Gleaming sunlight, striking flashlights, and fascinating sight of the landscape behind. Sitting in the middle of it all, right by the riverbank of Danube, a woman in lilac embroidered tulle dress blended in one with the autumn scenery of the fallen leaves and empty branches. She was full of bliss as her midnight locks, swayed by the wind blows, tied in a half updo and fell just right above the trimmed bits of diamond along her waistline. She was the moment of the time; beautifully endless with her elegant presence.
Opposite her, another woman, more older, in all black formal attire, sat straight with her eyes holding the gaze as they interacted in happy and friendly vibes. She sought truth, and the truth only, from the younger one who caught the attention of the people in circling crowds which were near them. With all cameras still standing by for the two, the talk finally came to a definite end.
"It's been such a delightful conversation with you, Ms. Bae. I must say that this is my greatest time to be here, enjoying the breezy day, with the World Best Soprano."
Rona gracefully smiled at that. She said, "It is a joy for me too, Fi. The last time we talked like this, I was still new in the industry. I must say that this is all because of you and the crew for kindly guiding me all the time."
Mirroring her, Frieda returned the same favor and feeling, "The pleasure is all mine, Ms. Bae" which earned a soft chuckle from Rona.
"Now that we're really at the end of the interview, can I ask one last question for you? As a fitting wrap to commemorate this happy afternoon," Frieda said. She shifted closer as she was eager to know more about the young lady that grew up into a gorgeous woman on this day.
Rona nodded. "Of course. Please do tell me your curiosity, Fi."
Getting closer with wide smile, Frieda pointed out her left hand. "Can you tell us a bit about the shiny thing on your finger? Is that from the famous Mr. Perfectly Fine we've been seeing since your return from South Korea?" she asked. Glancing at the now shy woman, she emphasized more, "I suppose everyone has been wondering about him, precisely I am of course. Could you fill us with some sweets for today's interview, Ms. Rona Bae?"
At the mention of a certain someone, someone so dear and special to her fragile heart, Rona unknowingly smiled a little bright. She looked down to the silver band on her left finger, specifically the ring one. As she traced the cold metal on her warm skin, her memory went back to reminisce about the time. The time where it all took place.
Two years ago.
***
Autumn 2026
Staatsoper
Vienna, Austria
Busy day, busy night. It was one of those times wherein the city never seemed to stop for a while. The lamplight along the pavements to the grand carpet, till met the old but still majestic wooden door, in particular livened more than any other building. It was packed, with flashy vehicles on the outside as much as the people in fancy suits and dresses on the inside. Shining with no time to turn into a simple dim.
While they waited, feeling excited, for the Opening Night, they mingled with friends, partners, and lovers. The high painted ceiling that was no grander than the tall building cocooned them from the downpour, pouring light into the marble entrance of the main door. It was breathing life into the motionless portraits in a gold frame.
Until the gate finally opened to another wonder, it faded people into the harmony of silence. Drawing near to one spot, lighting with a single spotlight. A man and a piano tied down to a long run of bars, chords, and keys. The music.
At first, he started with a streak of strong press; dwelling in emotions with the tension he couldn't suppress. But despite the high end and notable touch to a certain key, it was flowing softly like a lullaby to a slumber sleep. Ear to ear, skin to skin, with every sense that couldn't help but awaken at the illusion dawn, he lured the audience in. He swiftly moved his long and delicate fingers on the tuts, along with strand by strand of his hair that was falling stiff due to his passionate liberty.
And as much as he charmed everyone at that moment, he was also trapped in his own melody. He was simply enchanted.
By the time he touched the last key on the piece, the hall swarmed in with applause. From standing to bowing, he was gifted with endless chanting for his marvelous playing. It eventually died down after he walked out, gradually with the red curtains shut him from his current reality.
Entering the narrow hallway on the backstage, the man strode past the crew with a solemn nod before coming into his room. With one step closed in, he exhaled the anxiety in relief. It was indeed a busy day, busy night.
"Geht es Ihnen gut, Herr?"
Approaching the man was a young woman dressed in black blazer and denim jeans. She handed a bottle of water and cell phone to the now seated man.
The man chugged the water half before answering, "I'm fine. Can you tell Gerald I'll pass the dinner? Inform him I'll come by his office tomorrow."
A woman of few words she is, she only nodded and quickly went out to deliver the message. Once again, the man was all alone in his serene room. While waiting for his manager to come back, he closed his eyes and rested his hands on the armrest. Letting all the weariness fell off his shoulders.
After a solid five minutes, the door reopened again to reveal someone. Someone whom he never expected to but always waiting for. Someone so dear and special to his broken heart.
"Seokhoon-ah."
