PART 4 ~ 2

Days passed. But he kept appearing in my dreams. I remembered clearly how he had looked at me, as if I was a total stranger.

I probably am, I thought. I hadn’t seen him since. I counted in my mind. I still have a few weeks of holidays left. I had assigned myself to the task of exploring this small town, partly for my holiday, and partly for searching a certain someone.

Exquisite Café. The name popped into my head all of a sudden. It was a new café that was opened just a week ago. It’d replaced an old café that used to be our favourite hangout spot. Me and Hoseok. I needed a place to chill, may as well go there. I pushed open the door. The tiny bell on top of it rang, signaling the workers that there was a new customer making his way in. The other customers cast their eyes on me for a brief moment before turning away.

The employees were all busy working behind the counter. The sound of the bell alerted them. And one of them diligently hurried to the front, getting ready to serve the newcomer. They were all wearing their uniforms, which came with a matching cap. There was something about the worker at the counter that caught my eyes. I slowly made my way towards the counter.

“Good afternoon, Sir,” he spoke politely, “How may I serve you?”

That voice. I remembered that voice. Because how could I ever forget? It was that voice which have been there for me whenever I feel down, the voice which shared my happiness, and which haunted me for all these years. And now, I was hearing it through my ears. The polite worker and I both tilted our heads up at the same time. Our eyes met.

My jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Luckily, I still have control over it. My eyes must have widened further than I intended they would. Because the worker looked a little startled, and worried.

“Are you alright, sir?”

“I…I…” My lips trembled and I found it hard to form words.

“Sir?” He started making his way around the counter and towards me. I started to panic.

I turned and started towards the door. I could still hear him calling me from behind. But I dared not look back. I ignored the strange looks from the other customers. I went straight out of the door, into the blinding sun. And I just walked, unaware of my direction. My head was spinning and I couldn’t see straight. But I knew I needed to get away. After a while, he seemed to have given up and went back to work.

When I finally stopped, I looked up and realized that I have stumbled into the central park. My legs were aching and my knees were crying for help. I found myself a bench under a big tree and rest.

“Sir, are you quite alright?”

That voice again. It seemed that he had abandoned his post. I turned towards the sound. There he was, standing still and looking at me as if I was going to drop dead on him. My dizziness stopped. Clear vision returned to my eyes. I just sat there, staring at him.

“Sir?” he came forward after not hearing a reply from me. I snapped from my trance and nodded quickly.

“Yeah, fine,” I answered half-heartedly.

“You almost gave me a heart attack,” he laughed lightly.

“Oh wait, you were the old man who –” His eyes widened, “How did you know my name? You gave me quite a scare back then.”

“Oh, sorry about that,” I tried to smile. And he smiled back. Damn, it was that same smile.

“I was just…,” I searched for the right words as my eyes fell to his shirt. Pinned on his front pocket was his nametag, with the words ‘HOSEOK’ printed neatly on it. I realized I couldn’t possibly be completely honest. He wouldn’t believe me anyway.

“I saw the tag on your shirt,” I said, “I thought you were someone I knew. Sorry.”

He looked down on his uniform and saw his nametag pinned there. “Oh, I suppose…”