a.n. This short story is the continuation of the original one-shot ‘click! ♡’, where Taeil falls in love at first sight with a mysterious girl on campus only to find out it’s the neighbor who just moved in, Gong Minzy.

I prepared a spotify playlist to go with your reading. The song that I imagined as ‘OST’ is ‘Tell Me Where It Hurts’ by MYMP, which I think it’s quite fitting.

- The two share their disappointments and worries in front of a bottle of soju, finding comfort in each other.

click! ♡ – ch. 2 drink with me.

Taeil brushed the keys one more time, incapable of reproducing the sad notes he dreamt the night before as they escaped, fugitives of his memories. He sighed once more. Truth to be told, his latest songs felt uninspired and hollow and for how absurd, he held on tight to the melody playing in his subconscious to hopefully cure the creative block that struck him for days.

An offbeat knocking suddenly summoned him at the front door.

“I’m coming in”.

His neighbor stumbled inside with no greeting nor eye contact. She simply placed a couple of soju bottles on the musician’s coffee table, her tired body sinking into his old couch.

“Minji-jjing?!”.

“Drink with me”. The clear alcohol glistened in the green bottle as she poured him a glass.

She was the type you’d rarely see go for booze, Taeil knew that well. That’s why the sight of her staggering around felt unusual, almost suspicious.

“What’s up with you barging in my house this late at night? Did something happen?”. Wary, he still sat beside her and careful of her every action, he kept investigating.

“I knew you were still up, you kept playing those sad melodies and I thought we could both use each other’s company. Drinking in two is a little less depressing, don’t you think?”.

“So you heard it…”.

“I always listen to you playing the piano”. The subtlest hint of red spread on Taeil’s cheeks as she confessed to that.

“You do?”.

“Sometimes it’s annoying when you practice in the middle of the night, but you play it so well, that’s why I’ve never complained…”, she paused,

“…YET”.

“I’M SORRY! I’m really sorry! I always lose track of time. I didn’t mean to bother you”. He nervously scratched the back of his buzzed head.

“I’m kidding! Come on, drink up”.

He downed the soju shot destined for him as he figured out that going along might’ve just allowed him to understand the situation better.

“Tell me about that song you’re playing”, she rested her face in her hands, ready to tend the ears to him.

He pushed his round glasses back in place with the tip of his finger.

“Well…when I feel overwhelmed, I always go back to the keyboard and express myself through music”,

“And why are you sad right now?”, she kept prying, not yet satisfied with his vague response.

“It might sound dumb, I know. But I had this dream. In front of me was the most beautiful betta fish I’ve ever had the luck to admire. I’ve always wished to keep one in my aquarium... I promised myself I’d take care of it dearly but suddenly… I was releasing It in the wild. Maybe, deep inside, I knew that letting it go was the best thing I could do for It. It didn’t belong to me… It belonged to nature”. He glanced at her as the story gave a frown on his delicate lips.

“In the dream, I heard a beautifully melancholic melody, but sadly, I just can’t remember it well. I feel stuck”.

Minzy puckered her lips as she gathered the thoughts running across her mind.

“So that’s why you kept going back on the notes…You know? Sometimes dreams are a message from your subconscious. You’re letting go of something or rather… someone. And you’re trying to reach acceptance, but this saddens you. It’s okay to be sad. Don’t be so hard on yourself. I know It might be h