Yoona and Yuri walked side by side, but with a distance. They were both walking home and since their houses were just opposite from one another, it made most sense if they walked together. This was not the first they walked back together. Yuri always saw this walk to be an opportunity to tease Yoona even more. But today was different. They were shy between each other, avoiding eye contact whenever possible. It was not going to be normal anymore. Not when the circumstances between them had turned this way.

The glaring sun gave a beautiful sparkle on both of their rings. From a far, it was clearly visible the reflection that the single diamond on each ring made. As they walked, bag on one hand, the other hand near to each other was wrapped around their own arms. They were trying their best to prevent any physical contact. And accidentally knocking on each other hands will absolutely be out of the question.

So phase 1 has really started creeping in... Hmm....

Yoona touched the ring on her ring finger with her thumb. It was cold – as cold as the relationship between the two of them. Now there was no way out. And their morning conversation echoed in her head.

“Then, does the phase increase by itself. Do we have any control over it?” Yuri asked.

“Nope, I almost forget. There are three general rules that you must follow.” Tiffany extended her index finger, showing a ‘one’, “first, never ever tells anyone about this. It is certainly not funny telling heaven’s mistake to everyone right. This mistake is rather tricky, because since olden days, people that choose to reveal heaven’s secret always get the heaviest punishment – losing thing that they hold the dearest. So this time there is no exception”

She paced around and held up a ‘two’, “second, get used to each other, because you will bump into each other a lot. As you are bound by the love line, fate would try to bring both of you together, so there will be many opportunities where both of you would be together. Get used to that. And three...”

Tiffany scratches her head and tried to think for the third rule.

“You just make the rule as you go along, aren’t you?” Yoona said.

“Yah, you can’t blame me. Such case never happened before.”

Tiffany snapped her finger. Suddenly she got a really good idea.

 “ Ah, I know. Since I am the goddess of love, and I really love peace, get to know each other. There would be weekly hourly quota that you must fulfil or you would be thrown to the next phase. The quota would decrease as you move up the phase. But don’t think to purposely increase the phase so that you do not need to fulfil longer quota. I emphasise once more that getting to a higher phase is not a good sign.”

Tiffany swayed her index finger as she emphasised her point.

“The more you are in love, the harder it would be when both of you separate. After a year, things would go back to normal. And as a love goddess, I am tasked to scrape off any feeling left between the two of you after that day. There would only be memories remained, and as a warning, memories is hell of a torture. So I tell you first, don’t make it harder for yourselves. Understand.” Tiffany raised her eyebrows questionably.

Like young children towards their teachers, both of them nodded.

“Think of it as a game. Both of you love playing games with each other right. Just pretend this is another game that took a yearlong to finish,” Tiffany said nonchalantly.

“And one more, you also could get more in love when either one of you wanted it. Just made your wish bluntly and I would gladly grant it.”

“Who would want to fall more in love with her,” Yoona mumbled softly to herself.

“What do you say?” Yuri asked.

“No,” Yoona quickly defended.

Yoona looked up and in a second, they made eye contact. Both was surprised and was feeling really awkward such that they turned immediately. Unable to control, they started blushing.

“Don’t take it wrongly. It is only effect of our ill ‘fate’,” Yoona said, afraid that Yuri might get the wrong impression.

“I know, that’s why don’t get the wrong impression about me too,” Yuri said curtly.

They continued walking in silence. Yuri wanted to say something. She was not one who got tongue-tied so easily but now she was at loss of words. She opened , seemingly wanted to say something but took it back. Then she opted to ask something that was more neutral. Something that sooner or later they must began to talk about.

“The quota, how do you plan to fulfil it?” Yuri asked

“For the first round, let’s have 60 hours per week.”

“60 hours?!” Both of them repeated.

“Seriously, both of you should stop this repeating thing. It is really cute in the beginning, but now it’s kind of annoying,” Tiffany complained, “Look, both of you are in the same class, which bring approximately 35 hours per week of together already. Just find another 25 hours. I don’t know how you will arrange it. You could have a full 24 hours during weekend to fulfil it or slowly cover it up with small hours per day. Just fulfil your task.”

“I have dance practise every day after school, so that’s out of the question. But you have swimming practise too right? Maybe go back after school plus lunch. We could clock in 1 to 2 hours per day, which bring to 10 hours in 5 days.” Yoona explained.

“How about morning? We could go to school together. We could clock in additional half an hour.” Yuri suggested.

“Morning is out of question,” Yoona shyly replied.

“Ah, I forget. Your Jonghyun,” Yuri smiled smugly. At least she still had something that she could tease Yoona with.

“Argh, at least, after this entire thing that happened, please don’t let me lost Jonghyun,” Yoona sighed as she clasped her hands together.

Yuri felt somehow just a little hurt by what Yoona said. Not that she wanted to do this with Yoona, but she felt more satisfying if she was at the winning end. That she was the one that could say ‘I have other thing that I could cling on as well’. Thinking of herself saying those words in an arrogant way like many popular girls did, made her felt sick. She was never one of those popular girls that loved to show off and wore thick make-ups. She preferred to be cool, indifferent, but channelled her beauty through her athleticism. After all that was what she was famous of.

“So the remaining 15 hours completed during weekend?” Yuri continued, breaking Yoona from her daze.

“I am having my own weekend practice anyways, so we can meet up at school.”

“I have sports practice too at Saturday. Then meet me every Saturday at 10 in swimming area. There is no one there anyways so you can dance and I can swim. How about that?”

“Okay, then. I am fine. That arrangement was even better. I don’t need to sit down and talk with you all day.”

“That’s better for me too.” Yuri stopped, holding her chin while thinking. “But that’s only 8 hours, we need 7 more hours.”

