Goodbyes always hurt. It probably wouldn’t hurt Jung Hwan as much as it would hurt you. He wouldn’t remember you after all. You wouldn’t even become a part of his fleeting memory. His life would just resume back to the time before you met him. You were nothing, not even a speck of dust in his world.

“Why are you staring at me?” Jung Hwan shot you a quizzical look when he noticed your eyes following him around.

When you didn’t answer him, he just brushed it aside like you were being your usual self – weird and unpredictable. He was in a jolly mood today, occasionally bursting out in happy songs.

“Hey,” you carefully spoke out. “You’ll remember me, right?” Your voice was so soft. You weren’t sure if you wanted him to hear that actually. You were afraid of the answer, afraid that it would be something you wouldn’t want to accept.

“Of course,” he said, ruffling your hair (more of messing it actually). “A person like you is impossible to forget.”

He turned back to throw a wink at you before going into the kitchen. His words made you want to cry so badly, but you couldn’t. He was making it even harder for you to leave now.

“Now get your lazy off the sofa and come help me with the dishes!” he shouted from inside.

You did the dishes with him, both of you engulfed in a comfortable silence throughout.

“I’m going back soon.”

You were the first to break the silence. He placed the plate down and looked at you. You were still holding onto the mug, gripping it so tightly that it could shatter into pieces. You couldn’t look at him in the eyes as you struggled to fight back the tears.

“I know.”

His voice was really warm and pleasing.

“I’ll miss you.”

You let go of the mug and rested it on the table. Your tears were rolling off your cheeks now, and you squinted your eyes shut, biting your lips.

“I know.”

He turned you around and pulled you into his embrace. You were sniffing into his shirt, your two hands now grabbing onto the soft fabric. He patted your head gently and your back.

“Silly girl, it’s okay.”

You stayed like this for some time, seeking comfort in Jung Hwan. He was a lighthouse, and you were a ship lost at sea. You never wanted to leave the safety of his arms, but you broke apart when your tears stopped.

“I’m sorry,” you mumbled. “Your shirt.”

He gave you a small smile.

“I can always wash it.”

You hurriedly took off the apron and long gloves and ran into the room. You reached for the bookmark that you drew. You had it laminated in the early morning.

“Here,” you said and shoved it towards Jung Hwan. “It’s a little something that I made, to thank you for everything.”

He removed his gloves and patted his hands dry against the sides of his pants.

“Thank you,” he said. “It’s cute, really.”

You blushed as you watched him fiddling with the bookmark, a fond look on his face.

Behind the maple leaf was a sentence written in childish (big) handwriting and a cartoon girl in a ridiculously bright yellow raincoat.

“Don’t forget to remember! ^^ ”

I'm sorry I neglected this for so long.

My computer got reformatted, and I lost all my drafts for my older stories.

I kinda lost touch on this one. :(