She was heading to her music class when she passed by the auditorium. A lovely melody, an unfamiliar song–a new sound that was sad and lonely yet alluring–was playing and she suddenly had the urge to check it out even though she knew that she was running late. Peeking through the door, the hall was empty and the only source of light was on the stage, she caught a glimpse of a young man playing the piano. She stood there careful not to make her presence known as she continued to listen to the very beautiful piece. She was about to leave when the young man started playing the same piece again. Somehow her body betrayed her and made her stay.

She closed her eyes and the moment she heard him sing, she stood frozen in place. Suddenly too many feelings overwhelming her in that moment. Every other noise in the background was blocked all of a sudden, his sweet melodic voice was the only thing she could hear.

Ever since that day

You seem to be on my mind

Whatever I do, I can’t seem to forget you

I tell myself it will go away

Oh how I wish it was that so easy

That incident made her really late for class and from then on she just can’t seem to get rid of his voice–like the continuous echo of a bell constantly clanging inside her head, every beat of vibration banging into her thick skull. There was something in his singing that had drawn her to him.

∞

It’s been weeks since she heard that mysterious man and in those weeks she was hoping she would bump into him–always walking past the auditorium in anticipation that she would once again find him there–but to no luck. She wanted so badly to ask her friends if they knew him, but what would she say? She didn’t really see his face and undoubtedly she doesn’t know anything about him. They might even get the wrong idea and think that she’s obsessing over someone, a rather exaggerated thought though. She berated with herself with the final decision of just waiting.

Weeks turned into months and she was still clueless. She eventually stopped dropping by the auditorium–which she did daily–since it was pointless now. Thinking about it, there was in no way he would just suddenly appear there again. But that didn’t stop her from thinking about him. And it definitely didn’t stop her from catching glimpses of the people she would pass by.

A semester had passed and that’s when she told herself to stop. She needed to stop her daydreaming. Why was she so desperate in finding him anyway? She didn’t even know what she would do once she found out who he was. But his voice never left her mind–it was still clear and visible to her hearing.

∞

Then fate suddenly decided to play with her. Their graduation ceremony just ended and she told her parents that she wanted, for the last time, to go to a certain place. Of course there’s only one place that she wanted to visit–the auditorium. Obviously it was empty, but she wasn’t really expecting that she would see him. She just wanted to relieve the moment one last time and so she stood there replaying that very scene. She slowly closed her eyes then the unexpected happened, she heard that same melody that made the hairs on her back stand up. All of a sudden she was scared to open her eyes, afraid to know that it was just a pigment of her imagination.

I want to see you

I want to know you

One day, hoping you would notice me

Look in my direction

Tell me you see me

That voice, the voice she grew to love. She didn’t know when or how it even started but she grew to learn his voice, the vibrations and his tone. It was weird to admit that she had fallen in love with a stranger who had a euphonious voice. She felt his emotions–the sadness, the pain, the loneliness–all those feelings the song was conveying that made it a little bit freaky. She knew guys who could sing was a major turn on for her but she never expected that she would actually fall in love. No. That was totally unforeseen. Is it even normal for a person to fall in love that way?

She took in a deep breath before she opened her eyes only to see it the way it was before–dark and empty. Well that was what she was expecting but it was the total opposite. The lights on the stage were , the spotlight focused on the piano placed on the left side end of the stage but there was no one there. Her eyes frantically scanned the place until it landed on a man walking towards her. Out of shock she let out a loud gasp and took a step back.

This was the moment she was waiting for. She was finally going to meet him but what would she say? Should she introduce herself and tell him that she’s a fan of his? But that would seem utterly bizarre. She stood there until she could make his face suddenly forgetting all those thoughts that clouded her mind. He had pale skin. His hair was black and his forehead was covered with his fringe. He had small eyes and an almost chubby cheeks – she could still make out his jawline. She did imagine how he looked like but seeing him up-close, she didn’t suppose that he was that handsome.

