Etude of Memories

Chapter 12

Seoul, Present Day

Tiffany opened a dusty box that she had never opened for almost nine years. That pink box had been buried inside her wardrobe in her old bedroom. Nobody knew it existed. And she had never dreamt that one day she would open the box again. But her encounter with Kim Taehyung the other day changed everything.

Tiffany came to her father's house in Daegu yesterday only to take that box. Her father was surprised to see her there, but he didn't know the real reason why his youngest daughter visited him after a while.

Tiffany took a couple of photographs and a piece of blue navy cloth out of the box.

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"Tell me if you don't remember any of these." Tiffany gave the photographs to Taehyung. Both of them were standing on SM's rooftop.

Taehyung looked at the photographs several times.

"We didn't take a lot of pictures together.... It's something that I often regretted..." Tiffany held the small piece of blue navy cloth tightly. "But we always kept the pictures together. We always printed them twice so that each of us would have the same pictures."

"Interesting." Taehyung returned the pictures back to their owner. "So, he was your boyfriend?"

Tiffany nodded. And her sadness loomed up. "Things were hard on us back then, but we were so happy. I was really happy...." She stared at the blue navy cloth that looked like a ribbon. "And you proposed to me with this." She showed Taehyung the ribbon-like piece of cloth. But Taehyung only glanced at it.

"You ripped your uniform since you didn't have any rings to give me when you proposed to me. You tied this piece of cloth around my ring finger and told me you'd buy a real one before our wedding day." Tiffany looked into Kim Taehyung's cold eyes. "Don't you remember?"

"Looks like this guy meant something to you...."

"He was my everything." Tiffany bit her lips.

Taehyung smirked, "he was your everything, but not anymore, right, Tiffany-ssi?"

Tiffany was staggered to see Taehyung's smirk. She knew exactly that smirk belonged to Kim Taehyung. Nobody else had such as beautiful smirk like his. It was the same smirk that made Tiffany lose control and peck his lips for the first time.

"TAEHYUNG-AH!!! YOU ARE REALLY KIM TAEHYUNG!!!" Tiffany punched Taehyung's chest over and over again until her hands hurt. Her tears just couldn't be contained anymore. It was impossible not cry.

"WHY? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME??? WHY ARE YOU PRETENDING NOT TO KNOW ME???" She sobbed so sorrowfully. "Why... Why do you refuse to recognize me?"
Tiffany dropped her forehead on Taehyung's chest. Even their heartbeat was the same. This man could not be someone else. He must be Kim Taehyung. Her Kim Taehyung.

Taehyung pushed Tiffany away. "What if I am really that Kim Taehyung from your past? What are you gonna do? What good is this for you?"

Tiffany was almost choked. She looked into Taehyung's eyes. Her lips were trembling. "Are you... Are you really my Kim Taehyung?" She grabbed his arms and shook them hard. "Tell me the truth, Taehyungie. Why did you fake your death? Why did you make me believe that you'd died for years? How could you hurt me this deep? Didn't you know that I've been so miserable all this time?"

Kim Taehyung smiled and Tiffany could never guess the meaning behind his mysterious smile.

"Maybe you really didn't know your Kim Taehyung that well."