How do I Remember..?

A/N: so, like... am I allowed to explain? Well, anyway, I sincerely apologize for the lack of updates because last week, there was this umm... music camp thing at my old elementary school and I was asked to volunteer as a mentor for intermediate piano... it was a one week thing.... Yes, I play piano... for about a decade or more. Anyway, yeah, It was a whole day thing and I even took a short break from my summer job to help out. So yeah... here's the update? Enjoy?

~Khazumi

"-And then the guy said to this hot lady, 'needle-little lift?'. Get it? Needle-little? Need a little? lift? Hahaha!"

Mina cringed, trying her best to make her laugh sound as real as possible, which proved to be quite the impossible feat as this man was much worse than a certain Chaeyoung at making jokes. She had no clue as to what sin she had commited in the past to deserve such an ill turn of fate, but this was just too much for her mind to bear! The insufferable flirt of a nurse that was currently tending to her was killing her- and it was most certainly NOT in a good way. She would've punched him if he wasn't in the middle of taking her blood pressure, which was probably up to the skies right now as it boiled in annoyance, hidden perfectly behind her smile.

She could have sworn she was going insane. She had been admitted into this boring box of white on a Wednesday (if her memory serves her right), and if she had woken up on friday- add the two days she was being monitored... It was a sunday. And Mina was getting impossibly even more bored. There was almost nothing there to amuse her, and even her DS that her mom had kindly brought in for her was starting to look less appealing if it was the only entertainment you had for pretty much sixteen of the twenty-four hours of her day. Nothing on the TV interested her either, save for a few movies she thought were decent. And maybe from time to time, Jihyo and her other friends, co-workers or acquaintances kept her distracted from other thoughts.

And now, she had to be taken care of by some obnoxious nurse whose face had become a familiar sight as he had been the same one she saw since she woke up. Maybe he'd call it fate, but Mina called it over-eagerness and pulling some strings. Who the hell would willingly work like this? Did he take breaks? Mina wished he would let her catch a break from him.

"So, I was thinking," The guys calmer voice brought Mina's attention back to him. She hummed her response, fearing her own words if she dare opened . "How 'bout once you get out of this place, I treat you to a nice dinner?" Mina gaped at the question. Was he really doing this right now? How unprofessional!

"Excuse me?" She couldn't help but ask, though her answer was already set in mind.

"You know, a pretty lady like you, a handsome guy like me-" (Mina scoffed. He was fairly good-looking but nothing too award-winning.) "Dinner together. Get to know one another?" He grinned, confident she'd say yes with the smile Mina had on.

"Never."

It wasn't even a 'no'. It was a 'never'. And that probably burst his little ego bubble. Mina grinned internally at her victory. This was one good turn to her day because the guy finally shut his trap as he finished up his work and left. Mina was glad he wasn't those extremely cocky types that couldn't handle a blow to their pride and retaliate. At least he kept mum. That was one good thing, she guessed and she'd give him props for that.

Sighing to herself as she was left to her own devices, the singer unconciously began humming a tune, eyes attracted to the steadily darkening sky. It was about a little past noon so it was probably going to rain.

Rain, huh.

Mina felt she could cry with the sky as it began pouring its tears against the window pane of the cab she had hailed to take her to the airport on her grand quest to locate the famous "Kim Dahyun". The pianist who had just succeeded in breaking her heart along with her dreams. There was no way she was going to let her get away, not with her pride and promise on the line. Mina swore she could strangle the girl before making her keep her oath (more gently this time).

Clutching her bag tightly, thoughts filled with rage and adoration and anticipation to see Kim Dahyun after well over five? six? Seven years? She was a big girl now, thirteen to be exact. Nothing was going to stop her from finding the piano wonder and making her keep her word. She was too engrossed in her thoughts, too deep into her emotions that she didn't see the flashing lights on time, didn't register the sound of multiple honks, of a screech of rubber against asphalt. She barely registered the sound of a bang; the feel of being hit almost not felt at the suddenness of it all.

And Mina forgot the the one she thought of the most. She forgot the promise she always wanted to remember.

She forgot Kim Dahyun.

