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The air was warm against my cheek. The summer had ended but the heat lingered like a stubborn heart refusing to see reason. In front of me beyond the wrought iron gates, stretched the steps to my new life but I stood frozen in place.
Mind can be so fickle, and this restless heart even more so. I had waited my entire life to leave my hometown and move to the city. I had dreamed of this college every night and here it was, ready to welcome me.
But I turned my gaze behind– the city quiet from this height. Beyond the mountains in the distance amidst the swirling roads that led to nowhere, my eyes searched for him.
Jaehyun...
It was two weeks after my high school graduation. I was working late in my dad's store for vinyl records. Just a few minutes before closing time, I heard the ding of the tiny bell fixed atop the door frame. He stumbled in, trying to frantically shut his umbrella which was dripping onto the carpeted floor. His brown pants were soaked at the bottom and his white shirt was wrinkled at the joints.
'That's alright,' I said and he looked up. Despite the umbrella, his hair was slightly damp and the tip of his nose was red. 'We are closing soon,' I told him. 'If you want to browse, I suggest you come back tomorrow morning.'
'Where is Mr. Ahn?' were the first words he spoke to me.
'Oh, Mr. Ahn- my dad, he fractured his leg,' I said, trying to keep my tone professional. 'I will be taking care of the shop in his absence.'
He finally managed to close his umbrella and left it by the window overlooking the street. 'Right,' he said, walking into the glow of the dimmed yellow lamp hanging from the ceiling above the counter. This close, I noticed that his cheeks were red too and wondered whether it was cold out that night.
'I am sorry to hear that,' he said, 'but by any chance did Mr. Ahn mention any Beatles record.'
'The Beatles...' I mumbled to myself and ducked behind the counter to inspect the cabinets. At the very top, wrapped neatly in a clear film was the record and stuck to it was a post-it that had the word 'paid' written in block letters and a name beside it.
'Jung...' I whispered, rising back to my feet to find the light, '...Jaehyun.' I recognized the name. 'You!' I turned to him. 'You are Jung Jaehyun?'
At my raised voice, his eyes widened but he replied as even as before, 'That's correct,' which angered me even more.
'Do you have any idea what you put my father through?' I yelled, my voice echoing through the empty shop. 'You keep making these insane demands for these godforsaken rare records that make my dad travel for days to find them. And now because of you, because of this precious record that you just had to have, he got his leg fractured in an accident on the road.'
'I- I had no idea,' Jaehyun said, his face devoid of all colour.
'Of course, you didn't!' I spat back, the thin record shaking between my trembling fingers. 'All you rich kids care about is your own convenience!'
