family. In every generation”.

“I….I will father”

He searched the air and she caught his hand. “Lady….I love you. Thank you for teaching me what happiness meant”

“Sire! Sire…..”

But he slipped away, his hold on her hand loosened.

Her world ended. Nothing left.

“Let’s go home!” her husband ordered.

“You have been the kindest husband. Let me pay my infidelity with my life…..”

“NO!”

But she already stabbed her heart with the knife she carried around since childhood.

Her husband screamed in anguish as he lurched forward to hold her body or maybe, tried to safe her life.

“Let go” she requested.

She crawled back to her lover, used all her strength she had in her to lie down beside him. She held his cold hand and rested her head on his shoulder. For one last time, she inhaled, and exhaled.

It was brief. But the love they shared was worth a lifetime.

************************************

Seoul, 1994.

“Omma, where is he?” a 3 year old Joo Hyeon once asked to her mother.

“Him who, child?”

“He who played with me just now”

Her mother saw her little daughter rubbed her sleepy eyes.

“Joo Hyeon, you were dreaming”

“What is a dream, Omma?”

Her mother didn’t explain. Instead, she just caressed Joo Hyeon’s head. She always felt it. There’s something about Joo Hyeon.

A few days after she was born, when they brought her home from the hospital, she cried non-stop for two
days. They were young and worried, thinking maybe she was sick. They brought her to the doctor. He said
there was nothing wrong with her. She was perfectly healthy.

But she kept crying and crying. Wailing like she was in pain. Refusing to be fed, crying until her face all wet.
Her father even called in sick to take care of her that third day.

Until some time around 10.00 AM, when her mother carried her around the room, as she was still crying, her mother saw that old jade necklace in her jewel box.

Her mother was told that the necklace was like a talisman in the family. They would always be safe as long as
they kept passing on that necklace from daughter to daughter. Only for the eldest.

She didn’t seriously believe it. She just kept it because her mother and grandmother told her so. She didn’t
think much when she took it and put it around her little daughter’s neck.

But something odd happened. Seo Joo Hyeon, the five days old baby girl, stopped crying. Her mother stood
transfixed, listening to her breathing that got evened, her sobs that stopped to something like a hiccup, and
then finally to normal breathing.

She caressed Seo Hyeon’s back, and she slept in her arms.

When she told that to her husband, he didn’t believe it, and tried to take the necklace from the baby’s neck.
And Seo Hyeon, who was sleeping, instantly woke up.

And started to cry again.

From that moment on, Seo Hyeon’s parents always made sure that the necklace was safe and secure around her neck.

Now, she kept talking about “that boy”. That “friend” that she kept seeing and kept playing with her.

**************************************

Little Yong Hwa loved his Ommoni and Abeoji. Only a teeny little less than his Hyung. Only a little, very little
less than the little girl he always saw in his dreams.

He loved his Abeoji because he always played with him, walked around the complex, and bought him car toys.

He loved his Ommoni because she cooked delicious meals. And read him stories. And tugged him to bed with an “I love you, Son” every night.

He loved his Hyung because basically Yong Hwa thought he was the coolest person on earth. Hyung could
play baseball and basketball. Hyung could run so fast, swim so smooth, and eat spicy food. Hyung let him
play with his toys. Hyung took him to kindergarten and waited for him at the gate afterwards. Hyung was
awesome!

But, if he was asked who was his favorite, he’d answer, “That girl”. That little girl he saw in his dreams. That
little girl who ate gogumas a lot, had a loving Ommoni and Abeoji just like him, who loved to sing and play
hopscotch. That little girl.

It took a long time for him to realize that she was just in his dream, not his real friend or sister.

***********************************

Growing up having an image of a girl in your head was hard. You always put her as your ideal yet felt that kind of loneliness no one could fulfill.

He told that to his friends, those childhood friends who wouldn’t judge and would just listen.

“I have these dreams. About a girl. Almost every night she appears in my dream”

“It’s like knowing someone. I dream of her since I can start to remember. I saw her grow up, since she was a little girl until now. I think she’s the same age as me”

His friends thought he was weird. But it’s okay. There were weirder things than a dream about a certain girl for years.

