Hyerim was twenty-five years old when she, for the first time in her life, ran at the sight of her father’s guards. They have always been her protectors; from driving to standing on guard to holding umbrellas over her in sun amd rain. They were there to protect her, the  only heir of the Jung Shim Conglomerate. In fact, they were there to protect her, once again, from an unknown, unforeseen force (Her determination to find a new life), and this time, she was running from them, as far as she could go.

Sung Gyu’s hand, warm and a little clammy, were around her wrist as they walked fast through the crowd. It's disadvantageous that the crowd has begun to thin for the night. Despite her disguise, it appeared that her guards had somehow located her whereabouts; she had no phone on her, she had not used her cards. Perhaps its the cameras all over the city. Perhaps its the forever tracing eyes. Perhaps its just the power that her father held all over the city of Seoul. There was no running away from him, she had understood thus far. But there was a flicker of hope that kept her moving forward, and Sung Gyu’s determination, for whatever reason, to go on running with her.

There were three guards in total; one woman whom she recognized as one of the lady staff who stayed with her in most occasions, and two of her father’s staff.  Sung Gyu kept looking in every direction, his grasp tightening on her. They were half walking, half running, making their way through the serpentine maze of Itaewon streets. It was hours of ducking and walking and half running through darkened alleyways that they lost sight of the guards; it would be a mere window of minutes. Sung Gyu’s hand moved from her wrist to her fingers and grasped her hand. They were reaching a clearing, and in a close distance, a two way junction between the streets, they could hear music reveberating in the thin air.

Standing beside her, Sung Gyu was trying to catch his breath. Consciously or unconsciously so, he squeezed her hand, his thumb rubbing her skin. Eunji tried not to lose her mind over the gentlest, warmest touch. The same hand that her husband had twisted, pinched and near-snapped tonight, Sung Gyu was holding as if she had no weight. Sung Gyu hardly knew her. Sung Gyu had no reason to know her beyond this point. But he treated her as if he had known her all his life.

As he looked around them, Hyerim couldn’t help but stare up at him. His hair, which was previously in a neat up do was a little messed up, a rebellious fringe falling over his eyes. The spectacles fit him so well that, unlike it did for most people, accentuated his thin, fox-like eyes. When they caught the shine of hundreds of neon signs, they glowed like stars. He was protecting her, Hyerim realised, the longer she watching him seeking, watching, heaving a deep breath. He was protecting her from the very people who were supposed to protect her.

“Think we missed them for a while”

Hyerim was just so distracted, mesmerized, even, by her sole protector that she wasn’t even following his words.

“Huh?” So she went, blinking.

“I think we lost-,” Sung Gyu looked down, and their eyes met in a magical exchange. Everything inside her melted; his gaze was so warm and kind and simply so beautiful, Hyerim would have dived head-first into his eyes and lost herself forever. It it was so painful too. Kim Sung Gyu looked at her as if she was the only woman in this world. Or was she delusional? Was it the events of the night making her lose good sense of reasoning?

But Kim Sung Gyu was smiling; he was seeing right through her. “Hyerim-Ssi?” He whispered, his voice lowly and breathless. “I think I lost them for a moment”

“Huh?” She went again, and Sung Gyu broke into a little laughter. 

“Did the adrenaline just get to you?”

She shook her head mechanically, making him laugh even more.

“We lost them” He repeated, seeking in her eyes. “I think you’re a little lost, Hyerim-Ssi”

Hyerim let the words sink into her mind. She cleared , finally looking away. She also tried to pull her hand from him, and perhaps pull herself into a corner and let herself melt into a puddle in shame. But Sung Gyu reached for her, almost naturally, as if he was always meant to, and threaded his fingers through hers. At that moment, Hyerim could swear her heart burst open and caught up in flames.

“You hear that music?” He said, and slowly coaxed her to move forth. “Buskers, street musicians”  He gave her a knowing look. “Have you ever seen street musicians before?”

