Geude Jigeum - Lee Boram

Narrator's POV

At this moment, Min Yu stood up and pushed the curtains aside to check. And sure enough, it was raining, just like it always had when she was sad. But somehow she knew better than sulking around...not drunk that is. She bent down and put her shoes back on and got ready to get out. She shoved her wallet inside her jeans pocket and left her hotel room.

She pressed the button for the elevator and shifted her weight from one foot to another as she waited for the doors to open. She silently cursed the country with its 511, 770 square kilometer land area, in which she has to find Donghae within only a week.

If she had to abide by Chunji's orders, which told her to look for Donghae in ever corner of Thailand, and she promised she would follow obediently, then she would have to cover 73, 110 square kilometers a day. But time was running out.

DING!

The doors opened. She walked and entered straight ahead, not minding the number of people exiting the same shaft. If she had taken a closer look at one of the guys, her dilemma about her exhausting search might have eased away.

But Donghae was too distracted to see her entering the same elevator he had rode on, but it was just another dirty trick of fate.

He headed to his room in long strides, his feet too impatient to go slow motion against the carpeted floor. He had his fill of sight seeing around the country's capital. He didn't know what made Thailand lose its natural charm and appeal to him, but somehow he wanted to fly back to his homeland.

His clothes and belongings were still neatly stuffed inside his suitcase, and Donghae was just too lazy to fix it inside the small, wooden dresser beside his bed.

He plopped down on the bed, which bounced a few times due to the sudden pressure made by his weight. But the squeaking noises didn't stop him from closing his eyes and dozing off to sleep.

He didn't know how much of this nonsense he could take, but at least he was away from everything that reminded him of Min Yu. He realized that his anonymous phone calls to her were all useless. And it didn't make any much sense.

Even in deep slumber, he could still feel her near. "Donghae..." she was crying, her hair matting on her tear-stricken face. He walked closer, even though he knew in his subconscious that everything was just a dream.

He inched nearer and leaned down to touch her face. Oh how he longed to have her in his arms again...He took the chance and reached out his fingers despite the fact that once he did, he would wake up, and everything would be in vain.

"Where's the nearest money changer?" Min Yu asked in straight English as soon as she arrived at the receptionist down at the lobby. The girl behind the desk pointed her towards the direction with only her finger, and Min Yu mumbled her thanks than waste time arguing. She decided to try her luck talking to strangers, knowing how she couldn't read Thai.

The raindrops splattered on her clothes, her shoes, and on the ground she walked on. People stared as she passed by. Her natural, flowing brown hair and pale, milky skin weren't that common in the country.

Even though her being a foreigner was already eye-catching, her under the rain without an umbrella was downright weird and different, which gave people more reason to stare.

When her 50,000 Korean won became 1,358 Thai Baht, she smiled contentedly to herself and strolled to the nearest supermarket she could find. A handful of teenage girls walked up to her curiously, watching her every move. "Annyeonghaseyo!" they greeted in Korean, judging by her features. She smiled and bowed to them politely.

"Annyeong," she reciprocated their act.

After years of living with idols, she already knew how to act with respect and modesty, especially since Leeteuk, her very own father, had his signature greeting.

"Super Junior's Leeteuk...you're his daughter, right?" the Thai girl asked in English. Min Yu could only nod and roam around the supermarket. She didn't want the Super Junior fans to take a picture of her buying liquor.

When she turned around and saw that the girls have already disappeared, knowing they can't get anything from her than a simple hello, she went ahead and bought two bottles of alcohol.

Realizing she had nothing for breakfast and lunch except for occasional glasses of water, she grabbed instant noodles off the shelf and headed towards the cashier.

Night has settled in on Thailand. She was glad she had never seen the sunset, or else it would only make her remember Chunji, but thinking about him made her heart clench in anticipation of the memories she'd have to relive later on.

