Staring at her exam report sitting on a stack of notes on her desk, a sense of relief washed over Hyejeong.

At least my grades aren't too bad. I can go home with a peace of mind.

Her gaze travelled back to the duffel bag on her bed and she mused over how she had spent the entire night deciding what to pack. Picking up her phone, she typed a short text message.

‘Hey mom, I'll be home by late afternoon, see you soon!’

Hyejeong took one last look at her room, picked up her notes and placed them in her backpack, before she hauled her duffel bag over her shoulders and left the room.

Jimin was already outside waiting with her luggage. Hyejeong locked the door behind her and smiled at her roommate.

“We had one hell of a semester, eh?”

“Yeah! See you again after summer!”

*******************

Dumping her duffel bag on the little front porch of her house, Hyejeong unlocked the front door and stepped into her house.

It's good to be home.

Her parents were still at work, but to her surprise, there was a plate filled with freshly-made kimbap on the dining table, along with a note ‘For our darling Hyejeong’.

This simple act of love made Hyejeong burst into tears. Determined to do her part as a good daughter, she spent the rest of the day doing the household chores while wondering what she was going to do that summer.

***************

“Well, you had a modelling stint last year, so what about this year?”

“I want to do something that can give me more…relevant experience.” Hyejeong dried the dishes and arranged them nicely on the shelves. She had spent the whole dinner telling stories of her school life to her parents.

Her mother thought for a moment. “Any ideas, honey?” she said to her husband.

“Something relevance…actually with your good looks, you could become a great news reporter!” he replied, laughing.

Hyejeong blushed. “Umm…”

“Hey, that sounds like a good idea! I mean, you would be able to become one immediate, but how about being an intern in a broadcast station? I have a few friends who could pull some strings,” Her mother said, winking.

That sounds interesting.

“Alright, I'll give it a shot,” Hyejeong replied, already trying to imagine what was ahead of her.

***********

For Hyejeong, benefits of being the only child included having a big room, bed and wardrobe all to herself.

She held two polaroids in her hands, both couple shots of herself with Mina and Seolhyun. Guilt and regret filled her as she looked back at how she screwed up her relationships with them both.

It's all my fault for being a total jerk. I don't deserve it. I hope they can forgive me. Eventually…

Not wanting to dwell on her regrets any longer, Hyejeong turned her attention to checking her inbox. To her surprise, there was a mail titled ‘To my dearest babies’ and attached were a compilation of candid pictures of Hyejeong and her cheerleading team.

Choa… I miss you guys so much too…

***********

The entrance to the place was located in a dark alleyway, close to but largely hidden from the main road. There was no sign on the walls and the lone nondescript-looking door was old and dirty; it would escape the attention of anyone who did not know what was behind it.

Hyejeong stepped up to the door and opened it to see a large, dimly lit room filled with pool and billiard tables. She caught a faint whiff of cigarettes and alcohol from the bar counter at the other end of the room.

Ah… my old haunt. We used to come here after school sometimes.

Hyejeong had felt the urge to play pool again, which used to be one of her hobbies. Looking around, she noticed someone standing by the cashier counter staring at her.

A girl with soft, lovely features and a pleasant demeanour. But she was no ordinary stranger.

Wait a sec, I know that girl. Her name… what's her name? Oh!

It took Hyejeong several seconds to recall, but when she did, she could hardly believe who stood before her.

“Yuna!” She cried, rushing over to the girl and hugging her tightly. “It’s so good to see you again!”

“Hyejeong! I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw you walk in!” Yuna was grinning from ear to ear as she held Hyejeong's hands joyfully. “It's been years since we last met, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah, because you just took off so suddenly. How have you been doing?”

“Haha, sorry about that. An offer from a school that is out of town came, so I moved out on a very short notice.” Yuna said apologetically. “No regrets though. I followed my dreams and managed to get into college. Came back to visit some relatives and today, I thought of popping by here for a game or two.”

“Hey, same here! Wanna play a few matches? Loser treats chicken and beer!” Hyejeong suggested enthusiastically.

Yuna grinned. “Just like old times. You're on!”

Hyejeong was first introduced by her seniors to this place during her junior high years. She quickly took a liking to pool and booze. However, unlike Hyejeong, Mina’s parents were strict and imposed curfews on her, hence Hyejeong never brought her along.

Back then, Hyejeong was going through her ‘rebellious teenage phase’; she would often sneak out at night to hang out with her gang here.

It was then that she met Yuna through a mutual friend and they got acquainted over a casual game of pool. They would often play friendly matches against one another or pair up against their friends and the loser(s) would have to buy chicken and beer. However, Yuna moved out shortly before Hyejeong graduated from junior high but they did not maintain contact afterwards.