"Mina. Mina!" Said girl jolted awake from her reverie, turning to see the concerned eyes of her dear friend Jihyo. "Are you alright?" She asked as Mina only slowly nodded in response. She found it a challenge to formulate any words at all, what with her mind still running much like an object thrown at full force still taking time to slow into a stop. "You've been staring out the window since I got here."

"S-so?" She managed her first word out in this conversation with little ease, mind still muddled from her stroll through fuzzy memories that she couldn't recall right now in her completely concious state.

"I've been here for well over two hours. I thought you had actually fallen asleep with your eyes open." Jihyo sighed, tucking a loose strand of Mina's hair behind the patient's ear. "So I got worried." She then sat on the bed, patting the other girl's lap gently. "Care to share your thoughts?" She asked trepidly, not knowing how to get Mina to open up about a seemingly sensitive subject. She rarely opened up to even the simplest of thigns after all!

She was surprised by the reaction though, as Mina chuckled, shaking her head, eyes mirthless and near dead in contrast to her smiling face and laugh. Jihyo wanted to understand, wanted to know. But she feared she couldn't. Not because Mina wouldn't tell her, but because she herself could not grasp it.

"Everyday..." Mina began, trailing off, gaze returned to the window, as if searching for the answers there. "Everyday, even before I've been here, I've always felt like I've had dreams... of distant memories, of something I'm supposed to know... But then-" Mina bit her lip, and Jihyo could see her grasping at the sheets, wrinkling the well-kept, white hospital covers.

"But then?" She encouraged. If it helped Mina to open up, JIhyo would gladly be her listener.

"But then I wake up everyday with a blank sheet, pure white mind. I'm only left with a feeling, but no thoughts, no memories." Mina sounded like she could cry, because right now, she desperately wanted to know who she was. Who she was before she became the Myoui Mina she believed herself to be every single damn day that she failed to remember! "And even that feeling is too vague to tell me anything about... anything!"

"What about now?" Jihyo covered Mina's now trembling hands with her own, squeezing them to transmit warmth and comfort.

She paused, trying to let the question sink in. She didn't know then, how could she know now? "I feel like the memory dreams are stronger, more vivid, but I wake up with fragments that are impossible to piece together... It's like my mind won't tell me who I was. Must I find myself, my own identity?" Myoui Mina could not believe she was having an existential crisis. She thought she was passed the age for that!

"Everyone has to find out who they are at some point life." Jihyo replied.

"And I thought I had already gone through that point." For the first time, Mina looked into Jihyo's eyes, her own telling the other how upset she was, how angry, frustrated... how scared she was, not being able to know who she was.

"Mina, I..."

"Who am I? Who is Myoui Mina, Jihyo?"

"I-" She what? What was Jihyo supposed to reply? Her own perception of the strong, talented and charismatic Mina? Obviously that wouldn't be the answer Mina would desire. If she herself had no clue, how much more Jihyo? "I don't know." Was her honest reply.

Mina stayed silent this time, and both sat in an awkward tension. Until something struck Jihyo. A curiousity that slowly made her think that it could be the key to remembering; to Mina remembering who she was, and everything in her past that constituted to becoming Mina. The real Mina.

"Then what about Kim Dahyun?"

The name alone sent Mina's pulse and breaths into a frenzy, an emotion she felt but couldn't name, a burning rushing in like a fiery river each and every time.

"What about her?" Mina replied in her most composed voice, which was rather impressive to both her and Jihyo.

"What do you remember about her? And not counting the memories from when you met her again at that audition, but from way before that." Jihyo tried.

Mina didn't want to think about it- not when her nerves and her entire system was sent haywire. "Jihyo, I don't-"

"Try, Mina. Try." That's right, if Jihyo was trying, she needed Mina to do so as well. "I need you to try. For me?"

Mina groaned, but nodded anyway, mouth trying to say something, mind trying to piece together what little she remembered from connecting the pieces of her parents' explanation of the past and her shatttered, scattered fragments of a memory.

"I just know that... she's my pianist." Mina confessed.

"And my heart says it can only be her."

Jihyo slammed her car door closed behind her as she gripped her stirring wheel and rested her head against it. This was going to be harder than she thought. She didn't even know what she was doing herself. Why was she bothering to dig up a literal "forgotten past"? Why did she need to know this mystery pianist of Mina's? Maybe deep down, she had a reason, but she had yet to realize it. For now, she was simply trusting her gut feelings that told her she'd get her reward in the end. She sat up and massaged her forehead, before reaching for the car's drawer compartment and pulling out a very old, worn folder. It's white color had turned into a pale yellow, and the papers were stained with substances she had no clue of.

