o 2 4 ;

I do not have a clear memory of what happened that night. Ask me a thousand of times, I would still tell you the same thing – that I, for whatever reason, decided to get unusually, terribly drunk and passed out before I even reached home.

I do not remember what exactly had happened that night, and I certainly do not remember bumping into Woohyun, of all people, and to make the situation even more awkward – he was the one who sent me right up to my doorstep.

Or so, my cousin told me.

~

She may not remember it, but he does. And that piece of memory will forever be etched in his mind – because for the first time in his life of admiring her from afar, he actually has something memorable about her that he is able to hold on to.

~

It was late at night, and by late he meant 11:55pm, only five minutes away from midnight. Woohyun was on his way home from the cafe, where he had to do the closing shift.

He was leisurely walking along the long bridge, the route he would always take when troubles weigh his mind and he just needs an escape from reality once in awhile.

He silently counted the steps he took, picking up a dried leaf which was lying on the ground – only to throw it away a few seconds later. He inhaled the fresh air of the gentle night breeze, throwing his gaze far across the distance, where the city’s night life was still very much alive. He thought to himself, how nice it would be to get away for once and just abandon all the burdened predicaments.

He stopped in his tracks, and was about to lean against the railing just enjoying the night view for a moment, when something caught his attention from the corner of his eye.

A young female was staggering towards his direction, head hung low while her chestnut locks covered her face and in her right hand was a bottle of soju.

Woohyun started to take a step closer as he peered at her, trying to get a closer look. He has a feeling that he knows her, but he can’t be too sure.

“Ahh!” she cried out suddenly, throwing back her head and shot up her right hand. “Really!”

His eyes widened in surprise. “Chorong?”

He rushed forward immediately when he realised that his guess was right. Just as she was about to fall face-down, he extended out both hands and caught her in his arms.

“Ugh...” she grunted, eyes half-closed as she tried to look at him. “D-do I know y-you?”

“Chorong,” he breathed while he tried to pin her weight against him, struggling a little because she kept shaking her head and tried to push him away. “You’re drunk...” he said, even though he doubted that she was even aware of her surrounding. “...let me take you home.”

“Hah!” she snorted. “You don’t even k-know where I live.”

“I do,” he told her patiently. “But you have to help me out here. Stop moving around so much.”

“Huh...” she waved her hand as if dismissing a matter away. “You’re all so...annoying!”

“Who is?” he asked while he tried to figure out how take her home when she wasn’t even in the condition to walk. And then, an idea hit him.

Woohyun got into a crouching position and tugged at her hand.

“Climb on,” he instructed.

“W-what?”

He patted the back of his shoulder. “Climb on my back. I’ll piggyback you.”

She burst into a fits of giggles. “You’re so funny.”

He couldn’t help chuckling. “Well yeah...you’re not giving me much option here. Come on, Chorong. Or I’ll have to do it myself and you may not like it.”

He could sense her hesitation. Even in her drunken state, she was still doing too much thinking for her own good.

“I promise I won’t say a thing about your weight,” he tried to lighten up the mood, which just earned him a hard smack. “Ow! Fine. I won’t say a thing, period.”

He waited for awhile more, before he felt her wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her face against his nape.

Woohyun smiled to himself.

~

“Am I one of those annoying people, Chorong?”

They were halfway into their journey, and she had been surprisingly quiet ever since she had gotten on his back. Woohyun thought that she might’ve been sleeping, but then he heard some incoherent murmurs coming out of and he knew that she was most probably still ranting about something.

“Hmm?” she rested her chin on his shoulder comfortably and eyed him begrudgingly. “Are you?”

He laughed a little. “I asked you.”

“Hmm...” she thought about it for a moment, before shaking her head slightly. “No.”

“But...didn’t I used to piss you off?” he asked quietly, keeping his gaze fixed on the ground.

She tightened his grip around him, which kind of choked him a little, but he didn’t dare say a word.

“You did...” she said slowly. “But you’ve been good lately.”

“Really? How good?”

“You gave me hot chocolate!” she giggled again, causing Woohyun to smile. “I love hot chocolate.”

“Is that all?”

“Hmm...well, you’re the only right now who’s not making me sad,” she sighed. “Even my best friend makes me sad.”

“What did he do?”

“H-he told me all these stuffs that do not make sense.” It sounded like as if she was crying, or at least about to cry, but when Woohyun tried to glance back at her, she faced the other side so that he couldn’t see her.

“T-then there’s this one guy that I-I really like...but he already has a girlfriend.”

Woohyun felt a pang in his heart.

“You like someone?”

“Yeah...or I think I did. But I don’t know. I haven’t ask him about it.”

He tried to ignore this sudden sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Even though he has somehow anticipated this, he couldn’t help feeling ten times worst hearing the words from Chorong herself. He knows that he probably has next to zero chance with her, but somehow, knowing that this is actually really happening, pains him to no extent.

“Hey, Chorong?”

“Hm?”

“What if...I told you that I like you?”

He almost regretted it, but he knew that he would rather have it out than be haunted by what ifs for the rest of his life. He held his breath as he waited for her reply, which seemed like the longest minute of his entire existence.

He turned slowly and took a careful look at her, and realised that she had already fallen asleep on his shoulder. A soft snore escaped her lips and Woohyun simply smiled.

“You can even sleep like this, really...”