Finale: I Love You
I’m so sorry… I’m sorry because I can’t forget you
My Love~ please come back
Don’t leave my side… please.
Rows of plaques and trophies from several prestigious award-giving bodies adorn the top of her cabinet. From best rookie award to the artist of the year up to the most sought-after Daesang, they are all present, standing proudly in front of her. These are the fruits of her labor but most of all, they are the fruits of her sacrifice. But are they really worth it? Do these awards really worth the sacrifice if the one that she sacrificed for it is her greatest love? Right now, she finds no meaning in what she does anymore. When she debuted, she said that she wouldn’t trade the stage for anything else but she discovered that she’s wrong. Those achievements that she has, it will be nothing if Leeteuk is not by her side. If only she could, she would trade them all just to get him back. Why can’t she forget him? Why can’t she let him go?
That day she goes back to that place again. Sitting in front of the piano, she relives the memories theyhad within the walls of the chamber.
“It’s supposed to be a pitch higher,” Leeteuk paused at playing the piano and corrected her once again for the nth time.
“Why can’t I get it right?” Taeyeon asked herself as she scratched her head.
“Is my looks really that great, it easily distracts you? I’m so sorry for that but you need to focus.” Leeteuk teased her.
“Ani-aniyo. You are really so cocky, oppa,” she remarked hitting him playfully on his shoulder.
“You’re blushing… you really like me, do you?” he said pointing at her flushed cheeks.
“Aniyo,” Taeyeon denied hiding her crimson face behind the music sheet.
---
“Oppa what’s that you’re writing? Is that a new song?” Taeyeon asked as she reached over the piece of paper that Leeteuk was trying to keep away from her.
“What are you hiding, oppa? Let me see it,” Taeyeon said jumping up and down to reach the paper.
“Stop trying! You will never reach it, shortie!” Leeteuk told her.
“YAH!!! Don’t call me shortie!” Taeyeon protested.
“Fine, you’re going to read it anyway since it’s for you.” Leeteuk gave up and give the paper for Taeyeon to read.
“Oppa, this is---“ Taeyeon asked as she started reading what was in there. “It’s a love let---“
“It’s a love song, actually.” He pulled the paper and put it on the music stand and played it, serenading Taeyeon behind the piano.
“Oppa, it’s lovely.” Taeyeon said tearing up.
“Of course, it’s for a lovely person like you. Saranghae, Taeyeon.”
“Saranghae, oppa.”
And they promised to sing their song forever. Tears flowed from her eyes as she recollects the memories. Is there a faintest chance to make their broken song whole again?
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He promised to forget her but the memories still linger and he keeps coming back. Once again, he goes back to that place, Riverside 8th Avenue. He stood along the side of Gwangjingyo Bridge overlooking the Han River. If memories can be thrown on the river and be forgotten forever, he would have done long before it so he won’t suffer the pain anymore. A part of him tells him that he has made the right decision on leaving her. He should look at where they are now, they are both big names in the show industry. He was protecting her. However, a part of him also tells him that yes, they have achieved this far but is he truly happy? Is he fully happy?
All of the sudden, he hears a piano music and a voice of an angel singing the lost melody of their love, the angel that he tries hard to forget but he keeps missing… a lot.
“Taeyeon…” He wanted to go downstairs to that chamber but here comes his “present” running after him.
“Leeteuk-oppa, I thought I’ll find you here. The organizers are looking for us. They want to talk about the last minute preparations for the wedding.” Sora told him.
Yeah, the wedding. He is engaged now. He proposed to this lovely girl and he should not be committing a grave mistake of thinking about other girls aside from her.
“Let’s go then,” he said as they walked together with his hand on her back. Just as Leeteuk and Kang Sora were walking several steps already, Taeyeon goes outside and happens to see the couple whom she easily recognized as Leeteuk and Kang Sora.
“He’s happy now, although I wish I were the girl.” Taeyeon muttered.
