Alice saw him before she hopped on the train, felt him before she saw him even. He's always had this impact on her, and quite frankly, he still does. She could never escape him and maybe some part of her, albeit sadistic, liked that. It hurt. It still hurts. It will always hurt. It's inevitable. But if hurting is what will get her to see him for these brief moments, well, to hell with it.

She entered the carriage and her chest unconditionally tightened. There he was, in his magnificent navy suit and gelled hair, holding a newspaper, not paying any attention to his surroundings, because if he did, he would've noticed. He would've noticed her agonizing smile, her soft yet pained eyes that can't seem to look away.

He would've easily noticed her, but he didn't, and that broke her a little on the inside. With a sigh, she took the window seat, right opposite him.

At that moment, he looked up from the boring London stock exchange report, and their eyes met.

He nodded at her with a small smile and laid the newspaper down

"Quite a boring evening, don't you think?" He said with a polite smile and she returned it. She expected him to strike a conversation, he always did. He'd never been keen on silence and talking seemed to be his forte.

"I'd say it's rather beautiful." she replied with ease, surprising herself, and he nodded.

"Now that you mention it, it is." he looked out the window for a second, admiring the orange hue in the sky, before he met her eyes again. "So, where are you headed?"

"Nowhere in particular, wherever my feet lead me, or in this case, the train." he chuckled at her reply and her chest tightened again. God, she missed his laughter. She missed him. She misses him.

"Quite adventurous of you." he tapped his fingers on the small table separating them "that's good. Good luck with it."

"thanks." it came out strained, a bit airy, and she mentally winced at her tone.

"I'm Dillon by the way." He extended his hand, waiting for a handshake, but she remained frozen in her spot, staring conflictingly at his hand.

Heaven knows how much she terribly wanted to touch him, feel his palm against hers just like the old days. But things were different this time. Everything about them was different and it physically pained her.

She wanted to scream, hold his shoulders and shake him repeatedly over and over, silently wishing they could rewind back in time, when things were familiar and serene. Sure, they had their own problems and conflicts, no one was perfect, but it was second nature to reach out to him and find him there next to her, gently smiling as if the world was a beautiful place, but it wasn't. It was cruel and merciless, just like the accident that changed the course of everything.

'Am I really gone from you? Was my presence so small that I could easily be forgotten? Will you ever remember me, even if we're not together anymore? Even if you're off to start a new life with another woman that is not me?' she thought over and over, the words constantly running through her mind like a cursed mantra, but she knew, oh she knew very well the answers, and that was what crushed her. And so, with a sad smile and an aching heart, she brought her hand to his and shook it

"I'm Alice." she quickly blinked the tears that started to well up in her eyes "and this time, please don't forget me."

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

"oh, wow." Dara exhales loudly and brings both her hands to her chest "This was one helluva ride."

"you okay there, Dara?" Youngbae asks from the cubicle next to hers

"oh, you have no idea" she gathers the manuscript and plops it down on his desk "you're in charge of the second proof-reading, right?" Youngbae nods and stares at the first page.

"how was it?" he probes and Dara smiles to herself

"Alana really outdid herself this time, I nearly broke down in tears."

"As if." he snorts "your heart is cold as ice"

"Rude." she retorts weakly and takes a sip from her coffee cup.

"'Forget me not'." he reads the title carefully, "let me guess, it's a sap sob story about a guy or a girl who gets amnesia and their lover tries to win them back"

"close." she turns around in her chair, mindlessly tapping her feet on the ground. "it's actually a bit fairytale-ish, it's about this guy who got cursed and lost all his memories-"

"How is that different-"

"No wait, here's the best part!" she stops whirling in her chair and the action suddenly makes her dizzy. She quickly recovers and raises her pointer finger at him. "His memory is reset every day, so he doesn't remember the events of yesterday, it's like every day his mind is reborn, and the only way to break the curse is if he falls in love."

"that sounds crazy." he raises both eyebrows "I mean, who can fall in love with someone in just one day?"

"You're such a vibe killer, ugh." she rolls her eyes and resumes. "Anyway, his wife then tries to make him fall for her again and every day she fails, until one day she just gives up and stops seeing him. But, in that short break away from him, he found love in another woman." She circles the rim of her coffee cup, thinking about the pain and suffering Alice went through. "So, she just leaves and tries to move on, but they meet during a train ride and she just loses it. In the end, she tells him not to forget her this time."

