White noise.

That was all Taehyung could hear as he glanced around the blank vicinity. He blinked several times after rubbing his eyes, still in disbelief that he was here again.

If I am here, then—

"Hello?"

Taehyung turned around and his eyes rounded.

"It's you..." he heard a feminine voice say. "You're okay."

Taehyung remained tongue-tied as he eyed the woman in front of him. He couldn't believe it. It was her—the woman in white.

She peered down at him with the kindest smile, her soft and feminine features still as beautiful as the last time he saw her. Taehyung couldn't help but be bedazzled by her smile and just like last time, a squeezing pain reverberated in his chest the longer he stared. There was just something about her that gave him a feeling of nostalgia, but he didn't know what. Why did she feel so familiar to him despite not knowing her at all?

"Y-yes" he replied, his voice breathless. "Thank-thank you for before..."

The woman in white replied, "Well, I'm glad you're okay. You had me worried."

Taehyung dared to meet her eyes and as soon as he did, his cheeks heated up. Why was he so nervous around her? "I-I apologise for worrying you."

She chuckled at his stiff response before approaching him. "You look a little different" she observed as she leaned in to inspect him. "You've grown taller."

"I have?"

The woman in white circled Taehyung as he nervously stood his ground.

"Yes," she replied.

Taehyung watched as she walked ahead of him, her white dress swaying against her calves. "I don't suppose you know where we are?"

"No," Taehyung mumbled as he rubbed the back of his neck. "We never got to find out last time." 

"Yeah, you're right." She curled her lip in thought. "Well, since we're both here again, shall we continue that walk from before?"

Taehyung managed a nod.

The woman in white doubled back so that both she and Taehyung were side by side. Under closer inspection, Taehyung noticed that the woman in white was a little taller than him. And because she was a little taller than him, he managed to get a perfect view of her face. There was no doubt that he found her attractive. Her black hair sat just past her shoulders and her dark-brown eyes were framed by long lashes. But most importantly, Taehyung couldn't avoid staring at her lips.

He blushed as he recalled what happened the last time they met.

"This place... it's lonely."

Taehyung snapped out of his thoughts. "Huh?"

The woman in white continued, "After you disappeared last time, I didn't know what to do." She gave him a sideways glance. "I was stuck here alone."

"You were?"

"Yeah."

The pair continued to aimlessly amble ahead, the nothingness that surrounded them offering no sense of time or direction.

The woman in white looked up as if expecting to see the sky. "And while I was wandering by myself I kept thinking that this place looks a lot like winter."

Taehyung followed her lead and stared upwards too. But alas, all he could see was nothingness: blank nothingness. There was no way of knowing when the sky ended and when the land, they stood on, began.

"Like a fresh layer of snow, everything is covered" she murmured while smiling weakly. "It's both beautiful and lonely."

Taehyung gaped at her wistful expression and bit his lip. It had tormented him not knowing why she made his heart ache so much. Every fibre of his being longed to know more about her as if there was an invisible force pulling him to her like a magnet—telling him that, somehow, she was someone precious to him. Someone he knew but didn't know; someone he cared about without having to know the reason why. But the main question that plagued his mind was: who was she?

Taehyung cleared his throat which caught the woman's attention. She tilted her head at him.

"I-I kept thinking about you" Taehyung shyly admitted, his face growing hot.

The woman in white raised her brow in surprise. "You... were thinking about me?" she repeated, surprised by his declaration. "Why?"

"I feel like we know each other" he answered. "But the strange thing is, I am certain we have never met before."

The woman in white was thoughtful.

"Have we?"

"...No" she replied, but Taehyung noticed that she was hesitant. "I don't think we have. But I understand what you mean." She searched his eyes. "For some reason, I feel like I know you too."

Taehyung swallowed nervously before forcing himself to say, "When I left, I kept wondering if we would ever meet again. I have a lot of questions." Taehyung halted at his step and the woman in white followed his lead. He locked eyes with hers. "Who... are you?"

Silence.

Taehyung gulped as he watched her intently, scrutinising her blank expression. After moments had passed, to his relief, a soft chuckle escaped her lips which made his heart flutter.

"That's right," she said while smiling. "We haven't introduced ourselves yet, have we?"

Taehyung nodded, suddenly embarrassed by how he had framed the question.

The woman in white continued to direct her smile at him as she spoke, "My name is..."

~*~

"Young Master?"

A woman's voice caused Taehyung to open his eyes. As soon as he did, he found Kalyani looming over him with a concerned countenance.

"Are you alright, Young Master?"

Huh?

Taehyung stirred and soon discovered that he was lying on his bed. What am I doing here? He felt a sharp pain throb at his temple as if someone was hammering a nail at his skull. He grimaced.

Kalyani continued to fuss over him. "You should rest more, Young Master. I will go to Physician Koh and request a tonic..."

But Taehyung couldn't hear what Kalyani was saying anymore. Everything to him sounded like a high-pitch sound causing him to wince in pain. With his eyes firmly shut, he held his head as if to block out the noise but to no avail. It was only when a sudden, blurry image of a woman's smile flit across his foggy memory did he have a moment of clarity.

"Young Master?"

Taehyung's eyes flew open and he saw Kalyani staring at him worriedly. Just as she was about to speak, something warm slid down his cheek and landed on the blanket draped in front of him. Taehyung looked down and saw several small droplets follow suit.

Concerned, Kalyani attempted to ask again, "Young Master, what's wrong?"

But Taehyung didn't know either. He returned her questioning stare as he asked the question both wanted to know the answer to.

"Why am I... crying?"

~*~

The twisted and damp linen sheets made squelching noises as Gyuri pounded at them with a wooden paddle. But while sweat beaded on her forehead and her arms ached from beating the laundry, the only thing occupying her mind was thoughts of Namjoon. Images of how his eyes crinkled when he laughed; how his dimples magically appeared when he smiled, and the way his eyes sparkled when he spoke all made her heart flutter as the mosaic images converged into that one perfect picture.

Gyuri smiled.

Ugh. What's wrong with me?

A long sigh escaped her lips as she noticed her lovestruck expression reflected in the water.

Stupid Subin! Snap out of it!

She stared at her reflection in the stream and shook her head in dismay. "You can't fall for him" she warned herself. "You'll only