Opening it, various papers and a few news clippings- one particular within noted the date of its printing.

'May 4th, 2004'

'Like a shooting star, sudden discovery, roughly 6-year-old piano prodigy's name made known Locally.'

'Kim Dahyun.'

Jihyo flipped through the other articles, another one dating a few years after the first one.

'January 26, 2007'

'Back-to-back Titles for the Stoic Piano Prodigy Kim Dahyun.'

'Kim Dahyun has struck gold for the second time in the All-Korea piano grand prix. What will she do next?'

And another one.

'August 2007: "The Ice Princess", Kim Dahyun representing Korea in the Asia-wide "Young Piano Masters" cup.'

'2008: Guardian Angel of Piano leads Kim Dahyun to another trophy world-wide'

'February 27, 2009: Not an angel, but a Piano god?'

'Kim Dahyun, age 10, going 11- most known in the piano world for her supergenius in the realm of Music.'

Jihyo flipped through more and more articles, shock growing and irritation in herself boosting as she questioned herself, 'How the hell have I never known this person?!'. It was practically impossible to not have heard of Kim Dahyun... right? Though Jihyo admittedly got into Music in 2007, but that was still impossible not to know a booming Musical star.

Her hands ran through papers and papers of clippings before freezing at one specific article dating back to mid-twenty-ten. Her brows furrowed in bewilderment as she read through it over and over.

'Disappearing? Has Kim Dahyun suddenly fallen into the hands of a Musical world Bermuda Triangle?'

'Where in the world is Kim Dahyun now?'

'Rare sighting of Piano genius, Kim Dahyun in Brooklyn, taking home the crown of the comp before returning to the shadows.'

'30 theories on the invisible act of the piano star of the century.'

'Who is Kim Dahyun? -Most asked question of the new gen pianists.'

' "Left without a trace"- exclusive look into the disappearance and possible reasons behind it of Kim Dahyun.'

'Kim Dahyun- The Piano's Myth.'

Jihyo shook her head at the absurdity of the last one, though she almost found herself believing it. Kim Dahyun, if she was as powerful in the music industry then, why were there no traces of the girl's history at all? Well there were, but they weren't easy to obtain.

"I owe CEO Jinyoung a successful concert now for this profile background check. Is this the cost of my nosiness?" Jihyo asked herself as she read on about all the articles, trying to collect as many puzzle pieces as she could. If she found enough things to be able to fill in the gaps of Mina's story for the bigger picture, maybe they would be able to get ahold of the greatest musical partnership and performance in history!

But pieces from her, and pieces from Mina were not enough to complete this mystery. What she needed was-

A knock on her car window signalled the arrival of company that she had been waiting for. She listened as the door opened, and two figures got in the back seat. Jihyo then started her car, but before driving off, turned around in her seat to flash a smile to her passengers.

"Chaeyoung, Tzuyu, good evening." She greeted, as the two bowed in return. nervousness hidden behind their smiles. They heard about the predicament and if they could be of help, they would try to give as much information as they were allowed to without breaching privacy. "Now, tell me all about Kim Dahyun."

Mina sat in the near-empty hospital lobby, watching her mother at the cashier as she got her permit to be released. She hummed a tune to herself while she waited, feet swinging back and forth, making Mina look like a child. She heard footsteps in the distance and when she turned to check, she saw Jihyo coming her way, whistling as she twirled her car keys around her finger, her other hand shoved into her long black coat. She was here to pick them up as Mina's dad-who had brought her mother here- had work, so the pick-up task was entrusted to Jihyo, who was her closest friend from what her parents knew. They actually thought the two were dating, this rumor dispelled in a bout of heavy laughter from the pair of singers one night after a duet, when Mina's parents teased them and confessed their thoughts.

"Hey." The older of the pair voiced out, a hand reached out to rub comforting warmth onto Mina's bicep.

"Hi..." Mina replied meekly.

