after a scandal, wooyoung, a defunct k-pop idol, runs away to his sister's hometown. he craves anonymity, yet his quiet routine is disrupted by a chance encounter- a local with a warm presence, who offers him a glimpse of a life beyond the spotlight...
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the night was coming to an end, and the next day had begun when the clock struck 12.
despite the late hour, wooyoung found himself perched on his bed, leaning against the headboard with a book in his lap. after a certain time of day, he always felt an aching nostalgia, as if days were never meant to pass with the old times forgotten. his fingers picked at the edges of hana's pastel pink diary, which was thick with stickers, photos, and scribbles on the inside. it was an account of her days in this small town, full of memories despite the fact that she had only been there for a little less than a year.
the first page featured a photo of her with jongho and yeosang, her first welcomers when she arrived in town. it was an odd picture, with jongho making a silly face because he could never be serious in photographs, and yeosang looking blank as usual. hana smiled brightly as she slung her arms around their shoulders. she appeared to have fallen in love with the area since her first day there. the words 'wooyoung's old friends' were written in black ink beneath the photo.
as he stared at the photo, wooyoung recalled his high school days. seven years later, the friend group was nearly restored, but at the same time, it was far from complete. yeosang chose to hold grudges, and hongjoong was no longer in touch with any of them.
the next page featured a selfie of her with yeonjin, which wooyoung assumed was taken during hana's pilates class. so they were introduced through pilates? again, below the image, words were scribbled, this time in red ink: 'i hope we stay friends for a long time'.
wooyoung smiled as he read the words on the discoloured paper. he was glad his sister had found it so easy to start her own life, surrounded by people who had inevitably chosen to stick by her side for a long time.
there was enough space below the scribbling to paste another photograph. a small, horizontal, slightly blurry photograph of hana standing with some of wooyoung's former classmates who had miraculously ended up in the same town. mingi, jongho, san, yeosang, seonghwa, and yunho.
wooyoung brought the photo book closer, his gaze lingering on san for a second too long. the photo was dated may 26, 2023, exactly one month before his birthday. san looked different but still the same a year and four months ago. his eyes were squinting from the large smile on his face, his hair was slightly longer, and his frame remained as firm as a swimmer's should be.
he was wearing a grey custom t-shirt with a funny picture of seonghwa printed on it, along with black trousers. wooyoung traced his outline, wondering how different things would have been if he had stayed in school, stayed in this town with his sister, and refused to let go of the people he had once known, no matter how far away or close.
and he wondered wholeheartedly— if his dreams had been different, if he'd stayed, then what would've changed? would he finally have had a high school love of his own, with choi san being the person standing in front of him, and soon, next to him? would he have been friends with san's friends, would san have been friends with wooyoung's friends, and would everything be smooth, like a ship sailing tranquil waters? should he feel guilty for wasting so much time, or should he be thankful that the lost time had found its way back to him?