Until one afternoon when he sat in his school’s cafeteria, and one of his friends asked, “Is she real? I mean, is she a real girl?”.

14 years old Jung Yong Hwa gasped. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. I’ve never met her”

Finishing his ttokpokgi, his friend fired on mindlessly with, “Well, what if she is?”.

And those questions haunted him.

What if she were real?

*********************************

The day he wondered whether she was just a pretty girl in his dream or a real person, Yong Hwa dreamed a vivid dream.

Of her. Wearing a school uniform.

It was dark blue with white collars and cuffs.

He woke up instantly.

The thing was, he knew that it was a real junior high school uniform in the southern part of Seoul.

********************************

He described the uniform he saw in his dream. And his friend instantly mentioned the name of the school. It’s two train stops away from his own school.

He didn’t go for soccer club. He didn’t go to music club. After school, he went straight to that junior high.

If she wore that uniform, then did it mean she’s the same age as me?

His heart was pounding, as he arrived in front of the school and waited there.

He waited for an hour. Two hours. Three hours.

He didn’t see her.

He came again the next day. And the next, and the next, for a week. But still he didn’t see that girl that felt
closer in his heart than anyone else.

At the seventh day, he gave up and went home slowly, his shoulders sagging as he heavily walked to the train station.

Stupid me. Stupid dreams. Stupid girl.

You’re not real. You don’t exist. You’re just my fantasy.

What Yong Hwa didn’t know was that the girl he sought enrolled at that exact same school he saw and wore the same uniform as he saw in his dream, but two years after he came there.

He was dreaming of her future.

****************************

Seo Hyeon loved to study and get good marks at school. She loved English too, that was why she took a
lesson in English since she was six and even when she was at the Junior High, she still continued. She was a nice and smart thirteen years old. She always got on the big five highest ranking in school. She’s good at everything school taught her.

Except about that boy she always saw when she closed her eyes at night.

School had no answer about him, of course.

One day, she decided to follow her friends to hang out at the malls after school. They have spent two hours
looking at clothes shop, when Seo Hyeon managed to convince them to go to the bookstore.

She was in the middle of paging books about Egypt history (because history was just awesome, she thought) when she heard,

“Seo Joo Hyeon……”

She instantly dropped the book and scanned around her, eyes desperately looking for the caller.

“Hyeon…..Joo Hyeon….” she heard it again. The sound was so clear in her ears, as if someone called her
from somewhere close behind her.

Her heart beat faster as she circled the history section. That voice. That voice sounded like someone had
found her at last, after a very long search.

But no one was seeing her. Everybody was busy choosing or paging or reading books.

What Seo Hyeon didn’t know was Jung Yong Hwa and his group of friends just left the bookstore, their hands full of things they needed for their art class assignment.

*******************************

It was like that. He dreamt of her in places he knew. The Lotte World, playing ice skating with her friends,
Myeong Dong, shopping around, that sushi restaurant in Gang Nam. He tried not to, but he always could not contain himself to go to those places after school for days, wanting to prove to himself of her existence.

But he kept not seeing her.

He told his friends in Junior High. But in High School, not anymore. Because it started to feel not right. Yet he could not, didn’t want to stop.

Though it’s all in his dreams.

He had seen her grow up. From a cute little child to a beautiful girl. He had heard her singing to herself while she tidied up her room. Heard her laughing. Saw her doing her best studying until late at night. Saw her crying because her grandfather died.

Though everything was seen only in a dream. Though Yong Hwa sometimes questioned his sanity. Though
he tried to tell himself not to, he couldn’t stop himself.

For falling to that girl in his dreams.

*******************************

Seo Joo Hyeon woke up that morning, only to lie motionlessly in her bed for a while.

She dreamt of him singing and playing his guitar. The song was about him wanting to meet someone so
much.

Seo Hyeon sighed. His voice was good. He played guitar really well too. Even then, she felt as if his voice was reverberating through her room, slipping in through the curtains, together with the sun rays.

“Who are you?” she asked her silent room. “Are you real?”.

Her room, as usual, was only four sets of walls and refused to answer her.

