daniella, get me out of here.

wonwoo stared at the white wall across him. his eyes empty, emotionless. his lips were chapped and his face was smudged with dirt. he had cracked his nails and his hair stuck out everywhere. the room was empty and small. barely enough to contain a bed. he brought his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around it protectively. he tilted his head and blinked.

light poured in from the doorway. wonwoo curiously peered at the door and growled. in came a man with a doctor’s coat. his hair was waxed and he dressed up neatly. he had a recorder on one hand and a notebook on the other. he tossed the notebook at the wide eyed boy. wonwoo flinched and scooted away from the notebook. he hissed at the doctor and backed away. seungcheol smiled and approached wonwoo.

“tell me about daniella.”

daniella, why are you ignoring me?

the air was cool around them. the breeze blew softly against their hair, tickling their faces. wonwoo smiled softly as he passed the playground. kids were cheerfully playing around, hanging on the monkey bar and down the slide. he turned to the girl next to him and grinned.

“remember the first time we met?”

daniella, what’s going on?

a tug on his shirt caught his attention. she was crying, the little girl was crying.

“m-my mom is not here.”

wonwoo stood there, not knowing what to do. he was just a kid, what can he do? the girl kept sobbing and looking at the ground. her hands were still pulling at the end of his shirt.

“i’ll help you find your mom.”

he scratched his nose and looked down. the girl looked at him, her wails starting to quiet down. she wiped away her snot using her sleeves and curiously stared at him.

“really?”

wonwoo nodded.

daniella, are you okay?

he stared at the new girl. she looked familiar, as if they’ve met. the class cheered when she finished her introduction. bowing, she made her way to an empty seat. it was at the other end of the class. she smiled shyly as she bowed to her new seatmates. they said something and she laughed.

when the bell rang, they all got out. wonwoo took out his packed lunch and walked with his friends. they were talking about the new girl. they said she was pretty. another one said she was smart. wonwoo didn’t care. so what if the girl’s a bit smarter than others?

on his way back home, the girl stopped him and grinned.

“you didn’t change at all.”

daniella, where are you?

“seriously? that’s so lame!”

she laughed. wonwoo liked it when she laughed. he shrugged and sipped on his hot chocolate.

“hey, i got him okay?”

it was summer and they were out on a trip. the beach was full of people sunbathing and swimming around. their friends were playing beach volley. daniella flipped her hair and smiled.

“you’re funny. i like you.”

they hung out frequently afterwards. their relationship was a secret, no one knew about it. wonwoo secretly winked at her in the middle of class and she giggled. the teacher called out to her and he gave her a sheepish smile. they went out for ice cream after school.

on sunday, he asked her out to the movies. they shared a box of popcorn and each ordered a lemonade. they laughed throughout the movie and wonwoo finally got the chance to fling his arms around her shoulder. it felt nice. after the movie he drove her home.

daniella surprised him with a cake on his birthday. they were already official. his friends were there to celebrate with them. he gave the first piece of cake to his mom. he gave the second one to daniella. after the party ended, he helped her clean up. they shared their first kiss.

daniella, please don’t go.

they graduated from high school and enrolled to university. he took photography while she took computer sciences. they went to different universities but they were far from breaking up. he picked her up every single day without complaining.

daniella went on a trip to busan with her uni friends. they rode a bus there. she smiled at wonwoo before leaving and gave him a necklace. she kissed him and got on the bus.

“take care of that for me.”

he received the news later that day. the bus she took crashed against the side of the mountain and tumbled down. there were no survivors and only so few belongings could be excavated. tears rolled down his cheeks but he felt nothing. a gap has been opened and it could never be closed.

goodbye, daniella.

seungcheol took something out from his pocket. wonwoo lunged forward and snatched it from his hands. wonwoo’s lips wavered as a his eyes flickered with recognition. he cried.

“d-daniella.”