For that man, Seokhoon, all it took was one call and one memory to know who it was.
"Rona-ya. What are you doing here?"
For that woman, Rona, all it took was one look and one memory to remember who they are again.
"I just thought someone will be upset if I don't visit them again without saying goodbye," Rona said as she walked up to the petrified man. She hugged a bucket of blue flowers in one hand, whereas the other took hold of his and gave a peck on the knuckle. "You did a good job today too, Joo Seokhoon."
Seokhoon stunned even more with her sweet gesture. All the fatigue he felt earlier went into the thin air, and all he felt now was more than happy. Slowly standing up from his seat, he took in all of her in a slow vision. How her usual curls turned to shimmering straight. How her lavender satin dress blanketed her thin frame in mesmerizing way.
And how her midnight eyes stared the same regards as him. Full of love without a thought of keeping it in anonymity. She was simply enchanting.
Breaking the knot, Seokhoon pulled her into his arms tight. He nuzzled his face to the crook of her neck like she did to him; breath in her fragrance. He mumbled, "Did you come here to see me? Did you have business in Vienna? Why didn't you call me? "
"It's a surprise. And I did visit the city to see you. Em told me you're playing an opening for a musical drama as a special guest," she replied.
"She did? I never thought my own manager will break the confidentiality of my schedule so easily," he murmured to the now laughing woman in his embrace. Loosening the grip but still keeping her close to him by the waist, Seokhoon asked, "How long are you going to stay?"
"Not long. I have to go back by tomorrow evening," Rona hummed. Her finger drew circles on Seokhoon's forearm as they still pressed close.
Seokhoon gaped, "That fast? You're gonna stay at my house, right?"
"No, I'm not. I already booked a night at Bristol."
"What? I told you to us--"
"Sie lügt, Sir," Emilia suddenly appeared on the front door and jumped in between them. She smiled at the two. "I sent her bag to your house this evening. You don't have to worry."
Rona squinted her eyes to Emilia, sending glare for laying off her scheme to fool her boyfriend. On the other hand, Seokhoon bit the inside of his mouth to hold the smile. He turned their attention by saying, "Did you already send my message to Gerald?"
"Yes, he received it very clearly."
"Good. I'm going home now."
***
The dark sky no longer teared up the city when the two lovers hopped into the car. They were sitting side by side in silence and feeling each other's body heat through the blurry bright building surrounding them, leaving the centuries behind. Like an old movie captured in a film camera with a hint of red and yellow strips to add the sunset effect.
And slowly, the oldies but luxurious history buildings turned into rundown ones and quiet neighborhoods. Far from the bustling city, the 23rd District welcomed her to a place called home. Liesing.
Spreading from the outskirts of Vienna Woods to the Wiener Becken, Liesing was the one Seokhoon chose to reside in for the rest of his career, and maybe whole life, in Austria. He bought an empty lot and built a two-story house for himself. When Rona asked for the reason, he simply answered, it is far, so far away.
Although she couldn't understand why he went to such difficulties when he owned an apartment in Vienna, she didn't ask furthermore as she thought there must be a hidden reason he couldn't share with her. They might be in a relationship, but it built up in the time they hid things from each other except for their mutual feelings. Thus, Rona took it all in a slow but steady approach. Just like he did.
"Do you want to eat dinner first or go straight to bed?" Seokhoon questioned as he flicked on the light in the living room.
After a lot of highways and turns, they finally arrived at the house. Walking from the porch, she met the living room and a narrow hall full of paintings on the left side. Through it, the hallway led straight to the dining room and open bar. The windows around it were the kind of pictures where the sunlight would hit the wooden floor at noon. And in the middle of two bedrooms opposite the dining table, the stairs ascended to an open space with books and a balcony with a green view. It wasn't big like his old house, the penthouse, but it was fit for him.
It felt just like what home is, with the scent of citrus and wood. The wall was plastered with white paint, and each corner adorned with pot plants. It was really his. Warm like him.
"You like the house?"
A bit embarrassed for staring so hard and wide, Rona solely nodded. She said, "I'll go straight to bed. Which bedroom can I use?"
"Here," Seokhoon opened the door on their left, revealing a room painted in sky blue. "There's a new toothbrush and fresh towel inside the cabinet in the bathroom. You can use it if you want."
"If you need something, just knock on my door," he said in which Rona smiled reassuringly at him.
Right after he left, Rona started to unpack her small luggage. She hung her coat inside the dresser, charged her phone on the nightstand, and put the rest of her clothes neatly in the bag. Making sure all her things were already tidy, she then headed to the bathroom with her nightgown. Drowning herself in a long warm bath.
