Chapter 4

Instead of a painful insult, Serin's words suddenly brought Jeremy unthinkable emptiness. He is just looking at her.

Jeremy can't understand himself. He has resented Serin because of her haunting identity but he feels like he has been longing for her presence. 

Serin slowly opened her tearful eyes.

"Heron, I miss you.. Those are the words I keep crying out in my dreams lately." Serin' s voice reflected deep gloom. 

Jeremy stepped back.

Wanting to avoid Serin's eyes, he looked down. "Do you really hate me? That even in your dream, you're tormenting me?" 

He turned his back. With his heavy steps, he walked away from Serin. 

The door opened. Jeremy just left the room. 

Not long after, his two best friends Chris and Ken, came rushing. They heard Jeremy's anger roar in the entire unit earlier. But because they could not just get in between the two, they had to wait for their friend to leave Serin alone. 

Looking at the girl's tearful face, they can't help but feel bad for her. It is definitely worrisome to see Serin suffer from Jeremy's harsh treatment.

"We are so sorry for our friend's short temper. Jeremy is a nice person. It's just that.." Chris hesitated to continue and then, he looked at Ken.

"I think it is better to let her know why our friend has been acting that way towards her." Ken spoke. 

Chris faced Serin with a serious look. "Jeremy has been going through a lot. He is not the type who opens up to people but we are aware of his problems. It may sound dramatic but life has been cruel to him. It's definitely not because of you, okay? We are sorry but that's something personal so we can't tell you."

With what was revealed to Serin, extreme guilt suddenly drowned her. She feels terribly sorry. 

Ken, this time, looked at her. "You don't have to be guilty and sorry for that. We are sure you never intend to trouble our friend. But there is one thing you need to know, so you will understand where Jeremy is coming from."

He sighed. "Our friend can't let you go because something keeps bugging him. In the pocket of your black dress, Jeremy found a piece of paper."

Ken continued. "And that piece of paper has a sketch of his face."

-----------

A blank white paper is placed on the table.

A week has already passed since she clashed with Jeremy. But the guy has remained distant and unfriendly towards her. Nothing changed.

Chris and Ken's revelation to her has been bothering her, for some reason. Now that she already knows why Jeremy has been treating her that way, she no longer feels wronged but totally guilty. 

Even though she has no idea what Jeremy's own problems are, she is sure that what he has been going through is giving him a tough time. And to think that he has already been distressed because of those problems, it's really cruel of her to trouble him more. 

So, in order to help Jeremy find answers to his questions surrounding her mysterious identity, she thought of doing something. To try drawing. 

She wants to find out if she can draw. In this way, she will know if that sketch Chris and Ken talked about a week ago is hers. 

Holding the pencil, Serin closed her eyes.

Visualizing Jeremy's face, a radiant smile is instantly pictured. So clear, as if the guy is there, facing her really close. 

Serin suddenly feels absurd emotional attachment, having a clear picture of every detail of Jeremy's face. 

His forehead, eyebrows, eyes, nose, cheeks, lips, chin. This strange familiarity is giving Serin a sense of affection that she's oddly sure she has already felt before. 

Painful longing crept slowly.

Absorbed in her indescribable emotions, her eyes begin to cry drips of tears.

Crying unknowingly, her devastating yearning is getting deeper which she can't really explain. 

She opened her tearful eyes. Still in her lonely weeping, blasting. 

Her sudden loud cries instantly worried Chris and Ken who have been sitting outside, waiting for her to finish her sketch. 

"Serin? Are you okay there???" Chris is knocking on the door. 

"Can we go inside? Serin??" Ken is also worried. 

But there are no answers from Serin, only her continuous cries.

The door opened. Chris rushed inside. Behind him is Ken who is also rushing. 

"What's wrong?? Are you okay??" Chris asked as soon as she faced Serin who is drowning in tears. 

Her sorrowful tears keep flowing endlessly.

Chris gave her a hug. "It's okay. You can cry until you get better."

Ken is just standing beside the table, no words to say. He is feeling terribly bad for Serin. And because of this, he avoided looking at her as his heart is breaking for her. 

When he's about to look down, his eyes spotted something on the table. 

A very familiar sketch!

----------

"How did you get that?" Jeremy asked his best friend, confused. 

Ken is holding a new sketch.

They went out to talk to Jeremy who is out for a night jog at Campbell Park.

"This is a new sketch, Jeremy." Ken answered.

The sight of the new sketch, which Ken is holding, astounded Jeremy. He's at a loss for words. 

"Sorry bro, but we have already told Serin about the sketch you found in the pocket of her dress. And because of that, she wanted to try if she was the one who sketched it. She did not even ask for your photos." Ken explained.

"This is crazy. Look, it's exactly the same. I can't find any difference. And what's incredulous here is the fact that she hasn't seen the sketch you are keeping." Ken is still dazed by Serin's new sketch. 

"Wait!!" Chris suddenly hit the bench as if he won the lottery. Then, he stood up, feeling thrilled. 

He continued. "Why did I just remember now?" He threw a jab in the air. "Okay! Finally, yes!!"

Facing Jeremy, Chris looks overly confident. "This is not you, Jeremy. I am 100% sure."

"Who is he then?" Jeremy tried to look untroubled but the new sketch has been losing his sanity.

"He..?" Ken is trying to remember a familiar name he already heard from Serin a week ago. 

"Heron!!!" Chris exclaimed.

-----------

Jeremy almost froze hearing that name.

He never told his friends that Serin called him Heron the night he saw her on Desf Road. For some reason, he chose to keep it from them.