She was embarrassed to admit that she hasn’t. But predictably so, he understood her silence. He led her towards the gathered circle of people beyond them, and slowly threaded her through the crowd, with whispered excuses and apologies, until they reached the very front. A circle of people were gathered around, watching a performance of a quartet of people, a band; there were the drums, two guitars and a vocalist standing in front, singing so beautifully that her mind went straight back to the start of that night; the wedding, the wedding band, Sung Gyu singing to her of lovers of a lifetime. All if it felt so far away.

In the rhythm of the music, Sung Gyu’s thumb rubbed on her skin. It was involuntary, he didn’t seem to take notice of what he was doing, or how the simple action had her heart thudding in . The crowd moved, pushing them closer. Sung Gyu stepped back, let their hands come apart, only to move her before him and taking cover behind her. He was a protective wall, a shield. At the same time, at a proximity so close, she could breath in his sweet scent of long summers, could feel the warmth of his presence, hear the sound of his breath.

Her mind short circuited, she started having funny thoughts of all sorts. It felt intimate in a way that it also felt illegal. More so when Sung Gyu leaned forward, just so his breath brushed her ear and he said “Do you recognize what he’s singing?”

She could swear to god she hadn’t noticed any familiarity at all; she hadn’t been even listening. How could she, when he’s standing this so close?

Sung Gyu answered in her stead. “That’s Nell, a song called ‘Stay”

Hyerim hummed, for the first time trying to pay attention the song; the lyrics, the music, the chords.

“It’s my favorite band, Nell” Sung Gyu continued, his breath deliciously brushing her ear. “They’re also the reason why I am a singer now”

Piqued by this information, Hyerim glanced back at him in interest. He was standing so close, she could see the little markings and blemishes on his skin.

“How so?” She asked him. Because Hyerim wanted to know. He was slowly letting her into parts of his life, and she wanted to know everything.

He hummed, looking ahead of himself. The group continued to play.

“Well, partly because they were the group that inspired me to do music. And partly because they’re responsible for me being scouted by the first agency I worked with”

“Scouted?”

For a second, she imagined him in a cute little scouting uniform as a little boy, and nearly indulged him in her mental image of this, but he answered to her curiosity.

“Getting recruited for an entertainment agency. It kick started my career, and I stayed at the agency for a while”

“So they let you play at weddings and stuff?” She asked, only because she had no clue how the entertainment industry worked.

Sung Gyu laughed, and Hyerim felt the sensation run through her skin. 

“No, I left the agency a long time back. In fact, I’m not in the industry anymore. I’m an indie artist. My whole group is” Sung Gyu gave a her a playful look, his brows raised, lips in a thin line. “That’s the only reason why I can run around the city with you, Hyerim-Ssi. Or we would have been chased down by fans and journalists way before your guards got to you”

“What’s an indie artist?” She asked him.

“Independent artist. Musicians who have no management”

“Ah” Hyerim nodded, finally hearing a word she had come across enough times in her own line of work. “That makes sense”

The song ended for the group busking before them, and some of the gathered people started to leave. Sung Gyu made no move to do so, as if he knew they had more music to play. The group started with another.

“Do you play in the streets too?” Hyerim asked him, just out of curiosity.

“Who, us?”

“Hm”

“Well,” He tilted his head contemplatively, then charmingly chuckled. “We don’t, not anymore. But there was a time that I used to. Long, long ago”

Immediately yet another image of him, now as how she knew him, appeared in her mind. How nice would it have been to see Sung Gyu sing on the streets, crowd gathered, his voice reverberating across the cold, spring air. She bet people were mesmerised; not only by his voice; but also by his smile, by the bursting stars in his eyes, by his beauty, by just him. She bet flowers blossomed in trees and earth healed just by the sound of him. 

“I wish I had seen you…back then…” Hyerim didn’t hesitate admitting out loud. “Like this, like right now”

“You wouldn’t have liked me, though” Sung Gyu laughed, and it was an electric current, running right into her. “I wasn’t great, back then”

“I wouldn’t know enough to judge”

He laughed again. The song slowly reached the height of it, so beautiful that a lot of people appeared to be in a trance, except for her who was losing herself in the presence of a man who had essentially changed her life for a night. People were starting to turn the flashes of their phones on, holding them up like bursts of stars.

In that moment of magic, Hyerim wanted to know him better, if he was the only man she’d know by heart to the last fibre of him. A former street singer, a former idol, now an independent artist. A lot of things, he was. But how did he go from one thing to another?

