Chapter 10 Chapter 10
After returning from the karaoke room, Lia sat at the table, notebook in hand, lost in thought. Outside the window, the night was dark, and the June breeze, with a hint of summer, brushed past the curtains and slipped in silently.
Her fingertips gently caressed the cover of the notebook, her mind racing with thoughts. The delicate touch, the familiar handwriting, and her name in the credits. WRITE WITHOUT FEAR.
... After a while, she picked up her phone and hesitantly typed a line of words in the MSN chat box: "Thank you, I like the gift very much." She revised and deleted this short sentence repeatedly, and then clicked the send button.
There was no response from the other end of the screen. Perhaps they were busy. Lia sighed softly, set her phone aside, and returned her gaze to the laptop on the desk. An indescribable emotion welled up in her heart, like a gentle breeze, swirling across her chest.
She reached for her notebook, her fingertips touching the blank page. Then, she gripped her pen. … She began with the melody.
It is a light melody with a hazy texture. The notes are smooth and restrained, without too many ups and downs, like the wind blowing across the water, creating layers of shallow ripples.
Her handwriting was always clear and elegant, and every note and chord was marked precisely, without a single scrawl or hesitation. She closed her eyes and hummed the melody softly...
I gently turned the pen in my hand, thought for a while, then lowered my head and wrote the lyrics on the paper: The city's alive, but my thoughts run to you
Tracing the echoes of things left unsaid Maybe it's silly, maybe it's new
Maybe, just maybe, I'm missing you The city is noisy, but I miss you in my heart. I pick up the echoes, but I haven't said a word. Maybe it's innocent, maybe it's new. Maybe, maybe, I'm starting to miss you
Sideways glances, a flicker, a spark The spaces between us don't feel all that
far If I say it aloud, would you feel it too Or maybe, just maybe, I'm missing
You glanced sideways for a moment, and the throbbing beat between you and me seemed far and yet close. If I spoke, you would notice. Maybe, maybe, I always miss you... Lia stopped writing, staring at the lyrics on the paper, her fingertips slowly stroking the words.
"Thoughts run to you..." "I miss you..." It seems like a confession without hesitation, but also like the thoughts have overflowed the boundaries and accidentally flowed onto the paper.
She tapped the paper lightly, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed. What was she writing? She bit the end of the pen, stared at the line for a long time, and finally crossed it out and wrote again: "but I'm lost in a
"Lost in a dream." She put down her pen and stared blankly at the new words on the paper. After a long moment, she sighed softly. ... She kept on deleting and revising as the night gradually deepened...
A message popped up on a phone lying nearby: "Happy birthday, always be happy, Lia." Kwon Ji-yong's reply lighted up slightly, then faded out. * For the past few days, Lia had been feeling uneasy.
Even though she had changed the lyrics, the thought of giving it as a gift made her feel strangely guilty. Should she give it? How should she give it? Bo-eun's words, "Giving something too thoughtfully makes people think too much," kept flashing through her mind.
She never expected that this gift would become such a hot potato before it was even given. She thought about it while eating, training, and sleeping. The others in the dorm were surprised to see her absent-minded.
Only Bo-eun seemed to know something. She assumed she was still struggling with what gift to give, so she reassured her that August was still a long way off. Lia smiled wryly and nodded. Yeah, it was still early...
Since I can't figure it out for now, let's just leave it alone. * That evening, Lia finished her music arrangement class and walked alone into a convenience store near her office. She stood in the beverage section, her eyes fixed on a row of fruit and vegetable juices. She'd originally come here to buy this.
According to the trainee diet, her dinner every day is mostly low-calorie liquid food. But perhaps because she has been thinking about that "birthday gift" all the time in her mind recently, she seems to feel hungry more easily than usual.
Today... I really want to eat something hot... Her eyes drifted to the instant noodle shelf next to her, then quickly looked away. Instant noodles should never appear on her menu! ...No.
She shook her head vigorously, trying to fight back. However, even as her mind was still battling with emotions, her feet had already involuntarily moved to the nearby shelves. Tears welled up in her eyes as she stood in front of the fast food section, her hand wandering back and forth between the different flavors of instant noodles.
If I were to eat it... which flavor should I choose... It's not easy to eat it once, so I should choose the one I like the most... Finally, she stopped her fingers in front of the braised flavor package, gritted her teeth, and reached out resignedly -
At the same time, a hand reached out from the side. Their fingertips were barely touching, and their movements paused simultaneously. Lia subconsciously turned her head, her gaze meeting the other person's eyes.
He was a boy about her age, wearing a simple white T-shirt, with a thin figure and soft black hair. He had a pair of bright eyes, which looked particularly deep because the distance between his eyebrows was very close.
He wasn't a striking figure, but rather had the air of a teenage actor from the silver screen of yesteryear. For a moment, Lia thought he looked familiar, but couldn't place where she'd seen him.
The other person seemed to feel the same way, staring at her for a second before blinking slightly. They both withdrew their hands simultaneously. After a second of hesitation, Lia came to her senses and reached out again to take the instant noodles off the shelf.
She nodded politely and walked towards the counter. The person behind her stood there, following her back with his eyes, until she disappeared near the cashier, then reached out again and picked up a bucket of instant noodles.
The default ringtone of his iPhone suddenly filled the air. "Hello?" He held his instant noodles in one hand, fished his phone out of his trouser pocket with the other, and held it to his ear. A middle-aged man's voice came from the other end of the line: "Are you home yet?"
