“Happy 26th Birthday,” the Chinese man muttered to himself as he wandered the dark streets alone from here to there, no destination in mind. “What are you even doing?” he said to himself again, ignoring the weird looks some people gave him. He was used to them but gave them no attention. Well, not anymore, at least. He spotted multiple bars but didn’t enter them - he had been drinking so much in the last few years and he promised himself that he was going to stop and control this problem of his. He kept walking, passing multiple groups of people - old people, young couples, groups of young teenagers, children. He scoffed slightly when he saw a group of girls sending him flirtatious signals - they reminded him of his ex-girlfriend’s friends, and he no intentions whatsoever to meet them again.

He spotted a hotel up ahead and he decided to enter. Afterall, he was in the city for his birthday, may as well take advantage of this moment. He walked inside, noticing that there was an open bar before the check out. He stood there for a few minutes to think about it. ‘Oh it,’ he said, and walked towards the bar counter. It was his birthday, he could worry about his problems later on. He sat down on the stool, ordering a drink before the back of a woman’s head caught his attention. He blinked multiple times, hoping his eyes were playing a trick on him. As if the woman could feel his stare, she turned her head around to face him, both their eyes widening.

“...Mina…” he said, almost in denial.

“...Kris…” she said back, and he felt his heart beat. It had been four years since he heard that voice call his name. Four, long, painful years.

“W-what are you doing here?” he asked.

“I live here, in Seoul,” she explained. “What are you doing here? I thought you still lived in - “

“Guangzhou?” he chuckled in an almost bitter tone. “I do still live there. I was visiting some college friends last week,”

“I guess that was a sign then,” she whispered. She looked up in the boy’s eyes that were still on her. “What?” she asked. He looked as good as he did 4 years ago when they were fresh out of college, his leather jacket framing his broad shoulders, his hair now silver. The earrings in his ears glinted at the light reflected off them, his eyes still sharp.

“Why’d you leave?” he asked the one question that she knew he would ask yet hoped he wouldn’t. “You just left in the middle of the night with no sign, no note. I called you, texted you, yet no answer. I tried for four years,” he asked, looking into her eyes.

“Yi Fan,” she started. He heart beated again loudly when she called him by his Chinese name. “I…” she stopped in her words once again to think. “There’s no real excuse. I was just scared and my first reaction was to leave,” she whispered.

“You were scared?” Kris repeated, and he felt like the world’s biggest loser. He remembered exactly what happened that night four years ago. He said the ‘L’ word to her for the first time. “Mina...you could’ve told me instead of leaving,” he replied, wanting to reach out for her hand. But he knew he couldn’t. She had left him. He grabbed his glass instead, downing the drink in one go instead, wiping his lips with a tissue from the counter.

“Let’s go talk somewhere more private,” she muttered, getting off the stool. Kris quickly placed a few bills on the counter, paying for both their drinks and followed to the girl out of the hotel. She lead him to her car, and he smiled slightly, recognizing the Rover that she could barely afford when they were still together. The car was parked in an isolated area where there was no person in slight. They sat side by side in the back seat, staring ahead instead of each other. They sat there for seconds that turned into minutes, minutes that turned into two hours.

“I wasn’t ready for you to stay that. I just wasn’t ready to feel the love from someone, and instead of telling you, I ran away,” Mina finally spoke up.

“I thought about you every day that you were gone. 4 years, 2 months, and 19 days,” Kris said, looking at the girl.

“20 hours and 35 minutes,” Mina added, turning her head to look at him. “And after all this time, the only thing I realized that I was in love with you yet too scared to admit it,” she whispered. They stared at each other for what felt like forever, until his phone started ringing. Mina’s heart beat a little faster recognizing his ringtone as a Blink-182 song. It wasn’t any song, it was their song. They went on a cross country road trip in America while they were still in college and they had fallen in love with the song when they first heard it on the radio in Tucson. Kris ignored the phone call, looking at the girl for her reaction.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered before leaning towards her, his lips crashing with her own. Mina’s eyes widened for a few moments. Once she processed what was happening, her eyes closed, melting into the kiss. Her fingers grabbed onto his shirt, his arms wrapping around her waist to bring her closer. She moved onto his lap, her knees on each side of his legs, as their lips clashed with each other. They pulled back minutes later, trying to get some air, their foreheads against each other. His arms were around her waist, her hands wrapped around his neck.

“I was insane to have ever left you,” she said, closing her eyes, regretting her actions.

“You were looking as pretty as ever at the bar. Surprised no one tried flirting with you,” he joked.

“Well, there was this very handsome and cute Chinese man that paid for my drink,” she shot back, playing with his silver locks.

“Huh, so what? Was a good kisser?” he asked. Mina smiled, seeing the playful glint in his eyes.

“There’s only one way to find out,” she whispered, leaning towards his lips. Unlike the first kiss, this one was slow and they were rushing for dominance. It was sweet and they poured their feelings into it.

“God, I missed you so much,” Kris said in his husky voice, sending goosebumps down Mina’s spine, causing her to chuckle.

“You should really check who was calling you before,” Mina pointed out, shifting to get off his lap, but he stopped her, turning her around so she was sitting on his lap, her legs on the seat next to him.

“It’s probably nothing,” he said.

“What if it’s someone important?” she asked.

“The only important person in my life is right here in my arms,” he whispered, pressing a soft kiss against her jawline. A smiled overtook her face.

“You still never explained what you were doing in Seoul. You were visiting college friends last week,” she asked, turning to look at him with a confused expression.

“I actually don’t know,” he explained. “There was something in my heart telling me to stay here, and it’s a good thing that I stayed,” he smiled.

She pressed a soft kiss against his lips before whispering into his ear. “Happy Birthday, Yi Fan,” she smiled.

“You remembered?” he asked.

“Every year. It’s the day my beloved was born, I can’t just forget it,” she said. The car was getting stuffy and Mina took off her jacket to reveal a tank top underneath.

“You got a tattoo?” Kris noticed, moving her hair back to see the tattoo at a better angle. He read the words “Normally Insane”, and pulled back. “Wonder where you got that idea from,” he smirked, knowing very well that she got that tattoo to match his own.

“I love you, Yi Fan,” Mina said.

“How do you know that I won’t move away to the city in a broke down car? There may not be another hotel bar?” Kris’s voice turned slightly serious.

“Well, I can’t stop loving you. I’ll look everywhere for you, no matter how long it takes,” she said. “I know you never stopped loving me, and I’ve made you wait long enough to hear these words so I’ll say it again: I love you, Yi Fan,”

It was quiet in the car. The wind was blowing outside, leaves were rustling outside the car, Mina’s fingers playing his the zipper of his leather jacket.

“God, you’re so lucky I’m an emotional mess when it comes to you,” he muttered before their lips clashed once again.

“We can’t stay in the car forever, Yi Fan,” the girl managed to say as she was catching her breath.

“It’s alright, Mina,” he smiled. “We ain’t ever getting older,”