HEART LIES

AGE OF YOUTH

Sa-rang told him to stay away, but Ji-Seong could not.

The man had finally caught up to her after chasing her all his life.

Sa-rang was the only one, and no matter what, Ji-Seong desired to be with her to the very end.

Now in front of the open door of Sa-rang's apartment, the man's heart bleed.

"Excuse me, is the tenant moving out?"

"Oh, the woman left a while ago. We're just moving her things out. The apartment is already sold."

"Did the tenant say where she was going?"

"No, she just told us to throw everything away. Rich people are so weird, I mean, they could give them away and stuff, but now they prefer throwing them away."

Ji-Seong no longer listened; his eyes scanned the apartment. The memories shared in the studio were disappearing with every object the men took.

Ji-Seong's breath hitched and shortened; he was hyperventilating.

Shock.

Nothing ever prepares one for heartbreak; Ji-Seong's heart crumbled like his knees to the floor.

"Are you alright?" One of the movers asked.

"Qwenchana."

The words came out in a hurry, but Ji-Seong was anything but fine.

"Sa rang," Ji-Seong whispered as he gripped his chest where his heart crashed against his rib cage.

The sound of cracking glass grabbed Ji-Seong's attention.

"Be careful," send the old mover to the younger man who appeared to be his apprentice.

"Sorry, it's just a photo, besides if she wanted it, she would have taken the photo with her," the young man said as he bent down to pick up the print from the shattered glass. "wha, she was a beauty when she was young," the man exclaimed.

Ji-Seong got up and rushed to the man's side; there, Sa rang was in the mover's hands. Young Sa rang posed in the photo as beautiful as always.

"Can I have it?" Ji-Seong asked.

The younger man looked at Ji-Seong; it was only now he wondered who he was, "are you a relative?"

The question took Ji-Seong of a guard; he did not know what to reply, "ㅡI'mㅡ."

"He's her lover."

Everyone in the room turned to stare at the unbashful Soo Hae, who pushed up her round glasses before licking her lollipop.

The two movers stared at Ji-Seong.

It was a first. Never during their whole relationship had Ji-Seong affirmed their status. Here in front of these strangers, he felt no shame; on the contrary, pride overwhelmed him. "Yes, I'm her lover."

"But you'reㅡ."

"Young enough to be her son," the older mover said. He shook his head in disapproval, but Ji-Seong did not care. He snatched the photo from the younger man and headed to the door, where he grabbed Soo Hae by the arm.

"Omo, Ji-Seong, I didn't know we were this intimate."

The woman's remark made Ji-Seong let go," sorry, I don't know where my head is these days."

"You can say that again, where did the suave and sultry-voiced Ji-Seong go, the knight of all damsels?"

"You know as well as I do that there's only one damsel I wish to save."