July 23rd, 2011

The  melody of "Somewhere" could be heard as Yong Hwa phone rang on his study desk. Yong Hwa, who was laying down on the bed reading the book on "Human Histology" got up with a lurch to get the phone. He couldn't vet the call as he saw the name that appeared on the phone screen.

"Yeoboseyo!" He could hear a familiar voice over the phone.

"Yeoboseyo! Eun Jung-noona! Why?"

"Yah! Can't I even call you once in a while?"

"Aniyo. Just feel weird for you to call me at this time of the day." He glanced at the clock. Yes, he felt weird as it was 10pm.

"Just feel like it....What're you doing? Busy?"

"Nope. Not busy at all. I even feel bored that I just read this book on "Human Histology" for fun."

"Yah!! How dare you to be sarcastic with me." Eun Jung shouted, forcing Yong Hwa to take the phone far away from his ear. "Come out. I have something to tell you!"

"Is it that important? It's quite late already."

"Tch. How could you resist me. Yah, are you a girl that must be afraid to come out at this time?" Yes, Eun Jung could be persistent and forceful at times, but none of that trait made Yong Hwa and Shin Hye to avoid seeing her. Instead, they just loved to play hard to get with Eun Jung, just to see what methods would she use in the time of desperate.

"Not me that I'm scared of. It's you." 

"Don't worry. Anything happen I'll just prepare with my high kicks."

Yong Hwa grinned, the side of his mouth quirked upwards. Casually he said, "Noona, no need to to prepare any high kicks. I'm sure no one would dare to go near you." Hoping to change the topic, Yong Hwa knew it was completely useless.

"AIsh, this kid. I know what you actually meant so before I go and get you, it's better for you to turn up." said Eun Jung, and it could be heard that her voice was getting deeper and sounded threatening, though it did not scare Yong Hwa a bit.

"Arasso. Eodi?" 

"Do you want to talk over a cup of coffee? My treat." 

"Awesome! Which cafe?" 

"You choose. Text me the place later."

"Ne...See you in 15 minutes."

Yong Hwa arrived earlier than Eun Jung at the bookstore cafe so while waiting for Eun Jung, he took a book randomly from the shelf and he picked a table near the glass window, the usual spot for them to revise their play together. As though it has been his habit, he always turned to the page before the first chapter, the page where the author would usually write their tagline or foreword, and his eyes followed words after words written there,

"That's the tragedy of falling in love. It brings with it the potential for loss" Sarah Rayner.

He closed the book, placed it on the table and decided to stare out of the window. A sad novel is a definite no-no to him. Not that he didn't do sad touching story but it was just that he had enough moment of tearing up, clenching fist, wondering why and all those sort of gestures and actions you do when you are sad.

Or, as what he told himself, it's fine to reminisce and remember but not to the point it becomes something that is forced to...something that is initiated without the need to.

That was the way he was trying to tell himself  "I've moved on. Completely. Not that every second I would think of her, unless the surrounding, the environment that triggered the remembrance."

But his heart knew better that what his mind was thinking of...his heart is perfectly resistant to self-deception...self-perception.

"Stop thinking!" His inner voice told himself. He looked up in the sky. Well, at least he made the right decision as the sky outside was bright with shining stars. As he stared at the stars, he could hear the voice that he used to hear before.

"Let's go see the Winter Circle!"

........................................

December 12th, 2009

"Let's go see the Winter Circle!" Those are the first words he heard from her when he opened the gate for her.

"Shh! You might wake up the neighbours.Winter what?" He stole a glance over his shoulder to the house on the right and left. No sign of lights , he sighed a relief.

"Winter Circle!" She whisper-shouted.

"What's that?" He grabbed her arm and brought her to sit at the wooden bench in the house compound.

"The thing I told you for the past week. Last time, we couldn't search for one." Shin Hye sulked.

"Again? Last time I really thought you wanted to hang out with me to do something fun. Instead, it turned out you just want to find this Winter Circle. When are you going to stop to search for one?" Yong Hwa wondered at how persistant she could be. It was his first time seeing her like that. 

"I'm not going to stop until I see one. I don't know when else I will have the chance again. You see, I got the right info this time. It says here," Shin Hye showed the piece of paper fully printed with a heck of info to Yong Hwa with her index finger pointing at the line that she was reading. "It says here - When the winter solstice arrives on or near December 21, the Winter Circle rises high enough to be seen in your southeast sky at about 9 p.m. After rising, the Winter Circle swings westward across the sky, and is highest up in the south around 1 a.m. It appears in the southwest sky around 5 a.m. The western (right) half of the Winter Circle sets in the west before the onset of a winter solstice dawn. " As she finished reading, she looked at Yong Hwa who obviously was not paying attention to what she's talking about.