She had questioned herself times and times again.

Why do I have this dreams of him? Is this a mental illness or something? Why doesn’t it stop?

But she didn’t think so. She was sure she was alright. If it’s some kind of a sickness, she would have to go to a doctor. And he would give me medicines that would make those dreams go away.

That would be…..too lonely……

She couldn’t remember a time when she didn’t dream of him. At least once every several days, he appeared in her dreams. There were times when she was sad or worried, and he appeared in her dream every night.

He’s like…..a very good friend who stayed with her no matter what.

If only, if only you were real. I want to meet and be someone important for you.

If only…..

She realized her eyes were wet. She blinked several times. Took a long, deep breath, before getting up her
bed and prepared for school.

*********************************

On her first year of high school, boys started to give her longing glances. They called her name when they
passed her in the hallways, they gave her love letters, she got texts of “Seo Joo Hyeon, joaheyo” from
numbers she didn’t recognize. She felt nervous of it all, but then decided to act as if nothing happened.

She tried to ignore those boys and acted as if nothing happened.

But one boy named Jin Woon was braver than the rest. He openly confessed his feelings to her. Touched by
the effort, Seo Hyeon agreed to spend time with him.

“I don’t know what will happen, but we could be friends” she offered.

Jin Woon proved to be a funny friend, so she didn’t regret it. It was nice talking to him and spending time with him was not scary at all.

True, he’s not him. But he’s fun to be with.

All of those changed when Jin Woon pushed the boundary one day. They were walking together from school and Jin Woon suddenly reached for her hand and held it. And Seo Hyeon was shocked. She quickly withdrew her hand.

It felt like she betrayed someone. It felt wrong. And she felt strangely guilty.

The same time Jin Woon held her hand, in another part of Seoul, a boy held his head as a sudden pain
surged into his head. It was so severe, like his head was being cut into two.

“Yong Hwa? What’s wrong?”

“I—I don’t know. It’s a—headache”

The pain got worse. And he stepped out from the basketball field, trying to calm himself as cold sweat starting to wet his back. His breathing got shallow so he sat on a bench, leant his back on the wall, and closed his eyes.

**************************************

He stayed clear from girls. Through the years, he was a lot admired. He was a joker, a helpful friend, a guitar player and a singer, good in basketball, soccer, and pool, and would basically be anybody’s friend. It was not strange that girls fell in love with him. He was popular. Yet, he never dated anyone. Though girls confessed to him, made him cakes, brought lunch for him and filled his locker with love letters. Still, he never said yes to anyone. It was always "I’m sorry."

But when the prettiest, most popular girl in high school confessed to him, he was tempted.

Maybe it was his pride. The idea that he could get the most sought after girl in school sounded great. Besides, he was tired chasing after an imagination that seemed to be unreal.

So that time, he said yes.

In the same time, Seo Joo Hyeon fell ill. She kept having headaches and not having any appetite. She slept but she felt tired. She felt sad out of nothing. It went on, making the people close to her worried.

The first days of dating were sweet for Yong Hwa. She was indeed pretty. But she was more than just a pretty
face. The girl was nice and polite. She loved to dance and watch movies, thus they went to the cinema several times.

She cooked lunch and brought it to school for him, every day. She uttered clearly that she was in love with him. And he should be happy. Really. He tried. He really did.

It would succeed if only his dreams of her stopped. He saw her crying. He saw her lying in her bed with fever, her mother worriedly put a wet cloth on her forehead. She was ill and upset every time he saw her.

He wouldn’t know, but it was the first time he dreamed of her in the present time, and not in the future.

One night, after watching a live performance in a café, his girlfriend asked, “Did you have a good time?”

“Nae. I do. It was a great performance. I like it a lot”

“What about me?” she asked, her voice blending nicely with the night wind, “Do you like spending time with
me, Yong?”

He had to swallow first before smiling and answering, “Yes, I do. It feels nice to be with you”

And she unabashedly tiptoed and pecked his lips.

He stood still for a moment, looking at her. Speechless.

“Jung Yong Hwa, I love you” she said softly.