“What happened?” Hyerim asked him. He was distracted, so he was confused. Sung Gyu looked at her, at the same time he pulled out his phone.

“The agency,” Hyerim cleared out for him. “Why did you leave? Why aren’t you in the industry anymore?”

A lot more hands raised in the air with the lights of their phones. In that shine, Hyerim could swear she saw his face change. It was his eyes, specially; a sort of intensity, a furrow in his brows. His jaw set, and he looked like he was genuinely pondering her question.

“I could have answered you, but-,” He said, finally coming to, and carefully took her hand. The feel of his fingers on her skin made her forget every senseless wondering she had in her mind. “The song is getting to the best part” He placed the phone in her hand, and much to her surprise and mild bewilderment, raised her hand in the air.

He was waving her hand, holding the phone, in the air. His fingers were around her wrist, the leather of his jacket brushed her skin. He moved closer, and her heart started pounding so hard it could have burst into flames. His breath was brushing her skin, she could almost hear his heart beat. It didn’t get better when he started singing, started to slowly sway, side to side, waving her hand to the tune. Sung Gyu’s singing voice in this proximity was heaven to her ears. It was hard to believe someone so perfect, so beautiful truly existed. In flesh and bones and sparkles and smiles. It was unreal. It was painful just the same. There was Kim Sung Gyu, a former street singer, an former idol with all this mystery and beauty, holding her close, breathing in her ear, making her feel things she had never felt before. All of that, all of that, and he wasn’t the man she was married to.

The guards were chasing them down the street again. They caught up with them eventually, and it was her who saw them this time before she grabbed Sung Gyu by his sleeve and took off running. She was going against all the rules of being criminals on the run. For one, she was very clearly demonstrating to anyone who was watching her next move which was to just run, basically. Second off, there was no way nobody would have noticed her; the disguise was a waste and she was standing out like a sore thumb. Although Sung Gyu laughed at her multiple times, calling her by her fictional superhero name, that did nothing to hide her identity. So at the very next point when they lost her guards, Sung Gyu dragged her into an open restaurant and bought himself a soda, just so Hyerim could use the washroom to change herself from her horrendous disguise. 

Although she did manage to take herself out of the Cardcaptor Sakura outfit, taking the wig off was a real struggle. For one, she had never worn a wig to know how one put it on or took it off. For the other, Sung Gyu’s sister had really made sure it won’t come off her head at any point of her nightly run.

She crept out of the bathroom, stood by the entrance to the restaurant and searched for Sung Gyu across the hall. He was standing a few feet away, his glass of soda on one hand and his phone in the other, held against his ear. He was talking to someone; quietly but animatedly, and there was a look of exasperation on his face. He didn’t come off as someone who easily lose his temper. If he was, she would know which buttons set him off, just like she knew those of her husband. But whatever the discussion he was having over the phone seemed to have angered him. Hyerim knew only one way to handle angry men. She had far too many of those in her life. She slowly crept back into the washroom and closed the door behind her. Hide and remove herself. There were only so many ways to protect herself.

About two minutes later, there was a knock on the door to the washroom; Hyerim opened it with words of apology on the tip of her tongue, only to find Sung Gyu standing before her.

“You came to find me” He said, scanning her face. The look of exasperation was now replaced by what she interpreted as mild concern. “Why did you run back in?” Then he gestured at her hair. “Why are you Cardcaptor Sakura in sweater and jeans?”

There was not a hint of malice in his voice. No underlying anger, no intention to push her against a wall and slam a fist beside her head. If anything, there was warmth, there was a certain tenderness in his eyes that made her want to collapse into his arms.

Instead, she just put both her hands on her wig and said; “This isn’t coming off”

It took a second for realization to hit him; soon, a playful little smile spread across his lips. 

“You have never worn a wig before, have you?”

There was no point in admitting things at this point, now. There were far too many things she hadn’t done compared to those that she had.

Sung Gyu threw his head back, laughing, his thin eyes disappearing into charming little lines. He was no more the annoyed Sung gyu that she’d witnessed a few minutes ago, and the frown in his brows had replaced with a relaxed bow. This made her feel slightly better that she allowed herself to step out of the ladies’ bathroom, into the narrow corridor in between.

