“This weekend we will go to a ski resort. I haven’t been skiing for a long time. And they also say they want to go to a hot spring.” Yoona’s cheerful voice comes from the loud speaker on Jiyong’s phone. “Jiyong, do you want to tag along?”

Jiyong glances at the phone stuck on his car’s dashboard while he is driving. “No,” he said, shaking his head even though Yoona certainly can’t see it. “I think I’ll be very busy this weekend. A lot of work is waiting. But I hope you have fun with your colleagues.”

A moment of silence, then Yoona asks in a serious tone, “Jiyong, are you really planning to settle here?”

Jiyong stops the car in front of the traffic light that had turned red. “Yes,” he said firmly, staring at his phone. He is sure he wants to stay and work in Seoul. During the past three weeks, he has even prepared an exhibition of his work.

“Why?”

In his heart Jiyong knows the reason behind this wish, but it’s something he doesn’t want to say to Yoona. Somehow. Maybe it’s not yet time. “Why not?” He replied indifferently.

“You know I’ll be back to New York soon, right?”

“Of course.”

“So why...” Yoona doesn’t continue her words. A moment of silence again. It seems like Yoona doesn’t expect such a short and firm answer. Then she sighs and says flatly, “After this weekend, I’ll go straight to Cheonan for a few days. There’s an assignment there.” A moment’s pause, then, “We’ll talk again after I come back from there.”

“Okay.”

Jiyong ends the call and returns driving while daydreaming. During the past three weeks, his own feeling confused him. He did meet Yoona often, eat together, take a walk, and the like. And Yoona is also a nice friend, just as he remembers. But Jiyong found that something had changed in himself. He no longer feels what he had felt every time he is near Yoona. He should now feel happy because Yoona had returned his feeling, but in reality Jiyong instead found himself thinking of another person. Someone who always crosses his mind, someone whom he unconsciously always looks for, someone who makes his feeling a mess, someone with the name: Park Dara.

After having dinner together in the girl’s apartment about three weeks ago, they rarely met and talked. Of course he sometimes bumped into Dara if they happened to come out of the apartment at the same time or go home at the same time. Every time they met, Dara only replied to Jiyong’s greeting briefly or smiled politely, not welcoming Jiyong’s efforts to have a longer conversation. Dara is still friendly, but Jiyong feels that the girl is keeping a distance from him, maybe even avoiding him. And that’s what makes Jiyong furious. He doesn’t want Dara to behave like that to him. He wants to talk to the girl, chats like when they had dinner together, but it seems that his efforts are unsuccessful. When engaged in a conversation, Dara will only answer with one or two words and immediately avoid.

Thinking about their dinner at that time, Jiyong remembers that he had asked Dara to accept Seunghyun. Until now he still regrets his words. He wonders if the girl followed his request. Has Dara accepted Seunghyun?

Resentment rises in his heart and begins to gnaw at him from the inside. Jiyong closes his jaw and grips the steering wheel tightly. He is a genius, isn’t he? Really genius. Then what now?

Suddenly Jiyong awakes from his thoughts and looks at the street in front. Where is he now? He’s driving unconsciously without knowing where he’s going. He looks at the building not far ahead. Isn’t that the library where Dara works? He remembers that Dara had mentioned the name of this library. Why do I get here? Jiyong thought in surprise. He doesn’t remember ever coming here. But because he’s here, there’s no harm in entering and looking around.

The library seems familiar. Jiyong looks around. Right, absolutely not foreign. The row of bookshelves, tables, and the calm atmosphere there is very familiar to him. His brain doesn’t know where he’s going, but it seems like his feet know, so he lets his feet move on its own. He climbs the stairs to the second floor and looks around. The second floor also has a row of bookshelves which are fully filled like on the first floor, but the books here are different types with books on the first floor.

Jiyong’s gaze stops at a long counter located not far from the stairs. Two librarians are sitting there and serving several guests. Dara isn’t seen there. Jiyong walks past each row of tall shelves and searches for the girl. No signs of Dara’s present.

