“You ready for the big day tomorrow?”

“Yeah, ready as I’ll ever be,”

She impatiently checked her clock, wanting to go to sleep, but fully knowing she wouldn’t get any.

“You sure? You look nervous,”

Her stomach churned at the words.

She just wanted to ignore it all for a bit and sleep.

“I’m not nervous,”

“Seulgi,” a pair of arms wrapped around her waist, a chin resting at the top of her head, “All you do is sit in your art room and paint,” the words almost sounded harsh to her.

Because I still feel her in there.

“You’ve worked so hard every show and this one will end the exhibit’s time nicely,” he kissed the top of her head softly.

Seulgi relaxed at his touch.

It was normal, but that was all it was ever going to be.

“And you know what happens after the last exhibit showing,” he looked down at her.

She almost had to force out a smile, “Of course I do,”

“Good,” his smile was bright, but nothing like hers, “I love you,”

“I know,” and those were the only words she could muster back.

Seulgi went to bed that night telling herself that she was tired and that’s why she couldn’t say the words back, just like all the other times before.

Because Seulgi would never be able to say that it was because she still loved Wendy…

And she couldn’t handle that Wendy never came back.

---

They're playing our song

They're playing our song

Can you see the lights?

Can you hear the hum,

of our song?

“Seulgi please, we have to leave,” Joy stood in front of Seulgi.

Joy didn’t get an answer.

“Seulgi, get up, she’s not here,” Joy said again, her voice sad and almost angry that her best friend was left like this.

“She’ll come,” Seulgi said quietly and firmly, as she sat down in one of the corners of the art gallery, knees curled up to her chest, “She wouldn’t miss it for the world,” The words Irene told her kept her holding on to her slim chances.

“It’s been three hours since the exhibit ended, she missed it Seulgi,” Joy was on the verge of tears, “Seulgi, please don’t do this to yourself, there’s always tomorrow,”

“She isn’t going to miss it if I’m still here, she might come today,” her voice was shaky and desperate.

This was her last chance, and her time was ticking by.

She had to come back. Seulgi wouldn’t stand for it if she didn’t.

“So what do I come back to?” Wendy looked at Seulgi.

“Me,” Seulgi said a beat too fast, breath stuck in once again, “You can come back to me,”

Their first date was clear in her mind, her words still true now.

Wendy could come back to her.

Always.

“For god’s sake Seulgi, she isn’t coming back!” Joy snapped at her.

Seulgi looked up at Joy, a look of disbelief on her face.

“Seulgi I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—“

“Get out,”

“Seulgi, please… let’s just go home and—“

“Get out!”

And Seulgi was alone.

---

I hope they get it right
I hope we dance tonight
Before we, get it wrong

Sitting alone surrounded by her art felt like being chained down.

Every single she made with her paint brushes was because of her.

It was all her.

Seulgi needed her.

She couldn’t even look at her own paintings without letting tears spill almost violently. Her hands shook and burned as she sobbed, her mind thinking about their goodbye.

It was far too sudden, too quick and it was sharp.

Their goodbye cut right through her and the scar was nowhere near healing.

Her pain had no end just like her love for Wendy.

I was swimming
My eyes were dark
'til you woke me
And told me that opening
is just the start
It was

With shaky hands, Seulgi took out her phone and called Wendy one last time.

She listened to every ring, hoping Wendy’s voice would follow after each one, but it never did, and Seulgi’s tears only fell faster. When Seulgi was sent to voicemail she stayed quiet for a bit.

She breathed in deeply and cleared .

“Hey,”’ she laughed, almost bitterly.

“I uh…” she stuttered, not knowing what to say anymore, all her previous of voice messages was her begging Wendy to come back, “This is probably my last chance to see you again, and I just wanted to call you because I don’t know what to do anymore…” she didn’t know what to say either.

Her eyes landed on one of her paintings, “Hey remember that time we went to Seoul Tower?” she suddenly started, “I don’t think you realize it but I really couldn’t stop staring at you, you know? The sky was reflected in your eyes and I just… I think I fell in love,” she let out a small laugh, “This is weird, you’re supposed to be the cheesy one,”

This voice message was nothing like the ones Seulgi sent before.

“You were right you know, I’m a lovestruck fool… I still am ,”

Soil and six feet under
Kept just like we were
Before you knew you'd know me
and you know me

Her eyes landed on another painting.

“I never told you how much I loved your voice,” Seulgi held back tears, “I mean, I told you every day, but I feel like I never told you enough. I like how you used to sing for me, you would hold my hand or play with my hair or something, right? Right,” Seulgi continued as she was having an actual conversation, “I miss it… I wish I could hear it one last time. I wish I could hold you again too, I miss that,”

She looked at one last painting.

