Narrator’s POV

Ever since Jonghyun had left, time seemed to be creeping for Ha Neul. The lectures appeared to be never-ending and all Ha Neul would do all day was to wait for the night to fall again.

The only when she was with Donghae, then time seemed to flow a little faster. When they talked about the old times or when he took her out to funny places. Then Ha Neul could forget about Jonghyun for a short while and she would even smile again.

Of course, Donghae had noticed that something was wrong but he didn’t enquire. About a few days, he had received a call from her in the evening and she had asked him for a favour. She had wanted to meet him and naturally he had agreed. But then, she had requested of him not to ask any questions. And unfortunately he had agreed again.

Because only a few hours later, when he had met Ha Neul and saw her red and puffy eyes, he wished he wouldn’t have promised not to enquire. How could not ask what had happened when she had so obviously been crying?

But he had given his word so he kept quiet. Instead he had then taken her to the cinema and they had watched movies till late at night. He had then brought her back to the park where he had picked her up before, wondering why Ha Neul requested to be dropped off at this place. Because, as far as he knew, Ha Neul’s family didn’t have the financial resources to afford a house in a district this expensive.

Also, when he had tried to ask her about it, Ha Neul had only given a vague answer and had quickly changed the topic. Even when he continued to meet with her every day to distract her from whatever made her feel this sad he couldn’t get a word out of her.

They went shopping, tried out all the cafés in Seoul, and watched all the movies that were currently in the theatres. They did all the crazy things two minds could ever come up with and Ha Neul went along with everything. She laughed when something was funny and smiled when it was appropriate. She pouted when Donghae and shot back pert answers. She came up with crazy ideas herself and had no inhibition to put them into action. And after the first evening, she never once cried again.

It almost seemed like everything was alright again.

If only there hadn’t been these small things and incidents that kept making him pause. Like how she refused to go to amusement parks when he knew she wasn’t the one to be afraid of rollercoasters… How she wouldn’t eat the cabbage that he had ordered for lunch one day because he had thought it was one of her favourite dishes… How she would chose some rather funny routes, almost as if she was avoiding certain places… The fact that she would always ask him inexplicitly to bring her back home as late as possible… The empty expression that he would sometimes see on her face when she thought he wasn’t looking…

And the weird thing was that, somehow, Donghae had the feeling that it was all connected. Only, he couldn’t figure out how.

But the connection that Donghae had no chance to spot, to Ha Neul it was painfully obvious. All these small incidents had one thing in common; they all reminded her of a certain dino who just wouldn’t leave her mind. As ridiculous as it sounded, wherever she went, he would be there. In her memories.

At work, there were the studios where SHINee had had their interviews and variety shows. There was the rooftop park, the cafeteria and even her uncle’s office. At university, there was the hallway where they had walked into each other and the table where they had eaten lunch together. There was the toilette where she had received his call and the lecture hall where he had bickered with her for a whole morning. There was the Café Maman, that grocery just around the corner, the park in front of his apartment, the car cleaning station, the mall where she had bought his frog-alien hoody, the posters on the streets and the commercials on the TV and radio, the airport…

She hadn’t noticed at all, but somehow he had become a part of her everyday life. A big part. She hadn’t realised it before, but now that he was no longer there she did.

And most so, she did in his apartment. Wherever she looked, a memory came to her mind and she couldn’t do anything against it.

But at the same time she didn’t want to leave either. Living in the same apartment was what connected them. Of course, there was also SMent and university. But they were a consequence of her moving in with him. They may work in the same company but that didn’t mean that they would meet often. And at university they were two students out of several thousands and even from different majors. The chances to meet him there were converging towards minus infinity. Thus, moving out wasn’t even an option.

Instead, she just focused on distracting herself during the day and at night… well, at night she would trick herself to sleep by imagining that Jonghyun was still there. She would go to his bedroom and sleep on his bed hugging a pillow and fooling her mind by inhaling the scent from his covers.

That way, she would at least get a few hours of sleep.

-------------------------

Meanwhile, a few kilometres more south, two young men finally met up again after not having seen each other for more than a year.

“Hyung! How are you? I haven’t seen you in ages!”