“Now,” Sung Gyu started and took a cautious step towards her. He was a good few inches taller than her. She reached only his shoulder, just barely. She felt miniscule. She felt butterflies all over. His hands reached her head; although there were two layers of cloth between her scalp and his fingers, Hyerim was beginning to lose her mind.

“Ah” Went Sung Gyu, retrieving his hands. “I think its glued to your head” His face was grave, sympathetic. “I’m afraid you’d have to be Cardcaptor Sakura forever, Hyerim-Ssi”

Foolishly enough, Hyerim believed him at his first go of a lame joke, gasped loudly and yanked at her head. She imagined herself old and wrinkly in a wheelchair, the blond wig still on her head; it was not a flattering mental image, if she was to be honest. Her panic was justified.

But it also made Sung Gyu burst out in laughter.

“That was not funny” Hyerim pouted.

“No, but it was” Sung Gyu wheezed, a hand over his mouth. “Hyerim-Ssi, are you sure you’re from planet earth? I’m seriously doubting if you are an alien now”

She couldn’t help her lips picking up from a corner. How could he make the stupidest jokes and still make her feel light and fluffy? It was a miracle.

“Is that your way of telling me I’m small and green and ugly?”

“I agree with the first one” He nodded, reaching for her hair once more. “Green and Ugly? I don’t know about others, but this alien is certainly not”

That comment was not supposed to, in any way, make her heart flutter; but as somebody who’d always been told they were beautiful, enough times, but still hurt her despite that, Sung Gyu seeing her beauty in a way that did not intend to use her or hurt her was truly refreshing.

“Come here” He said in her silence, but it was Sung Gyu who moved first. He was so close, now. Closer than before. Hyerim could see the little cracks on his leather jacket, the pin strip designs on his waistcoat, the whiteness of his shirt. She could breathe in his scent of summers and perspiration, she could feel his hands, she could hear the sound of his breath. Just too many things at once. Then, she could feel his fingers creeping into her hair, behind her ears, slipping into her head covering; tender and cautious as if she was glass. It was then she understood, how one could touch so softly, so gently, how someone touch her in a way that didn’t break her, didn’t hurt, for the first time in her life.

Sung Gyu carefully worked on pins that his sister had used to keep her hair in place, albeit laughing, quietly complaining. But there was only so much that Hyerim could think or say. In fact, her mind was in a whirlwind. He was unsuspecting, of course. As a brother, he must have done this million times before. But how did this mere act of him helping her out of his wig feel so…intimate.

Then it hit her. 

It was supposed to be her wedding night. She was reminded of how those romance books write about the husband, how he’d carefully take out the pins and the flowers in the bride’s hair before they-,

Hyerim chocked on her own thoughts, her face in flames.

“Whoa, whoa, did I prick your head?” Sung Gyu took a step back from her and peered into her face. He was so close, she could see the little lines in his irises, the stubble above his lips.

“Hyerim-Ssi?”

She blinked, once. When Sung Gyu’s brows raised, his fingers still in her fake hair, she realised she had been staring at him.

“Oh, umm…”

“Your face is all red”

Hyerim’s hands shot to her cheeks. He laughed at this, a soft, gruff chuckle. Gently, then, he took the wig off her head, all the while as she watched him. Hyerim was being brazen now, completely unapologetic. All she wanted was to paint the image of him in her mind; this close, this perfect, and keep him in his heart forever.

The wig cap came off next, and her hair cascaded around her, over her shoulders, on the sides of her face, down her back. It was only then that he looked down and met her eyes.

For a moment, it was a wordless exchange. There was something about the way he gazed at her, tracing every inch of her as if he  too was drawing a sketch of her in his mind. And Hyerim wanted him to. She wanted him to keep her in a corner of his heart like she would for him, she wanted him to remember her, she wanted him to remember her whom he was saving grace for. She wanted him to remember how he stole her heart, bound her by a spell,  enchanted her.

“What are you thinking?” Sung Gyu’s voice crept into her train of thoughts. He voice seemed to grow gentler, softer. Her heart was at peace.

