Life in Switzerland

Dooly AU

She had come to Switzerland for a specific purpose. A goal that she never expressed aloud but when the director of the clinic had suggested that she go explore the country, go for a walk, listen to music, taste specialties, she had stared at her, as if the woman had lost her mind, and she had been very vocal about it.

However, here she was.

Walking by a lake after a classical music concert, vaguely wondering if her shoes were safe walking around like that. She had never been on a hike, unless walking through a fancy mall with an army of assistants was considered hiking.

She guessed that walking by a landscaped lake wasn't actually hiking per se, but as her eyes wandered over the turquoise waters, she had to admit that the scenery was breathtaking. She paused for a moment, her arms crossed, her gaze scanning the mountains, the shore, the pontoon, and a figure standing on it.

"Oh!"

It was the pianist who had closed the performance she had attended. She could have recognized his tall figure and broad shoulders anywhere, as embarrassing as it was.

Hands in his pockets, he was looking at the lake and seemed deep in thought. The wind swept his hair back, but a few strands fell over his forehead, and she wondered for a moment what he was thinking about.

He looked Korean, she thought, trying to remember his name. She remembered his fingers dancing with dexterity on the keyboard, she remembered how his eyes were fixed in front of him, as if there was no one but him and this piano, and she remembered this melody.

It had touched her in a way she could never have imagined.

Even as she thought to herself that she shouldn't have come, even as she considered leaving the room, this melody had made her stay. Hypnotized, she could not describe what she had felt. As if the notes were speaking to her soul, as if they were healing something broken inside her, as if they were rekindling a long-forgotten feeling within her.

Hope.

He turned on his heels, and she blinked, snapping out of her thoughts just as he joined the path and walked away in the opposite direction.

Then he stopped. And turned.

Their eyes met and she held her breath.

Time seemed to have frozen, the sounds around them faded, and there was only him and her.

She suddenly remembered.

Ri Jeong-hyeok.

It was his name.