Two figures sat side by side on the bench facing the sea. They closed their eyes and breathed in deep, enjoying the cool sea breeze that tended to their relaxation routine.

“Ahhhh, I’m loving this,” Haesoo giggled, facing up at the sky with her eyes closed.

Her arms were wide, as if stretching, and her left fingers poked playfully at Chanwoo who was by her side – her deliberate attempt at evoking a reaction out of him.

Impossible.

The boy stared at her, a smile on his face, not one bit annoyed. He was rather amused at the poking. But the wind did feel good; the day was indeed very beautiful. It felt good to be able to go out into the natural state of the earth and enjoy the sea breeze with his best friend after weeks of training and time away from her. With training constantly eating into Chanwoo’s time, it was almost impossible to make any more to dedicate to Haesoo, added the need to juggle with school work.

He missed her a lot and, to the both of them, each other’s company was the only cure they needed to recover from exhaustion. Nothing could be more a relief than the moments they spend enjoying each other’s company.

Haesoo sighed and turned to Chanwoo. “I can’t believe we can’t meet for the next, what, 6-7 months? As if this isn’t bad as it is. MUST you go for that special training thing?”

Chanwoo smiled and nodded. “Of course. If I want it badly, I must sacrifice some things.”

Haesoo shot him a look. It was a combination of a pout and a possessed doll, far from cute.

“Even me?” Her voice was deliberately darkened.

Chanwoo laughed. “We can text and call, hell maybe even skype. Plus, the programme’s on TV so if you miss me, just open up the channel.”

“Thaaaaat’s noooot theeeee saaaaameee.”

The boy playfully punched her on her left arm. “Is that an attempt at aegyo?”

Haesoo made a face and the silence ensued as the best friends thought about the life apart from each other. So many months. So long. It was going to be so much quieter without each other, much quieter than now, now when Chanwoo is already busy with normal training.

“I can’t do it,” she sighed, her bare toes playing with the sand on the ground. “Isn’t it weird to you? We’ve been going everywhere together since we were pretty much babies. It was weird all this time when you weren’t around. If you’re going to be gone, it’s just going to be so… so weird. Amiss. Like something’s wrong.”

“Look, I… I get you. I might not be able to either. But… this is my dream. I want to be an idol. I’ll do anything to be part of iKON. Don’t you want to see me succeed?” Chanwoo placed a hand on Haesoo’s.

This made the girl sigh even deeper, her face crinkling into a frown. She sighed several more times, her posture going lower, hunching even more. Then she grabbed her head and began screaming, shaking her head from left to right.

This caught the attention of a few passers-by but Chanwoo only stared at her amused. This was a common occurrence – the sight of Haesoo hyperventilating and freaking out. In fact, Haesoo gave in so much to Chanwoo’s every need that he could easily tell that this was phase 2 before she’d finally agree to let Chanwoo join the programme for iKON.

Phase 3? Phase 3 would be the sudden speech-giving session that certainly no longer had an effect on Chanwoo. On that thought, phase 3 began. Haesoo was simply that predictable.

“Why would you give up the moments with your family and friends that you can’t have back? Is iKON that important? And you said this was a survival programme. Why throw all those training away on a gamble to be part of some group that might not even want you because… because maybe it’s unfair to them? Aren’t you scared?”

It was just phase 3, but Haesoo was serious. She was damn serious. This wasn’t just a passing phase. Haesoo seemed bent on stopping her best friend from entering the vast world of idols and fans where everything could change in a blink of an eye. Everything.

“Should fear stop me from fighting for my dream?” Chanwoo asked then.

This silenced Haesoo who began frowning even harder. Chanwoo’s attempt at questioning her moral standing on fighting for dreams was so smart of him. He struck the right chord.

“You’re so right. I hate that you’re right. You should fight for your dream no matter what. Why are you so wise? You shouldn’t be. You should just let me protect you,” Haesoo grunted, crossing her arms.

And that concluded phase 3. Haesoo was now fully consenting to Chanwoo’s departing, as hard as it might be for her to stay apart from her best friend for so long.

“But then…” Haesoo said again. “I do wish you the best. I hope you make it, Channie. Someone as gentle and genuine as you, you’re going to make it far. You have to.”

Chanwoo nodded, the wishes revitalising within him as a source of energy to try even harder for the programme. He was going to make it. He had to, if he wanted to make the best out of his decision, if he wanted to make Haesoo proud and unregretful of letting him go.