Hyerim shook her head. She couldn’t let on a word what she was thinking, lest it broke this trance.

“What are you thinking?” Hyerim asked him for the lack of better things to say.

His head tilted, peaking into her eyes. “I’m thinking…what you’re thinking. I’m wondering what’s in your mind”

“I…” She started, and the way he watched her made her want to let the flood gates open and fall apart. All of this, tonight, with him, was just a bandage, a momentary source of happiness, a dream, a form of realistic pretense until she went back to the truths of her life. There was only so long until they found her, dragged her back home and presumably punish her for what she had done tonight. Her father would shame her, mother would name-call her and her husband, he-

-even the thought of him sent a shrill down her spine. That was her reality, that was her life. Scars on her skin and her heart, tears in her eyes more than smiles. It was not this, the security and warmth of Sung Gyu’s presence, his laughter, his smile. This, tonight, was all just an enchantment.

But in that enchantment, Hyerim wanted to drown in, lose herself in, for as long as she possibly could. If this was her fantasy, her own little land of dreams, she might as well live it, the best she could.

So she said to him, the very next thing that came to her mind.

“I don’t want to go to any hotel tonight”

“Hm?” Sung Gyu’s brows raised. Hyerim took one step towards him. This would be the most ridiculous decision she would have ever made. But one she would never regret.

“Sung Gyu-Ssi, I want to go home with you”

Sung gyu’s face perceptibly changed; from that little smile, to a frown to something that she could only interpret and confusion. He scanned her face, maybe seeking for a semblance of pretense. As much as this whole night was a lie to herself, she would never pretend to want something with Kim Sung Gyu. In fact, she absolutely wanted him. She wanted his smile, his laughter, his comfort, his warmth, even for a night so that she could cherish it for a lifetime. 

But the way he looked at her, and then that moment she saw him in the restaurant, heatedly talking to someone, then her last conversation with his sister gave her a sense of realization. Of course she cant go home with him, what the hell was she thinking?

She closed her eyes, took one breath, and another.

“No,” She took a step back. “That’s crazy…I’m-I’m sorry”

“Hyerim-Ssi” Sung Gyu called her, but she shook her head.

“No, no, I’m sorry”

“What-,”

Hyerim extricated herself from him, returned to the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Her breathing had become uneven, and her mind was in a whirlwind. What the hell was she thinking?

Hyerim had to do the rest of the run on her own, although, for whatever reason, he had said he was ready to stick until the end. She couldn’t let him. He didn’t have to. Hyerim moved to collect her backpack of things, stuffed everything into the bag and flung it behind her back. She pushed open the door, only to find Sung Gyu still standing there, perplexed and staring at her. She took the wig from him and stuffed it in her bag.

“Hyerim-Ssi” He called after her. “Did I do something wrong?”

Of course he didn’t, he could do nothing wrong to her.

“It’s not you” She told him. “It’s me”

“What do you mean?” His voice was quiet, but there was a hint of desperation that couldn’t go unnoticed.

She sighed heavily, turning away from him. “I can’t do this to you, Sung Gyu-Ssi, but I keep doing this to you” A moment, and “I’m doing the rest of this on my own”

When she moved to leave, however, Sung Gyu’s hand reached her and caught her by the wrist.

“Wait” He said. “Don’t go”

“And stay here and end up hurting you?”

“You’re not hurting me” Sung Gyu insisted.

“Not now” She returned, almost pleadingly. “But I will. I’m here because I’m selfish, Sung Gyu-Ssi. I’m here, knowing fully well that if I stay with you any longer than this, they will find me, and they will find you, and they will hurt you-,”

“I don’t care” He replied determinedly and closed the gap between them. “Because I’m here for a selfish reason as much as you are”

Hyerim turned to look at him, and the way he watched her made her feel thousand different things. Why were his eyes so glassy, why were his lips smiling like that? Why did he hold onto her wrist so hard until her skin paled? Why did he not want to let go?

“Sung Gyu-Ssi…”

He moved towards her, then walked right past her. He was dragging her along with him.

“Where are we going?” Hyerim asked him. He glanced at her, only for a second. 

“I’m taking you home with me”