“I see that you have not lost your touch,” Yuna commented after Hyejeong beat her in their standard ‘first-to-three’ game.

“And now I shall claim the spoils of victory!” Hyejeong exclaimed happily as they made their way to the bar counter. The two old friends had a good chat over a small basket of fried chicken and a couple of cold beers.

“I just came back from an overseas exchange programme. In short, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me! I’ve gained so much from it; new friends, new experiences and also, lots of good food!”

“Wow, that sounds like a load of fun! Wish I could go for one too, but my grades wouldn’t allow me. Show me some photos, I wanna see how schools look like in other countries!”

Yuna whipped out her phone and scrolled through six months’ worth of photos. “Here’s the campus, that’s a concert we went to, that’s a walkathon in the city area. And that’s a selfie with my roommate on our last day.”

Her roommate was… Mina? But the hair… no it can’t be!

Hyejeong froze immediately, her eyes as wide as saucers. Her fingers trembled slightly as she pointed at the photo. “Your roommate, what’s her name? She looks like… a schoolmate of mine.”

“Mina? The sweetest, most lovable girl I've ever met. I couldn't have asked for a better roomie. Looking at this makes me miss her-”

“So that really is Mina! Why did she cut her hair? Where is she right now?” Hyejeong sounded almost desperate.

Yuna stared at her in surprise. “Why would you ask that? Are you related to Mina in any way?”

They were roommates, which means Mina definitely told her about what happened between us. I can’t let Yuna know that it was me!

“Er she's my schoolmate from high school. I don't really know her well,” Hyejeong lied, fighting to keep her emotions under control. “is she back? My high school alumni might be organising a reunion.”

“Ah I see. Hmm, the thing is, she did come back last week to arrange and pack her stuff before she left. She didn't mention a reunion of any sort to me.

Pack her stuff? But she just came back!

“Perhaps nobody told her yet. Did she say where she's going?”

Yuna's expression changed to a bittersweet one. “Mina…she decided to leave our college and applied for a transfer to the college we did our exchange programme in. The application was successful. She returned for a while and went back to start the new term there.”

Foreign college… new term… Mina, does this mean I'll never see her again? Oh no…

“Hyejeong, are you alright? You look a little pale.” Worry was written all over Yuna's face.

“I'm alright, it's just that the thought of studying overseas scares me a little.” Hyejeong stood up unsteadily and gripped the table for support. “Excuse me for a moment, I need to go to the toilet.”

I need to cry.

*****************************************

Hyejeong rested her head against the window as the bus rumbled along the old road, passing by familiar buildings and fields.

Back to that same forest, the small clearing with the old oak tree. The one place that belonged to us, where we found true peace and happiness. Our happy place.

We would lay on the grass and talk about everything under the sun. We would make piles of dead leaves and dive into them like little kids. We even buried a time capsule and promised ourselves to come back after ten years to open it. It was just a small metal box, filled with messages to our future selves and some photos of the both of us. We wanted it to be a reminder of the dreams and goals we had then. The spot we chose to bury it was next to one of the large roots of the oak tree which we marked by engraving our initials into the bark.

If only I could turn back time and make everything right again…

Earlier that morning, she opened her laptop and a reminder popped up on her calendar. Ten years had passed since that day. It was time to go back and open their time capsule, except that Hyejeong would be doing so alone.

The route to the clearing was etched into her memory; she knew the way like the back of her hand. Upon entering the area, Hyejeong immediately noticed a patch of recently unearthed soil.

And it was at the spot where they buried it.

So that’s why she came back. She remembered. Hold on, what if she left a message for me here too?

With her bare hands, Hyejeong dug through the soft earth wildly, desperately hoping that what she thought was going to be true.

And it was.

She found the box after several minutes of digging. Upon opening it, the first thing she saw was a folded piece of white paper that rested above everything else.

This wasn’t here before.

It was a letter, blotched with what Hyejeong speculated was tearstains, and on it was Mina’s handwriting.

Hyejeong, by the time you have finished reading this, I will be long gone. My heart is heavy and my tears flow freely as I pen down these words. I have, after much consideration, decided to pursue my dreams in a foreign college, the one where I went for my exchange programme. The good news is that I have finally found a sense of purpose in my life and I am determined to achieve it. I am no longer the shy, silly, timid Mina whom you remember.

Like a butterfly that has broken out of its cocoon, I will spread my wings and soar to the sky.

Dongdong, regardless of whatever that happens in the future, you will always be in my heart. But I cannot forgive you yet. Only time will tell.

Goodbye

-Mina

So it’s goodbye for now eh? I guess this is my punishment. Having to wait for your forgiveness.

I accept it.