Unspoken Definites

15 Revived

“YUNA?” Ji Hyun’s voice echoed over the mobile.

“Sunbae?” Yuna’s eyebrows creased together when she recognized her senior’s voice.

“Thank God! You picked up right away.” Ji Hyun said.

“Where are you calling from, Sunbae? Did you change your number?” Yuna peered through the small window of her room and saw the snow still falling outside.

“No. I called from a classmate’s mobile, my phone's battery ran out. Anyway, I’m calling to tell you that we’ll probably go home late tonight, Yuna-ah. Ji Soo’s class got extended. Professor X must probably be lonely in this winter night. Aish! That old man.” She screeched over the phone. Yuna could hear the annoyance of her senior. Ji Hyun was probably waiting for her twin sister.

Professor X is the name students gave to the dreaded bald teacher in the College of Business. Yuna have often heard her seniors talk about the guy when they were taking law subjects with the Management students. Rumor has it that he taught the best of the country’s statesmen. Sadly, kids these days failed to appreciate his traditional ways of instruction and classroom discipline. Another unfortunate incident is that, Ji Soo is enrolled in one of his classes this term.

“Chae Bin eonni  is also stuck in traffic due to this snow.” She added eventually as Yuna listened. “And in this dark weather, one thing is clear... We have to postpone this again.”

Yuna nodded in agreement and sighed, “I see.”

“Don’t stay up too late, Yuna-ah.” Ji Hyun reminded her.

Yuna smiled. “Take care, eonni.” She added, addressing Ji Hyun more casually.

“We will. Bye, Yuna-ah!”

Both hang up after the exchange. It was the last week of November, and the first snow had fallen rather thickly all over the city.

The girls were supposed to have a little celebration since Chae Bin eonnie got promoted three weeks ago. They had postponed the little party they planned for two Fridays already so they promised to have it in reality on the last Friday of November. Due to the circumstances today, they had to put it off again for the third time.

Nonetheless, Yuna wished that her housemates would go home safely tonight. Luckily, she only had half-day class on Fridays so she was able to go home early and sleep for four hours. She woke up at past six in the evening and wondered why she was still alone at home. Her phone rang eventually—it was Ji Hyun.

Yuna imagined that it would take a while before her roommates would arrive. With her roommates going home late, and Ki Yong visiting his family in Busan— she was home alone again.

The thing was, she was no stranger to being alone. She liked spending quiet evenings by herself reading books or listening to good music. That was how she spent her first six months in Seoul after all. She enjoyed the stillness and serenity of not having anyone around. However, the previous months had made it difficult for her to find delight by being isolated.

Being alone these days often forced her to think of bittersweet memories and what could have beens so she made it sure to interact with people around her as much as possible. Tonight, the odds were not on her favour as she, yet again, had to spend the evening by herself.

It was already dark outside so she decided to finally get up from her bed to turn on the lights in the house. She proceeded into making herself a big mug of hot chocolate. She indulged herself in the warmth of the cup. It was already dark and the snow was still falling softly—the world seemed peaceful from the glass windows in the house’s receiving area. She went back to her room to get her phone and take a snap of the magnificent sight unfolding before her eyes.

When she got her phone, Yuna noticed that there were missed calls. Ten times to be exact. It was unregistered, thinking it was the part-time job she applied for, she quickly called back the phone number.

“Yoboseyo?”

“Kim Yuna,” A man’s voice from the other line muttered.

Yuna’s world stopped momentarily when she realized who the owner of the voice was. She knew so well who the person on the other line was. She tamed her loudly beating heart. His voice brought back all sort of memories her brain had kept of him.

Seven long dragging months had passed without a word from Hanyu Yuzuru. Seven months that she spent lonely nights wondering what could have been wrong that he suddenly disappeared without a trace. Seven months of imagining what it would be like to see or hear from him again.

Those seven months had passed and now, here he was on the phone calling out to her. His first words were her name which he uttered with such gentleness—like it was his favourite word out of the thousands he had learned at school.

Yuna sensed that he was also feeling nervous too. She could hear his faint breathing from the other line. He was waiting for her to speak.

She heaved a sigh. “Yes,” she answered in Japanese. He won’t understand her otherwise. “What do you need?”

“Can you...” He hesitated before continuing, “Come out for a while?” He finally managed to sputter. His voice was shaking a bit.

“Come out?” She repeated, her voice sharp.

“Yes,” He breathed heavily. Hearing him breathe this way sent her in a worrying frenzy.

“But why?” She asked curiously.

“I’ve been waiting outside your house...” He said shyly. “And it’s snowing.”

Yuna caught herself in the middle of running towards the door and sitting still by the chair. There’s no way that Yuzuru would be outside the house. But his voice sounded so real just now. She hesitated for quite some time before hanging up. She swore she would kill him if she opened the door and he was not there. She had to try to know.

She turned her heel and made a quick pace to the front door. The small security screen beside the door revealed the red-faced Hanyu Yuzuru wearing an orange jacket and a bonnet over what used to be his mushroom head. Her eyes blinked several times hoping her eyes were just playing tricks with her but they weren’t.

When she opened the door, he stood still and so did she.

“What the hell?!” She yelled.  

“Yuna, I know this is stupid to ask but...” He stopped and stared at her with those puppy eyes she had never mastered to refuse. “Please don’t hit me.” He pleaded.

---

You are still as wonderful as I recall.