She then moved forward and kissed him again.

And he finally circled his hands around her shoulders, kissing her back. Under the moonlight, in a dark park near her house, they kissed for several minutes, playing with their innocence and the temptation of youth.

*********************************

In her bathroom, Seo Joo Hyeon fainted.

*********************************

She woke up, her focus spun before stopping to form the shapes of her parents. Her mother held her hand,
his father sat beside the bed, leaning to see her face closer.

“Hyeon…..my dear…..”

This was a hospital, she thought.

“Omma……”.

“Yes, yes my child. I’m here. Appa is here too”

Her father reached her other hand and she uttered, “I’m f—fine….”, before lapsing into unconsciousness once again.

********************************

Her parents’ hearts torn to pieces seeing her ill like that. But the doctor only could say that it was severe
exhaustion and anemia. She seemed to need to rest. A lot.

“Has she been doing something physically heavy?”

“No” her mother answered, lips quivering.

“Emotionally heavy perhaps?”

“She didn’t say anything, but I don’t think so. She just suddenly fell ill for almost a month already”.

“The lab result was clean. So I’m sure she just needs to rest for a while. She’s stabile now. You can take her home tomorrow”.

*********************************

Yong Hwa could not sleep that night. He turned and his bed, but sleep refused to come.

He could not sleep that day, and the next, and the next.

He missed that girl. He wanted to see that girl in his sleep.

*********************************

After one month, he finally told the girl that he could not go on anymore.

“I’m sorry……”

“Why? Why won’t you like me? Is there someone else?”

He didn’t answer.

“Well, I hope. I really hope, that she treats you better than me”. It was the last she said before running away in tears.


*********************************

Seo Hyeon woke up that morning without a headache, for the first time in weeks.
*********************************

When he slept that night, he saw her again in his sleep. He was relieved. He missed her. Too much.

*********************************

Seoul, 2009

On New Year’s eve, a lot of people in Seoul gathered in Myeongdong for the countdown, bringing firecrackers and trumpets.

The crowd was huge. Every available spaces were filled with people, and more people.

Seo Hyeon walked around with her friends.

Yong Hwa joked around with his friends. Both groups walked to the center of Myeongdong where the
countdown was about to start.

“And then I jumped like this, accidentally knocking out that guy, and the ball just went in—“ he elaborated, body showing that exact pose.

Hyo Yeon, Seo Hyeon’s friend, joked to her, saying, “I believe I could make all the guys here drool for me if I
dance up there”

“On the podium?” Seo Hyeon asked, eyes dancing and smiling at her friend, daring her with a look.

She walked without looking around and crashed someone’s back.

Both persons turned around in a stream of apologies.

Only to freeze when they saw each others' faces.

Time, place, and the air halted.

Yong Hwa’s eyes widened.

Her eyes watered.

Something sharp was stuck in his throat as she saw his dream girl materialized in front of him. In a flash, he remembered the child, the pre-teen, and the beautiful girl that haunted him for all his lifetime.

And here she was.

She remembered him, his chubby cheeks when he was a child, playing with his toys, playing guitar, singing in his room. A person she truly wished was real and she could meet.

And here he was.

She attempted a greeting the same moment he reached for her wrist.

Her eyes followed his hand.

“I’m sorry” he fought for intelligible words, “But what’s your name?”

Her heart quickened to a race when she answered, “I’m Seo Joo Hyeon”.

“I’m Jung Yong Hwa…..”

She stared, wanting to remember every inch of his face, in case this is the first and the last.

“This might sound crazy for you….But I—see you, in my dreams. For years” he said.

Rushes of emotions charged her. So much until her tears flowed.

“If you’re crazy, Jung Yong Hwa-ssi, then so do I. Because I see you too, all the time, as if I know you my whole life”

Hyo Yeon stared open mouthed for some time, seeing Seo Hyeon holding hands with a random stranger.

When he interlaced his fingers with hers, she couldn’t stay quiet anymore.

“Yah! Who the hell are you?! Let her go!” she yelled angrily, pulling Seo Hyeon’s hands off of him.

