Unforgettable You {Extraordinary You Sequel!}

Episode 7: An Excuse To Talk

Dano doesn't bother trying to tell Dohwa about what's going on. Even though she really wishes he would find his ego. He's her best friend... also, she's getting a little annoyed with him asking all the time where her stutter has gone.

"I just don't stutter anymore," she sneers in a clownish tone, as they walk the hallway together.

Dohwa gasps a laugh, "Okayy, Tiny," he nudges her with his elbow. "I like the new Dano."

She grins.

They look up just in time to see Haru walking down the hallway towards them, in the opposite direction. Haru. Haru? The girls lingering on the sides all look over as he passes, eying him and smiling these flirty smiles. But he doesn't acknowledge a single one of them.

When he arrives in front of Dano and Dohwa, he stops in his tracks. His gaze lands on Dano, startling her—and it's that same weird look from before. Eyes that are blank, but clear.

Dano stops walking too. She gazes at him, unable to read the emotions he stirs in her. She wishes she could put her feelings into words so that she could tell someone about this... tell Juda. But Dano doesn't even know what's going on inside her.

Haru's throat bobs, and she doesn't miss the action.

She hardly hears Dohwa say, "Dano? Hellooo? Is Eun Dano home? Come on, we gotta go."

She finally breaks her gaze away from Haru and turns to her friend. Her eyes are dull and scattered, but she nods, half-hearing him. Dohwa takes her sleeve and drags her to the side, muttering about large crowds and nuisances.

As she's dragged away, she brushes past Haru. She has to twist her body so that she can fit better, and even then her arm grazes his. Her fingers hook briefly on his fingers. His skin is warm. As she leaves, she is sure she almost felt him start to tighten his grip. And once she's passed an ache swells in her heart like a deadweight that anchors her to the ground.

What is going on?

•••

KRRCHK.

Dano is in the library. Standing on a step because she's so short, looking through a bunch of dictionaries and thesauruses right in front of her. This is random. She has never used hardcopy dictionaries or thesauruses. Clearly, she's just standing here for a scene in the story, where it doesn't even matter what she's looking at... how sad.

"Excuse me."

Dano's heart nearly stops. She looks to her left. Haru stands at the end of the shelves.

"Y-Yes?" Dano stammers, like an idiot.

"Um..." Haru runs a hand through his hair, looking awkwardly away. "Is Saemi around by any chance?"

"Oh, Saemi. U-Um, I haven't seen her, no." Of course Dano hasn't seen her. She wasn't in the library one second before he was. 

"Ahh... okay," Haru nods, stifling an obvious sigh. He turns and disappears behind a bookshelf.

WWHHS.

There's a muffled noise, and then Haru staggers back into view, whirling frantically to look at Dano. When his eyes find her, the rigidity in his body calms. But at the same time, the glassy, unfathomable expression in his eyes deepens. Dano hasn't moved at all since the stage ended, and continues to stare at Haru, dumbstruck. He stares back. He's so tall that even while she balances on a box, he is as tall as her.

Dano is the first one to rip her gaze away. She looks anywhere but into his eyes.

"Ahh. Well," she clears her throat. "Saemi. She's really not here, I promise."

"Oh... right," Haru breathes the words slowly. "Saemi... but—I'm not looking for her anymore."

Dano's eyebrows shoot up, "You're not?"

Does he have his ego? It seems possible... he has seemed different inside and outside the scenes. But, he's the male protagonist. Won't this be a problem?

"No, I..." His eyes search the air and the books on the shelf next to him. And then, suddenly, he stops. When he turns to look at Dano again, his expression has transformed. "I just needed an excuse to talk to you."

Dano stares at him, her eyes slowly growing larger, her mouth popped gently open. Her heart thuds in her chest as she looks into his eyes.... but, it's more than that. Butterflies, or whatever. What she's feeling right now isn't a fresh crush—she can't comprehend it at the moment.

All she knows is that it's familiar, comfortable, and very, very old.

"I knew it," Dano says. "You have your eg—"

KRRCHK.