He was now standing in front of her, and he was at least two to three feet taller than her. He was smiling at her that caught her breath. His small eyes disappeared forming a crescent shape. She was totally speechless that she just stood there, watching him.

“I guess you’re the girl.” With his statement her brows met at the center. What does he mean by that? Does that mean-

“At least it’s good to know that I was not haunted by a ghost.” Even his speaking voice was melodious that she couldn’t help but be enchanted even more. And when he chuckled, it was a miracle her knees didn’t give up on her. She was pretty sure she looked like an idiot but she was too entranced in her own world–his voice filling it up.

Her phone started ringing that broke her out of her thoughts. She glanced at him and he only smiled ushering her to take the call. She glanced at the time and was surprised that she had been standing there for half an hour already. Wow! Time flew by so fast. She told her mom that she was on her way out.

“You should go.” He said and that made her upset that she didn’t even hide it. She hesitated to walk away from him. She wanted to know more about him and would really love to spend more time with him but she couldn’t let her parents wait so she did the stupidest thing she could ever do.

“Can I at least know your name?” she asked and it earned her a chuckle. He probably wouldn’t even give his name and so she bowed her head in shame and started to turn around when he spoke.

“Kim Sunggyu.”

 

She did her best to look for him but it didn’t work. She searched his name on various social sites she has an account on but she guessed that he wasn’t the technology type of guy. How on earth would she be able to see him again if that was the case? She lost hope and told herself that she should just forget about him. But how many times would she be telling that to herself before she would actually do it.

∞

It was weird that her feelings for him never changed and the fact that she was hearing his voice on the radio was even weirder. She turned the volume up. Even if he debuted with a group she could easily distinguish his voice from the others. A smile grew on her face as she continued to drive. She remembered the first time she learned he was debuting in a group. She was at home, eating dinner in front of her television. She stumbled upon a music channel and that’s when she heard his voice that she actually spilled her food. From then on she rooted for the group but of course it was obvious that she was biased.

The next day, she was on a day-off and she just decided to stay at home. She found their piano and out of the blue she just played. She closed her eyes as she recalled that melody. Even as three years had passed she could still clearly remember that song. It wasn’t as perfect as how he had played but at least she almost got all the notes correct. But of course it still felt different.

“Haven’t forgotten your mystery man yet, have you?” She stopped playing and turned around. She smiled. “Should I be jealous?”

She stood up from her seat as she approached him. “Considering I’m your girlfriend. I guess you should. And it would be really nice if you would knock before entering.”

“Have you forgotten that you gave me a spare key?” She saw him hold up his hand, holding the key.

She laughed and he did as well. They both sat back down but this time she let him play the piano. She closed her eyes and listened to him play and sing. Her smile grew even wider. She didn’t expect she would meet him again, heck she didn’t even expect that he would become her boyfriend. I guess fate has its own way of tying people together, she thought.

∞

Soorin had given up, this time making sure that it was permanent. Back then she told herself that there was no point in hoping. The world was too big for her and him to cross paths again. But then they did. She was at the piano store looking for one, when she heard that melody. She slowly and shakily walked towards the sound, and there she found him playing that song – the same song she grew to love. She stood there too dumbfounded.

“It’s you.” He said that made Soorin break out from her reverie. That’s when she realized that Sunggyu was standing right in front of her. He had that eye smile–the one that was unwantedly implanted on her mind along with his song. “It’s nice to see you again.”

She was too speechless to talk. Once again she looked like an idiot in front of him. The saleslady, who was apparently ignored, cleared that made the both of them look at her.

The young lady smiled at Sunggyu, more like flirtatiously smirked at him. Soorin felt sad for the saleswoman though because she was completely ignored by Sunggyu, which made her smile inwardly.

“Would you buy the piano sir?” she asked and Soorin felt the irritation in the saleslady’s voice. Sunggyu turned to look at her to which she was surprised. Then he looked back at the saleslady and nodded his head. She stood there and watched as Sunggyu followed the young woman to pay for his purchase.