Why not? His dream was right there. As long as he did well and worked hard, he’d be debuting soon as a member of a YG group. He was excited yet worried for what the future held for him.

The two stayed in perfect silence after that, enjoying each other’s company and the cool, sea breeze. This was a moment they could never forget, the last moment they would be sharing for the next 6-7 months before Chanwoo would be subjected to strict training. They’d never been apart for such a long time for the past decade so this was huge. They were going to miss each other so very, very much, and both knew this all too well.

They were best friends, after all.

Haesoo, Chanwoo’s happy pill, is the hyper friend. The special kid who loved joking and laughing. There was always something funny in even tiniest bit of things. Kim Haesoo spreads laughter everywhere she goes. The girl is rather blunt and, quite frankly, more on the odd side. She did odd things at odd timings. But her cheeriness charmed everyone, including Chanwoo, and people loved Kim Haesoo for this.

To Chanwoo, though, Kim Haesoo’s charm wasn’t limited to the fun side of her. Kim Haesoo was also a dignified woman-in-the-making who held tight to her moral values. The girl wasn’t a perfectly-mannered child, often times crossing the line with her bad temper, but Chanwoo always knew that Haesoo fought for a cause. Haesoo always had a cause and Chanwoo looked up to her for it. She was reasonable.

And anyone who knew Haesoo would know Chanwoo. The two came together – a package. Haesoo and Chanwoo have been friends since their childhood days. The two met at an odd intersection of life at the age of 4 when Haesoo joined the childcare centre Chanwoo’s father ran. The way they met, the way they clicked, was a whole other story. But, to put it simply, Haesoo had basically forced Chanwoo to be her friend through various methods as a kid, though this was not a bad move as the two had stuck to each other like glue ever since.

To Haesoo, Chanwoo was the kindest, purest soul she’d ever met and he was who she could proudly declare her “bestestte bestestes bestee best bes bes friedded friendededed”. To put it simply, Haesoo was basically in love with Chanwoo, or at least when they were younger she was. As a child, Haesoo already knew she liked Chanwoo as more than a friend. Chanwoo was too much a sweetheart for her to handle. He was polite, often times quiet, and so, so well-mannered and well-raised. On many occasions, the tiny 4-year-old girl would go up to Chanwoo’s father and shake his hand to thank him for such a perfect son. The adults seemed to always be amused by this.

As they grew up, loud, talkative and playful Haesoo became increasingly protective of her best friend Chanwoo who never grew out of his pushover self. But she soon realised how her love for Chanwoo was different. She wasn’t in love with Chanwoo. She just loved him, for who he is, for who aspired to be, for the things he did, for the things he vowed not to.

And that was why that calm Sunday morning she’d decided to come into terms with Chanwoo’s dreams and ambitions, ridiculous as she thought it was that he’d throw everything away for the stage life. But the boy was taking his first step for the first time, actually pushing for a dream he decided he wanted so badly. Haesoo was in no place to stop her best friend. As much as she hated sending him out of her protection, she was going to have to trust Chanwoo’s strengths this time.

But Kim Haesoo always fought for a cause. She never fought for nothing. And this fight was no different.

The cause just wasn’t loud enough at that time.

*******

A week had passed and every night of the week Haesoo had managed at least 2 minutes of calling time with Chanwoo. Half of the time, she’d be feeding him with words of strength and support while the other half was Chanwoo complaining how painful training was. All the while, Haesoo bit back on the urge to tell him to ditch the programme, walk out of the pain, and come home safe. The struggle was painfully real.

One Thursday, she decided to take Chanwoo’s advice and opened up the channel showing “Mix & Match”. Haesoo was missing him too much and episode one was showing. As the boys from Team B were practicing, they were suddenly interrupted by the entrance of the director, Yang Hyunsuk. After some talking, Chanwoo had entered with another boy, making Haesoo jump for glee seeing her best friend on actual TV. ACTUAL TV.

She quickly pulled out her phone and began snapping pictures of her best friend, squealing as she did.

When it was Chanwoo’s turn to introduce himself, she cackled watching how shy he was. The boy was always like that, shy and awkward at first, but when he gets comfortable, he’s loud and playful but kind nonetheless. A part of Haesoo kept repeating how she was so damn proud of him.

Her heart soared at the sight of Chanwoo sitting around the other members in the practice room; actually making the decision that will change their lives forever.

That’s it. That’s it, Channie. Baby steps. You’re getting there.

Unknowingly, a tear had slipped down Haesoo’s right cheek. A happy tear.