whirlwind: diyue ficlets

somewhere only they know

he opened the door and was greeted by the empty open space of the loft. he hesitated for a moment before stepping one foot over the threshold. he had helped her pack her stuff so finding her apartment empty shouldn't be a surprise and yet, the sight of this hollowed out space struck him in ways he did not expect. and for one very brief moment, he wasn't sure if he was gonna be able to breathe again.

she was gone. opportunities had called so she followed. and he had supported her decisions. it was temporary, after all. one day she would come back to him, or he would go to where she was. of that, he was sure. they were end game and he could feel it in his bones. "right place, right time" is all.

he looked around trying to decide where to start. he was there to go through the loft apartment one last time and make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. he had offered -- and she had dropped the keys in his palm with a grateful smile -- but he did not expect the task to be this difficult and time-consuming. he kept having to stop at random intervals because merely looking at various corners in this place brought back visions of how it used to look like and the moments he had with her here.

moments like that time at her housewarming when she almost soaked the whole place because her cooking had produced so much smoke and triggered the fire alarm. or the time they were stuck in this very loft for 2 days because of a snow storm and they'd spent it huddled together on the couch eating instant food and binge-watching her favourite j-dramas. or that other time when they had a huge fight over his abusing pain meds while recovering from an injury he had sustained during filming. an intervention she had called it.

a small smile appeared on his face. memories. they had so many in this place. some good. some bad. each one precious all the same. he took a deep breath and belatedly realized what a mistake that was when her scents filled his lungs. her soap. her shampoo. her lotion. even her laundry detergent. it was like every breath he took brought up even more memories. damn it. i miss her so much already. he shook his head. you'll see her again. you can visit her. and you will, remember? he'd had his flight all booked for the first rest period he got.
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he finished going through every room and sat in the main room against a wall. he tilted his head back and stared at the high ceiling for a moment before closing his eyes. he stayed like that for a while, letting the various scents he associated with her consume his senses while his mind played more memories of them like a reel of old-school home videos.

he rubbed the back of his ear and found comfort when he felt the raised skin there. he smiled, opened his eyes and got up to leave.
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3 years later ...

he sat in the dressing room of a variety talk show waiting for his turn to go on. he was staring absentmindedly at his own reflection in the mirror while rubbing the back of his ear as was his habit when he wasn't feeling like himself. the last time he went on something like this was well over a year ago and he wasn't sure what to expect. he took a calming breath and whispered to himself. you got this.

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"next on the show, we have Wang Hedi who is here to talk about his new movie, Shadows of Honour, which opens nationwide this Friday. welcome, Didi."

"hello, everyone. i'm Wang Hedi. long time no see."

"long time no see indeed, Didi. it seems like in the last couple of years you have cut back on activities. we rarely ever see you on our screens anymore. how have you been?"

"i've been great! and to clarify, i'm not really cutting back on projects but more that i am focusing on films more than dramas now. i have actually shot five in the last two to three years."