Moon Byul's POV

Sometimes I just want to stop time—to savor the moment, to feel the overflowing emotions, and for once—feel what happiness feels like. 

I was staring at the ceiling, lying on my bed with my hands clasped behind my head while overthinking a lot of things. Millions of things started to fill my head. I closed my eyes. A painful memory flashed by. So I opened my eyes again. I sighed.

Maybe I just got tired because of school.

I got up from my bed and dressed up. I grabbed my forever 21 red sweatshirt and  put it on quickly. I put my plain black baseball cap on my head and hurried downstairs. 

"Ma! I'll be back later! I just need some fresh air," I shouted. 

"Hey, hey. Slow down. Where are you going? Dinner is already served," my mother asked, worry seen in her eyes. 

"I-I just need to get some fresh air," I stuttered with a head down. "I promise I'll be back for an hour. I'll eat dinner when I come back," I assured her. She nodded. I hugged her and she whispered in my ear. "You'll be fine, Byul," she half-smiled at me. I nodded. 

I went out of the house to look for my bicycle. I felt the cold wind enter my body. I couldn't help but to shiver. 

Winter's really approaching. 

I went inside our garage and saw my bicycle. I quickly grabbed it and rode on it. I passed by Whee In's house and saw that their porch light was still on. Maybe they're still up for dinner. Yes, Whee In's house is only a few houses away from mine. We live on the same street. Whee In has a very nice family. Sometimes her parents even invite me to have dinner with them. 

I stopped by for a while and started to ride my bike again. I went out of our street and turned left which leads to a small park. I stopped at the park and took a seat on the bench beside the old oak tree. Dead leaves were scattered everywhere. 

Autumn is about to end soon. 

Autumn kind of reminded me of a painful memory. But even so, I still loved the autumn season. I stared at the sky and I found myself smiling. Despite of the fact that I felt melancholic tonight, the stars above never fail to make me smile. I sighed, reminiscing a very vivid memory. 

5 years ago...

"Moon Byul Yi! Come here!" dad shouted, trying to catch me. 

We're here in a park. Dad just picked me up from my school and we decided to hang out here in the park for a while. He just came back from Seoul. He's an attorney from a very known law firm in Seoul. He has helped a lot of people and I admired him because of that. My dad is my inspiration to do good in school because I want to be like him someday. I want to help other people as much as he does. 

"Appa! Are you tired?" I stopped running because I saw him panting. I went beside him to comfort him. 

"Aha! I caught you! Finally, I win!" He lifted me up, smiling from ear to ear. 

"Appa! You're unfair! Put me down!" I pouted at him. He pinched my cheeks and put me down. 

"You're getting older everyday, Byul. Someday you're going to be a successful beautiful woman like your mother and I couldn't be more excited to see it. But right now, I am going to cherish your childhood moments because I couldn't do this anymore if you're all grown up," he kissed my cheeks and then my forehead. He hugged me as if it's the last day he'll be seeing me. 

I smiled at him. "I can't wait to see your old face, appa! I bet it's funny!" I giggled. He shook his head in amusement. 

"Let's go home, Byul. It's getting colder and you need to do your homework. And I bet your mother has been wondering where we are," we walked hand in hand until we reached his car.

"Put your seatbealts on," he said as he started the car. I begged him to drive around for a while because I don't feel like going home yet. He agreed to that. Shortly, we went home after driving around the neighbourhood. We were about to get out of the car and go inside the house but then he just stood still while holding the driver's door.

"Appa, let's get inside," I tugged his sleeves.

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