Ara woke up extremely early, earlier than usual. She looked in the mirror in the washroom. Her eyes looked tired and she wasn’t surprised. She remembered Ji Yong’s word at the water fountain: “I’m sorry.”  She closed her eyes and bit her lip. She clutched her hands, holding her tears in as best as she could.

     She changed into her work clothes- something formal but comfortable to wear for the long hours she was going to work today. She had a feeling that it would take a long time and sighed, opening her eyes. She walked downstairs and put on her heels. She sighed again. She didn’t really like wearing heels that much because it hurt her feet a lot, but she wanted to think about something else other than the confession at the water fountain.

     She headed out the door and drove to the company. She was kind of relieved that Ji Yong wasn’t there but, at the same time, she was sad. She wanted to see him and talk to him but she was relieved that she didn’t have to talk about it.

     She walked to the elevator and pushed the button for her office. She looked up at the number at the top of the elevator doors. She walked through the doors and into her office. She walked to her chair and sat down, leaning back against it. She looked up to the ceiling, sighing. She faintly heard the elevator doors open.

     “Good morning, Miss. Kim,” Young Min’s voice said.

     Ara looked at him and smiled. “Good morning,” she said.

     He headed to his desk and sat down. He sorted through his papers that were on his desk. Ara placed her elbow on the desk and put her hand under her chin while she looked out the window. She could feel a tear trying to escape from her and blinked rapidly.

     “Miss. Kim,” Young Min said from his desk.

     Ara quickly wiped her escaped tears away and looked at D Young Min. “Yes?”

     “You seem to have something on your mind. Did you want to talk about it?”

     She shook her head, denying what she felt inside. She wanted to talk about it, but she’d tell her friends tonight…hopefully.

     “Alright,” he said. “We have to go to the recording studio.”

     Ara nodded her head and stood up. She headed to the elevator doors with Young Min beside her. They went to the floor below them and headed to the waiting room to see Minhee.

~~~

     The rest of the day was pretty much the same but it seemed so long. She wanted to get out of there. She didn’t want to stay there anymore. She headed to her office. She sat down and leaned back on her chair. Young Min gently put some papers on top of her desk. Ara stifled a sigh. She knew this was her job. She took the first piece of paper and looked over it.

     The end of the day came slowly. It was like it wasn’t even going to come but it did. She headed out the entrance and closed the company for the night. She headed to her car and went home.

     She made dinner. She was paying minimal attention to it and burned her food. She cursed under her breath and threw it in the garbage. She started again, this time paying more attention. She finished her dinner and sat down at the table, turning the TV on. She flipped through the channels until she found one that she liked. She took the first bite of her dinner.

     She put her plates away and washed the dishes. She held onto a plate in midair and remembered what Ji Yong said at the water fountain. She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to forget it. The same words “I’m sorry” kept ending up in her mind, no matter how hard she tried to forget it.

     She sat on her bed. She leaned against the wall, her head up to the ceiling with her eyes closed. She stayed like that for what felt like hours. She looked at the clock and saw that it was only a few minutes. She picked up the wireless phone and dialed Danbi’s phone number.

     “Hello?” Hobin asked.

     “Hey, Hobin,” Ara said. “This is Ara. Is Danbi busy?”

     “I’ll go get her.”

     It took a few minutes but then Danbi was on the phone.

     “Hey. What’s up?” she asked.

     “Just wait. I’m going to add Unhee to the conversation,” she said.

     “Hello?” Unhee asked.

     “Hey,” Ara said.

     “Oh, hey Ara,” she said.

     “I’m here too,” Danbi said.

     “Hey Danie,” she said. “What’s up?”

     “I’m not sure,” Danbi answered. “Ara was the one who called us.”

     Ara took a deep breath. “I confessed to Ji Yong.”

     The two girls were happy. Ara thought that if they were here, they would have been jumping around or high fiving her, maybe both.

     “He didn’t confess back,” she said.

     Just as fast as the girls were happy, it went to silence.

     “I’m sorry,” they said.

     “What happened?” Unhee asked.

     Ara explained what happened that day. She didn’t really explain it that much because she didn’t want to experience it again or even think about it.

     “He doesn’t know what he just lost,” Unhee said.

     “I remember what this old couple told me when I just got rejected. They said “The boy who made you this depressed, he just lost someone great” and “He’ll figure out that he lost someone great and dear to him. Remember, anything can happen. The things you least expect to happen could actually happen”,” Danbi said. “What they said to me was true. It could happen to you too.”

     “Yeah, Ara,” Unhee said. “You can still hope that it could work out. Don’t give up.”

