Dreams are road signs along the nighttime highway of sleep.

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Jieun’s POV

            “Jieun! How could you stay outside for so long in the rain? You probably caught a cold!” My worried father rushed towards me the moment I stepped through my front door. I felt like all my energy had been drained, so I never replied. Instead, I kicked off my shoes and dragged my feet towards my room, avoiding eye contact with my dad. After the graduation dinner with Wooyoung’s family, my dad never brought up Wooyoung again. Even if they made a ‘truce’ I knew there was no way my dad could ever like someone who made such a negative impression on him, but it seemed so out of character for my dad to never bring up his name.

            “Jieun is home?” My mom called from the kitchen, poking her head around the corner to see me slowly pass through the living room. Her face lit up and she chased after me with a basket full of fresh assorted muffins. My dad stopped paying attention to me and went back to watching whatever news was on TV, but before I could enter my room my mom stopped me.

            “Weren’t you just getting bubble tea? Why were you out for so long?” She questioned suspiciously with a smirk. I had an idea of what she was thinking about, but I had no energy to let her know she was right.

            “I was taking a walk…” I mumbled, fumbling to open the door to my room. My mom’s foot blocked me from stepping through the door and after giving her a confused look she folded her arms and pushed,

            “With who?” I finally understood why so many people want to move out of their parents’ house as soon as possible.

            “Uh… No one,” I answered after thinking for a while. If I told her I was with Wooyoung I was sure my dad would start a fuss. Unfortunately for me, my mom’s next words sparked the same effect.

            “Keojitmal! I saw you walking with Wooyoung at the market.” She was now smirking victoriously, eyeing my shocked and confused expression. Since when did parents stalk their grown children? Nodding in defeat, I pushed past my mom and her full basket of muffins and plopped face first onto my bed. Less than three seconds after face planting myself on my bed sheets, I heard my mom’s hushed scolding outside my room and soon enough, my door slammed open. It sounded like the door was slammed so hard that the knob broke a hole in the dry wall.

           “Jieun, were you or were you not just with Wooyoung?” My father’s harsh voice rang past my stuffy blanket. At least he didn’t refer to Wooyoung as a player anymore. Keeping my face glued to my bed I nodded, only angering my dad more.

            “Look at me when I talk to you!” He hissed, pulling my head off my bed and forcing me to stand in front of him. I didn’t have the energy for an argument. My eyes drifted back to my bed, locking on the wet spots of my blanket from my rain-soaked strands of hair.

            “I swear ever since you met Wooyoung you’ve grown to be nothing but trouble…” My dad snarled under his breath, probably not intending for me to hear but I did. My mom finally found the courage to try to calm my dad, and I assumed that like any other day, she would just be utterly shunned.

            “Jieun is tired. How about you have this talk tomorrow?” I expected him to push my mom away and continue to yell at me, but instead he nodded slowly and left my room. He left without another word—a rare occasion. I was far too tired and disappointed to think of a reason behind his strange behavior and instead, slipped into my bed sheets despite my hair being moist and tried to drift into sleep.

Wooyoung’s POV

            I jogged back to the bench that Jieun and I sat on together earlier today, because this was where he said to meet. I knew I was in for it, but I had no idea as to why I agreed to his unreasonable plea in the first place. My actions today broke the agreement, but whatever the consequence, I was ready to face it head on. Seeing Jieun again today made me realize that my absence was saddening her more than my presence ever did.

            “What the hell were you doing today?” A husky voice roared from behind the tree. He took a seat quickly beside me where Jieun sat earlier and glared at me with hatred.

            “Grocery shopping with my father,” I answered wittily with a smirk. He looked like he wanted to punch me in the face. Brushing off the uninvited tension, I looked back up at the gray sky and sipped on the warm cup of coffee in my right hand.

