”Can we talk a bit longer? Actually, today is a rough day for me and... I need someone to listen to me. Can you... became that someone for me, just for tonight?”

***

            Chaerin got her mind blank once she heard that request. An unexpected request from someone whom had appeared in each dream she had in every night. She felt like all the sounds disappeared, only her own heartbeat became the sole sound she could ever heard. So loud, fast, and uncontrollable. Like a wild horse speeding up in the middle of pristine forest.

            ”...” She was about to say a word back, replying those request but nothing came out from her trembled lips. How in the Earth did that thing happened? She was like got paralyzed. Spelled under unknown magic words.

            ”I’m sorry... it seems that... I have asked for a nuisance thing.”

            Chaerin still didn’t talk back. She heard his voice, so melodious yet so clear in her ear. Even she can heard the nervousness in his voice.

            ”Ah... you must be tired. Of course, you are... uhm, I’m sorry. Then, good...”

            ”Tell me.”

            Chaerin cut off Seungri’s supposed ‘good night’ with those simple words which succeed in making the one in other line got surprised. Just like in the beginning of their phone call session, Chaerin didn’t hear his reply. Just a solemn silence. It’s supposed to be annoying but it turned out to be relaxing.

            ”What?”

            For the first time, she heard him asked her back.

            ”I’ll be your listener... as the pay back of your help.” The last part, she just added it without so much thought. But when she thought about it again, it wasn’t a bad idea as she needed a valid reason to accept his request earlier. She hoped to hear his reply as fast as possible, but another silence is all she got. Did he change his mind?

            ”Are you sure?”

            ”Hmmm... yes.”

            ”Even it will end up all night long?”

            Yes. Chaerin said it only in her mind. For some reasons, she can’t say it loudly to her phone call partner. She didn’t want to make Seungri had an image of her as a girl whom got excited easily over things.

            ”If you kept questioning me then...”

            ”Arasso. I’ll stop it.” Seungri on the other line cut off Chaerin’s unfinished sentence. ”Let’s see... where I have to start?”

            Chaerin let her phone laid on the pillow which placed on her laps. She has put the call in loud speaker mode. Facing the window which its glass reflected the moon light, she stared at the starless night sky. Her mind did its job in drawing Seungri’s face on that dark sky.

            ”Today, I got uninvited guest at my home. He came from... a place which so far away from here. His arrival is really surprised me.”

            Chaerin shifted her position. She leaned on the board-head of her bed. On the vacant space of her bed, she imagined that Seungri sat in front of her, told her about his story directly.

            ”You... seemed get disturbed with his presence.” She responded. The words came out smoothly like the water flew on the stream.

            ”That’s right. It’s a bit... annoyed me.”

            ”Why?”

            No reply she got after that simple question given by her. Only a long, heavy sigh from her phone call partner filled that silence.

            ”It’s because...”

            Chaerin heard unfinished sentence again. For the... she can’t count it. If it was the usual occasion, she already fumed into anger and ‘forced’ the other one to spill the matter out immediately. A patience isn’t her forte since in the first place. But, just for tonight, just for him, she was willing to wait no matter how long it took. Even it was vague, Chaerin could hear the clank of a can against the glass table. Did he drunk in the middle of our call?

            ”It’s because... no matter I’ve tried, I can’t get off of his grasp.”

            A sudden painful throb to her heart once Chaerin heard those saddening answer, which ended with a long heavy sigh.

            ”I... even it’s just once in a lifetime... want to flee away from him.”

            For the last confession, Chaerin can’t reply back. Suddenly, she remembered the first time they met, under that roof of the bus stop over her sister’s shop. How their first conversation happened, that little habits of him which didn’t slip away even for inch from her eyes. How his laughter washed away her troubled mind. Then, came the time of their sudden match-up for her sister’s photo shoot. Whenever she looked at him, he always showed innocent, calm and cool image. She barely knew, that someone like him had something which troubled him to that extent.

            ”You still there, right... Rin?”

            Rin?

            For the first time he called her name through that call. Not the same Lee Chaerin-ssi she always heard like he used weeks ago. The way he said those name is different too. The long distance between them felt like it got shortened just by those nickname.

            ”Uhm... y-yes.”

            Chaerin immediately covered her lips once she realized that she’s stuttered just now. What should she does? Being called by that name, made her heart beat crazily like it will jumped out of . She began to get nervous just to hear his voice, looking forward that he will called her by that name again. But, instead of his next question or sentence, Chaerin heard his soft laugh flew smoothly.

Did he laugh at me? But why? I didn’t find anything funny in our conversation.

            ”What?!” For the first time she used different tone in her voice. An annoyed tone.

            ”Ani... aniyo. It’s just... I imagine that you’ll bombarded me with questions like before, but you are surprisingly silent which made me thought that maybe you already dozed off.”

            What? Just, what is he talking? Did he... test me? Why, out of blue he transforms to be an annoying one like that?

            ”Then, what about you? You’re the silent one to begin with, just in case you’re forgot it.”

***

            ”Then, what about you? You’re the silent one to begin with, just in case you’re forgot it.”

            Seunghyun got taken aback with that words. He didn’t expect that the girl in the other line will replied his words like that. It got more interesting. Getting a new can of beer, he didn’t want the phone call ended like that.

            ”Well... it was, you gave me those nonstop questions which made me had no other choice than listen to you, right?”

            Not a reply right away.

            ”Argh~ whatever!”

            ”Hahahahaha...” Seunghyun can’t hold his laughter once he heard that frustrating scream came from the girl named Park Chaerin. He can’t imagined how deep red her beautiful face right now.

            ”I call it off!”

            ”Wa-wait!!!”

            Seunghyun’s heart almost stopped beating after he heard that simple phrase. In those sleepless night, he wanted to hear her voice. He heard nothing other than a deafening silence. He looked at his phone, checked on the phone call connection. Still connected. ”Sorry... I just... want to lighten the mood, just it. No other intention.”

            ”Are you serious?”

            ”Hmmm...” He replied with a hum while he took a sip on his beer.

            ”Those story too?”

            ”Story? What-” Seunghyun halted before continuing his question. Oh, ! Did I talk unconsciously?

            ”So, it’s all lie?”

            He heard her questioned him back. He could feel a disappointed in that question. ”No. You know... many people said that a drunk one told a true things.”

            ”Then, can I ask you a question?”

            ”You’ve already asked many without asking my permission, so... why bother ask me a question?”

            Seunghyun imagined that Chaerin had her lips pursed. Maybe, she got her face redden too. The beautiful Park Chaerin in his mind was looked more beautiful when she got teased. That little fact he got when they got worked together weeks ago. When it was break time, once in a while, he took a glance over her. He saw her interaction with the stylist staffs too. She was so easily got teased with little thing which made her more beautiful.

            ”Who’s that someone whom you tried to escape so desperately?”

            Seunghyun froze in his place when he heard that question. He didn’t answer it immediately. That question wasn’t a hard question to be answered, but his mouth had a difficulty in spelli