Chapter 11: Amnesia

"I wish that I could wake up with amnesia, and forget about the stupid little things.
Like the way it felt to fall asleep next to you, and the memories I never can escape."

“Oh, it’s you again. It definitely has been a while. What are you up to these days?” YeonAe asked with a raised eyebrow to the mysterious boy whom she encountered quite a few days ago. She crossed her arms and tipped her head to the side, “I didn’t expect to see you again though. What can I do for you?”

The boy glared at her slightly. “I told you to do just one simple thing, yet you can’t even do it. Don’t you understand what I said the other day? Or perhaps you don’t have a clue about what you’re supposed to do or how you’re supposed to do it?” He snapped.

“So you’re saying that I’m stupid.” YeonAe countered, and nodded her head afterwards with a small shrug. “Well, maybe I am stupid. But I just don’t understand one small thing though. Why do you want me to stay away from TaeHyung that much?”

The boy scowled at her and rolled his eyes. “There is no need for you to know that. What you should know by now is stay away from TaeHyung and that’s that.”

YeonAe frowned at the boy in front of her and stood with arms akimbo. “I kind of figured that you won’t tell me anything. Should I ask TaeHyung about this?”

“You wouldn’t get anything by asking him.”

“Then I suppose you should tell me the reason why. Someone has got to tell me what is going on and why am I supposed to stay away from him! Even though I never wanted to hang around with him in the first place but when someone tells me to stay away from him, I’d like to know the reason why, especially since he was-” YeonAe stopped herself, from spilling needless information to this stranger.

The boy sighed and an irritated look formed on his face, clearly showing that he didn’t want to deal with this nonsense at the moment. “Why are you being so stubborn? Also, it’s not like you two are friends to begin with so why do you make it such a big deal to keep your distance from him?” He asked with a tight look on his face.

But he wasn’t the only one who was getting livid now. YeonAe was too, and he not wanting to give her any valid reasons was actually driving her crazy. “Listen here, buddy.” YeonAe said, barely having any patience left. She would’ve just walked away but she doubted that that would stop this boy from approaching her and tell her to keep away from TaeHyung without giving her the reason why. And she hated it when a stranger kept telling her what to do.

“For one, yes, TaeHyung and I are not friends, never will be, perhaps. But if you’re telling me to keep my distance away from him, then you have to tell me why. He was a good friend to someone who was dear to me and if he intended to bring me harm, then I should’ve known. In fact, if I had to choose whom to trust, I would rather choose him because somehow or rather, we have something in common. However, I don’t know who you are. I’ve only met you a couple of times including this very meeting and for all I know, you’re the one with the bad intention. So if you want to prove to me that I’m wrong, start talking.”

YeonAe had actually hoped that the boy would finally give her the answer, and stop their fight once and for all. She didn’t particularly fancy the idea of being in conflict with a stranger, nor did she want to give in and just do as she’d told.

“If you can’t tell me what’s going on, I’m just going to assume that all is well, that this conversation never took place and carry on with my life as usual. Am I right to assume that you’re perhaps TaeHyung’s enemy or something? What do you actually have against the guy?” YeonAe kept asking, but of course, no answer was forthcoming from the boy.

Eventually, the boy only gave her a very cold look and said, “Do whatever you want. I’m done.” And with that, he walked away.

YeonAe trailed after him with her eyes, and sighed. In the end, she still didn’t get the answer but she couldn’t care less. This person could be just anyone and she can’t just simply do what he wanted. “That makes the two of us, buddy.” YeonAe mumbled. “I’m done too. Let’s never see each other again.”

Once the sight of him was gone, YeonAe took a deep breath, and began her journey home. The weather was chilly, and YeonAe hugged herself with her sweater that was no longer able to keep her warm enough. Maybe she needed to get a new one later in one of these days.

Her mind was far afield, that she didn’t realize she had already reached home. Regardless of it was still rather cold, YeonAe headed to the rooftop first instead of going inside her house straight away. By some means, she wanted to spend some time alone up there, even though no matter where she went, she was already alone.

Up on the rooftop there she sat, with a blanket draped over her shoulders as she rested her chins on her knees, closing her eyes then while letting the cool breeze brush against her cheeks. She was at a complete serenity, and the sound of the wind was just like soft music to her ears, putting her mind at ease and for once, she didn’t think about anything.

How nice would it be if she could be like this every day, instead of the girl who kept lingering in her sadness with grieve as her cloak, blocking any possible light to pass through. Sometimes, other people really made it sound easy to tell her to move on, and in fact that was she wanted to do the most.

Just then, the sound of a little girl crying from the ground floor made YeonAe open her eyes. The girl’s cry sounded so distressed that YeonAe can’t help but to look from the railings. From where she was, she saw a girl no more than four years old was on the floor while crying her eyes out. YeonAe knew the girl, she was one of her neighbor’s daughter and YeonAe ran into her sometimes.

YeonAe assumed that she fell and that she hurt herself, maybe a scratch on her knees that she couldn’t stand up properly. YeonAe felt sad to see her crying in pain, and was about to head to the door when a boy’s voice was heard.

“Are you okay, EunMyung? What happened to you?” YeonAe looked back from the railings and saw the little girl’s brother came to comfort her, probably after heard her howling. The brother was about 12 years old, if YeonAe wasn’t mistaken.

She only watched as the brother helped his sister, EunMyung, to stand before checking for any injuries. The little girl was still sobbing, but her cries waned as her brother began saying something, which was probably funny, because she laughed afterwards. It was as if she’d forgotten about her pain, even though YeonAe could somewhat see some red marks on her knees.

YeonAe unknowingly smiled to herself while watching the two, as the little girl kept chuckling and the brother kept trying to cheer her up by saying some hilarious things. He carried her on his back and took her inside the house to treat her wounds, but YeonAe could still hear her laughin