Unforgettable You {Extraordinary You Sequel!}

Episode 21: Eun Dano

During Lunch, Dano observes Haru, Saemi and Oh Namju standing intensely beneath the big tree together. They're in a stage.

"What do you think they're talking about?" She asks Dohwa, fixating a stare on the scene that is unravelling before her eyes. But it doesn't take her long to avert her gaze, turning away from... him. "I mean, over there. Saemi and Namju."

Dohwa twists to look over his shoulder, following Dano's line of sight. He cocks his head and watches them, "Ahh, them?" He pauses for a moment. Dano watches as a small frown embeds itself between Dohwa's eyebrow—like he's really thinking about it. She turns fully to face him, expectations high. He finally shrugs, "Who cares?"

Dano sneers, "You idiot."

"What?" Dohwa takes a bite out of his wrap. "Anyway, it doesn't concern us. Really, it doesn't... although—to be honest—now that I think about it, we are around them a lot of the time, aren't we?"

"Whaddya mean?" Dano mutters sulkily, staring down at her food.

"I mean—every time something happens between any one of them, either between Haru and Saemi, or Saemi and Namju, I feel like..... I'm always..... there." Dohwa stops shortly. He's fallen unusually silent.

Dano looks up.

He turns and meets her eyes, his expression unfathomable. He blinks once, "I mean, that's not that strange, is it?"

Dano just stares at him.

"I mean... technically, we are around them all the time, every time something big happens between them. Like with Haru and Saemi's relationship. I was there in the Creative Writing lecture, and it was my bag that Saemi tripped on, and that's when Haru caught her, a-and... and with Oh Namju, I'm always the one covering for the two of them! When Namju wants to break away from class with her? Right? Right? A-And I don't even know why I do it. I..." he gasps. Panic licks in his eyes, "... I don't know why I do it. Am I crazy? Why would I do that? Dano, I feel weird. I... I feel strange lately—holy, what if I'm sick?" Dohwa startles himself by grabbing hold of his own hair. "Wait! What if something's actually wrong with me? I-It's just, none of this makes any sense. I thought half of it was a dream at first, but now really... the sounds, the sudden flashing, from here to there, and all over the place, and not remembering anything. And my mind doesn't have control over my own body? What if I really need to be on meds, or something, or-or-or I need to leave school because I need to be specially taken care of? Eun Dano... I think I'm going crazy..."

He stops talking suddenly. Dano still stares at him, blinking calmly. But she starts to smile despite herself. And then the smile turns into a grin, and then she wants to laugh.

Dohwa is very pale.

"Dano," he breathes "I.... I feel like we've had this conversation before—"

"You f*cking psycho, I knew it!" Dano hits Dohwa in the shoulder and then hits him again. He recoils, staring wide-eyed up at her. She's grinning so widely it feels like her face will explode. "I knew you were going to find your ego—you're just such a cool person, you know? It was inevitable. It had to happen."

"Whoa... Dano. What happened to your stutter?"

•••

WWHHS.

The stage ends. Haru lets go of Saemi's shoulders, from where he'd caught her fall; she had slipped backwards on some leaves, and the stage had ended as soon as Haru caught her, Saemi staring stunnedly up at him.

"H-Hey, you!" Namju sputters, his face pinking with real emotion as he stares at them. "Put her down! Are you crazy? You can't do that to her while we're in the middle of talking!"

But Haru has already let her go.

He whirls around. In the distance, he can just make out two figures sitting at a table across from each other. Dano's black wavy hair cascades over her shoulders as she scoops rice into her mouth, and Lee Dohwa—who for a split second, Haru had nearly mistakened for Baek Gyeong—eats something bundled. Dano reaches across the table and hits Dohwa in the shoulder, screaming something excitedly that's beyond Haru's earshot.

He starts towards them.

Saemi grabs his sleeve.

"Hey, where are you going?" She asks, sounding genuinely curious. "You haven't answered Namju's question yet."

"Yeah. But, I don't need to talk to him," Haru responds patiently, his eyes calm. But he's hiding a seething yearning to tear away from this whole situation and run to Dano. Dano... who seems to be the key to everything. "The stage is over."

Saemi frowns, "Stage?"

"I need to go now. I have something to do," Haru pulls Saemi's hand, as gently as he can while still quickly, off his clothing, and steps away. "I'll see you in the next stage, okay?"

And he leaves.

Dano is still there at the table. She is laughing now, beaming at Dohwa. A bitterness forms in Haru's stomach as he watches this; actually, it feels more sour. He wants Dano to look at him like that. Look at him...

He curses foully at himself.

What's wrong with him? Why is he so petty and pathetic recently? It seems so often nowadays that he wants to break Baek Gyeong's jaw, throw a chair at a wall, just because he hurts so much. It's driving him insane.

And he knows for sure that it's because of Dano. Eun Dano. Because.... he likes Dano.

This can be the only solution. He has never felt this way before. (Then again, he's a comic book character.) But.... still.... he didn't even have his ego until he saw Dano.

Until he laid eyes on her.

She was his beginning.

And because of that, because of all this, he can't let her be with Gyeong. Not outside the stage, at least. She needs to know what he has done. What he did in Secret, what he did in Trumpet Creeper. Everything he's done that has ever hurt her, and ever tried to keep her and Haru apart.

She has to know.

He shouts, "Eun Dan—"

KRRCHK.