As she swam her body and mind to the water, she gradually rested her eyes; drifting into sleep. But before she relaxed under the break, the black screen of her brain turned into her memories. The memory she tried to forget.
It was the past wherein she was still buried in misery. Where she was poor, hopeless and powerless. Where she was bullied verbally and physically. Where she always feels her tears more than her happiness. The nightmare.
It was a nightmare where all she could see was blood. More blood and death. Something she wanted to fight back but never seemed to fade.
Opening her shut eyes, Rona woke up in gasps and beads of sweat. Her irregular breath came fast and battled with her train of bad thoughts. Trying to find her equilibrium, she immediately rinsed her body, then wore the nightgown before wrapping her cardigan. Not minding her dampened hair, she left her room and knocked on Seokhoon's.
When there was no answer, she creaked it open to find the room empty. She looked around frantically as the anxiety surged in her again. Before she could call out his name, Seokhoon emerged from the bathroom. His eyes widened, looking shocked with the messed up state of her with their eyes locked.
"Can I sleep here with you?" she whispered. Her voice barely heard and her head hung low. She felt exposed with the weight of his stare, tearing her bare as she waited for him.
And when she thought the silence was the rejection he gave her, she found herself sitting on his bed.
Carefully, with so much care, Seokhoon turned on the dryer and drained off her hair. He brushed his fingers through it, not missing a single strand to dry. He focused himself on that, without a word to say. As if he also waited like her earlier. Waiting for her to explain.
While he did all could to hold what he demanded from her, Rona couldn't tell whether she should feel grateful or hurt by it. At the same time she wanted to hear him comforting her, she also longed for him to never know her vulnerability. She felt torn in both ways.
Until she was aware of the fallen tears he brushed on her cheeks. She broke down.
"Why are you crying? Did I do something wrong? Do you hate me being here with you? Please tell me."
In front of her, Seokhoon looked up as he sat down to his knees. He breathed out each word in strained voice, like he transferred half of her pain to sink him in through their intertwined hands. His eyes watered in worry whilst searching for any trances of answer from Rona's face. Taking her expression, and tracing the emotions from it.
"Are you regretting coming here?" he asked again. This time, he tightened the grip to make her focus on him.
"I'm not."
"Then, why?"
Rona shut her eyes. She swallowed down her fears as she felt it again. Her tears. "It was just a nightmare. A dream that will pass tomorrow morning."
"If it's a dream, then why are you crying?"
"Because it is real. Was."
"What was it about?"
"The past."
With just two words, Seokhoon knew. The dreading look on his face reflected the sorrow of hers. He knew how much the past hated them. How much it scarred both of their hearts and tore it apart from all the loss. It was part of the life that will never seem to let them escape. It will never be.
"Sometimes, I always thought that we'll never get the ending we want," Rona began. "Seven years, Seokhoon. For seven years we've known each other, it was full of pain rather than bliss. Full of goodbyes.
"In all those seven years, I never thought of hating you. Never once did I. Even when you saw me as a bet, left me alone, lied to me, and broke up with me, there was none of hatred I could feel for you. Not even blaming you for adults' fault. For their choices.
"Then, I lost my mother. In just weeks we spent, I suddenly lost her in one night. Because of my choice, my decision for thinking what's right for me to decide at that moment. And I blamed myself all the time, all the single time, whenever I saw her portrait in my living room."
Rona stopped for a while, wiping her tears and Seokhoon. She hated herself for making him helpless as he waited for her to finish. Sucking the air in long, she sighed, "But you were there for me. You reminded me it was never mine. It was all the adults'. You said all the things I did for you when we got back. Even after you left again, I always repeated your words. Always thought of you.
"So, when it was finally over, the weight I felt on my shoulders were gone. Like it was never there in the beginning. I was happy, content, with Jenny and her mother by my side. With Seokkyung and Minhyuk. Mostly, with you.
"You make me happy, Seokhoon," Rona whispered.
There was a hole in Seokhoon's chest when he heard her. He should have filled with an enormous amount of joy from her statement. But rather than that, the sad tone rang on hers hinted him something he wished he never hear.
"You make me happy, but I don't think I'm ready to return it back to you. Not when I'm still stuck in my own past whenever I see you."
It was never the answer he wishes to hear. To listen. "Why are you telling me this?" he said. He already let go of their hands, buried himself to his palms. Despised himself for the only one who wanted more in the future to hold them.
"Because I saw the look you gave me when I opened your gift. When I clutched my hand to your key's house. When I stood in your house and looked around it," she exhaled. "I saw you picturing me here with you. Forever.
"And I don't think I can forgive myself if the future holds no meaning for me at this moment. I never will."