“Hyo, it’s okay. It’s—him”

“What? Him who, silly? I know you’ve never met this ert before and I’m not going to let—“

“Hyo, it’s him”

“Him?” Hyo Yeon frowned, and then the way Seo Hyeon walked back to him, reaching for his hands again,
Hyo Yeon finally understood. She didn’t really get it, but she almost cried herself, and finally
stepped back.

Jung Yong Hwa and Seo Joo Hyeon stared into each others' eyes as the countdown for the New Year began.

He concluded she was seeing the same dream. If not, she wouldn’t be in tears. It’s unexplainable, utterly irrational, and defied all reasons and logic, but it felt true.

As the firecrackers began to pop colorfully in the sky, he touched her cheek with the tips of his fingers, as her tears continued to flow.

And finally, he moved forward and very slowly touched her waist, enveloping her in a hug.

He closed his eyes as she hugged back, burying her head in his coat.

They were not strangers. How could they be strangers? They were two separated piece of a circle finally
merged into one.

“You’re real……” Yong Hwa breathed, amidst the noise, she could heard him continue, “Oh God, you’re
real……”.

She clutched his sleeves and cried harder. Because she felt that she was finally complete.

He’s the missing piece all along.

************************************

“Can I….walk you to your home?” he asked carefully.

She nodded.

“But Hyeon—“

“I trust him”

One sentence, and Hyo Yeon shut close.

“Fine”

And Hyo Yeon went home with Jin Woon, while Seo Hyeon and Yong Hwa walked to the other side of
Myeongdong.

In the subway train, he asked, “How old are you?”

“I’m 18”

“I’m 20. I’m going to enroll in a university soon”

“What?” she asked, alarmed, “w—where?”

He chuckled. “Here, in Seoul”

“Oh”

They held hands all the way, no one was willing to let go, as if each would disappear into the darkness again.

“Do you really see me in your dreams too?”

“Yes. Almost every night”

“So do I. It’s strange, but we must be connected, somehow”

He nodded, “I guess so. Though with what, I don’t know”

When they arrived in front of her house, he asked for her number. She gave and asked his in return.

“Are you…..seeing someone right now?”

“Ne? Me? No” she shook her head.

He smiled so wide she wished she could have the privilege to see it forever.

“How about you, Yong Hwa-ssi?”

“No. I’m not”

They stood together, looking down at their clasped hands.

“Can I see you tomorrow?”

“Yes”

“And the next day?”

“Of course. And every tomorrows after that” she answered, blushing with the forwardness but she just would not let him out of her life. Not that time, after finding her fairy tale was real.

“I’ll pick you up from school if you’d tell me where it is”

She told the name.

“Hm. I saw you wearing that high school uniform in my dreams several times. It’s like I see your days, like a
serial drama” he smiled.

“So do I. I see you too. Maybe one day we’ll know the reason why”

He nodded. “I should go home” he said reluctantly, letting her go.

But she caught his hand again. “You, you won’t forget me, right? I’ll really see you again, tomorrow?”.

“Don’t worry. I think I will be around you from now on. I don’t think I would be able to help myself”

Taking a deep breath, she let go of his hand.

“See you, Seo Joo Hyeon” he pronounced. The sound was like a caress in her heart.

“See you”

Seeing him walking away, there was a foreign urge to run down the street to be beside him again, but she
contained herself.

Two hours later, he called her, saying he got home and wishing her a good sleep.

And it was a new beginning. Of two persons that were meant to be together.

************************************

Author's Note :

3 July 2011
I'm strangely nervous with this one. After RDR, I'm afraid that no other fic of mine will be as well received as it is. But I guess that kind of response could only happen once in a lifetime, so I had to tell myself to erase any negative thoughts and enjoy the process.

This story was.....different. My style is different in this one, so much so that I'm sure the ones who like RDR would probably not like this one. However, this is something I need to write. Feel free to ask about this fic if you want.

The story feels unfinished, don't you think? Because this ends when they meet. I will write a drabble of how they become after that New Year's Eve one of these days.

Next, I'm going to write about my last of the ABC series, "X for XOXO".

Anybody watched Heartstrings? I am. And so far, I like it.