Soorin was still too shocked to even move. Was this some kind of twisted dream? How in the world, after so many years, did she end up bumping into him again? Just when she was starting to give up.

“Hey,” she turned around to see Sunggyu. “I never got the chance to ask for your name.” Soorin found him cute, the way he stood awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.

She did her best to calm down and was surprised that she was able to. She took in a deep breath. “Soorin.” She held out her hand to shake his and when their hands touched she felt a shock. Her eyes widened and quickly retracted her hand.

“Did you feel that too?” he asked and for the first time she was able to see his beautiful brown orbs. They were quite for a moment. “Wow! This is just so unexpected.”

She took her time in looking at him. She had seen him on television and she thought he didn’t really change much based from her memories of him, which was rather diminutive. He didn’t really looked much different in person too. She heard him clear his throat that made her mentally slap herself. How could she just be in trance like that?

“Yeah, it’s nice seeing you again.” Lame reply but she didn’t have much anything to say. They weren’t really close and she can’t really say that they had some kind of relationship back then. Heck they were basically strangers.

“Look, if you’re not really busy would you like to have some coffee?”

She composed herself and internally squealed in delight. “Are you sure you’re fit to go out? I mean you do know that your fans would be surrounding you in an instant?” She was surprised at how cool and calm her voice sounded.

“I have a place in mind.”

 

They were at a café somewhere. She didn’t really pay attention on their way because she was busy staring at him. She still couldn’t believe that she was with him. The mere fact that she had seen him again, she can’t help but think, could she really have a chance? What are the chances that just when she was about to move on she suddenly bumps into him.

“So, how have you been?” he asked. She was thankful that somehow along the way their awkwardness had melted down and they seem to be more comfortable now. It was a good thing there were only a few people inside the café. A few people had approached him asking for his autograph but after that it seems like they were ignored. Or probably they didn’t want to interrupt him.

“You probably think I’m some kind of stalker don’t you?”

“Well considering you, sneaking up on me back then I’d say yes. I actually thought I had seen a ghost but I was relieved when I saw you then.”

“How did you even know I was watching you? It could have been someone else.” She took a sip from her drink then placed it on the table. She looked at him, waiting for his answer.

“Good question. I doubt you’d believe me,” he paused. “I just felt it. Does that make sense?”

“That, definitely makes no sense at all.”

“I know but that’s the truth.” She was startled when he looked at her. The whole time they were there he was avoiding her eyes and this was the first time that he locked eyes with her. Heat crept up her face. Seeing as he wouldn’t be looking away she did it first. Then took another sip from her drink.

“What I’m about to say would absolutely sound, I guess you could say unusual, but I’d like to get to know you.” She was thankful that she wasn’t drinking or else she would’ve spit everything. “You see I’ve seen you a few times in our music department.”

Soorin’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?” Could it be possible that he liked her first?

“Before you even noticed me, which was something I really didn’t expect, I’ve already taken interest in you. I just didn’t have the courage to approach you because you always seem to be surrounded with lots of people.”

“That sounds like a lame excuse.”

“Alright, I wasn’t really good with talking to girls. I didn’t know how to approach you so I just watched in the background. I was really happy when I caught a glimpse of you watching me back then. At least I had done something which clearly I would never be able to do in front of you.”

“So you mean you saw me? Oh gosh,” she paused, to breath. “If you saw me, why didn’t you approach me?”

“Well I was too ashamed to face you after you heard me sing. I mean I know you were clueless that that song was for you but you can’t really blame me. When I see you I just can’t help but be reminded that you’ve heard my feelings.” Soorin was really shocked hearing it. It was obvious on her face.

“The song was for me?” she asked, once she was able to think clearly again. Tears were welling in her eyes, but she did her best to suppress them in. She was clearly in a dream and sooner or later she would wake up from it.

“Believe me, when you left that day, I sum up my courage and followed you but when I got there you were already gone. So this time I can’t just let this chance slip away now, can I?”