Hello To Goodbye
I Thought of You
“Lovers are meant to meet each other. No matter how far they are gone, they are meant to return.”
Victoria didn’t see Eunhyuk off to his audition. She’d prayed the night before begging that Eunhyuk would get accepted and become a worldwide star everyone respected.
Eunhyuk didn’t call her even when his audition ended and Victoria was glad he hadn’t. She didn’t want to let go of the hug from last night. Her heart still thumped wildly whenever she thought of it.
She returned to school the next morning and still hadn’t heard from Eunhyuk. No matter how many times she stared at her phone, no one called. It’d suddenly become so quiet and lonely without loud Eunhyuk around to scold her and invite her out.
Setting her books aside after a long night of studying she covered her face with both hands. The ringing of her phone made her jump. Expecting it to be Eunhyuk she instantly grabbed it only to find that it was Seohyun calling.
“Victoria, lets meet up tomorrow.”
“Where?”
“At the middle school we went to.”
“What? Why there?”
“Around 3, ok?”
“Seohyun! Seohyun!” Victoria called only to find the beeping of the dead phone line answering her.
Why would Seohyun request to meet her at the middle school when they could just meet up on campus? Too flustered she jumped into bed feeling her stomach growl. She’d certainly call Eunhyuk up for a meal, but she didn’t know if calling him was alright. What if he was busy?
The next day after obediently attending all her classes, she dropped her bag off at home before heading out.
Instead of taking her own car, she decided to ride the bus she always rode with Eunhyuk when they were still young. The memories it brought her made her want to fall sick and return home. For some reason she didn’t want to go to the meeting place anymore.
When the bus stopped in front of the school it was already too late. Victoria got off and stared at the three story building. It was certainly the place where she’d first met Eunhyuk. It was the birthplace of their blossoming friendship.
How many things were still the same?
As she treaded forward she gazed at the green yard accompanied by a new picnic table. It was the yard Eunhyuk had danced upon. Tilting her head up she glanced up at the second floor where she’d watched Eunhyuk from.
Nostalgia was too sick of a feeling engulfing her.
Victoria turned to look at her surroundings. She was homesick.
Pressing her lips together she felt like seeing her classroom. The school had emptied out and she assumed that the students were on a holiday. Walking through the doors she found that the school was smaller than she’d remembered. Or was it that she’d grown too big?
Heading toward the stairs she went up to the second floor having forgotten about Seohyun. Memories flooded her as she reached the second floor. Victoria could still clearly remember listening to the loud footsteps of boys running back and forth cursing at each other, the girls giggling and crooning over a boy they had a crush on.
She stared out the windows as she walked by and finally paused when she reached her classroom. The door was open and she wondered if a teacher was inside. Her heart quietly thudded anxiously as she walked toward it and when she poked her head in she felt her eyes grow wide.
Eunhyuk was sitting at her desk.
“Lets have lunch together. I didn’t see you outside with the other girls.” he greeted.
Victoria didn’t know whether she wanted to laugh or cry, so she remained stunned on spot.
“Hey, you,” he greeted. “I waited a long time.”
He pointed to the two lunch boxes on the desk and gestured for her to come over.
“I packed them this morning,” Eunhyuk explained when she sat down, “and it’s edible, I promise.”
He was trying to get her to laugh, but Victoria couldn’t summon it up. It had suddenly felt like it’d been years since she’d seen him.
“Have you been bored without me?” he wondered.
“Where’d you go?”
“I,” he began, “got accepted on the spot. They’re telling me to go to Seoul.”
The lunch Eunhyuk had specially prepared for her didn’t look so appetizing any more and she could have cared less about it.
“When…are you leaving?”
Reality was suddenly so hard to accept.
“Next week.”
Victoria pressed her lips together and smiled.
“Good, I knew you’d make it.”
He looked at her.
“Don’t look behind, Eunhyuk. It’s your dream, you should go after it,” Victoria encouraged, “Kyuhyun, Seohyun, and Donghae will be watching you every step of the way. And I…will be stabbing all your antis.”
Eunhyuk stared at her and laughed. Victoria stared at him and tried her best to smile.
Her heart was falling down the drain. She needed to say hello to goodbye this time around. Victoria had never thought this day would come.
Sitting side by side staring up at the school Victoria suddenly felt her past catching up to her. Her young days were really gone.
“Remember how we both got dragged to the principal’s office?” Victoria questioned.
“Of course. Our parents yanked us home in front of the whole school.”
Victoria smiled, “Those were the great days.”
“Those were the days.”
Victoria turned to look at him.
“It’s going to get lonely without you around.”
“I’m going to be bored without you too.”
They both laughed.
It felt so awkward talking this way. Though it wasn’t goodbye, the two of them were already indirectly giving their farewells to each other.
“Is there a reason why you didn’t contact me after the audition?”
Eunhyuk tilted his head toward the ground.
“I wanted some time to think,” Eunhyuk replied.
“When you make it big,” Victoria started, “you won’t forget me, will you?”
“I definitely, definitely won’t forget you.”
They turned to each other and Victoria pulled the biggest smile she could summon across her lips.
That night when she returned home, she cried.
Her best friend was leaving and she wouldn’t be able to see him anymore. The words she’d engraved in her heart would remain there forever. And that would be the saddest part of her life. Not being able to love her friend.
~.~.~.~.~
Disappointment, hurt, and pain spread itself through him.
Victoria should have asked him to stay. He knew she wanted him to stay. If Victoria had said so, he would stay and remain a city boy without a regret. Eunhyuk wouldn’t regret throwing away his dream to be with her. But she had told him to go.
The rest of the school year he still wanted to spend with her. He wanted to do so much more. If so, he would confront his feelings. He’d get to Victoria somehow and let her know of the words he’d hidden inside.
The next day and the next and the next he met up with Victoria in between classes and after classes. Every last moment he wanted to spend with her.
Eunhyuk never imagined the day would come. It had come so quick and he hadn’t been prepared at all.
“Take care of yourself, dear,” his mother embraced his face into her hands. “Call home whenever you have time.”
“Make us proud,” his dad placed a hand on his shoulder.
“We’ll be going now,” his mother nodded and turned to smile at Victoria.
He watched them walk off before turning to Victoria.
“5 minutes before the train starts for Busan…” the announcer over head warned.
Eunhyuk turned to Victoria. He’d wanted more time. They stared at each other unsure of what to say.
“I’ll be back,” Eunhyuk promised. “And I’ll call you when I can.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Victoria smiled. “Have fun. I’m proud of you, Eunhyuk.”
They held each other’s eye for the last time and he turned around to leave.
“Eunhyuk!” Victoria called.
His heart leaped and he turned around.
“Thank you, for being my friend!” Victoria thanked.
She waved at him and he waved back. When the doors closed he could no longer see Victoria.
~.~.~.~.~
When Victoria turned around, tears slipped from her eyes. She hadn’t planned on crying but it was suddenly feeling as if she was losing the most important person of her life. The sadness it brought her was so overwhelming.
She lost contact with Eunhyuk when he debuted the next year.
Not once, though, had she missed the headline news featuring Eunhyuk. As promised, she kept her eye on him. Even after university and even when she’d found a job inside a promising law firm she still kept her eye on him. And there hadn’t been a day when she didn’t think about him.
***Next chapter is the finale!
Comments