BGM for the memory: Hold Me - Eric Nam

Mae breathed in, mentally going through the conversation she'll have with her sister before uttering her first word.

"Will you stop me?" she asked after a brief silence while taking off her earrings, expressionless.

"Depends," Caroline answered as she took a bite of the apple, filling in the silence they are having every now and then with her munching sound.

"You won't." Her voice was surprisingly confident. She slowly walked towards the sofa and sat beside Caroline.

"Oh?" Caroline tilted her head to face Mae.

"We broke up." Mae turned her face to avoid her gaze, eyes staring into nothingness.

Caroline raised her brows to this.

"Three years ago."

......

Mae was staring out of the bus window when her phone started to vibrate. Startled, she looked at the caller only to see her mother calling.

"Wei, Ma," she answered.

"Yan Lin, I heard you already got the acceptance letter for foundation course of McGill University. "

Her eyelashes twitched, she replied hesitantly, "Yes."

"Then why are you not coming back to China when you have nothing left to do in Korea?" Her mother's voice was firm, leaking a sense of dissatisfaction.

"I will, soon, you don't need to worry. It's just, I still have something to take care of," she said while resting her head against the glass window.

"What is there more important than you coming back to China? " Her mother asked. Mae could already imagine her mother sitting in her office with a stern face and her legs crossed, raising her eyebrows at the thought of her seemingly obedient but secretly rebellious daughter, forefinger slightly tapping the desk while waiting for her to answer.

Mae slightly bit her bottom lip, she knew that she couldn't lie to her mother, this woman is a human lie detector, so she just hastily hung up the phone: "Ma, I have to go, the bus is here, I'll talk to you later. Bye! "

Mae breathed out, she knew she didn't have much time left in Seoul anymore. 

She took out a mirror to check her make-up, ensuring that it's perfect and not smudged. She put on her shades before exiting the bus when it stopped near Mangwon Hangang Park.

Under the summer Sun, her hair hued golden, her ponytail bounced as she moved forward.

She stopped near a basketball court, eyes searching for Min Cheol. He was among the other youngsters in their late teens, wearing a red jersey, soaked in sweat. His bangs were pushed back with a headband, showing only half of his forehead.

She sat down on a bench in front of the court where she found Min Cheol's backpack. She put on her headphone and turned the music on while watching him.

It didn't take long for his game to end.

Mae handed him a bottle of water as soon as he sat down beside her. Mae hung her earphone down her neck, gazing at Min Cheol silently through her shades as he gulped the water.

"Are you hungry?" she asked while eyeing him.

"Are you?" He looked back. His deep metallic voice hid a spell that had the power to pull her heartstrings.

She didn't reply right away as she caught his eyes lingering on her more than he should, scanning her from head to toe, pausing while looking at her bare legs.

"Let's eat somewhere." She stood up, her long sun shirt interrupting his view.

"Sure." He withdrew his gaze and put the backpack on his shoulder.

They maintained a distance while moving out of the park as Mae led the way.

The summer wind blew the hem of her shirt. Min Cheol narrowed his eyes to look at Mae's back that seemed to be hiding something. However, he didn't put much thought into it, if she has anything to say, she'll say it herself.

The silence between them didn't break until they finally sat in a restaurant.

"We could go somewhere cheaper, you know my situation." Disapproval leaked through Min Cheol's eyes as he glanced around the restaurant they were in.

The place was decorated with wine glasses on the ceiling, the dim lighting shone down from the mini chandeliers, casting the space in a shade of golden.

"I'll pay, you don't need to worry," Mae said from behind the menu.

"That's the thing, I don't want my girlfriend to pay every time we eat out." He crossed his arms as he looked at her.

"Can we not argue every time we meet each other already?" She put her menu down to look at him, her eyebrows twisted together.

"When was the last time we saw each other?" she asked. He could see the frustration leaking out of the eyes that are now glaring at him.

He didn't reply, he lost count, the trainee life has been both mentally and physically hard for him. He would even forget to reply to her texts in the rush. How would he remember when was the last time they met when all that he had on his mind is to practice more and more to improve himself? They both knew how everything that has been going on in their lives has been tearing them apart but they both decided to avoid talking about it.

"Two months ago, " she uttered, and repeated again, "two months."

That too, in your graduation ceremony. She thought silently.

He didn't say a word, instead, he just stared at her with a blank face, waiting for her to finish.

"I'll be leaving soon, I need to go back home, in China, at least two months before going to university. So, will you please, will you please just spend some more time with me?" She felt like there's a lump rising up her throat as she continued, her voice became lower and lower.

"I don't really mind long distance relationships." He finally spoke up, shrugging his shoulder.

"In fact, I think it'll be better for us." He added after a moment of silence.

She looked at him unbelievably. Her light brown eyes now shrouded in darkness.

They fell back in silence. It's not that they never tried to understand each other, but the void just grew bigger and bigger, it became way too hard to fill in the gap between them.

Mae barely ate anything on her plate, lost in her own thoughts. Min Cheol would look at her from time to time but didn't bother to say anything.

While paying the bill, Mae used greater force than she usually would, the friction between the paper and the pen was great. The receipt almost tore when she signed her name on it.

The waitress didn't say anything but Min Cheol caught her frowning, he nudged Mae to ask her to slow down. She did, but she could feel her tears welling up. Her nose became sore as she walked out of the diner, fastening her pace.

Min Cheol caught up and grabbed her wrist. He then slowly intertwined his fingers with hers when she finally slowed down. His skin was cold, triggering her tears to tremble down her cheeks.

She didn't look at him, trying to avoid his gaze, but he squeezed her hand and held her close to hug her. She rested her head on his shoulder, tears wet his clothes.

"Will you... Will you please stay with me tonight?" she muttered in a low, quivering voice.

He didn't reply instantly. He was calculating in his head whether the consequences of not going back to the dorm will be greater than leaving her alone.

The hands on his waist tightened, the sound of her sobbing swirled around his ears.

"Okay." He finally replied, sighing. His hands slowly brushing her hair, trying to comfort her.

It was not until an hour later, when they reached the hotel, that they realized what they did.

Mae bit her lips, waiting for Min Cheol to check in. She couldn't believe what they are doing but she didn't want to back out either. She sat on the lobby sofa fidgeting. Suddenly, remembering something, she texted Nancy: I'll be sleeping over at a friend's house today, don't wait for me.

Min Cheol came back to her holding the hotel room card, her hand trembled at the sudden appearance of his.

She stood up and followed him towards the elevator, there was another foreign family beside them. She felt self-conscious and hid her face behind his back.

Unlike her, he wasn't nervous at all or, at least, didn't seem to be. He held her hand and gently squeezed her soft palm.

Her lashes quivered. She looked up, eyeing him. Her ears tinted rosy.

The atmosphere became subtle.

The elevator opened, Min Cheol gestured the family to go first and waited for the second elevator to come down.

The lobby became quite, he leaned forward and stole a quick kiss from her.

The taste of his lips remained even after they parted.

She couldn't shift her gaze away from him, the golden light in the lobby reflected in her eyes.

Everything happened so naturally that it felt surreal to be here with him. As if it was a temporary magic cast by Cinderella's fairy godmother that once the clock hit twelve, everything will disappear and she'll have to face the misery again.

Wei(喂): Chinese people say it when they pick up the phone, or when they have to call someone. Works as both "Hello" and "Yah".

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And the BGM continues to the next chapter.