NETIZEN

ZeRo-DaY II

Unable to support his gaze any longer, Soo Yeon turned away and got up.

She seemed to sober up and regain her composure as he tilted her head from side to side like a boxer ready for combat.

"Ahem," Jun Ho cleared his throat. He reflected on what he was thinking in the last few minutes.

He found no answer.

"What do you want from me, Jun Ho?"

Suspicious Soo Yeon had returned, her question caught the man off guard, "I want you to smile and be happy. I just want you to know I'm here."

"I told you, you can't bring her back," Soo Yeon said.

"And I told you I would not give up. I promised you I would never leave your side."

Silence filled the room leaving only the plop sound of the drops of water from Soo Yeon's kitchen sink.

Soo Yeon couldn't remember having such a conversation, but Jun Ho clearly remembered intertwining his pinky finger with a seven-year-old girl promising her to always be by her side.

The only problem Jun Ho had now was finding a way to keep his promise.

"It's getting late. I should leave, eat the cake, oh, eh-," Jun Ho said, and he reached into his pocket.

"I didn't know what to get you. The women in the shop said they're appropriate for a young woman's birthday," he put a small box on the table. Jun Ho wanted her to open it in front of him and see her gleaming eyes, but he resigned, thinking perhaps it will push her too far.

Jun Ho walked to the door to put on his shoes while Soo Yeon unwrapped the present. It was a pair of earrings; one earring represented the sun and the other a half-moon. Mismatched earrings were the trend.

A prickling sensation filled Soo Yeon's abdomen before knocking on her heart, slowly melting its glace walls; it hurt.

She got up and ran to the door as Jun Ho was opening it.

"감사합니다 [Thank you=Kamsahabnida]," she said, making the man turn to face her.

Soo Yeon smiled; it was authentic, not her twitch.

Even Jun Ho saw Hye Mi's smile; she was still there somewhere.

The door, the man, grinned to himself once the door closed; he was one more step closer to Hye Mi. As he got in his car, he replayed every moment of the evening in his mind.

"Seriously, Kang Jun Ho, get a grip on yourself. Who are you fooling?" he said to his reflection in his rearview mirror as he backed out of the parking space to drive away. Jun Ho cut off the engine as a thought invaded him.

Something happened in Hye Mi's apartment.

Jun Ho wasn't the only one experiencing the odd effect. The girl who sank behind her door after seeing him leave holding her present in hand had felt it too.

"Igeot, beogi? [what's this?] They both said, respectively, putting their hand on their heart.

Soo Yeon got up thinking it was some weird indigestion and went to her bathroom to try on the earrings before taking them off and placing them in their box, feeling ashamed of being slightly happy.

The phone rang; it was that unknown number again.

Soon Yeon wasn't in the mood to speak to her mother; she let the call enter voicemail. Only to feel guilty thinking, maybe her mother needed help. She accessed the message:

"Soo Yeon, happy birthday, I wish we could be together, but I respect your will to be alone. You have a gift from your father."

What was her mother talking about?