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It’s a clear sunny afternoon, a perfect weather for the garden wedding of Park Jungsu and his soon-to-be wife, Kang Sora to be held on the hillside at the edge of Seoul. A rented limousine stops right in front of the hotel where Leeteuk is staying. Minutes later, Leeteuk goes outside wearing a white tuxedo suit.
“Nervous, sir?” the driver asked when he got into the car.
“A bit,” he replied.
“You can watch TV or the videos in the playlist to ease your feeling, sir,” The driver said pointing at a small TV screen at the back seat.
“Thank you,” he simply said. The engine started and the car began to move to their destination. Leeteuk switches on the TV and browses through the playlist which is surprisingly full of Taeyeon’s performances. He does not know if this is just coincidence or a sign that destiny is trying to tell him.
“These are all Taeyeon’s performances,” Leeteuk commented.
“My boss is a fan of her. She is your protégé, isn’t she?” The driver answered. Leeteuk merely nodded.
“It’s unfortunate she can’t attend your wedding, she is going to have her final stage today.”
“Final stage?” He wrinkled his forehead. “But she’s on the top of her career now.”
“She said she misses the simple life,” the driver said.
She’s going to end her career? She did not mention it the last time we saw each other. She misses the simple life? You are tired, aren’t you? These are what Leeteuk thought.
“Excuse me, is it live broadcasting? Can you tell me which channel?” Leeteuk asked.
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“Giving us her last song, her very own self-composed song, let us welcome Miss Kim Taeyeon!” The MC announcd. Taeyeon steps up the stage clad in a long black halter dress. Her usually short blonde hair was now extending up to her mid-back because of the extensions and was tied in a ponytail. She smiles a bit to the audience before finally concentrating and preparing her emotions for the song.
I know you might not be able to hear this. Perhaps you are already standing at the end of the flower-sprinkled aisle watching your bride walk toward you or maybe you are now exchanging wedding vows to each other. However, this song is for you. I really need to let it out and unburden this heart of mine from these emotions. For one last time, I love you.
The music starts to play and she starts singing the song of her heart that contains the words that she cannot say in front of him.
Is it passing away?
Is our love a heartbreaking memory?
You are turning back,
Is even a tear not enough to hold you back?
My Love~ I love you, I love you
Are you listening?
My Love~ Please don’t forget
Please don’t erase our love
Can you see my tears?
I long for you the whole day
Even the kiss that made my heartbeat faster
Seems to be memory now
My Love~ I love you, I love you
Are you listening?
My Love~ Please don’t forget
Please don’t erase our love
Everyday I long for you
That’s how my days go by
Where are you?
I’m so sorry… I’m sorry because I can’t forget you
My Love~ please come back
Don’t leave my side… please.
Taeyeon cannot stop herself from crying as she sings the last parts of the song. She simply cannot hold it in. Even so, at the end of the performance, like any other professional, she quickly keeps her composure and gives a smile to the crowd. It was one emotional performance full of passion. After her song number, thunderous claps resounded inside the hall. Everyone will say that this is Taeyeon’s most outstanding performance of all time. She gets the whole audience to give her a standing ovation. She lingers for a while on the stage watching the crowd and her fans cheering up on her, chanting her name. She takes that moment to enjoy the applause for it will be her last time to experience it.
The stage lights dim. As Taeyeon goes back to her dressing room, she is patted to her back by Sooyoung, her manager’s assistant. “You did a good job. You are really such a great loss. Anyway, you have 30 minutes break before the interview.”
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Thirty minutes later…
“That was a very heartfelt performance. I heard that you composed it yourself. Many people are probably asking now, is it dedicated to a particular person?” The host asked her. Two stools are situated in front on the stage facing each other.
Taeyeon shifted at her seat but she does not let the people around notice it. She knows that this question will pop out. Taeyeon put up a smile. “No one in particular. It’s just that at that time, I feel like writing a sad song,” she replied. “Perhaps I also got inspired by my friends’ heartbreak stories,” she added.
“Don’t you have any relationship with a special someone in the past?”