“It’s good to finally see you back, maknae!” The older replied with a broad smile and patted the younger’s shoulder before they sat down onto the couch facing each other. “How was it?”

“Very interesting! I made some quite valuable connections and even learned a few useful concepts,” Sungjong said with a playful smirk. But Woohyun knew the true meaning behind those words very well. What Sungjong called a ‘few useful concepts’ probably were the most powerful and intriguing business strategies in the world of information management. And what concerned the connections Sungjong had mentioned, Woohyhun wouldn’t have been surprised, if they included a few senators, famous entrepreneurs or even the president of the United States himself. After all, Sungjong’s field of speciality was retrieving and handling information of all kinds. Getting contact information was as easy as breathing to him. It was not for nothing that he was the CEO of one of the most influential media networks on the Korean peninsula.

“How is Jinhyuk hyung, by the way?” Sungjong then asked and looked at Woohyun. “I haven’t yet had time to visit him…”

Woohyun laughed. “Oh, he is fine! He just accepted a new assignment and he said it is of yet unseen scale but that it would become a legend in the history of business. He’ll be busy as hell but that’s just how he is, right?”

“Can’t deny that,” Sungjong chuckled and nodded. That was their mentor how he lived and breathed. Always engaging in new projects and never taking a break. But in return he was a living legend in South Korea’s high-society. Having taken over the corporation that had been in the hands of his family for generations at the young age of seventeen, he had already been famous from day one. And despite the initial scepticism of professionals and experts, in no time at all he had made his company become one of the most influential ones in South Korea.

Today, he was almost thirty, had a wife and three kids that could be very challenging. But he hadn’t lost any of his wit and sharp analytical skills that made him a respected man among all the people who knew him.

“So… I heard my sister went to get you from the airport?” Woohyun then changed the topic and instantly, Sungjong’s face became unreadable.

“Yes, she did…”

“And…? I told you to have an eye on Ha Neul and find out what’s going on, remember?” Woohyun referred to the small task he had assigned to Sungjong vial Internet before the later had left the US. “So, did you notice anything?” Woohyun watched his friend’s feature play attentively. “Your face tells me yes…”

“Well…” Sunjong started and lowered his eyes, debating about what he should tell his hyung. He knew very well of the power that a few pieces of information could hold and how fatal it could be if they landed in the hands of the wrong people.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his hyung; not at all. But sometimes, not knowing was better… Even for the always discreet Hwang Woohyun. And especially so, if it concerned his beloved little sister. Ever since the name INFINITE had gained prestige in the business world, Woohyun had become a little paranoid when it came to his precious sister.

Hence, Sungjong knew he had to choose his words carefully. Because he certainly HAD noticed something…

FLASHBACK SUNGJONG ---

When Sungjong finally walked out into the reception area after the long flight, he let his eyes wander over the waiting people. He was searching for a girl with long black hair because Woohyun had said she had let her hair grow during the year he had been away.

But no matter how many faces he scanned that one familiar one he could not spot. He wondered if she had remembered the wrong time or if something had happened to her. He tried giving her a call but she didn’t pick up. And in the end he had to accept that he and Sarang would have to go home alone. He grabbed his luggage and made his way towards the exit.

He had already taken out his cell phone to call his secretary and tell him to send a car, when he spotted the girl he’d longed to see behind the mass of people hurrying past them. She was trudging past the stores without sparing them a single glance, her head hanging low. He couldn’t see her face clearly because it was partly hidden by her hair. But her slumped figure made it clear enough that something had happened and Sungjong frowned.

He started walking towards her and was just about to call out to her, when suddenly someone grabbed her from behind, pulled her around, and crashed his lips on hers.

Sungjong was rooted on the spot, his eyes unable to look away from the scene unfolding in front of him. He was still too far away to see Ha Neul’s expression or to recognise the guy kissing her. But the fact that she didn’t push him away already spoke for itself and Sungjong felt something breaking inside him.

The Ha Neul he had known was a quiet girl who opened up to strangers only very slowly. And towards boys even worse than towards girls. That’s why he had always been contented by just being her friend. Because he had known that to Ha Neul that was already someone special.

That had been one year ago. And he had left for the US back then hoping and believing that when he returned back home it would still be like that.

