As soon as they were out of the neighborhood, they were able to catch a cab in no time and took off downtown together. They talked about random stuff like the weather, their younger memories when they both were still in Seoul and how much it had changed till now; stuff that they would probably not remember, but they talked anyway, non-stop throughout the whole journey until the cab slowed down and stopped in front of a busy street roaming with youngsters in hip-hop fashion.

Chaerin bid goodbye to her Oppa, only to be surprised that he paid the driver and got off the cab as well. She looked at him with a confused expression. “Oppa, aren’t you going home?” She asked, curiously.

He inhaled the cold air and tucked both his hands into his pockets. “I’m going to go for a stroll, it’s been a while,” he said with a gentle smile, “We’ll split here then, enjoy yourself!” he said giving her a wave.

Chaerin flashed her brightest smile at him and waved back. “See you soon then!” and with that, she ran off towards the dance studio happily, leaving Yongguk behind her with a solemn look on his face.

He slowly stepped backwards and turned around, heading towards the opposite direction of Chaerin. Stop it, Guk, she’s taken.

Chaerin ran. She did not know where she got all the energy to run so quickly to the dance studio but she was totally energized right now, anticipating the look on her boyfriend’s face when she enters the dance studio to give him a hug and the surprise of his life. She started grinning so stupidly again. “Tsk, stop that, you look really stupid, you know?” She then heard Yongguk’s voice echoed in her ears. Wait, why is his voice ringing in my mind?

She then stopped running and realized that she was already at the dance studio’s entrance. She looked up the flight of staircase the lead all the way up to the studio. What could he be doing now? My Zico. She wondered as she stepped on the first step of the staircase. Could he still be practicing? She imagined him lying on the wooden floor, huffing and puffing after an extreme round of dance practice. She giggled to herself as she made her way up the stairs.

This is it. She said to herself as she stood at the door that opened into the studio. She took in a deep breath and exhaled heavily, trying to relax herself. It’s been 6 months since they last saw each other. She was filled with excitement and with all smiles; she pushed the door open into the little studio.

Chaerin poked her head in to find an empty hallway that lead to 5 different practice rooms. It’s so quiet. She peeked through the first few rooms and found that they were empty. Could everyone have gone to lunch already? She thought, pulling out her phone from her pocket, looking to the time. 12:30PM, did I miss his practice hour? Her heart sunk as she opened her messages, scrolling to Zico’s sister’s message to her, double-checking the time that she had sent to her.

Chaerin had asked his sister beforehand where he would be, so that she could surprise him. She promised his sister to treat her to any meal in return. Could he have changed his plans? She bit her lip, trying to figure out her next step. Ottoke? She asked herself as she about to turn around to leave; she heard squeaky giggles from the last room.

She paused. Did I hear wrong? Slowly, she approached the room in the corner, careful not to make any noise. She heard a girl’s laughter and familiar voice. She could not make out what they were saying; they were soft that whatever they said sounded like murmurings to her.

She looked through the glass, at first not seeing anyone in sight, but she was sure that there must be someone here as the voices grew louder. At second glance, she spotted them at a corner. Chaerin froze.

As soon as Chaerin disappeared into the crowd, Yongguk turned around and headed towards the opposite direction of the busy street. He grabbed on to his backpack, browsing at the roadside stalls. Even though he was in his own country, he felt like a tourist looking at the environment that had changed within the year that he was not around.

He walked past street vendors and stalls, browsing through the many choices of food even though he already had a grand breakfast and was still full from it; he spotted a street vendor selling hoeddeok (sweet syrupy pancakes) and practically drooled just by smelling it.

He approached the street vendor and took a look at the pretty golden pancakes that were being arranged on a tray by an old lady. She smiled at him and continued arranging them. He smiled back, “Ajumma, I’ll take three,” he said as he dug into his pocket for his wallet.

Yongguk then window-shopped past a few fashion boutiques with his pancakes. The ahjumma seemed to have favored him and offered to fry a new batch for him so that he’ll be able to have them hot and fresh. He munched on the sweet pancakes satisfyingly as he walked down a slope, without bothering in which direction he was going.