He doesn’t know why, but before he can think further, Jiyong approaches the counter to ask about Dara. But even before Jiyong can open his mouth to ask, the short-haired and uniformed woman who sits behind the counter smiles broadly and asks first, “Looking for Dara-ssi, right?”

A little shocked, Jiyong can’t answer right away. He just stares at the woman in confusion.

The woman who is unaware of Jiyong’s astonishment continues, “It’s been a while since we have seen you. We asked Dara-ssi, but she said nothing.”

Did I come here often? Jiyong thought confused. Did I know that woman before? Not knowing what to answer, Jiyong just mutters, “Oh?”

“You’re not in a fight, are you?” The woman asked curiously in a humble voice.

“No, no,” Jiyong said quickly, then again reminded him of the main problem. “Dara?”

“She said she wanted to go out for lunch,” the woman answered quickly, then looks over Jiyong’s shoulder. “Oh, there she is.”

Jiyong turns quickly and sees Dara wrapped in a long yellow jacket walking down the stairs to the ground floor. He immediately thanks the woman and rushes after Dara.

***

Dara is about to reach out to push the library’s glass door when one hand reaches out from behind her and pushes the door first. She turns and a thank you that is on the tip of his tongue choked as she meets face to face with Jiyong.

“Jiyong?”

Jiyong smiles broadly at her and Dara’s breath caught for a moment. Then she comes to her senses and slips out through the door that had been pushed open because someone else is going to come out too.

Standing in front of the library building, Dara shivers for a moment because of the wind that hits her. Then she turns to face Jiyong, sweeps a pinch of hair from her face and asks, “What are you doing here, Ji?”

Jiyong takes a breath and shrugs his shoulders. “I have a little business around here. Since I remember you said that you worked here, I decided to stop by and invite you to lunch together.”

“Oh.” Dara is rather surprised. She doesn’t expect such an answer. At that time, Jiyong looks exactly like before he lost his memory, invited Dara to lunch together with glittering eyes and a big smile like that. Not knowing what to think or say, Dara remains silent.

For a moment Jiyong just looks at Dara, then clears his throat, “So,” he said, looking around, “I used to come here often?”

Dara turns towards Jiyong for a moment, then looks in the other direction. “Yes,” she said.

“We often have lunch together, right?”

“Sometimes,” said Dara, shrugging her shoulders.

Jiyong nods. “So how about we go out to lunch now?”

“Today… I can’t.”

“Why?”

“I have an appointment with someone else.”

Jiyong pauses for a moment. “With whom?”

Before Dara can answer, someone’s voice calls Dara’s name. The two of them simultaneously turn towards the voice and Jiyong’s forehead immediately wrinkles to see who is walking towards them.

“Jiyong, how are you? It’s a coincidence that you’re here,” said Seunghyun after standing in front of them.

“Oh, Seunghyun,” Jiyong replied half-heartedly. “What are you doing here?”

Seunghyun turns towards Dara. “Dara and I will have lunch together,” he said lightly. He looks back at Jiyong. “Have you had lunch? Do you want to join us?”

After thinking for a while and glancing at Dara who remains silent, Jiyong decides that he can’t let them go alone. And Dara can’t continue to avoid him. Finally he smiles and says, “Of course. I’m also not busy anyway.”

***

“Many of my friends say the food here is very good,” Seunghyun said when they entered a small shop that’s crowded with office workers at lunch times like this.

“Really? I’ve never been here.” Dara looks around for an empty table while a waiter welcomes them. “But I think you’re right. This place is very crowded.”

Jiyong murmurs something Dara couldn’t catch, but he still enters following Dara obediently. They walks to the only empty table. Since Seunghyun immediately takes his place opposite Dara, Jiyong take his place beside Dara.

“What do you want to eat?” asked Seunghyun to the two people in front of him when a waiter came asking for an order.

Dara reads the menu she is holding. “I have no idea. What do you think is good here?”

“I think the udon is the most famous here,” Seunghyun said, then reaches out across the table to point one of the udon on the menu. “What about number three?”

“This one?” asked Dara while looking at the pointed udon. Without raising her head and without really thinking, she asks, “Jiyong?”

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