이름없는 기억

His Side Of the Story

Alexander padded along the corridor and down the stairs sleepily. He hadn’t meant to sleep so late that night, but somehow things didn’t go according to plan. He was about to open his fridge when his handphone rang. Groaning, he reached for it.

“Yobosaeyo?” His voice was still thick with sleep.

The person on the other end of the line giggled. “Yo Xander!” There were voices in the background that gradually faded. “Mianhae, I just called now. Wait. Did you just get up?”

He realized who it was and chuckled despite himself. “Lexi.”

“Of course, it is.”

Silence.

“So?”

“Oh, right. Well, it’s okay. I would have been too busy to take your call or get back at you immediately anyway.” He proceeded to open his fridge and pulled out a box of milk. “And yeah, I just got up.” He plopped down on a chair and chugged down straight from the box.

“What? You’re such a lazy ass.” She might have meant it to sound as if she was pissed, but it didn’t work.

Xander gulped down the milk then said, “At least I’m a good-looking lazy ass.”

“Ooh. Golden boy’s getting narcissistic,” she teased. “Solo career must be treating you nicely then.”

“Uh-uh.” I guess so. “By the way, how are things?”

She turned somber. “With UKISS, you mean.”

Silence.

“Xander, why don’t you hang out with them? You obviously miss them.”

He laughed. “I don’t think the company’s going to allow that.” He stood up and dropped the carton in the open disposal. “never mind that. I was asking how you were.”

“I’m oka-” She cut herself off. “It’s gettong complicated. Seriously. I don’t think I’m up to this.”

He almost shouted. “You still want him?!” It came out matter-of-factly though.

“No.” Her voice was flat. “But-”

“Right. He was the reason you came back to Korea, dummy.”

“Was not!” She answered heatedly. “I just feel too protective of the damn guy.” She said it with an indignant huff. “I still can’t figure out why. Now I’m stuck here in danger of going insane.”

Xander started. “What is he, like seven? Look, Lex. I know he’s my friend. But since you’re my friend too, I don’t think that kind of devotion is healthy.”

“It’s not that -”she sighed. “I don’t know. It sort of comes naturally when we’re close. I don’t like it.”

“Then don’t get too close!”

“I can’t. I’m stuck with him.”

“You’re just thinking that. Oh shit!” He exclaimed when he saw the time. “Sorry Lex, I gotta go.”

“Okay. See you.”

He laughed. “With your schedule? I don’t think so.”

“Aish.”

“Bye, Lexi.”

“I’m hanging up now.”

Alexander laughed. “At this rate, no one is going to hang up.”

As soon as he put the phone down, his eyes sought out the pictures on the far side of his living room. Along with his family pictures, they looked out of place in the otherwise stark black wall. They hung side-by-side –taken on his last day as a member of UKISS. They were smiling and horsing around in Lotte World. He couldn’t quite remember who it was that took the picture for them. He sighed. Somehow he had to admit that he did miss his former groupmates. Especially Kiseop and Kevin. Kevin, he’d been bestfriends with ever since he found him and Alexses chilling out on the dorm couch while the six of them had been doing the same on the beach,

He smiled. Well, he hadn’t meant to do that. It wasn’t his fault that he forgot his notebook, which he won’t go anywhere without. Kevin had begged him not to the others –especially Kibum, or he wouldn’t hear the end of it. Alexses just sat on the couch looking unconcerned then said, “Kevin, he’s not going to say anything. So please stop groveling now?” Xander haven’t the slightest idea what made her say that, but he really wasn’t planning on ratting out.

His brows furrowed as his thoughts went back to Lexi. In fact, it was her in the second picture. The day she’d gone to Japan. The familiar feeling crept up to his chest. She’d made him promise to watch out for Kevin, no matter what –not a peep of the real reason why she suddenly has to go to Japan or why she’s making him promise.

“Why don’t you stay and take care of him yourself?” he’d said jokingly.

She just shook her head. “I’m going to Japan, Xander. It’s final.”

He gathered she was serious right then. She wasn’t even smiling. “What are you going to do in Japan? Do you even know how to speak Japanese?”

She laughed. “Of course. As to why, I guess you’ll see in two months’ time.” After that, she lost her smile and flew at him, sobbing silently.

His heart thudded as she clutched around his waist and buried her face in his chest. For a moment, he’d been afraid that he’d start crying too, but he swallowed the lump that formed in his throat and wrapped his arms around her in a gesture of comfort, drawing her closer.

“You’re not planning on coming back, are you?” he’d muttered, the thought suddenly hitting him like a rock. “Why?”

She‘d just shook her head. She didn’t say anything more.

Alexander felt his hands balling into fists. It was a reflex he’d unconsciously developed. Lexi had been secretive to the point of masochism regarding her relationship with Kevin. She was like a bestfriend to him(since a sister would just annoy him to death) and when he though about what happened, his blood began to boil.

In fact, he’d punched Kevin full in the face when he found out the real reason for Lexi’s exiling herself in Japan. He gathered that shocked him more than when two months later, just as Lexi had said, they found out what she was doing in Japan.

“Yo! There’s this new artist in Japan.”

Kibum was almost jumping up and down, all the while pointing at the screen of his notebook. None of the rest really got what he was so excited about.

“Dude, what’s the deal?” Eli walked over to him first and peeked at the article on the search engine. Then he grabbed the notebook and began scrolling down. “Hey. She’s Korean!”

Now everyone was interested. “Jinjjayo? Daebak!” Soohyun was already grabbing the notebook from Eli, but Dong Ho got there first.

“You hyungs are so primitive,” he muttered, connecting the notebook to their 72-inch. “Here.”

The six of them settled on the couch as Dong Ho began scrolling down the article for all of them to read.

“…SM Entertainment Japan did a surprise launch last March 12, presenting the new artist in a musical encore in the Music Show. Everyone sure was surprised…”

“How can we not know about this?” Kiseop asked, shaking his head. “I mean this should have been all over the news. Rumors and things. This is big!”

Alexander hit him upside the head. “Can’t you read? It said even the Japanese media was surprised.”

“She trained for no more than three months, dude.”

“What’s her name?” Kevin was interested now. He had a stalker-ish look on his face right at that moment.

“Wait,” Dong Ho said, scrolling more feverishly. “Got it!” He read the print aloud. “L-XS, short for Light of the Xilver Star, on her first Japanese single, Snow.”

Xander and Kevin stiffened visibly. “say that again?”

“L-XS,” Eli said. “Pronounces El-ex-es. Wae?”

Kevin looked at Xander with an expression that clearly communicated what he was thinking. Holy shit!