1.2 | Anemoia

7| seven

JaeHwan stared at his reflection in the tinted glass of his car, a faint picture of his face on the focus of shifting city lights beyond. "Please. One meal. I won't bother you after this." JaeHwan knew his mother was lying, she always did. He disliked how she had grown into a withered old shell of what she used to be once. A wasting form of elegance with no care of how she looked to others.

Your fault. JaeHwan clutched his steering wheel tighter. It's all your fault. You made us that way.

The signal went green and JaeHwan lifted his foot off the clutch, the engine slowly roaring into life. The cars ahead began to clear at a snail's pace, eliciting a few curses from his lips. JaeHwan pulled the compartment on his dashboard. There was an unopened pack of cigarettes, but JaeHwan couldn't risk opening it while driving. He had no choice but to grit his teeth and look ahead.

An old woman dragged herself through the zebra crossing, her back bent to reduce her height by a half and face haggard. Through the smoke, that was all JaeHwan saw. But then a young man, pale and wearing spectacles, ran backwards until he stood beside that old woman. JaeHwan smirked. What an idiot. Acting nonchalant, looking into his phone while clearly showing off how kind he was—

JaeHwan's heart skipped a beat.

It crescendoed like the beats of a soft tremor, growing and growing to be an earthquake in size. There was a film of restlessness, a jerk in his foot and a rhythm in his hands. It was only a moment before his thoughts turned livid and his fingertips froze. JaeHwan acted quicker than his demons. He stepped on the accelerator and swerved his car to a side, breath heavy and eyes blurry. Standing in front of that man.

That breathtaking man.

No. JaeHwan blinked. It can't be you. He had spent years in delusions, chasing the shadows of a living ghost and living in fond memories of his blue eyes. Tae HwaShin. So fucking mesmerizing. Standing before him in flesh and blood.

He turned around and gave JaeHwan a quiet nod. His face was unrecognizable, eyes icy and lackluster, lips pressed in a cold line and a deep frown between his eyebrows. But JaeHwan hadn't seen a human more beautiful than him. He cursed the way his throat went dry, hated the way his eyes widened, and despised how HwaShin infiltrated every corner of his existence by simply nodding.

JaeHwan pulled his car over at the next street.

HwaShin didn't remember him.

And he didn't remember Dr. Tae Shin.

❢◥ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◆ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◤❢

JaeHwan's heart thumped when he cornered Shin in the alley that night. "Hey. You've grown up well."

In the part of the city where the stars were still alive, JaeHwan found none in Shin's eyes. They'd all died. He looked older, mature, weighed by his responsibilities and nightmares. Did you live well?

"Ah," JaeHwan chuckled, taking the cigarette between his fingers and laughing in a low voice, "I almost forgot you don't like this." You did. Of course you did. You were happy on the phone. Why act so fucking grim before me?