Other than that, no words were further exchanged as Mrs. Myoui finished her business with the nurse and Jihyo ushered the mother-daughter pair to her car, Mina sitting with her mother in the back as Jihyo drove them home, all the while exchanging basic chitchat with her mother. The youngest decided to stay silent and stare out her window, watching the buildings that ran along the pavements of the city. Sighing into her palm, she surrendered herself to her empty, yet loaded thoughts.

"We've arrived." Mina hadn't noticed that she'd dozed off nearly the whole duration of the car ride. Opening her eyes, she just barely caught her mom leaving the car, Mina's bag she used in the hospital in her hands. As she was about to scoot over and reach for the door handle, the engine revved up again and they were off with a distant wave from her mom.

"Jihyo?! Where are you taking me?" She asked, still drowsy, confusion adding up.

"Somewhere? I don't particularly know. Just somewhere..." The driver replied nonchalantly as she took them to what Mina realized was the direction of the theater.

"Jihyo..." Mina was getting suspicious.

"Oh, wait! But first, let's have a stop-over, shall we?" The large-eyed beauty exclaimed as they parked by a familiar- very familiar- cafe that jogged up some memories in Mina. Not some of a few years ago, but merely... a week or so( ?) ago. Ah, yes. Or not?

Saving Mina from her internal confusion, Jihyo knocked on her door's window, already outside and waiting as she opened Mina's door for her with a playful, "after you?" to which the singer scoffed at in a teasing manner, eyes rolling. She could hear Jihyo whine something about her inability to play along, she only chuckled, shaking her head and getting out of the vehicle, waiting for JIhyo to lock it and head in together into the humble establishment which was the Son's Cafe- fairly well known around the area for quality goods and homely feels.

Immediately, the sweet scent of cake, bread and pastry invaded the senses, warmth crawling up her skin as Mina made her way to the counter, Jihyo in tow. Maybe it was the atmosphere of the vicinity, but Mina had been drawn like a magnet towards the counter, eyes automatic and searching carefully for a hair of brunette hair with oddly colored highlights, frowning as she saw none.

"Wait, why am I even looking for her...?" She muttered to herself, curious at her own actions.

"Looking for who?" Jihyo asked as she reached the line by the counter, looking around in hopes of seeing some familiar faces.

"N-No one... I was... talking to myself." Mina replied, her gaze turned to the menu selection overhead. "What are you getting?" She asked her friend, changing the topic immediately so they could get to a seat, or she wished, get out of the place as it was giving her feelings unknown.

Jihyo hummed as she debated on what she should order, not minding the strange changes in Mina's demeanor. She wasn't in a place to ask yet, though she could assume it was due to a certain pianist she had noticed working here when she decided to visit for a relaxing cup of coffee a few days prior.

"I'll just have an iced-tea and... there are actually nachos here? Wow, okay. Guess I'll have those."

"Jihyo, it's been raining lately, it's been fairly cold... it's kind of autumn-ish, and you're getting an iced tea?" Mina asked.

Jihyo simply shrugged, pulling out her wallet from her back pocket to fish out her share of the bill while Mina was weighing her options on what treat she was getting. She had always had a harder time at decisions in general, and it was amusing and frustrating to her friends at times. Soon, it was there turn at the counter, and she still had no clue on what to get.

"Good aft- well, early evening. What would you like to or...der..." A redheaded cashier who was in the middle of turning around, asked, sentence fading as she blinked in surprise. Mina could have sworn she looked familiar. Trying to put a finger on who this person was. Redhead? Pale skin? Mono-lidded eyeeesssss- shi-

"You." She blurted out, and Jihyo, who had been silently observing the exchange, realising much earlier that the girl attending to them just had to be fate's cruel joke on a already borderline-insane Mina, almost laughed, biting down on her bottom lip to keep silent in hopes of seeing where this interaction would go.

"I... what?" The Cashier asked, with a tilt of her head.

"You..." Mina didn't know either and answered off the top of her head. "You want our orders?" She asked and slapped herself mentally for saying something so stupid that Jihyo couldn't hold in her mirth as she supressed her laughs with her hand.

Momentarily stunned, the worker pinched herself, as if asking if this was actually happening to her right now, this odd interaction. Seeing she was wide awake and at work, she nodded and carefully replied. "Well, I do work here so... Yeah, I do want your order?" Her earlier tenseness gone as she realized the hilarity of this strange situation, breaking into a grin, before adding, "Don't you want your order too?".

