You Had Me at Goodbye

A Letter from Me to You

An all too familiar ding from the door of her bookstore flinched her as it had always done. It had been months since she saw Lisa last and it had also been months since the last she heard from Chaeyoung; the haematologist had made her undergo several tests before she was determined eligible as a donor, yet up to that moment she had yet to be asked for it. The bell on her door jiggled, it dinged, and there was only one person she had been wishing to see when she turned her head towards the sound. But for every single ding, she only found herself in disappointment over and over again because the person she wished to see had never once occurred by her door.

What did she even expect though?

However, there was something different about that day; it was special, even, because when she turned her head towards the door, there she saw a man she knew she recognised it was just her memory somehow seemed to fail her, but there was something at the back of her mind telling her that that moment would bring her either the utmost joy or an unbearable pain—because she had seen that man before, somewhere she failed to determine, yet he felt closer than she remembered him. The man was standing with a smile of hundred megawatts as he made his way towards Jennie.

"Hi," the man stopped for a while before he continued, "Jennie, is it?"

Jennie, the one in question, could only nod as she let out a tiny hi, replying to the greetings that the familiar stranger addressed to her politely.

"I—" he awkwardly cleared his throat before he continued explaining himself again—scratching his right cheek, a tick that reminded her of Lisa, "—I'm Nichkhun—Khun, I'm not sure if you remember this but we've met once, back at—"

"—Back at the hospital," the memory finally reached Jennie and she remembered where it was that she first met the man.

It was when Lisa burst her nose for the first time in front of her and face-planted herself on the ground that she met Nichkhun for the first time too. At first, she thought he was Lisa's significant other from the way he barged into Lisa's room in total chaos out of panic. It was when he finally calmed down and managed to introduce himself that Jennie knew what he was to Lisa and vice versa.

Jennie was stunned in complete silence for a few seconds, being caught in her own surprise by an unexpected guest she had never once expected. It took her a few seconds before she was able to finally smiled welcoming him and asked him to have a seat on the couch next to the counter she was standing at, because he clearly was not there for a book and Jennie had just yet to know what it was he was there for exactly—well, she was about to find out, was she not?

"I—" Nichkhun heaved a sigh and again cleared his throat as if doing so would help him telling his intention of coming there more clearly and easily, "—Lisa," Jennie perked at the mention of the name, wondering all the worst possible scenario and Nichkhun apparent habit of dragging his words did not help her from feeling anxious, "Lisa asked me to bring this to you on the day she left," Nichkhun finally said what it was he ought to say as he fished out an envelope out of the pocket of his coat and handed it over to Jennie.

He specifically left out the part of Lisa's words where she said 'should things look ugly' regarding the time he should give Jennie the letter. Jennie did not need to know that, did she?

"When you're ready, please read it. Take your time, Jennie."

Jennie nodded as she held the envelope tightly between her fingers, addressing a small thank you to the man and having done his part in the story, with that Khun bid his goodbye to Jennie, leaving the woman and the envelope alone.