It was the night before the first day of school that Joohyun, Seulgi, Seungwan, Sooyoung and Yerim stumbled across an old house in a cranny of the woods.  Mushrooms dotted the unkempt yard and time wore away at its edges, yet Seungwan couldn’t help but gravitate towards the magic it promised.  A promise that struck Seulgi with the same sort of awe as she relished in the feeling that, yeah, finding this house didn’t seem like a mistake.  It was an uncanny feeling that kindled embers of friendship and warmth in her heart despite the chills that ghosted down her spine.

It was to no one’s surprise that Sooyoung and Yerim urged the others to join them on their quest to discover its deepest secrets and the demons that hid beneath its boards.  Joohyun shivered at the sight of the wispy shadows against the moonlight.  Beside her, Seulgi snickered knowingly, elbowing Sooyoung as the latter harbored strange noises under her breath.

           In the high of their triumphant expedition, Yerim had stirred the topic: to write to the person they would be in a few years, and to stay true to one another.

           “You’re so sappy,” Sooyoung cooed, teetering back and forth as they gathered under a patch of light.

           Seulgi nodded, but snatched a moldy sheet of paper from between Yerim’s fingers anyway.

           Seungwan laughed, rocketing back against the curve of her spine as she mirrored Joohyun’s carefree grin.  “I’m down.  Pass the pencil when you’re done.”

           “Wait, but we have to promise first!”  Joohyun pressed.

           Yerim grinned; winning Joohyun over meant winning everyone over.  She hurriedly d about for a pair of hands.  The silence that ensued was a sign that the others had complied.

           “Promise that whatever happens, we’ll always be there for each other, love each other, and that we will help each other grow.”

           Seulgi chuckled, “I promise.”

           “I promise,” came Seungwan’s mellow tone.  The house creaked abruptly, screaming of the future to come.

           Yerim pursed her lips in the same moment Sooyoung smiled in adoration.

“I promise.”

           And their feathery giggles faded off into the spaces that bounded them to each other—between their own infinities.