One

She takes my breath...

Let go.

She who looked the most gorgeous when she had dark brown, long and wavy hair.

She who would impatiently tap the digital clock on the car dashboard, as a sign that we were already late for the event that we were attending.

She who a gifted talent in photography. For this, she was given the latest model of DSLR by her parents as a present on her 17^th birthday, which she treasured dearly.

Her habit of scribbling on papers while whining to me of her bad days, especially when she was upset, or pissed.

Her birthdate that was 14 months and 4 days later than mine.

Her preference of wearing high or wedge heels to flats every time she went out with me due to her much shorter height. So that she stood at least at my ears’ level.

Constantly applying lotion to her hands was a routine for her, which explained her pair of beautiful hands. I never had the chance to know its brand, but the scent went well with the perfume I gave her.

Floral patterns graced almost all of her oversized handbags. In which I often teased her that the material the bags were made out of, was the same with those used for tents. In return, she frowned at me ‒ clearly unamused by the joke ‒ before turning her head to face the other side, sulking.

Also, the fact that she would leave some fo‒

“Oppa?”

Deep black orbs peered into mine curiously, effectively cutting short my memories of her.

Her. Park Aeri.

However, in front of me at the very moment wasn’t Park Aeri.

Hyun Ae was her name, my current girlfriend.

“Why aren’t you eating?”

It was when she asked that I realized I’d been poking at my food. She inquired again if I was sick, probably that was the reason why I didn’t seem to eat much. I denied this, and to prove it to her, I began having spoonfuls of food and eating properly.

“Do you want some of my food? I don’t mind sharing,” she offered.

I took a glance at her food. It looked invitingly delicious, but I declined her offer, saying that the one that I ordered was enough for me.

However, I lost my appetite in the middle of eating for some unknown reasons, and thus wasn’t able to finish the food. After a few minutes, I decided to give it a call and push the plate a little, as a sign that I had finished eating. Since Hyun Ae was still on it, I waited for her. Sipping at my orange juice, I quietly studied the surrounding of the restaurant.

I finally gave her my attention when she put her chopsticks down by the side of her plate. I raised a brow at her, asking if she was done eating. She nodded as she reached out for her napkin to wipe .

I beckoned a waiter to ask for the bill, all the while, trying to sneak a glance at her plate.

Empty. No leftovers.

Totally different from what I had been used to.

The waiter who had been serving us during our entire lunch approached us soon after and politely handed us the bill. Before I fished out some cash from my wallet, a hand rested on mine. It was Hyun Ae's.

“Let me pay this time.” She flashed a comforting, warm smile before facing the waiter and handed the latter the exact amount of cash.

I held back a surprised raised brow at this sight because it was totally... unfamiliar.

When she told me that she wanted to go to the ladies, I was trying not to blurt out something out of habit, but I was too late.

“Do you need me to accompany you?”

She, who was halfway up, sank back to her seat in surprise. Her already large eyes almost became twice their size before blinking once, twice, thrice; clearly taken aback by the absurdness of the question.

“I mean,” I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly, “I can accompany you till the front of the washroom, not entering it with you.” I really meant it that way.

It took her a few moments to finally understand what I was talking about. However, instead of an expected blush, she gave a full-hearted laugh as a response. “Oppa, it’s not that far though.” She then assured me with a ‘I won’t take long’ before standing up.

I stared at her retreating figure until it disappeared behind a wall that separated the dining area and the washroom. I released a small sigh for the slip of the tongue a few seconds earlier.

I really need to remind myself that she’s not her.

Because she was different. Different indeed.

[ A/N ]

To my dearest subscribers: badvolkan91, AlwaysAnElf, ricky6, MayChunJoeChang_0429, chicco28, venuscupid, lee_yun_ I'm so sorry that this took so long. Deep apologies for the super super mega delay. Thank you for being patient as well. But I bet most of you forgot that this story existed, lol. It's okay.

Anyway, as I already said in the foreword, this story will be a chaptered one. I can't promise daily updates, but I'm sure I can manage them weekly. I've had the main ideas laid out, and composed. It's only the little-little things to perfect the flow of each scene.

Comments are truly loved! Honest thoughts and feedbacks are appreciated as well. So please don't hesitate to comment. xx See you in the next update.

Posted: 15/12/2013, 23:20