"Why are you ignoring me?" She slapped him on his arm.

"I'm not ignoring you. I'm ignoring the part you say after you told me the date." Yong Hwa confessed the fact.

"Why?" 

Yong Hwa took the paper from her coughing, pretending to clear his throat before he read out aloud the same line that she read earlier. 

"When the winter solstice arrives on or near December 21..." And he stopped halfway, turning his gaze to her instead of the paper. With a 'duh' smirk, he waited for her to realise what was going on.

Shin Hye blinked fast before pretending to gulp. "Ah...that....what date is today?"

"12... December...2009!" Yong Hwa said slowly, trying to stressed out the day, month and year carefully, precisely.

"Ah, right!! Eun Jung noona's birthday!! How can I forget! Why are you just standing there? Hurry think of something!" 

"Why me?"

"Because...because if you don't, I'd be dead if I wish her late and you'd be dead too."

"What an irrelevant answer. Anyway, it's late at night already. I don't think she's would stay up until late at night."

Shin Hye reached for her phone inside her green winter jacket. A few seconds after that, Yong Hwa could hear she's talking. "Yeoboseyo! Eonni! Are you asleep yet? Me and Yong Hwa wanna go to look for the Winter Circle. We want Eonni to come along with us." A short pause to indicate Eun Jung was talking before Yong Hwa heard Shin Hye replied with "Only with him? I can't...I don't really trust him. Come along, please" Those are the details that he heard because the rest of the conversation was just "Eo" and "Ne" before she hung up the phone.

"I told Eonni that we are just going to look for WInter Circle together. Let's go find her present quickly." She got up, and she pulled Yong Hwa's arm at the same time. "And then, you go find cake so that I can meet up with Eonni at Yeoiudo Han River Park."

"Alright. I'll tag along. Let me have a quick change." He walked inside, leaving Shin Hye waiting at the bench. A few minute after, he came out wearing  winter jacket.

"Isn't it quite late? And I don't think any of the shop will be opened today." Yong Hwa muttered in the coldness of the dark with water vapour coming out of his breath for every word he spoke. 

"Cafenne!" Shin Hye proposed.

"Is it still opened?"

"Yeah, Cafenne opened 24 hours." 

"Then that means we can just buy cake for her."

"Yeah, present can be postponed till day gets brighter." Shin Hye suggested.

"Haha the supposed-to-be Winter Circle view has now changed to the 'surprise birthday party'." Yong Hwa chuckled. "Don't worry, get well soon so that you can always find the WInter CIrcle every year with me."

"Eung!! I will get better!" Shin Hye made her resolution. "Winter Circle! Wait for me! I'll search for you every year!" She punched her fist in the air. 

And so the surprise for Eun Jung's birthday went as they planned. When Eun Jung arrived, she saw the two of them were sitting on the plaid picninc rug, looking high up in the sky with hand pointing to the stars as if tracing for the winter circle. Shin Hye turned around to greet her when she heard the sound of grass rustling.

"Eonni!!! You came! Sit next to me!" Shin Hye screamed cheerfully, tapping hard the ground next to her with her hand. Yong Hwa greeted Eun Jung as well.

"Did you guys manage to find it?" Eun Jung raised her head up to look at the sky while she adjusted herself to sit properly on the rug.

"Eonni, look there," Shin Hye pointed to a star, "Since that way is South, we think that brilliant star is Sirius according to the info on this paper." She juggled between pointing to the star and the paper she's holding with her other hand.

"Eo, right. That makes the brilliant star to the right of Sirius is Rigel, right?" Eun Jung pointed. It seemed like she's a pretty fast-learner.

"RIght! That's what we thought as well. But then, we couldn't trace Aldebaran which is supposed to be to the north of Rigel."

"Hm, that's weird." Eun Jung tried to read the info again closely. Meanwhile, Shin Hye nudged Yong Hwa to tell him to get the cake while Eun Jung did not notice he went away surreptitiously.

"Or maybe, that direction isn't South actually. But then, it is South." Eun Jung keep thinking. She was too absorbed in studying the info and finding the stars until she heard the sound of party popper and scream of  "Happy Birthday!" from both Yong Hwa and Shin Hye.