“No,” she shakes her head. “I have no time for it and he has not come yet. I’m still waiting for him,” Taeyeon answered. “Maybe after this, I will be able to find that someone since I will have a lot of free time
Lies. All lies. She is an expert at it. Lying about her true feelings and covering them up with a smile, she mastered them all throughout her years in this show business. For in this world, it will be all about the “show” and everyone wears a mask to conceal the worst side of them and only revealing the best side to the people. However, her mask that she always keeps starts crumbling down when among the faceless crowd, she sees the least expected yet the most yearned person of her heart.
“Leeteuk…”
Her eyes widen at the sight of him and unthinkingly, the tears just fall down even though she does not want them to.
“Why… why are you here?”
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Flashback
I’m so sorry… I’m sorry because I can’t forget you
My Love~ please come back
Don’t leave my side… please.
Tears escape from his eyes as he finishes watching the performance. Taeyeon, this song is for me, am I right? You do not expect that I will hear it, do you? Is love trying to find a way for us?
Who would have thought that in a span of three minutes, all those things that he buried to be forgotten will come back alive? Love is giving him a chance to change the fate. This time, he will use the chance to make it right. This time, he will make a decision that he will not regret. He still loves her. He still loves Kim Taeyeon. He also learned to love Sora however, she deserves much more than that and he is not the man that can give it to her. He cannot afford to hurt her forever because he cannot love her enough.
Who would have thought that a single song will suddenly change his mind?
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“Mianhae, Sora. Mianhae. I cannot love you in the same way that you love me,” Leeteuk said over the phone.
Sora is just quietly sitting inside the bridal car listening to his explanation. She is trying hard to choke back her tears. “I understand, Leeteuk-oppa. When I first met you at the Riverside 8th Avenue, I saw you crying and you said that it’s because of a girl. Even though you never told me her identity, I have found out that it’s her. I saw you talking to each other on the day of our engagement and in your eyes, I could see your eyes pleading for her not to go. I totally understand Leeteuk-oppa. I can never replace her in your heart. It’s okay, oppa. I am wishing nothing else but the best for you. Go get her. Get your love back.” She said, her eyes awash with tears.
“I’m really sorry Sora for being a burden to you but I might hurt you even worse in the future. Nevertheless, thank you,” Leeteuk replied.
“Don’t worry oppa, I’ll take care of it. They will soon forget about it.” Sora finally hung up the phone letting it fall to her lap while she was sobbing hard, staining her white satin dress.
End of Flashback
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He doesn’t care if he will be seen as an asshole for running out of the wedding for another girl. He doesn’t care if there will be a thousand of scandals that will sprout because of his action. He basically does not care of what other people will say. He got enough of thinking about their opinions. He will now listen to his own self and fight for his love.
Some of the audience turns their attention towards the direction where Taeyeon is looking. Her sudden change of expression leaves themselves wondering. They look and see the composer in his wedding suit standing at the studio entrance. Instantly, a buzz of voices can be heard. “Why is he here?” “Is he supposed to be in his wedding?” “I heard there were rumors about them before?” “Does Taeyeon’s song talk about him?”
The PD immediately instructs the cameraman to cut the live recording. “So that’s it for a short talk,” the MC finishes the interview quickly. Taeyeon remains frozen in her spot. Is this a dream? How can this be possible? He is supposed to be at his wedding.
Leeteuk run up the stage and hug her tight and that’s when she believes that this is real.
“Oppa, you should not be here. What will the other people think about you? Taeyeon asked with confused and worried look.
“Ignore what other people say. All this time, we have been listening to them. We kept our ears closed to our hearts which are suffering. Let’s take off this pretend mask and be ourselves. I love you Taeyeon. I always do.”
“I also love you, oppa.” Taeyeon said and she embraced him.
From then on, they continue making beautiful music together away from the peering eyes of the crowd but in the comforts of each other. Forever.
Every melody he creates goes perfectly with her heaven-sent voice.
The words flow smoothly again with each rhythm of the notes.
Everything is back in perfect harmony with the beating of their hearts.
The broken song is finally whole again.
My love... I love you