CHAPTER 5: AS WITH ALL THINGS, IT LINGERS
"LEE MI-RAE!!" Ji-na yells for what is apparently the fourth time. Mi-rae was so lost in her thoughts that she did not realize when Ji-na called her name multiple times, let alone when she returned from using the restroom.
As part of their plans for the break, Ji-na and Mi-rae decided to go on a short girls' trip to a little countryside village. They were sitting at a traditional restaurant. The floors and seats were made of wood, and pictures of what seemed like generations of the same family were hung up around the restaurant.
Mi-rae, being trapped in thoughts of her last encounter with Jae-hyuk after she discovered his identity, did not realize that Ji-na had returned from the restroom till Ji-na yelled Mi-rae's, startling both Mi-rae and everyone else seated at the restaurant.
Discovering he was a member of the very band they saw perform should have felt monumental, yet she couldn't shake the sense it meant nothing to him.
"Pull yourself together," Ji-na says with an expression of concern showing on her face. "Where has your mind been? You seem a bit more distracted these days. Is anything wrong? Is something going on that I should know?" Ji-na asks Mi-rae out of worry.
Mi-rae quickly puts on a quick smile and points half-heartedly at a random cat nestled under the giant pine tree in front of the restaurant. "That," Mi-rae says while pointing out the window to show Ji-na, "I was just looking at that. How cute!"
Ji-na turns around following the direction of Mi-rae's fingers but was disappointed at what she saw. Clearly, Mi-rae was making it up. "I know it is cute and all. Cats can never NOT be cute," Ji-na made it a fact to point out before asking further, "But seriously, I do not believe that is the reason why you have not been on earth for the past few minutes. Seriously, is there anything going on? If it is something that you can not tell me at the moment, at least let me know if you can handle it alone or just need me to provide support in any other way," Ji-na says to reassure Mi-rae.
"I promise I will tell you later but it is not anything dangerous or traumatic you should worry about," Mi-rae replies Ji-na, accepting the fact that she cannot lie or hide things from Ji-na because Ji-na knows her way too well.
Ji-na stares at Mi-rae for a minute before giving in. "Okay," Ji-na sighs. "But if you take too long to tell me I'm pulling out your hair strand by strand till the truth comes out." Ji-na threatens Mi-rae in a joking manner, holding out her chopsticks dramatically as a knife pointed at Mi-rae to get her point across.
Mi-rae chuckles and throws up both hands in the air, like a criminal surrendering to a cop after being caught. "Yes Sir," Mi-rae responds sternly but with a little snicker.
"Is it a boy problem? I hope this is a boy problem," Ji-na smartly asks trying to pry into Mi-rae with a bit of excitement at the possibility that Mi-rae might finally be in the dating sphere again.
"Ji-na, I promised I would tell you later. No more questions," Mi-rae replies catching on to Ji-na's tricks.
"Sure, Sure," Ji-na says, a bit sad about not finding out. "But seriously, if it is a boy problem and I am not there to help with it then that makes me very very sad." Ji-na says stretching out the words 'very very' to get her point across.
"We should hurry and eat before the food gets cold," Mi-rae says while quickly gobbling down her bowl of Jjimdak that they ordered earlier, as a way of moving on from the topic.
----
"Oh! It has been a while. He finally posted on Instagram." Ji-na exclaims while looking at her phone. She and Mi-rae decided to take a walk around the neighborhood after their meal as a way of exploring and also helping with their digestion after such a big meal.
"Who?" Mi-rae asks casually half-interested in what Ji-na said but rather focused on the locals quietly walking about being busy with different things. Mi-rae enjoyed people watching. Especially in places like this where life is slower, as compared to the business of Seoul.
"Jeon Jae-Hyuk" Ji-na says, which makes Mi-rae freeze suddenly.
"Woah, looks like the VTS members had a concert in Japan and we get to see the behind-the-scenes thanks to Jae-hyuk." Ji-na says while swiping through the pictures Jae-hyuk uploaded on Instagram of himself and other members in Japan.
"Looks nice," Mi-rae says as Ji-na runs to other members' pages to see if they posted something as well.
As Ji-na continued on her exploration of the VTS members' Instagram updates, she rambled on about VTS' recent Japan concert and backstage photos Jaehyuk and other members had uploaded.
Mi-rae was overcome with the realization that her encounter with Jae-hyuk would mean absolutely nothing to him at all. He has met multiple different fans, at different events, concerts, and signings, and she was just one of that number. "Plus, you are never going to see him again," Mi-rae mutters silently to herself, feeling a mix of disappointment and acceptance.
Yet later that night, as she lay awake long after Ji-na's soft snores filled the room, Mi-rae found her thoughts wandering back to Jaehyuk. The way his keen gaze focused solely on her as they talked, although briefly, about books and life in that little eerie coffee shop. His eye smile that made her heart inexplicably flutter.
It was ridiculous, but a small part of her clung to the notion that their meeting had been fate, not mere coincidence. With a frustrated sigh, she pushed the fanciful thoughts away, but they lingered like ghosts on the edge of her consciousness, refusing to fully fade.