Remember Me, Darling

Lungern

A cold evening breeze welcomed Seri as she stepped out of the vehicle after the chauffeur opened the back passenger door for her. With her work phone firmly against her ear and her heels clicking against the marble floor of the hotel entrance, she ignored the stares she was garnering from the visitors loitering around and focused on the problems Hong Chang-sik was listing on the other end with regard to the bath and body line they were releasing the next week. She hated that she had to be on the other side of the globe while her company had to deal with the issues, but the event was a once-a-year showcase for her kids. She was not going to let them down and have some other representative come with them.

The foundation was a project that her father initiated several years ago, and she only found out about it when she was shadowing him way back in New York. It supported musically gifted kids financially and provided them with unique opportunities abroad to showcase their talents, and Seri felt no hesitation in joining in and heading the foundation in her father's behalf, given that the latter already had his hands full. There, she met the most wonderful children whose dreams were held back by forces beyond their control and witnessed their talents being honed because of their teachers and their own efforts.

That year, three from her organization were invited to the music conference in Lungern and were all asked to prepare a piece to perform. In attendance were several representatives from schools all over the world, so to say that the kids were petrified was an understatement. She calmed them down and told them the story of a boy who had dreams just like they did, but unlike them, his military father wasn't supportive. Yet, he continued to pursue his goal of being a pianist and even studied at Juilliard on a scholarship. They asked her with wide eyes if he was a world renowned pianist now, and she gave them a firm smile and a yes despite being in the dark as well.

She went backstage after shaking hands and greeting the organizers who have invited her and received shaking hugs from the three. With a laugh, she tried her best not to let her tears fall as she proudly told them to break a leg and reminded them that her seat was near the front. They have all grown up in front of her eyes, and it was amazing to witness how far they have come. Finally, when they were all right to let her go, she went back to the event hall and found a man alone sitting on the table assigned to her as well.

And her heart stopped when she recognized who it was.

Her legs started to feel like lead, preventing her from taking another step, and her clammy hands gripped onto her clutch like a lifeline. He must have noticed her standing there from the corner of his eye and turned to look, and she saw the exact moment recognition settled on his features. The fact that the world seemed to have hushed into silence when their eyes met did not escape her, and her eyes began to well up with tears again from a completely different reason. He moved to stand up and welcome her, and instead of walking towards him, she found herself running the other direction.

Furiously wiping her rolling tears with the back of her hand, she tried to find the ladies' room for some privacy to calm herself down, but the winding hallways of the hotel and her lacking sense of direction did not help her predicament in the least. She heard his footsteps coming up from behind her and turned a corner only to find herself at a dead end. Once again, she questioned if it was her own fault that she was finding ways to purposely put herself in awkward situations with him or it was some ploy some bored being up above loved to witness and torment her with as long as she lived.

She sighed, leaning her forehead against the wall. "God, give me a break."

The echo of his footsteps stopped when he turned the corner and found her standing there. She took a deep breath and wiped away her tears, hoping that there weren't mascara streaks on her cheeks, but then again he found her in far more embarrassing situations. Crying was probably one of the least damaging much to her chagrin. She turned to face him only for her breath to catch at the sight of him closer than she anticipated, and she marveled at the fact that time had been extremely kind to him.