1 and 24 - A tripleS story ❀

Chapter 2

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That morning, Seoyeon slept in. She could hear the alarm clock going off, but she just felt way too tired, as if she had just come back from a long, long journey, to make sense of it, or of anything else. So she just waited, still in her bed, waited for her heart to slowly start playing on the beat again, only aware of the strange, faint impression lingering in the back of her head, that she had forgotten something, something terribly important. She couldn't fight that, though, so she just waited and waited, until, around 8 AM, while her alarm clock still played a familiar melody she couldn't recognize, Seoyeon finally opened her eyes, afloat in a purple haze.

W- where am I? Am I... still dreaming?

A warm wind ruffled her hair, bringing the scent of spring, and the scent of flowers.

Ah..., she realized, one single memory no longer hers coming back in a daydream. It was falling petals, after all. And it was spring, too. The spring of beginnings, and the spring of endings, left her wet in salty water on a tropical night, found her again with the smell of grass and dew, at the beginning of a new day. But what had she lost, in that endless night?

"The day when the lilac flower withers, good bye", the song was saying, and Seoyeon couldn't, didn't wanna shake herself dry, too afraid to know whether or not, When the sun clears all the dew, and all the flowers wither and lose their petals, will the night, and its dream, really be over?

If that was the case, she didn't wanna wake up. Because this ending, unlike the one in the song, doesn't suit us at all.

Us?

Who-

Bang!

The door slammed open, and a woman stormed in.

– Seoyeon! –, she exclaimed.

The girl jumped up in her bed, startled, and her heart jumped up to her throat. – W- what-

– Gosh!, I've been calling you for five minutes! –, the woman threw up her hands, rushing inside the room. – What is going on here! Why is the window open!

Seoyeon curled up towards the headboard, confused. Her entire body was shaking, and she had no idea what was happening. – W- who are you?

The woman stopped to stare at her, cold, raising an eyebrow. – Huh? You better wake up already, girl. You know you're filming a Signal this morning, right? Content Team's arriving in ten minutes, and I want you to be up by then to greet them properly. – She looked at her watch: – You're already late.

The woman then leaned over the bed, to which Seoyeon flinched and drew away from her, to shut the window and throw the purple curtains wide. The sunlight streamed inside, washing away all of the night's leftovers.

The manager picked up a lilac petal from Seoyeon's blankets. – Look at this, though –, she smiled, surprised, showing it to the girl.

Seoyeon just stared at it, blank.

– I guess the countryside has its charms, too, right? Waking up to a rain of petals. – She walked back towards the exit, picking up Seoyeon's phone from the nightstand to finally stop the morning alarm. The sudden silence surprised the girl, waking her up more than the song had managed to all the time it had played.

– IU's Lilac? –, the woman said with a scoff. – I guess it fits, but change it to an actual alarm, if this doesn't work. –

She sighed, then, more softly, and putting the phone down: – Listen, Seoyeon, I get it this is just your third day here, and it might be hard, but you'll get used to it. I'll get someone to clean up here, so don't worry about that. Just make sure you wake up properly and wash up before you come out. – She hesitated, then, finally walking to the door: – Your eyes are all red and swollen. Wash up, take your time, and come to the living room when you're ready, alright? I'll see you there.