"Just got downstairs," he said casually, walking to the counter, putting down his instant noodles, and saying, "I'm picking up something to eat on the way." The other party was silent for a second, then sighed: "Did you forget to eat again?"
"Hmm..." he replied, gesturing to the clerk and asking for another bottle of water. "I don't have much time." The person on the other end of the line seemed to be considering something, and after a while he spoke, "Did the shoot go well?"
He chuckled softly, a hint of youthful innocence in his expression, and his fingers unconsciously tapped the counter top. "Not bad... I've been shooting all day and I'm starving. Can you let me eat first?"
The other party's tone softened a little, as if acknowledging his "legitimate needs", but still reminded him: "Eat less greasy food." "Got it." He responded casually and hung up the phone.
The cashier was a man in his thirties. Seeing him put down the phone, he couldn't help but say, "Aren't you filming lately? How come you have time to come back today?"
"Just finished work." He nodded, smiled slightly, and said in a low voice, a little tired, "It will be over in a few days."
The clerk smiled and handed over the change: "Thank you for your hard work. My husband has been following you and said that you acted really well despite being so young."
The boy seemed to hear such compliments often and was not surprised. He just curled his eyes and nodded slightly to the other party: "Thank you." Picking up the instant noodles, he switched the phone to his other hand, waved goodbye to the clerk, turned and walked out of the convenience store.
The night air was slightly chilly, and he walked slowly forward, instant noodles in hand, thinking thoughtfully - where had I seen that girl before? * When he returned to the dormitory, Cailin was hunched over the coffee table in the living room, sewing something intently.
"What are you making?" Lia leaned over curiously to take a look. "A handmade doll!" Cailin looked up. "I want to give it to Senior to thank him for his help last time." "...A handmade doll?" Lia was stunned.
"Well, a felt figurine. I bought it last time when I saw the material package at the craft store." As she spoke, she carefully sewed the thing in her hand with needle and thread -
It seemed to be in the final stages of completion. The felt figurine, with its neat stitching and adorable shape, looked like a delicate souvenir. Lia stared at it and suddenly had an idea—she could make a doll too! She wanted to make a GD figurine!
With Cailin's doll in front of her, her figurine was a natural progression! And no one would notice the "instructions" that came with the figurine, would they? She slapped her head, feeling smug at her cleverness.
So she excitedly asked Cailin for the address of a craft shop and went to buy the material package the next day. ... But it turned out that handmade crafts were much more difficult than she had imagined.
Lia sat on the sofa, her expression focused, her head bent over the sewing of a small creature that looked like some kind of creature, though its identification was questionable. The felt that had been so obedient in Cailin's hands was like mud that could not be supported against the wall in her hands.
After spending several days on this, she was finally nearing completion. She stared at the half-finished product, lost in thought. Would someone get called to the police for giving an ugly gift? Even... this was her third attempt...
The little thing was wearing a small blue jacket and a small felt hat, with round black eyes. Its belly was so stuffed with cotton that the stitches on it seemed to be bursting, as if a big hole was about to appear.
She even took the trouble to embroider a small "G" on the hat. ... "Wow, it's actually done!" Cailin looked at the thing and marveled.
The onlookers in the dormitory couldn't help but nod their heads in agreement. Witnessing Lia's hard work over the past few days, everyone felt sorry for the felt in her hands. "You can tell... it's him, right?"
Lia looked expectantly at the people across from her, seeking support. "..." Silence. Even the greatest of friendships couldn't compliment them. Baoen patted her head sympathetically, offering comfort.
Lia couldn't help but whine and slumped over on the sofa. Although she wanted to do it again, she really didn't want to poke her finger again. And the next one wouldn't necessarily be better... She buried her head in the sofa, thinking distressedly -
Never mind, there was no requirement to make it look like the real thing anyway. Her intention was the key, right... Picking up the scribbled felt figurine and looking at it again and again, she couldn't help but frowning.
"DiDi..." she murmured, "Well, just call you DiDi." * Back in the room, Lia took out the cardboard she had prepared in advance and carefully wrote down the "Instructions for Use": Name: DiDi
Occupation: GD's exclusive reading companion Job Description: -Staying up with you -Helping you find lost chords -Supervising you to stop delaying lyrics -Will never betray you (unless you lose it yourself) Notes:
-Please treat it well, it is a handmade product and is easily damaged. -Do not wash it (you don't want to see what it looks like after being soaked in water) -It has a little magic and may bring inspiration -Comes with a melody
She rewrote the melody and adjusted lyrics on the back of the card. She knew the melody so well she could write it with her eyes closed.
Then, in the bottom corner, I drew a small cute version of GD, the same style as the felt figurine. ...and it's done.
Putting down the pen, she breathed a sigh of relief, staring at the paper for a few seconds, and then her eyes fell on the notebook spread out on the table - that was her only original manuscript. A small date was marked on the lower right corner of the page: [2007/06/17
(Sun) 02:15 AM]. She stared at the words in silence for a moment, then, as if she had suddenly made up her mind, she reached out and neatly tore off the page, folding it into a small piece.
Then she casually took the felt figurine, unstitched the stitches on its belly, and stuffed the paper block into the figurine's belly. Protected by the stuffing, her real "work" was firmly hidden in the figurine's body.
She stared at the felt figurine for a few seconds, then picked up her needle and thread and carefully sewed it back together. Just like that, Didi became a true "container of her thoughts." She patted the figurine gently and smiled unconsciously.
"You better be strong, DiDi." Then he carefully folded the "Instructions" card and put it in a cardboard box along with the figurine. The box was light gray, with no special pattern, and only a small label:
“For inspiration.”
----------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
