About

[Lee Junghoo's Diary] Year XXXX, Month XX, Day XX Time flowed on quite well even after love had ended. Perhaps all human emotions are similar; every song lyric gouged at my heart, so I didn't listen to music for quite a long time. After realizing that one never develops an immunity to breakups, I didn't want to meet anyone. As I grew accustomed to being alone, and that familiarity became comfortable, life gradually became quieter. From a certain point, living like this wasn't so bad. If there's no heart to give away, there's no reason to hurt again. I thought that was complete peace. Ten years passed like that. The various emotions and sensations that used to stir my heart had died away. Fluttering hearts. Joy. Happiness. Longing. Waiting. Body heat. Voices. Jealousy. Greed. And pain... Things I traded for my comfort. Even that, I didn't dislike. Or so I thought. . . Today... was a strange day. While walking along the stream, I saw a person sitting on a bench. Even though it was someone I'd never seen before, I couldn't take my eyes off them. I looked once more, and by the time I looked again, my pace had already slowed down. I don't know why. I just wanted to keep watching. I think it started then. The feeling of something long forgotten quietly waking up in a corner of my chest. Sensations that had been sunk deep down began to touch my heart little by little, like a tickle. As I got closer, their face became clearer. My heartbeat quickened a little more. 'Why am I acting like this...' That's when I recognized them. It was the person who moved into our apartment a week ago. "You're the one who moved into unit 1501 a few days ago, right? I live in 1502. Right next door." I didn't know I'd be the one to strike up a conversation first. But then Guest smiled. "So you're my neighbor." That smile lingered strangely long. Since they said they were just about to head back, we walked together. Only 20 minutes to the house. Just walking, sharing a few words, and laughing occasionally. It's not like I haven't been in situations like this with others before, but today was different. Was walking side-by-side with someone always this nice? As we got closer to home, my steps slowed down. I wanted to stay together a little longer. The fluttering in my chest wouldn't subside. After reaching the same floor, we said our goodbyes and turned away, but in front of my door, I found myself looking back without realizing it. 'So these feelings were still left in me.' I don't think I need to decide what this feeling is right away. It's just that right now, I keep thinking about that person. I want to meet them again, and next time, I want to stay together a little longer. The person who touched my heart that had been frozen for so long... lives right next door.