Yoon Seri posts an inquiry about the mysterious piano song she heard in Iseltwald on an Internet forum and an anon commenter picks it up.
A Crash Landing on You AU fiction. #serihawky
Illustration by @chummychurri (Twitter)
Cover design by @edelweir...
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December 31, 2020, 11:29 PM Caffe Molinari, Jung-gu, Seoul
It was easy for Seo Dan to get out of the house on New Year's Eve, she only needed to tell her mother she's meeting with friends at the bar - something that her mother had been encouraging because she feared her daughter was not socializing or resting enough.
"Of course! Go meet with your friends!" Myeong-eun waved off, "Is Seri there?"
"No." Seo Dan said abruptly. "We don't have common friends."
Her destination was a small Italian cafe located in a flat-iron building in Jung-gu. It was cramped for her taste but there were no better alternatives in the area. She took a cab this time - more like she sent the driver home and hailed a taxi midway. No one else was supposed to know where she was going.
It was impossible to take reservations on New Year's Eve but Alberto somehow managed to talk to the chef and secure them the corner with the leather couches, the most comfortable seating in that cafe. She was early...and melancholic. Seo Dan was seriously questioning herself why she went home.
Time flowed slowly in America, but she had a boyfriend and she didn't live alone. Sure her mother took care of all her needs in Seoul to a point that she was almost spoonfed like a princess but this nurturing act removed the need to mingle with people. On the first day of the new year, Seo Dan had no one to say Happy New Year to.
Thoughts of her ex had darkened her mood recently. She had looked so much forward to celebrating the holidays with him and now he was likely spending them with someone else, someone she considered her equivalent of a 'bosom buddy.'
Not for the first time did Seo Dan open a mental spreadsheet in her head comparing herself to Yoon Seri, in terms of accomplishments, advantages and disadvantages, it was almost like a SWOT analysis. She had long admired her friend for her drive and business acumen that became the essence of Seri's Choice. Seri was always happy to share what she knew back when they were studying, telling Seo Dan they had to stick together. But Seo Dan would also like to think Seri picked up a few things from her. Seri did keep repeating how she loved Seo Dan's sense of style and personal branding. Seri then left the US to restart her business and struck gold while Seo Dan was not quite feeling like going home just yet. And just when Seo Dan thought it was time for her to go back, she lost everything that was precious to her and she was as lost as ever.
How she wished they could go back to those innocent times. Should she have gone home earlier or not? Should she have followed Jeong-hyeok wherever he went?
By the time Alberto joined her on the dot, she had already imbibed half a bottle of wine.
"Ms Seo Dan, you started without me?" Alberto deposited himself on the sofa before her.
Seo Dan did not seem to hear a word he said and kept drinking her present glass.
"Now, don't drink too fast." Alberto seized her bottle before she could reach for it again. "At least let me catch up..." He hailed for a wait staff to place his own order.
