Omma and appa are already on the plane to China whereas I am in the middle of the class listening to the teacher talking about how war doesn’t do any good, how the countries overcome the loss of everything, and then she's back to remind us about the upcoming test we will have next week. Usually, I will listen intensely to Ms. Kang, but right now my mind is full of the arranged marriage my parent set up for me. I know they have no bad intentions, I know they just want the best for me. Beside, the marriage will bring goods for both sides. The marriage will strengthen their connection.

But it’s in less than two months. What if Minjae comes back and I already have a husband? I don’t want that to happen. What if my future husband is a bad person? I don’t think I can bear staying with that kind of man all my life. What if I'll never be happy in this marriage? I still want to pursue my dream. I know omma and appa started as an arranged couple, and now they are still in love with each other, but what if I don’t end up like them? What will happen to me? I intended to go to college and major in Art and Design, and what if the in-law wants me to be just a wife, simply? I don’t think I can be someone who stays at home all the time. And as my mind wanders off, the bell rings, time for lunch break. With a sigh I pack my books into my bag.

“What’s on your mind, beauty?” my best friend Kim Yeni asks, beside her Yoon Nara, another best friend of mine.

“Nothing, really. Just some stuff. I’ll tell you when we’re at the cafeteria. Now, let’s go,” I answer as I link my arms with theirs and drag them out of the class to the cafeteria.

*******

“Now, tell us what’s been bothering you since morning?” Nara asks as they sit down after they've grabbed their lunch. Quite a sight to see Hyera not focus on class, not one class only, classes.

“My parents want me to marry after we graduate, in February. They said it was good for both sides, that my parents really needed the other side, that my supposed-to-be husband was a good man, that he could take care of me, and that the in-laws were good people. You guys know I'm still waiting for him, I still need to know why he disappeared, why he left me, why he didn’t leave a single note- Am I nobody to him?” Hyera says with her voice slightly shaking although she still has a smile on her face. Yeni and Nara know how sad Hyera is when she found that Minjae is no longer here, that he disappeared to God-knows-where.

“I thought you said some stuff, is it just some stuff for you?” Nara, the sarcastic one among them, speaks up. Yeni hurriedly elbows her friend and dead glares Nara, but the said girl just ignores it. “You know, it’s time for you to forget him. It’s the right time, I don’t think I can bear to see you sitting alone at the corner of that coffee shop anymore,” Nara continues, “You hang out with us on the weekend, true, but you spend your time after school at that shop. Not to mention during the holidays. Come on, Hyera, it’s been a year already! If you think he’ll come back for you, isn’t the first thing he would do leaving you at least a note telling where he’s going and everything? He knows your address, phone number, school, heck he even knows our number, so why didn’t he?”

Hyera lowesr her head, staring at her lunch. Her appetite was long gone. She can’t answer that, she knows what she said is true. She knows her friend wants the best for her, that’s the reason for the harsh words she throws at her. But she just can’t let him go, not until she finds out what the reason for him leaving is.

“You need to start from scratch, you know? Maybe, that guy your parent arranged for you is the one that can fix you, fix your broken heart, maybe your broken mind, and maybe steal your first kiss,” Yeni jokes, trying to lift the mood. They just need to throw one stupid line and the awkward mood would disappear for sure. And really, when Hyera hears the joke, the smile comes back on her face.

“Mwo? My broken mind? And what’s your problem with me still not having my first kiss? Huh? I know you really like that first kiss you did with Donghae last Christmas, but can’t you spare me? I have the world to save,” and now the happy-go-lucky Hyera is back. Then the three just joke around and tease each other, particularly about Yeni and Donghae. The two have been going out for a year and a half. And Hyera is positive that soon Nara will be an item with Siwon, Donghae’s bestfriend. But even while they joke around, Hyera’s mind drifts to the arranged marriage and Minjae.

*******

After school, at the same coffee shop, at the same corner, Hyera does nothing except staring at her cup. It’s been an hour, and she hasn’t even taken a single sip. Her friends’ words still linger in her mind. She thinks, maybe it’s time for her to let go of him, forget every pain and just move on with her life. But still, a series of “what if” makes her think about everything from the very beginning.

“Hyera-ah, come on! If we don’t hurry, all of the table will be taken,”

“Arasso, Oppa. You go first, I.. can’t run.. anymore..” The girl said with much difficulty. The boy stopped dead in his tracks and looked back to the girl then patted the girl’s head, letting the girl breathe, “It’s okay, Hyera-ya. We decided to come together to the shop, why split up now?”

“Are you sure, Oppa?” The girl said after she regained her breath, “then let’s walk faster there, hurry up, Oppa,” she added with a chuckle while fastening her steps and grip around the man’s wrist. Soon, they were in front of the shop door. She brought her hand to the handle and pushed the door open.

*Tring..*

The sounds of the bells chime stops her recalling memories; she looks up to the front door. There ineed stands someone, a man in a suit, with a handbag and a brown envelope.

“He.. is.. back…”

A/N: How is it? Is it boring? I think this story is processing in a slow pace..