Chapter 5 - Sweet Serendipity

Lee DeWyze - Sweet Serendipity

"And I'm doing just fine, I'm landing on my feet...

In the nic of time and by the skin of my teeth...

I ain't gonna stress cause the worst ain't happened yet...

Something's watching over me like sweet serendipity..."

LEE DONGHAE

I was having a shower when I heard a knock on my door. I just came back from the Loterie Treetop Adventure Tour. It was like an adventure camp wherein I tried series of zip lines, rope swings and bridges suspended from platforms mounted in forest trees. It was very fun although I was honestly scared at first. I finished the tour for three hours and decided to go back to the ship to freshen up. When I arrived, miss drunk had left already. She arranged my things and left my room tidy. I was moved by that gesture. I knew she's not a bad person at all. 

A few minutes later, I heard a knock again. I hurriedly dried myself, put on my boxers and rushed towards the door. I didn't know what made me so excited. When I opened it, I saw a lady was already leaving. It's her!

"You came back," I called her. She stopped. She turned around but kept looking down at the floor. I moved towards her to check if she was fine. "Are you okay? Does your head hurt?"

"Ah no-" she stopped when she looked at my face. She looked shocked and I believe I know why. She rubbed her eyes to clear her vision and I stopped her from doing it too much which could hurt her eyes.

"I'm real. You are not dreaming," I told her. She still froze in shock. "I'm Lee Donghae."

I held out my hand for a hand shake. She was hesitant to take my hand so I took hers and shook it. "Nice meeting you...."

"Althea.. Althea Fajardo," she continued. She smiled at me. Beautiful smile.

"Um, I'm sorry but can you wait for me? I'll change first before we talk. Is it fine with you?" She nodded. "Please wait for me okay?

I ran back to my room and it took me only about five minutes to get ready. I don't understand why I was so excited to talk to this girl. It seems that she really affected me after last night. I almost ran outside after fixing my hair. I was relieved to see her standing at the same spot I left her.

"Let's talk somewhere else," I told her. She nodded and we started to walk.

We headed to Cafe Promenade in deck five. I asked for her order and refused at first but when I insisted she finally gave in. She got iced mocha and I got iced Cappuccino. We settled down the table outside the cafe.

She remained silent. It seems that she was still shocked to see me that's why she couldn't even look me in the eye. I'm not really good in starting good conversations with girls but I knew I had to initiate one. 

"Are you angry with me?" I finally broke the silence. She looked shocked by my question. 

"No, I'm not," she answered, still not looking at my face. 

"Then why aren't you talking to me nor even look me in the eye?"

She took a deep breath and finally looked me in the eye. "Okay, I want to say thank you... For last night... And sorry for bothering you."

I was shocked by the comeback. "It's okay. Don't worry about it. I want to say sorry to you too."

"Why are you apologizing?" she asked.

"It's not easy for me to say this but I'm sorry for hurting you. I've always wanted to inspire ELF and make them happy but I never knew that my decision would hurt ELF so much especially you."

She looked puzzled. "Wait, I'm sorry but I couldn't really remember what happened last night so I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Well, you were drunk, calling out to the ocean and even tried to kill yourself."

"Me? Suicide?" she asked, trying to remember the things that happened. "Oh! I think I remember. Yeah, I was drunk... I remember calling out your n-.. the ocean. And yeah, I climbed the rails. But I wasn't trying to kill myself!"

"Then, why were you climbing up the rails?"

"Well... It was to let that person hear me clearly..."

"You mean, me." She just shook her head. "Why would climbing up the rails let me hear you clearly? Wait. Did you know that I am in this cruise?"

"No!" she exclaimed. "I climbed the rails so that I can be closer to the ocean."

"And why is that?"

"Because-you're-a-fish-that-lives-in-the-sea!" she said almost eating up her words. I paused for a moment to comprehend what she just said.

Did she say I'm a fish??? A few seconds later I broke in laughter. I couldn't stop myself from laughing so hard. How could she think that way? Just how old is this girl? When I became out of breath, I finally stopped. She was just sitting there looking like she realized how crazy she was last night. 

"I'm so sorry for that," I told her, still catching my breath. 

"I know I'm crazy," she said, avoiding eye contact. 

"Hey, don't be angry. Since you've been so honest with me, I will answer your questions honestly."

"What questions?" she seemed nervous. I couldn't blame her. It seemed she was regretting everything last night.

"Well, you asked where I am so here I am. You asked if I'm married then I'm very much single. I also don't have a child. And if I'm happy, I wasn't sure until today."

She blushed and bowed her head to avoid from being caught. She looked so cute and funny. I don't understand how this girl could make me feel happy. I've never felt this way since Eunseo left me. She's not really my ideal type but the way she makes me feel is different from the other girls that I've been with. She makes me feel relaxed and comfortable. I am so glad that we've met. I don't know what would happen between us here in this cruise. I'm not sure if she would like to be friends with me after all that has happened. I don't know what's next.

But this I believe for sure. Meeting her is like sweet serendipity...