She clasped her hands to looking at the carrot cake which was already placed on the rug, with eyes sparkling more brilliantly than the stars they were looking at earlier. "Thank you!!" She smiled so widely that she could feel her cheeks would get ripped. She hugged both Shin Hye and Yong Hwa as they sang the birthday song for her.

"Happy Birthday To You!" And with that, Eun Jung blew out the candles. Yong Hwa handed the knife to Eun Jung. The first slice Eun Jung fed Shin Hye and when Eun Jung wanted to fed Yong Hwa with the second slice, Yong Hwa blushed a bit. 

"Yah, don't be shy! It's not like I have feelings for you!" Eun Jung . Shin Hye giggled. Then it was Eun Jung's turn being fed cakes by both of her juniors.

"I have never thought that you guys remember my birthday!" Eun Jung confessed. 

"Of course we do!" They both shouted simultaneously, confidently, though in their hearts were saying "Haha. Better not tell her the real story behind this."

Eun Jung patted their heads, smiling. Then she looked up at the sky, shouted as loud as she can. "I want my dongsaengs to be with me together...FOREVER!!"

It was followed by Shin Hye shouting, "Me too...Eonni!!! Saranghae!! I want Eonni to be happy forever!"

They both turned to look at Yong Hwa, who unfortunately did not play along. 

"I'm scared to be with both of you forever. I will be bullied by two of you." Yong Hwa confessed. And he was right, soon after that, they were slapping Yong Hwa's back and throwing dried leaves to him.

It was late at night, and it was freesing cold but they didn't feel so as they were busy playing games, running here and there, just like little kids. And for a moment Shin Hye forgot that she was sick. Even Yong Hwa thought she was really fine, as she was the loudest at screaming and laughing that night. But really, it was for a moment...

"Thump!" The loud sound of her falling to the ground made Eun Jung and Yong Hwa stopped from trying to hide away from her. The moment they turned around to see, she was already lying unconscious on the ground. They both ran really fast to get her and as soon as Yong Hwa reached her first, he cuddled her, trying to check her pulse. Eun Jung approached them with endless questions. 

"What happened?"

"Why is she like this?"

"How can it be?"

It seemed Eun Jung was just too panic to think rationally. Any conscious-minded people would easily say "Call the ambulance, you silly!" but really, Eun Jung has lost the ability to think rationally that night, she was just too shocked. 

.....................................

July 23rd, 2011

The recall to the episode of that night was cut short when Eun Jung greeted Yong Hwa as she arrived at the cafe.

"Annyeong!"

Yong Hwa quickly got up from his seat to greet Eun Jung. "Annyeong Noona"

"The stars tonight are really pretty, aren't they?" It seemed she noticed what Yong Hwa had been doing while waiting for her.

"Yeah."

"Did you know that when we look at the stars we are looking into the past?"

"Eh?" Yong Hwa completely had no idea about that.

"Literally, it was all because of the fact that the light has to travel for a really long distance before it reaches us. So, it is as if you see the light as it was awhile ago. You should know this better since you are the science guy. But, anyway, I'm not referring to it literally."

"You were looking into the past, weren't you?" Eun Jung asked, getting it straight to the point.

"Your guess is right," Yong Hwa admitted.

"As expected," Eun Jung mumbled to herself.

"Anyway, what is it that you really want to tell me?" Yong Hwa asked curiously. 

"Ah, that..." But Eun Jung was interrupted when the waiter came to take the order from the two of them.

The antique wooden clock on the wall showed it was 10.20pm but the cafe was still running on business like it did during the day. The sound of the chime as people walked in and out, the greeting from the baristas, the ruffling sounds of the book pages as they were flipped, the footsteps and the background music all combined to produce a very warming lively ambient of the cafe as the two people made their order.

March...

April...

May...

June...

July...

And here I am...still counting the months you have left me...

Where did the time go?

Whether your mind keeps going on or not

Time does...

Everything that happened

Which used to be unacceptable

And hard to believe...

I've becoming familiar with it

I sit around and the tears flow

Afraid someone will see

I let my head down

I avoid that place like I'm running away but yet...

When I plop down to tie my untied shoes

I collapse to the ground

Everything at this moment comes to a halt

But yet...

I'm used to it....

[Nell - Part 2]

July - Somewhere

......................................

Dear readers, presenting to you the 13th instalment to my story. I hope you do enjoy reading it.  Oh in case any of you like instrumental music, you might wanna check out Somewhere by July. None of the words about Winter Circle are mine. More info on Winter Circle can be found here.Thank you for staying tune with a shabby writer like me.