Chapter 23 – Sweet Melody

DAY6 was finally making a comeback and we were already more than halfway the web drama shoot.

A lot had changed since the night I confessed my feelings to Young Hyun, but we agreed that we weren't dating. Nope. Just mutual understanding. No label, whatsoever.

Like any My Day, I had also been waiting for their comeback album. They had neither shown me their music video nor let me hear their main track ahead of their scheduled comeback. So I was patiently waiting until that day.

The release of their music video was at 12 noon, so at lunch break, I immediately ran off the Studio Dragon editing room and went to watch the MV from my phone. We did not have a shoot for that morning since DAY6 had recordings for two music shows.

The song was titled, Sweet Melody. The genre was pop-rock with an exceptional guitar plays of Jae and drum beats of Dowoon, but my favorite part was Young Hyun's bass solo as the song's bridge. I couldn't understand the lyrics, but thanks to the available English subtitle, I was able to get what Jae told me, "You'll know what I mean once you hear our new song. I'm telling you."

You're my sweet melody,

My ultimate harmony,

Without you, this song is incomplete

Like a winter without snow

And summer nights drown by rain.

I loved the chorus, but the part that made my heart skip a beat was this:

It's been months since we met

And every day I fall for you

Like a love song on repeat.

I don't know when it started

But I just found myself

Longing to hear you every day

Like an addictive radio melody.

I played the music video for the whole lunch break and listened to the song on iTunes for the rest of the afternoon until I went to the set. DAY6 was already there when I arrived and I immediately approached them.

"PD-nim, have you watched it already?" Was Jae's greeting.

I acted as if I didn't know what he was talking about. "Watch what exactly?"

"Waa…Jinjja?" Young Hyun reacted. ���You really forgot it's our comeback today?"

I faked my surprise and fooled them further. "Oh." I was trying hard not to laugh. "Oh. I forgot. What day is it today again?"

I checked my phone's calendar for and faked another, "Oh."

My acting was perfect. They did not even suspect I was fooling them. Young Hyun looked really annoyed while the rest were muttering how I forgot about their comeback. That was when I cracked to a laugh.

They stared at me confused, so I finally said, "Got ya."

They finally laughed as well.

"Ya, PD-nim, you totally fooled us!" Jae complained.

Young Hyun was smiling and shaking his head. He probably couldn't believe my acting.

"How would I miss your comeback? Remember, I'm your fan."

We began the shoot after fooling around. It ended late again because we had to move locations and shoot scenes at night. After I called, "let's wrap up for today", Young Hyun was already beside me.

"We'll have a group dinner. Would you like to come?"

"Do I have a choice?"

So I left the set with DAY6, Manager Kim and their stylists. As usual, we were so loud like a bunch of kids that I worried Manager Kim might suffer a headache. But he was cool with the noise.

The dinner was fun, except for one thing: I saw again the old American man I had bumped into before in another restaurant. It wasn't the second time I saw him though. It was actually as if, he was following me. I always saw him wherever we were that it had become creepy. I never said it to anyone though, afraid that it might worry the people around me. I just became more cautious.

"You like our music video?" Dowoon suddenly asked when we were talking about their new songs.

I nodded and smiled. "It's great!"

"Did you like it? Or is it more than like?" There was Jae again teasing me with those.

"Shut up," I warned him, but they only laughed.

"It's probably love," Young Hyun added which just annoyed me more. They had been teasing me with those since that day.

"Stop it, really or I'll flip this table."

But they just teased me more. Oh, my life.

We finished dinner with me at the end of their never-ending teasing.

Manager Kim and the rest of their staff left first. The DAY6 members went out of the restaurant with me shortly after. I sent them off first, but Young Hyun stayed with me. He said he would accompany me on my way home. It had been our usual setup because he said he was afraid I would get lost again. As if.

"Are you cold?" He asked when he saw me closed my jacket's zipper.

"No. I'm fine."

"Want a hug?" He grinned and opened his arms wide.

I just laughed.

Someone came out of the restaurant which caught my attention. I turned around and saw the old American man. He was looking at us, so I looked away and faced Young Hyun.

"Come on. It's getting late." I told him, but he did not budge. He was staring at the man.

"Haven't you noticed anything?" He asked me while still looking at the man.

"Noticed what? Come on." I held his arm to guide him away from there, but he would not really leave.

"Wait here." He walked towards the man!

"Brian!" I called him through gritted teeth. I didn't want the old man to know that we noticed him.

But Young Hyun had already approached the man, so I had no choice, but to follow him.

"Excuse me, Sir, but it's not the first time you saw us, right?" He asked the man. "In fact, have you been following us?"

The old man was obviously surprised by his direct questions.

"Oh. Uhh..." Then the old man looked at me. I could not understand, but I thought I saw sadness and longing in his eyes.

And something I could not explain suddenly just stirred inside me at that moment.

"I'm Marcus," he introduced himself. "Marcus Steins."

I didn't expect that.

I looked away from him and tugged Young Hyun's jacket's sleeve. "Come on."

This time, he let me pulled him away from there.

The American man called, "Kristina!"

Without looking back, I muttered to myself, "I'm not Kristina. Dammit."

Good thing, a taxi unloaded passengers in front of the restaurant, so we were able to get a ride immediately. When we got inside the taxi, I finally got out the strange feeling through tears.

"Hey." Young Hyun pulled me closer to him. He held my hand and didn't let go until we arrived at my apartment.

When we got there, I already calmed somehow.

"Do you like me to stay for the night?" He asked, well, more like offered.

But I shook my head and smiled. "It's fine. I'm fine. You should go. The taxi meter is running."

The taxi was waiting for him.

He stared at me for seconds, then finally said, "okay" and pulled me for a quick peck on the forehead. My heart skipped another beat.

"Call me when you need anything." He said and waved goodbye at me.

I nodded and waved back at him. He took his right hand from his jacket's pocket and made a finger heart. I laughed at his silliness. I only went up to my unit when I saw him went in the taxi.

But when I was alone, I thought about what happened outside the restaurant a while ago. I knew by guts that the American man was the man who left the woman who bore me. My father.