~~~

The Next Day

 

     Today was going to be harder than yesterday. Ji Yong was going to be at work today. She walked to her office. She was kind of relieved that she didn’t see him yet. She didn’t know what she would do if she did see him. If their relationship wasn’t mean to happen then it wasn’t mean to be. She closed her eyes briefly. She wished that it wasn’t true though. She wanted it to work out.

     She opened her eyes and looked at the piles of paper that were stacked on her desk. She sighed. Today was going to be a busy day. At least she didn’t have to think about Ji Yong that much today. She’d have her mind busy on the paper work that needed to be done today. She started to work on it right away or she wouldn’t be done.

     She heard the elevator doors open and didn’t lift her head up. She thought it was Young Min but it wasn’t.

     “Um…,” Ji Yong’s familiar voice said in front of her.

     Ara’s eyes widened. Her heart was beating faster. She closed her eyes for a moment before looking up at Ji Yong. “Yes?”

     “I have the finished song,” he said, handing her the composed song.

     Ara took it, careful not to brush her hand against his. She looked it over and nodded her head.

     It isn’t going to work out, Ara kept repeating to herself.

     “This looks good,” Ara said, forcing a smile. It was more of a sad smile than a happy one though.

     Another co-worker came into the office. Ara could hear her heels hit the floor with each step she took. Ara looked up and the girl stopped, bowing her head.

     “What is it?” she asked; glad to take her eyes off of Ji Yong. She thought she would cry if she didn’t.

     “I can wait,” she said, noticing that Ji Yong was there.

     “I was about to leave,” Ji Yong said, walking to the elevator.

     The atmosphere had an awkward feel to it and Ara could see that Young Min and the co-worker could feel it too. Ji Yong went into the elevator and looked over at Ara with sad eyes. Ara looked back at him with the same look, but it was more intense. The doors closed.

     “Um, Miss. Kim?” the girl asked.

     Ara blinked, mentally shaking her head. She looked at the girl. “Yes?”

     “Minhee is waiting for you downstairs in the lobby,” she said. “She would like to know when would be another good time to book an appointment for the recording studio.”

     “Oh, alright,” Ara said. “Tell her that we’ll be down in a minute.”

     The girl nodded once and bowed to leave, heading to the elevator. Ara stayed back, finished the second stack of papers she had on her desk. Young Min seemed to look worried.

     “Did something happen with you and Ji Yong?” he asked.

     Ara stopped briefly and returned to putting the paper onto the new pile.

     “There isn’t anything,” she said. “Don’t worry about it, Young Min.”

     Ara headed to the elevator with Young Min behind her. She and Young Min headed to the lobby where they met with Minhee.

     “It’s nice to see you again,” Ara said, smiling.

     They shook hands.

     “It’s nice to see you again too. I hope I can make an appointment,” Minhee said.

     “Of course,” Ara said. “I think we can put you in this Saturday, right Young Min?”

     Young Min checked the schedule on his phone and nodded his head. “4 p.m. is free,” he said.

     “Is that a good time for you?” Ara asked.

     “Yes, that’s perfect,” Minhee said.

~~~

     It was the end of the day. Ara stood up from her desk, finished with the huge stack of paper work that she had that day. She gave the last stack to Young Min and he put them away in their rightful place. She walked to the elevator and headed down to the lobby. She waited until the doors opened and headed out. She walked into someone.

     “Sorry,” she mumbled.

     “No, it’s my fault. Sorry about that,” said a familiar voice.

     Ara looked up and saw that it was Ji Yong. He looked at her in surprise.

     “It’s alright,” she said. “I’ll see you on Saturday.”

     Ara was about to leave when Ji Yong grabbed her hand. Her heart skipped a beat and she turned around to look at him. Ji Yong let go of her hand.

     “I was wondering if you wanted to hang out at my place tomorrow. You don’t have work so I was just thinking…but if you’re busy then maybe another time.”

     Ara gave him a smile. She was glad that her confession didn’t ruin the friendship they had. “Sure,” she said.