Mina blinked.

"Is this like... a clue or something? Blink for a yes?" Dahyun asked Jihyo, who played along to the little act as Mina was still processing things with her brain that was apparently so slow at the moment and not responding. Effects of the hospital? Sure, she could blame it on that.

"Maybe." Jihyo grinned, nudging Mina so that they could hurry it up. "Mina, the people behind are waiting."

"Oh." She responded lifelessly and JIhyo slapped her forehead.

"Mina, place the orders!" Sure, Jihyo could have done it herself, but this was entertaining and she could handle a few glowers from behind for a few more minutes.

Surprised at Jihyo's louder tone, Mina jumped and blurted out like a maching, "One order of nachos, and iced tea, two cookie bars and an Ameri-"

"I got it." The cashier laughed, inputting the orders and printing the receipt as she took the money from Jihyo's hand, Mina still a dead woman standing in a crowd, shamelessly staring at the woman in front of her like she was some rare specimen never before revealed to the world. "So, an order of nachos, iced tea, two cookie bars." She repeated, and Mina felt like something had been left out of that, but didn't say a thing, nodding whatever.

"Dine in." Jihyo spoke up.

"I figured." The redhead replied.

"Thank you." Jihyo chirped, patting Mina's shoulder to snap her out of it. "Hey, you've been staring for too long." She informed as Mina shook her head immediately, senses coming back as her mind returned to its uniformly organized state. Calm and composed Mina was back, her mind now fully registered and aware.

"Th-thank you." She said to the cashier who simply smiled. "Dahyun."

Mina thought she saw those monolids widen for a fraction of a second, but it was overshadowed by the sweet smile thrown her way. Gentle, with those eyes squinting into crescents. "My pleasure, Miss Myoui."

They had a mini stare-off before Jihyo had to fake a cough to get a move on.

"Right," Dahyun said sheepishly. "I'll have your orders at your table in a moment." She gave them a number so that she could find them later, and called for the next already impatient customer in line as the pair of friends walked to table.

It took a moment before Mina was able to speak. "We were dining in?"-were her first words at the table.

"I guessed that you would appreciate being able to blatantly stare at your pianist for a few more minutes... or hours." Jihyo teased.

"I wasn't-!" Mina reeled back at the volume of her own voice, before crouching down across the table to whisper-shout, "I wasn't "blatantly staring" she said with air quotes, and Jihyo couldn't be any more amused.

"Yes, you were, and you are being so different right now." She said through chuckles.

"Different?" Mina asked. "What do you mean?" She settled in her seat, more relaxed than before.

Jihyo seemed to weighing something, biting her lip in reluctance. "You don't seem to be the Mina I know?"

You don't seem to be the Mina I know?

You don't seem to be Mina...

The words echoed in her mind.

"Jihyo..." She whispered, said girl looking up to meet clouded eyes. "Who am I, right now? Who was I before the hospital?" Mina sounded fragile, unsure. A tone Jihyo had never associated with the woman before, until now that is. "Do I really need to discover who I was in the past? I mean... my life seems to be good right now. I think it's fine if I stayed the Myoui Mina everyone knows now." She confessed.

"And which Myoui Mina is that?" Jihyo's seriousness caught her off guard.

Really, which Myoui Mina was she just shy of a week ago? How did people see her? Different people have different views, that's for certain. Was she the cold successful singer-actress, the composed, introverted lady, JYPE's "Black Swan"? Who did JIhyo think she was- more importantly, who did Mina herself know... well, herself.

As she continued to add more knots to the tangled mess in her head, a stray thought just had to pop up.

"Oh... wait, Jihyo." She adressed her companion to which the girl only hummed, signalling for the other to go on. "Why didn't she hate me? I mean... D-D... Kim Dahyun. She was serving us with a smile and all that..." She muttered to herself. After all she had put the girl through, she had been unconciously expecting any volume of hostility or coldness. It surprised her when she was greeted by the warm depths of those brown monolidded pools.

Jihyo chuckled at the randomness before replying, "Well, aside from being a part of work etiquette- I mean, come on Mina, call it common sense, but any worker in this kind of business would have to smile at their customer even if they hated their guts."