Ken is examining Jeremy's expression. He is sure that his friend got taken aback, as if he knows who Heron is.

"What's wrong, Jeremy?" He asked.

Chris also looked at Jeremy. He can tell that their friend's face darkened, out of the blue. 

"Nothing. I'm just worn-out. I'll go first." Jeremy left his friends in a rush.

His abrupt haste confused his two best friends. Seeing Jeremy walk farther from them, they can't help but feel bad for him. It is obvious that his cruel life knocks him again by making him cross paths with a girl whose identity is greatly haunting. 

HERON.

The name itself is suffocating Jeremy. It is mind-numbing. Jeremy is walking at a disorderly speed.

Everything around him has been getting blurry. He began to feel dizzy, hearing echoing voices calling that mysterious name. 

'Heron!!'

'Heron.. I'm glad you are alive..'

'Heron.. Where are you? I miss you.'

No longer wanting to hear those deafening voices uttering that name, Jeremy covered his ears. 

His steps are getting bigger, rushing. With his desire to get out of the park as fast as he could, he didn't notice he ran into a strangely familiar man.

----------

"S..Sorry." Jeremy mumbled. Beads of sweat on his face. Cold feet. Almost a numb body.

The old man showed no expression on his face, but reached for Jeremy's hand.

"Time is gracious to make our paths cross again." He said.

"I am sorry, sir. If you need something, I can't help you this time. I'm not feeling well." Jeremy tried to compose himself and then turned his back, walking again. 

The old man is following him from a distance.

While Jeremy is walking in haste, the old man's face suddenly flashed in his mind. Strangely, he can sense an intense feeling of closeness to him. Like they have already shared beautiful moments before. 

Jeremy stopped walking. As he turned his back, the old man is there, standing. He is motionless. Despite the distance between them, Jeremy is feeling queer nearness. 

'This is crazy.' Jeremy thought to himself while waking to where the old man is, trying to ignore the sickening feeling. 

"I can help you anytime but not tonight, sir." Jeremy moved his head pointing at the high building across the park. "Tiffany Blue. 49AB. Just say my name, Jeremy Sean."

After patting the old man's shoulder, he politely excused himself. Then he turned around to leave.

"Jeremy is not your name."

A momentary halt, Jeremy's unable to move. As he's completely shocked, he can no longer turn his back. 

Behind him, the old man spoke. "Heron. That's your name."

Whirling instantly came over Jeremy. What he heard almost paralyzed him. He gulped out of overwhelming agitation. 

Not turning his back, he gave the old man a certain response. "You must mistake me for him. I'm Jeremy Sean."

Jeremy managed to speak with firmness but his strength is nearly losing. Taking his courage to face the old man, he glanced behind him. But he is no longer there. The old man is gone. 

All these haunting mysteries that have been crippling him made Jeremy stumble as soon as he made a step. He feels really weak, knocked by those shocking oddness. 

He closed his eyes in an overwhelming feeling of tiredness.

Someone just came rushing towards him, extremely worried. 

Jeremy's heart missed a beat when he opened his eyes. The girl, whom he hated, is holding him by his arms.

"Are you okay?" Deep worry is on her face. 

Serin is there, right before his eyes.

-----------

"Sir Jeremy, are you okay?"

Facing her with intimacy again, he can't help but feel strange. Looking into Serin's eyes is his greatest fear but at the moment, his heart desires to dive his eyes into Serin's.

Those mysterious eyes, in an instant, are no longer fearfully haunting but enticingly beautiful. 

While Serin is facing him really close, her mysteriously beautiful eyes are giving him bizarre intimacy.

Jeremy's eyes gazed at hers.

But what he is seeing is no longer flashing in an instant, but lingering.

A romantic night view. He is with the same girl. They are lying on the sand, looking at the starry night sky.

Jeremy was expecting to see an agonizing scenario, like the usual pattern. But this time, what he is seeing in Serin's eyes is not painful anymore. It is oddly lovely. 

He is kissing Serin, tears are flowing down her cheeks.

"Sir?? Are you okay????" Serin asked again.

Jeremy, who is holding Serin by her arms, immediately stood up. He feels extremely lost.

'Why was I kissing Serin?' What he just saw in her eyes added heaviness to his clouded mind.

"Sir, you must be feeling unwell."

Jeremy ignored Serin and walked away from her.

"Sir!" Serin is following him.

"Your body is cold and shivering. You should see a doctor."

The name Heron. The two drawings. The old man. Serin. Her eyes. That kiss. All of these have been causing him unending torment.

Jeremy slowed his pace until his steps halted. Then, he turned around. Serin is already standing in front of him. 

The moment they stood face to face, flashbacks filled his mind.

The night he saw Serin. Her hand that touched his face. Her yearning voice calling him Heron. The first time he met eyes with her. The moment they unexpectedly shared an intimate moment on the day they clashed. And just now, those beautiful eyes that flashed romantic moments involving him and Serin, giving him unimaginable affection.

Only a step that is separating her from Jeremy and Serin feels an unusual connection with him. 

She is facing the guy she has never seen before but his eyes are full of a strong longing she is sure she has already felt earlier.

The guy, who is yearningly looking at her, is strangely familiar. His teary eyes are speaking melancholic memories. 

The silence between them is piercing their scarred feelings. 

Overflowing tears in her heart, Serin is in deep pain she could not explain. 

Jeremy slowly lifted his hand and gently touched Serin's beautiful face.

Her teary eyes could not avoid Jeremy's stare filled with painful stories.

Jeremy leaned his face to hers. His trembling lips touched hers.