Jieun sat down in the familiar book cafe, breathing in the intoxicating yet comforting scent of coffee and old books. 

 

"Jieun-ah, the usual?" Sunggyu, the owner, approached with a smile that transformed his eyes into half-moon crescents. 

 

Jieun nodded. 

 

Sunggyu winked. "Coming right up~"

 

Jieun wanted to open and thank the older man for his perpetual kindness. To voice out her appreciation for the half caramel slice he'd always sneak her with her coffee, then winking conspiratorialy as if to say "Our little secret, okay?"

 

But she couldn't. Jieun had lost the choice long ago. 

 

Lost it along with her voice. 

 

She'd never really cried over her loss. She didn't see the point. After all, no amount of crying could give her back the voice which she treasured so much. 

 

She'd been an aspiring singer, captivating everyone around her with a voice beyond her age. But her dreams were dashed and her wings were clipped long before she had a chance to unfurl them, just because of another man's stupid actions. 

 

Slipping out into the warm spring air, Jieun only tightened the suffocating scarf around her neck to hide the ugly scar that defined her brokeness. She wiped away a few beads of sweat from her forehead, brushing her hair back to keep it from sticking. Sticking her earphones in, she listened to herself with a wistful smile, pining silently for the days when she had this beautiful ability. Call her narcissistic if you will, but Jieun didn't know how she would survive each day without listening to her voice. 

 

Boarding the train that would take her to the cold solace of her apartment, Jieun entered the surprisingly deserted compartment and sat down beside the lone man inside of it. Who, upon her arrival, started humming a beautiful song that fit perfectly with his beautiful voice. 

 

"Don't lose hope, for I am here

I have loved you and always will..."

 

Jieun only had to hear the second line before bursting into tears that the stranger had completely expected. She leaned her head on his shoulder and cried tears long overdue. 

 

Her sobs were an ugly thing. For normal people, crying was an outlet, a chance to scream and cry because they COULD and sometimes they simply NEEDED to. But to Jieun it was only another reminder of the things she had lost, like the white scar running across her pale, elegant throat. 

 

The stranger noticed the earphones lying abandoned on the seat, and curious, stuck one in his ear. 

 

A sweet yet powerful voice invaded his ears and brought a small smile on his face that rarely anyone got to see. "Is this you?" he asked, though already knowing the answer. "You have a very beautiful voice."

 

Jieun's sobs intensified, and when the stranger spoke, she suddenly felt conscious. She was breaking down in front and thoroughly soaking the shirt of a virtual stranger. She was about to pull away from the crook of his neck, raising her hand to brush away the tears, when he captured her hand in his firm yet gentle grip. 

 

"Cry," he whispered. "You need it."

 

She needed no further encouragement. Jieun dropped her head back to his neck, her tears pooling in his protuberant collarbones. She clawed at her aching heart, which screamed and cried and shrieked when she couldn't, as the man rubbed her hair. 

 

They stayed in the unaudible sound of tears and the understanding silence of a silent girl who had everything to say and a man who had the ability to speak yet nothing to say. Two strangers who knew more about each other than anyone they knew. 

 

"Stop for Mangwondong," a female voice announced over the P.A system.

 

He gingerly stood up, holding her hand and trying not to jostle her head from his neck. 

 

Suddenly, Jieun untangled herself from his arms and stepped out of the train, followed closely by the man. Rifling through her messenger bag, she retrieved a piece of paper and quickly scribbled something on it.  Pressing the paper into the stranger's outstretched hand, Jieun then her heels and never saw him again. 

 

"Myungsoo, who was that?" his boyfriend, Lee Sungyeol, walked towards him and intertwined their fingers. 

 

Myungsoo studied the paper with its slanted, elegant script. 

 

"Thank you"

-Lee Jieun

 

He smiled. "Just someone who needed me."

 

----

 

What can I say? MyungIU is my guilty pleasure.