That kind of hit Mina hard and placed thoughts in her head about Kim Dahyun harbouring loathing emotions towards her.

"Aside from that Mina," Jihyo called, getting the negativity out of her friend. "-I think she's trying to keep herself upright and move on with her life. That kind of strong positivity. Call it resilience if you may. She's not quite optimistic, but she tried to get back up." The older smiled at her friend, reaching over the table to rub a consoling hand on Mina's own. "I also believe that she is trying to understand your reasons for saying no... I think." Jihyo chuckled, and somehow Mina thought she knew something about Dahyun to make her say such things.

Mina turned to throw a quick glance to the girl smiling at her next customer who happened to be a mother and a young boy. It wasn't like the confident smirk she saw the first day. Dahyun was only wearing a small smile, and though Mina could sense a small patch of sadness in it, there was no doubt that it was genuine.

It brought a smile to her own lips.

"ooohh? What is this? A rekindling of your first love?" Jihyo teased, a -eating grin growing on her face. Mina resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she pinched the hands that held hers. Jihyo yelped.

"Anyway, how can you say that the girl is resilient, huh? Maybe she wasn't so serious when she auditioned and just... was fine with whether she got in or not or something." Jihyo raised a brow at that. Mina wondered why she was saying such things as well when she knew they were far from the truth. "Okay, sorry. I didn't mean to say that... umm..." Mina felt the need to correct her wrong.

Jihyo laughed in relief. "For a second there, I thought you were reliving your hate for her that first day."

"I don't hate her!"

"But to answer your question," Jihyo smiled at the girl behind the counter. "A few days after you were hospitalized, she came by the theater and asked for another chance. Or for any job for that matter. She even met up with the boss." Mina's brows rose at the revelation. "She hasn't been confirmed to have a part in any of the upcoming projects, but JYP said he'll think about it and allowed her to visit anytime she so desires." Jihyo seemed to be recalling something as she giggled to herself. "Trust me, she visits as much as she can... and it's a pleasant treat for anyone who's stressed."

When Mina gave her a questioning look, Jihyo explained.

"She plays amazingly! I mean, if you could hear her-! I've been sleeping over more often in the office because the tunes she gives is amazing!" Something in that statement caught Mina's attention.

"Wait- if you mean sleeping, does she stay in late?"

"Hmm... I've been sleeping fairly early, about nine? So she goes home a bit after that."

Mina nodded. Before she could inquire of anything further, a petite woman walked up to them, a tray with their food in her hands.

"Table seven? One Iced tea, nachos, two cookie bars and..." She listed off as she placed the orders. "Some milk tea with a small dash of cinnamon and honey... though I don't know how, but our little worker there made it work out to taste pretty good." The lady gestured with her head to Dahyun who was looking their way, maybe to check if they received their orders okay. When she them looking at her, she offered a soft smile and a wave before turning back to work.

"Thank you."

"Oh no problem. I'm Wendy, by the way. I own This place." She reached out a hand and shook the hands of the pair of customers.

"You look familiar." Jihyo commented as she observed the girl's face. "Have you ever... like sang... ummm in an organization or in a band or group.. are you a singer, I swear I've seen you before."

"Oh, maybe my Youtube account with my friends? Son Seungwan, or Wendy of Red Velvet."

"Red Velvet!" Jihyo lit up. Red Velvet was a group she had found some time back in college, and she loved their songs, the indie singing group catching many hearts to this day. "I'm so lucky!" She squealed, eyes lit with admiring recognition.

"Anyway, I was wondering about the personalized drink so I came over to ask about how you know Dahyun?"

At the question, the two swallowed thickly.

"About that..." Jihyo started off.

"I was the one who rejected her piano application." Mina bluntly confessed, and Wendy had her eyes open wide. Mina feared backlash but a laugh calmed her down.

"You had your reasons, I'm guessing. You don't seem like a bad person." The cafe owner exclaimed with a sigh. "I'm surprised Hyunnie is fine seeing you at all. Usually she'd be uncomfortable. Anti-social little girl." She laughed with a fondness in her tone.