“Can we then extend our daily meeting then? Really I don’t want to meet you 7 days in a week.”

“Hey, if you want to prevent that, then move house. I saw you anyways on Sundays.”

“It’s because you keeping peeking into my room from your window.”

“I don’t,”

Suddenly Yuri’s phone rang. It was from an unknown number. Initially hesitant to answer, finally she gave it a try.

“Hello,”

“Put me on speaker phone,” the voice commanded.

Yuri pressed the speaker button. Somehow she felt obligated to follow this person’s command. The way she spoke just make her shuddered from fear.

“BOTH OF YOU REALLY SHOULD STOP YOUR BICKERING,” the voice yelled from the phone. “I want to check on both of you and therefore listen to your conversation but both of you already tire my ears. Omo... It’s going to bleed blood soon,” the voice continued.

Of course at such moment, it’s Tiffany.

“Yah, how come you had the ability to eavesdrop on us.” Yoona complained.

“It’s not eavesdropping. It’s called checking up on you. Okay then, bye,”

As abrupt as the conversation began, the line ended.

On the other end of the line....

“Ah, seriously, this two,” Tiffany complained to her phone. “I hope this bickering won’t turn to the worst. I have seen too much of this case,” Tiffany sighed.

Hate to love relationship....

Tiffany tapped on a few icons in her touch-screen phone and proceeded to the contact.

“Earth had become really advanced these days,” she said to herself as she searched for Seohyun name. After finding it, she pressed the call button.

“Seohyun-ah, have you tracked that person.”

“Unnie, you should give me this ‘thing’ too. It is so cool. Voice could come out from it. Also the best part is, there is this thing, apps I think the name. There is one that is really cool, we can shoot birds to hit pigs. How cool is that...” Seohyun excited voice was heard bursting loud from the phone.

“It’s call a handphone. And Seohyun, don’t think I will soon forget your mistake. Punishment still awaits you. I am still mad, you know,”

Silent roamed and a moment later Seohyun soft voice was heard, “I am sorry, Unnie.”

“Never mind, what’s done is done. I had fixed the mistake to some extent. Anyway, how is the tracking result.”

“Unnie, you are at the right place already. Just stand where you are. She is coming out soon.”

Just like a signal, Seohyun’s information quickly turned to reality. From a corner, a girl emerged. She was wearing a cap over her head. Donning a pink hoodie and headphone over her ears, she was immersed in her own world. She tucked her hand into her blue jeans and walked towards Tiffany. In a few stride, she walked passed Tiffany. Tiffany could feel curiosity bore into her as another feeling stirred inside herself. After that person walked for quite a distance from Tiffany, she started tailing her.

They strolled passed the food centre. Then they entered the mall. Initially Tiffany thought that she would enter an electronic store after watching her standing in front of it for some time, but that person continued her walk and exited the mall. Apparently she was using the mall as a shortcut to her final destination – a small music store at a rather secluded road.

Tiffany maintained her distance. She stood quite a considerable distance away from her, but still enough to see and monitor her every movement. As that person entered the music store, the store clerk face lighted up and greeted her immediately.

“Jessica, you came again.”

That person named Jessica just gave a weak smile and proceeded to a section of the music store.

“So it’s true. You are Jung Jessica. The one person that is still a mystery to me. The only person without a love line.” Tiffany mumbled to herself.

She took a step forward and straightened herself – an act that was in vain considering what she was wearing. But she still did it, out of habit, a sign that she was preparing herself. She took a confident stride towards the music store. As she entered, the previously excited store clerk gave her a quick direction.

“You must be looking for rock music. It is in that section,” the clerk pointed to a section far away from where Jessica was.

“I am planning to look around first,” Tiffany gave a half-hearted smile.

Tiffany took a step forward towards a section near Jessica but stopped out of her own curiosity to know the truth. She took a step back and called the clerk.

“Do I really look..... weird?”

“Honestly,” the clerk hesitated but continued when he looked at Tiffany’s nodding, “kind of.”

Tiffany stomped her feet, “Argh. I knew it. I should not go for the extreme anyway.” Tiffany chided herself as she walked away.

She kept still a good distance from Jessica who was now sitting leaning on the CD rack. Jessica was listening to the headphone available at the music sampling corner. Tiffany pretended to look at the CDs in front of her, but stole glances whenever she felt possible. And whenever she did, she was captured by Jessica’s facial expression – the joy in her face as she closed her eyes and listened to the music that flowed inside her. The serenity in her face that made Tiffany wanted to be part of her. To hear and feel what Jessica was hearing.

It is really understandable what Tiffany felt. Being a cupid and all, she is not supposed to enjoy materialistic side of life. And music is not something that she could enjoy. It is one of the few things that frustrate her as an angel – the ability to live for eternity but the lack of ability to enjoy what is in her surroundings.

After a few hours of sneaking around, Tiffany finally got a little closer to Jessica. But even before Tiffany could make a move to analyse Jessica more, Jessica got up from her position and grabbed a few CDs before heading towards the cashier counter. Jessica still got her headset over her ears, as if isolating the whole world but herself.

One of the things that you should note about Jessica : her ability to shut everything in the whole world and to live in her own musical dimension.

“She could be deaf soon if she keeps listening to music that loud.” Tiffany said as she stood far away from Jessica.

Jessica paid for her CDs and walked out of the store. Tiffany on the other hand decided to end her day’s expedition. She took out the mini notebook from her pocket – one that she had made a mental note to carry around when she was on earth.

In it, she made a few notes.

Here is the content.

1.      Loner – reason why she is always alone?

2.      Quiet – an introvert?

3.      Her appreciation for music made me want to live......