The ring was still on her finger, and every twitch of her left hand made her aware of its presence. Only when she reached the hotel did she realize that the rain had stopped long ago, but her agony still lingers.

Min Yu was glad the elevator was particularly empty despite the time. Her aching heart screamed louder than her empty stomach, and all that mattered was washing the pain away with a drink.

She never knew any specific way on drowning out sadness. She had been used to facing sleepless nights and tear-soaked pillows, but that was years ago, when stores would be in violation of the law if they ever let her buy a single alcoholic drink because of her age.

She kicked her shoes off after entering her musty-smelling hotel room and closing the door behind her. The plastic made an irritating sound as it hit the floor after she tossed it carelessly.

Of course, she wasn't THAT stupid to let the bottles break because of her haste. Her lips closed in tightly against the bottle's opening, obviously desperate to get drunk.

She stripped down to her tank top and boxers, not caring if her clothes stuck to her body due to the rainwater. All that mattered was the bitter sweet liquid hitting the back of roughly as she took long, deep swigs of the alcohol.

She never even read the label and brand of the beverage. She didn't try her best to ask for assistance because of the Thai writings.

The silver ring clattered against the glass bottle whenever she would take another gulp. She wanted to take it off, but she had promised Chunji she would keep it. "Yeah, right. And he promised me he would marry me," she snorted and cried once again, her shoulders shaking violently in rhythm with her sobs.

Min Yu sat lazily on the floor, beside the window that offered 'great view of the rest of Thailand's capital'. "Psh. Yeah right," she wiped with the back of her hand and stood up.

She examined the painting of an angel with a heart hanging just above her headboard, and she pulled it away from the wall carelessly. Min Yu examined every intricate and minute details of the painting, taking notice of some colors intermixing and how the heart looked hastily drawn.

She broke the painting into halves using her knee, and hurled it loudly against the wall.

Donghae woke up at the sudden noise. His eyes fluttered open, and for the first time, cursed himself for not transfering to another nicer, much peaceful hotel. He stood up and stumbled with his first few steps.

Not yet fully awake, he held on to the wall for support until he already crossed half of the room. Before he could take another step, another awakening noise was heard against the same spot on his wall.

Min Yu played with the bottle cap in her hand, which was useless, since there was nothing to use it with. Her bare feet lay centimeters away from the shattered pieces of the empty container, which was also useless in every way, since the last drop of alcohol was glistening on her lips.

But she craved for more. She crawled, too lazy to stand up and walk, towards the small, wooden dining table, where the answer to her problems was just a swig away.

There was a soft knock against her door, but she went ahead and opened her second bottle of liquor before opening the door tipsily. Donghae scrunched his eyes before his mouth could open to talk.

All he wanted was some sleep. But apparently, this next-door neighbor of his was busy banging against his wall. Min Yu closed her already heavy-lidded eyes as she brought the bottle back to her lips and took another gulp of the bittersweet beverage.

For a moment, the two just stood there, frozen on the doorway without saying anything. The answer she'd be waiting for wasn't the bottle she was gripping tightly, nor was it the ring on her left finger.

It was the man who was standing in front of her, who, like Min Yu, was too preoccupied with his own self and his own problems, even though the solution was just in front of their very own eyes.

"Sorry, I don't speak Thai," she explained in English, and shut the door in front of Donghae's face. He stumbled backwards, surprised at the sudden sound, and wondered what the hell he was doing there.

He shrugged it off and went back to his own room, climbing back to bed. The image of the girl next door replayed in his mind. Somehow, he has seen it all before: the brown hair, the black, dandy glasses, the tight, desperate grip on the bottle, and the milky, white skin...it all looked too familiar.

"By any chance, was that Heechul hyung?" he thought out loud. But laughed at his own silly thought and shrugged the possibility off.

~Is the flow of the story too slow? One reader told me it was too slow, and that the first one had too many chapters. If it is, then I'd shorten it to keep it more convenient for other readers.