            “You broke our agreement!” He stated with a voice only getting angrier by the second. Turning to him now, I answered with all seriousness,

            “It wasn’t an agreement, it was a bribe. I agreed because you said Jieun would be happier to see me walk out of her life, but evidently even you know it’s not true. Even if you gave me money for school tuition in Canada I would have never taken it, because I’ve already applied for Seoul’s Institute of the Arts. Ultimately, if not today I would’ve seen Jieun again in university.”

            “You were scheming this the whole time?” He muttered, surprised. Nodding, I added,

            “I never needed help paying tuition in the first place.”  I was about to get up and leave but Jieun’s father punched his fist onto the bench. Staring at me with gritting teeth he vowed,

            “Jieun will never fall for someone like you. You remember the duet you two sang together, right? She still has the person she wrote the song for.” I shook my head at his last attempt to push me away.

            “You’re wrong; that person doesn’t exist.” I concluded, finally taking my leave. Even if the song she wrote wasn’t written for me, there was no one else it could have been for. This was something I knew for sure, and even without proof I knew that my instincts weren’t leading my astray. As I made my way home through a secluded path that I used to always take when I was younger and needed some time alone I promised,

            “You don’t have to worry, Jieun. I won’t leave.”

Jieun’s POV

            My mind had only briefly drifted off into a world of lucid dreams when my eyes opened to the sound of the front door slamming shut. I turned to face the door of my room, seeing the small hole in the wall where my doorknob collided.

            “Where have you been?” My mom’s faint voice traveled through the walls into my room from the living room. My dad’s heavy grunting overpowered the television, and I heard my mom’s light footsteps scurrying to the hamper and pulling out a towel for him. I didn’t care where he went; I just wished he wouldn't bother me again.

            “Two more months…” I repeated silently to myself, “Two more months until I’m free.” Quietly in the comfort of my room and the privacy of my mind I imagined my life in Seoul’s Institute of the Arts. I had already told my mom I wanted to dorm since it was opposite of where we lived in Seoul, and being the large city that it was, it would take hours for me to get there every morning if I didn’t. Without letting my father know she graciously signed the dormitory forms for me and I handed in my completed application just before the deadline. Unknowingly, I was preparing my heart for a lonely life as a Korean idol—a life without Wooyoung. On that note, I really needed to practice for my audition in two weeks. I couldn’t lie here like a lifeless block of ice all day and dream about my future; I needed to take a step and jump at it to ensure I got in. Originally before graduation, I had planned to use my song ‘Maybe’ for the audition but after having it grow to become a duet that I sang with Wooyoung, there was no way I would use the song again. Ignoring the small argument my parents were having in the living room, I sat up and pulled my pink guitar onto my lap. My window was no longer blurry from the fog, and staring out I could see the gray skies plummeting rain onto the ground. As I played random notes on my guitar, I forgot why I ever stopped playing to begin with. Back when I was younger, on rainy days like these when my parents were too busy fuming at each other to pay me any attention, I would pick up my guitar and sing quietly to myself in my room. This was my only comfort growing up, and the short while I stopped playing my guitar was when my life’s second comfort walked in. I couldn’t continue living, wishing Wooyoung would always be with me because even as my oppa, one day if I become famous I’ll have to be forced to let him go. It’s better sooner than later. my fingers down the strings on my guitar, I stared out into the sky and prayed that I would find my place in life one day. It was silly how attached I grew to someone I knew for only a short month, and I knew I fell deep when my first tear fell from my eyes, followed by a parade of more.

            “I hope these tears will stop running someday, someday after this darkness clears up, I hope the sunshine dries these tears…” Words seemed to flow out of my mouth naturally, combining together to create new lyrics that spoke my current heart. Temporarily I let go of my guitar to pull out a pen and a sheet of paper. On the first line I sloppily scribbled, ‘Someday, original lyrics and composition by Lee Jieun’.

A/N: The last piece of dialogue contained lyrics from the Dream High OST, Someday by IU! ^^ Post your thoughts in a comment below~ :P