But never had he expected to come back and find her so close to an unfamiliar guy where she would let him kiss her just like that. He shortly considered the possibility that he had mistaken someone else for Ha Neul, but his gut feeling told him that wasn’t the case.

The girl who was now looking up to the guy in front of her as if he were the only man on the planet was really the girl he had liked since the day Woohyun had introduced her to him.

He watched her as she waved goodbye to the now leaving guy and how her eyes never left his retreating back. He saw her raising her hand once more, probably because that guy had turned back around to her one more time, and he felt the piercing feeling of regret. If he hadn’t been such a coward, would she have waved like that after him a year ago? Would that spellbound gaze have been directed at him instead?

But then he pulled himself together, breathed deeply, and crossed the distance to Ha Neul in long strides.

“Who were you waving at?” He asked, faking a smile, and acting as if he hadn’t seen anything at all.

END OF FLASHBACK ---

Sungjong had only been thinking for less than a few minutes, but Woohyun was already becoming impatient. He knew their maknae. And he knew how he felt about his little sister. So, the expression he was now seeing on his dongsaeng’s face, he didn’t like it at all.

He still hadn’t forgotten that certain call with his little sister and even though Ha Neul had later explained it as a stupid joke, he had never really believed it. Thus, he now had the bad feeling that this would be the continuation of that story.

“Spit it out. What happened back there?”

Sungjong sighed and ran his hand through his hair. It was obvious that Woohyun already suspected something; hence he had to tell him at least part of it. But how much?

The kiss was definitely out of the question. Woohyun would go berserk if he got to know of it! But what about her gaze? The waving? The existence of the guy in general?

In the end, Sungjong decided to go with the simplest version. “Well, just before she saw me, I saw her waving at someone. But I couldn’t see clearly due to all the people walking in between us.”

Woohyun narrowed his eyes at Sungjong. “That’s all?”

And Sungjong cursed silently. Damn, he knew his smart hyung wouldn’t just let it go like that!

“No…” Sunjong admitted and looked at his hands. “I… The person she waved at… I think it was a guy…”

This time, Woohyun didn’t reply anything. And when Sungjong finally looked up again, he was greeted by Woohyun’s stony face. His eyes were narrowed into tiny slits and his jaw was set. “So, she was with a guy…?” Woohyun’s voice was calm, but the underlying dangerous tone was not to be ignored.

Sungjong sighed. “Yes, I think so…” Even if he wished it wasn’t true, he couldn’t deny something he had seen with his own eyes.

“Did you recognise him?” Woohyun enquired further, his voice hard.

“No…” Sungjong answered slowly.

“But…?”

Sungjong tilted his head a little, thinking. At first he had really thought he’d never seen that guy before. But now that he thought about it again, he couldn’t shake off the feeling that he’d seen him somewhere before. There was something strangely familiar about that guy.

“It’s just…” He started unsurely and Woohyun leaned in a little. “It’s just that now that I’m thinking about it again, that guy seems oddly familiar… I feel like I should know him…” Sungjong shook his head a little. “But I just can’t categorise it.”

Woohyun breathed out and sat back into the couch. “Well, what lovely news…” He commented lightly. But his smile suggested a rather ambiguous meaning.

I'm sorry for not updating last week! >< I don't know if you guys read the story feed (actually I don't know what exactly it is for but I thought I might just try it out once... *><*) but I fell of the horse last weekend and I hurt my head pretty badly. -_- Luckily I didn't have anything severe but just felt sore all over and was really tired (probably because of the shock and the medicaments I got).

Anyway, now the new chapter is up! I hope you guys liked it... ^^

Oh, and I have another concern:

Maybe you already heard of what happened with EXO and the wedding of Baekhyun's brother and already had your share of horror and sadness. For those who haven't, just google "EXO wedding crashed" or something and you'll get loads of hits... Or you might know of other incidents involving other idols...

Anyway, I got to know a friend here on AFF who had a very good idea (in my eyes) and I think her work (she wrote a letter from an idol to the Sasaengs) really deserves our support.

So here is the letter: Letters To A Sasaeng

Those, who feel the same, please subscribe, comment, and/or upvote! :))