"Ok, wow, that's depressing." Youngbae sighs "but it has potential to be a best-seller. Teenage girls dig sob stories". Dara shoots him a dirty look.

"is that all you care about? Sales?" before Youngbae could answer, a loud booming yet annoying-well, in Dara's opinion, that is- voice echoes in

"that better be all what he cares about or else we will all be on the streets, starving." Jiyong marches in and lays a new manuscript on Dara's desk. She sighs heavily and glares at him

"writers put their feelings in their books you know, least you could do is show some appreciation." Dara says as Jiyong settles next to her desk, arms crossed with an amused look on his face.

"Dee, if these books don't fill my bank account then what's the point?" Jiyong states, matter-of-factly, and Dara tries not to comment on the idiotic nickname.

"agree." Youngbae chimes in and they fist-bump. Dara groans, narrowing her eyes at the two idiots beside her

"you greedy bastards." she huffs "faith in humanity is lost"

"Blame capitalism" Youngbae shrugs and stands up "I'm going to go get coffee, you two want some?". Both Jiyong and Dara shake their heads before Youngbae disappears.

Dara stares ahead for a while before she turns her gaze back to Jiyong

"So, why are you here?"

"ouch, I just got here and you want to kick me out already." he rests his hand on his heart "Dee, that's just mean" he pouts and Dara is this close to kicking his shin. But she's a civilized woman, so she won't kick his shin. At least, not today.

"Quit your theatrics already you dimwit, gosh, and stop with the stupid nickname" She gives him a pointed look that is meant to be threatening but Jiyong just chuckles and points to the stack of papers laying on her desk.

"Kim Minji asked you personally to proofread his manuscript." He calmly says and Dara gapes at him.

"Kim Minji? THE Kim Minji? Author of the greatest fantasy children books ever made?"

"why do you sound surprised? You worked on his novel two years ago, he's a regular." Jiyong quirks an eyebrow as Dara shakes her head frantically

"I know, but like, he personally asked for me, that's crazy! How does he even know I exist?" he chuckles softly and his head sideways.

"yeah well, he does and he wants it ready by Friday, but-"

"But as his editor, you want to make sure that everything is well set so you want it ready by Thursday? I know, no need to remind me every damn time" Jiyong smiles knowingly

"You know me so well, Dee"

"Don't flatter yourself" right at that moment, her phone suddenly pings, and she checks to see if it's a work-related e-mail. Instead she finds a message from her boyfriend and she grins instantly.

Jae <3 : Dinner at my place tonight?

Her grin gets impossibly wider as she read his text and she's quick to reply

Me: I'll be there

Jae<3 : Can't wait to see you

Me: me too

Dara sighs happily as she sets the phone back on her desk, the smile never leaving her face.

"let me guess, your boyfriend?" Dara almost jumps from her seat when she hears him.

"Gosh, you scared me! I thought you already left" she throws him an accusatory look but he just flops down casually on youngbae's chair and meets her eyes.

"you still with that Jae-douche?" Dara rolls her eyes at him. Oh, here they go again

"His name is Jaejoong" she sighs tiredly "what's your problem with him anyway? You barely even met him" she says defensively, growing really tired of these sorts of conversations. Dara doesn't understand a lot of the stuff that go on in Jiyong's head but his dislike for her boyfriend is the most absurd one of all. It comes from nowhere. The only time they ever met was when he visited her at work and they shared salutations for a mere 3 seconds. 3 seconds for god's sake! How can anyone dislike a person because of that?

"I just think you have the wrong idea about him" He says and Dara can't believe the words coming out of his mouth.

"No, YOU have the wrong idea about him because you don't even know him!" she gets up abruptly and grabs her purse. "and I would really appreciate it if you stop badmouthing Jae as if you know everything about him" with that being said, she turns around and walks away.

Jiyong sighs as he remains rooted in his seat, and runs a hand through his face. He didn't mean to anger her, god, that's the last thing he could ever think of. He's just scared that the glint in her eyes, her soft smiles, and her gentle demeanor will all disappear once she finds out, because, unlike what Dara believes, he knows.

She's the one that doesn't.