“I miss you Seungwan…” She looked at the last paper airplane that was lying aimlessly beside her, “I love you,” her voice became unstable, she started to cry again, “I love you so, so much,” she almost sobbed the words, “Please don’t break your promise Seungwan, it’s the one thing we haven’t broken yet,”

---

Blooming up from the ground
3 rounds and a sound
Like whispering "you know me.
You know me,”

“Miss Kang Seulgi?”

Seulgi turned around, and was met with someone she’s seen before.

It was another art student, she’s seen him around, but that’s about it.

He had a disheveled look to him, and had a pile of messy paper in his arms, just like usual.

Seulgi inwardly sighed.

She had to kick him out, the exhibit didn’t open for another two hours. Plus it was only 10 AM, and Seulgi had a major headache from crying last night, she didn’t want to be around anyone.

She wasn’t up for much conversation either, so kicking him out because the exhibit hadn’t started was a much safer excuse that “Yes, hi, hello, I’m extremely heartbroken right now and I feel shattered and very emotionally unstable. For the sake of the both of us, please leave.”

“The second day of the exhibit hasn’t started yet, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” Seulgi politely told him.

“No, wait!” he said way too suddenly and weirded Seulgi out, “Sorry…” he mumbled, “I just wanted to say congratulations on your exhibit, I wasn’t able to make it yesterday and I won’t be able to make it later today either…”

“Oh, thank you,” she bowed politely, silently hoping he would leave, why was even here? There was no purpose of him just coming to greet her so abruptly like that. She didn’t need this guy around.

She needed her.

“You must live a beautiful life,”

“Pardon?” The statement caught Seulgi off guard.

What was that supposed to mean?

Seulgi felt like he was breaking her privacy a little.

“Is your art inspired by things in your life?” he said comfortably as he let himself look around and take quick looks of the art, “Masterpieces like this usually are,”

Seulgi couldn’t answer.

She didn’t want to answer.

Her life was beautiful.

She was beautiful.

She still is beautiful.

“Yeah?” he looked back at her with a smile.

He awkwardly cleared his throat when Seulgi didn’t return it.

“Seulgi-ssi, could I interview you?”

“What for?” she really didn’t know where this guy was going. This was too out of the blue for her. It was starting to annoy her.

“You put a lot of emotion and thought into your work, and as an art therapy student, I’d like to see what and how you created all of this,”

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I can—“

“Not ready?”

She wasn’t.

How could she ever tell someone she barely knew about the person who took her heart away and may not come back?

Of course she wasn’t, and it was obvious. The boy was an art therapy student for goodness sakes, he probably read her perfectly the moment he walked in.

“It’s fine, if you’re ever ready, just come over for an interview,” he smiled politely at her.

Seulgi couldn’t help but compare her first meeting with this guy to her first encounter with Wendy.

They were so different.

Everyone who looked at her paintings was so different from Wendy.

And yet Seulgi tried to look for her in every single person.

“I’m Lee Jaehwan by the way, I’ll see you around,”

---

So this was our song
This was our song.
I still see the lights
I can see them

Seulgi was sitting back at that corner, tears falling, curled up and the paper airplane still beside her.

Wendy didn’t come the second day of the exhibit either.

“I love her…”

“She loved me…”

Every memory and every moment she could remember, she painted on those canvases and sketched onto notepads. It made her exhibit. It was her exhibit.

All of those didn’t matter.

The one person Seulgi hoped would see them didn’t come.

All she needed to do was see them.

Wendy could’ve given them a glance and give Seulgi one last smile, one last goodbye, and it would’ve been enough.

Because if they were meant to say goodbye, they deserved a proper one.

Everything they did, everything they made, everything they are—it all deserved a proper goodbye.

One last time.

That’s all Seulgi needed.

She wanted to see her smile, the one that made the cosmos look dull. She wanted to hear her voice, the one that would sing her to sleep. She wanted to look into those eyes, the ones that looked at her like she was loved. She wanted to hold her hand, the one that kept her warm. She wanted to feel her hold her close, like she was safe. She wanted to tell her she loved her, like all the times she did before.

Seulgi wanted to see her.

The girl that made her fall in love.

The one who told her that she would be a lovestruck fool on a tower not too long ago and was completely right about it. The one who told her to turn down her music and actually got her to do it. The one who sang to her like she was all she had. The one who ran around art galleries like they were flying. The one who took her into a room of unappreciated art and kissed her like it’s all she ever wanted to do. The one who asked her if it was okay to fall in love with her like she was scared to take it for granted. The one who made her one last promise. The one that suddenly left, leaving no goodbyes. The one who showed her a part of her heart that she never knew she had.

The one she needed one last time.

---

Joy rushed around the art exhibit, maneuvering through what seemed to be an endless sea of people.

Seulgi had become quite the famous artist with just this set of art.

Her next exhibit would be an even bigger hit for sure.

Everyone in Korea knew her and millions more worldwide. She was the next big thing in the art industry and just about everyone wanted to be around her.

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