Jihyo was curious on how Wendy knew Dahyun since they seemed close, the nickname being a huge hint. Also, maybe this girl could add some pieces to her broken puzzle of strewn together articles and vague answers from her two younger informants who weren't keen on giving out too much info. Putting aside her fangirling, she asked, "How are you acquainted with Miss Kim?" She asked respectfully, not wanting to overstep boundaries, but wanting to gather intel to help Mina's... "Situation."

"Hmm? Oh, she used to date my younger sister. They're good friends now, but I've known her since she was younger..." At the mention of younger, Wendy's happy aura diminished, not going unnoticed by the two who still had their meal untouched. Jihyo only grew more thirsty for truth. She recalled Chaeyoung telling her about a problem when the pianist was younger, but no specifics were shared.

"C-can we.... Can we ask about her when she was younger?" Mina spoke after a bout of silence. "Out of curiousity."

Wendy seemed to be hesitant. "I don't think I should be the one to share... I mean... I assume you guys are from some agency handling music, if what you said relating to Hyun's story of an audition is right, you should know her a bit?"

"Nothing personal, just some minor resume things. The usual." Jihyo tried prying and Wendy pressed her lips together, thinking.

"I don't want to be the one to tell, since I don't think I'm in the position... all I can say is that she-" Wendy sighed, looking back to Dahyun who again, was glancing in their direction, mouthing an "are you okay?" to her boss who smiled reassuringly. "Dahyun is a broken girl. She has been for such a long time. Nearly her whole life. And... I want it to be fixed soon." She gave a sad grin to Jihyo who only nodded, Mina looked down at her cup, deep in thought.

"May I-" Just as the singer was going to ask something, Wendy brightened up and interupted.

"Anyway, I need to go back to work! Customers await me, sorry for cutting the chat short. I hope you enjoy your time." She smiled, needing to get back to work, truthfully, but also to keep from spilling unnecessary things.

"Oh, okay, sorry for taking up your time, Miss Wendy." Jihyo could see the intentions and respected Wendy's decision of leaving it to Dahyun to talk with these people. It was her life and situation so any changes would be up to her.

"Wendy's fine, and it was no trouble.... just- try asking Dahyun herself if you want to get to know her. Advice though: don't push too hard... take it slowly."

The two murmured a thanks, and indulged in their treats, the tastiness though, was numb to Mina as she kept thinking on the redhead behind the counter. "She changed her hair color again..." She mumbled.

"Huh?" Jihyo looked up from her cup, looking quizically at Mina. "Did you say something?"

"No." She replied, going back to her food and chancing a glance from time to time at her rejected pianist. Their eyes met and her breath hitched as the girl gave her another smile. 'that's three smiles today.' Mina thought. This cafe always showed her a different side to the girl she met at the auditions. She wasn't a confident pianist in her craft, here, she was just a genuine server who was sweet to her customers. And Mina couldn't take her mind off that. She was simultaneously trying to know both herself and Kim Dahyun, she realized.

With thoughts of Kim Dahyun in mind, she took a sip of her drink.

Again, it was sweet. And calming. Nothing like her Americano- wait... hadn't she ordered an Americano?!

Whipping her head to Kim Dahyun, she noticed the girl give her a little wink from the now queue-less counter, before showing her a piece of paper that was a receipt, pointing to Mina and back to the receipt, trying to communicate something. Mina nodded, though she was still figuring out the message and asked Jihyo for their receipt. She was assuming that was what the short girl was saying.

"Jihyo, do you have our receipt? May I see?" She asked, and Jihyo handed it to her albeit questioningly as Mina looked at it, and at the bottom saw a little written note.

'Try correcting your little Americano habit. Haha... hope you enjoy the drink ;)'

Mina turned back to the girl and gave her a nod, the cashier brightening up considerably, mouthing a 'you're welcome' before greeting whoever came in through the joint's double doors as she went back to work.

Mina only became more confused at the warmth.

That night, Mina had a dream. She felt everything, saw everything- heard... it was a rush of emotions, she spoke words, made conversation. And when she woke up, she didn't remember still. She cried to herself softly, wondering why it was she needed to remember. Asking why the need to remember was ruining her life. Why she was being give dreams- memories for her to remember, only to be stripped from her the by sleep the moment it left. The need to know: It was like she was being given no choice but to remember... or to accept something she didn't know. But How was she supposed to do that? What did she need to do?