Memories - Purinz

Chapter 1 - Guess Who's Back

Now

Chaewon takes a deep breath and steps out of the airport. And almost immediately, she is greeted by a gust of hot air, making her grumble as she makes her way to the taxi stand. She pulls the cap she was wearing even lower in an attempt to cover her face, she thinks no one probably remembers her so it was more of a habit than a precaution. She falls in line and leans onto the handle of her luggage, doing her best to keep her knees from wobbling and taking her down in the process. She flinches when she hears whispers around her, when she hears cameras shutter.

Fuck. So much for no one remembering you, Chaewon.

Her cover was blown.

She mentally scolds herself for being so stupid and careless. It's only been two years, how could she have deluded herself into thinking everyone has forgotten. Chaewon wants to run, but she stops herself. Coming back here was a long time coming, it's been pushed back and delayed for so many times—sometimes because of scheduling issues but mostly it was because of her own cowardice. Truth be told, it wasn't Seoul that frightened her, it was the people and the memories, and the pain that came along with it that did. But just a few months ago, she'd promised herself to stop being scared of coming back and she couldn't betray herself — not again anyway, so she stays. She doesn't run back inside the airport to book the next flight back to Japan. Her fingers tighten around her palms, and she forces herself to move forward.

Deep breaths, Chaewon.

"That's Kim Chaewon, right?" Chaewon hears someone say.

"I don't know. Didn't she just disappear? Why would she even be here?"

"Maybe she's back in the band?"

"Dude, her bandmates don't even mention her anymore."

"Maybe it's a surprise?"

"I doubt that."

Deep breaths.

Chaewon keeps her eyes down, begging the universe to have mercy on her and just let the ground give way and swallow her or send a cab her way at least. Either of the two sound good to her, anything to get her out of there, away from the whispers and the judgment. The universe seemed to listen for once and she finds herself rushing to get inside a cab as soon as the driver finishes pushing her luggage into the trunk.

Once inside, she felt a little better and grateful for the cold air that enveloped the cab. She takes her cap off and allows herself to look out the window, allowing herself to take Seoul in. Everything looks much different than they were when she left, for instance, there were more buildings and it seemed busier and livelier than before. What remained the same was how she felt — the same dread, the same fear, and the same pain she felt when she packed her things and left it all. She leans on the window and shuts her eyes.

No matter how much she tries to convince herself that she was finally being brave, Chaewon knows deep down that she wants nothing more than to run away, to hide, and never come back. Deep down, she knows she's a coward because she's been back in Seoul after a little over two years but she was already dying to fucking get out.

--

The day was unusually humid.

Yunjin sits on one of the two egg chairs they had beside the window of their penthouse. Hair in a loose bun, eyebrows furrowed in concentration, back hunched over, and fingers gripping her pen tightly as she writes, Yunjin looks like a picture of diligence and hard work. She considers turning up the air conditioning unit in the living room but decides against it because it'd mean her having to stand up and disrupt her "creative process" as Kazuha puts it. They were hard at work, writing lyrics and composing songs for their upcoming EP, that's why they were up at as early as eight in the morning instead of spending their day lazing and sleeping on their respective beds.