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Before I knew it, weeks turned into days. Then, days turned into hours. It was as if someone had pressed fast-forward on my countdown clock and stopped just in time for me to enjoy my last few days with Anna.

Of course, she hadn't been any less busy within those days. The New York SEEKS Headquarters was finally up and running so the buzz around it was insanely strong. And Anna was stuck right in the middle of it all.

I tried not to scoff at the new faces lining up at her events and fan signings. They were only doing so because it was trendy to meet her now. Seeing Anna before she moved suddenly became a temporary Korean "must-do". But they were giving support regardless so I chose to let it go. She was happy with the love either way and that was what mattered.

On a day when I expected her to be out late due to her hectic schedule, I came home to find her cuddled up in bed, reading a book off her iPhone. Better yet, she was all wrapped up in a sweatshirt of mine that she was starting to steal rather regularly lately.

"Nice sweatshirt," I commented as I sauntered in the room, throwing my stuff to the side in exhaustion. I wasn't typically such a slob but Anna looked so comfortable and I wanted to be in on that ASAP.

Said girl looked up from her phone and up at me, getting somewhat blinded by the hood she had pulled over her head as it hung low above her eyes.

"You might as well take it with you. It's practically yours now," I continued teasingly as I slid down onto the bed next to her, but with honesty. I'd partially forgotten I even had it until she dug it up out of my drawers. She perked up at my words.

"Wait, seriously?"

"Sure, go ahead," I shrugged, quickly changing into pajamas and making the blissful descent into my bed.

"So, what's the plan for Thursday?" I asked as she set her phone down on the bedside table and got comfortable beside me. "Am I coming with you to the airport or what?"

God, what a ty conversation I had to start. But I needed to know.

"About that..."

"Oh god," I groaned, not at all liking the sound of that. "Don't tell me you're actually leaving, like, tomorrow or something."

She chuckled, thankfully shaking her head. "No, no. Nothing like that. I just thought I should tell you that Director Jung gave you Thursday through Saturday off."

"Does he think I'm gonna be so down after you go that I'm gonna need time off?" I joked. But she didn't laugh. Instead, she pushed herself up by her forearms so she could meet my eyes seriously.

"Come with me to New York."

I frowned, caught totally off-guard by her sudden request. "Huh?"

"Come with me to New York," she repeated as if I hadn't heard her. "Not forever, obviously. Just for those three days."

I didn't say anything for a moment. I was bewildered.

"I know this might sound extreme but I just don't want to say goodbye to you here like everyone else. I really want you to come with me."

I stared at her, already feeling myself cave under the weight of her sad eyes. She had that nervous expression that always tugged at my heartstrings.

"It doesn't sound extreme," I eventually assured her but with slight wariness. "I'm just surprised."

"I know. I feel like I'm always throwing things at you," she admitted bashfully.

"Yes, it's become a troublesome habit of yours," I remarked, giving her a playful side-eye before pulling her back down to lay with me. "But you're serious about me coming with you?"

She nodded against my chest. "I wish it could be for more than three days, though. I just didn't want to push it with Director Jung."

"You kidding? You've got him wrapped around your finger. You're one of his favorites, he'd absolutely give me more time off if you begged for it."

"So, would you stay for extra days if you got them, then?" She questioned. I wasn't sure if it was rhetorical so I genuinely thought about it. 

"No, I don't think so," I answered honestly, surprising her. "I would love to have, like, a week or so in reality but at that point, I don't think I'd be able to bring myself to come back to Korea."

She stifled a sad laugh. "Yeah, now that you say it, I don't think I'd willingly let you leave me behind, either."

"But, I think I can manage three days," I reaffirmed encouragingly. "I'm expecting a real, insiders look at New York, though."

"In three days? Impossible."

"I'd say you've challenged the impossible a few times," I pointed out.

"Yeah, that's true," she nodded. "I mean, I've challenged you, haven't I?"

"Ha ha, very funny," I chimed sarcastically, pushing at the smug look on her face with my finger. "Anyway, should I be looking at flights? I only have two days to do that."

"No need, I've already taken care of that."

I looked down at her in even greater bewilderment than before. "You bought my airline tickets?"

She nodded proudly, warming my heart a great deal. "I did. Couldn't get you first class or anything but I made due."

"You idiot," I groaned yet kissed her forehead all at the same time. "You didn't have to spend your money on me. I would've been perfectly capable of getting a ticket myself."

"I know but I wanted to," she whined right back. At least we were compatible. "Think of it as a thank you gift for willingly getting dragged onto a 14 hour flight to New York with me."

"Alright, I'll admit the 14 hours isn't too desirable," I started. "But doing it with and for you makes up for it. You know that."

She nodded, nuzzling deeper into me to hide the bashful smile on her face and reveling in the feeling of my heartbeat. It was beating just for her and she knew it. "I do."

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The next few days went by all too quickly. I had to admit that I was a lot less anxious knowing I had extra time with her, despite it only being three additional days. 

On her last night in Korea, we opened up our dorm room for anyone who wanted to stop by and hang out with her before Korea became a country she'd only visit when she had to. We ordered in a ton of food no matter how many people showed up, which was more than either I or Anna was expecting.

All of our friends made an appearance and stayed for a while, of course, but a good number of people who were even just basic acquaintances of Anna's stopped by to wish her goodbye and good luck. It was drastically clear how touched Anna felt by the end of the night, which was all I could've asked for.

We had begun assuming no one else was coming for the night when Junhong and Daehyun came knocking on our door, apologizing for taking so long. Anna was delighted to see her good friend, only to be brought to tears for the first time that night at the knowledge that it was time to say goodbye to him. 

"I really wish I could come see you off with everyone else in the morning," he had started to tell her. "But I have an early schedule in the morning so this is gonna have to be it."

At first, Anna was just sad. She had been expecting to say goodbye to him in the morning before she left for the airport like all of her other good friends. But work was work so she understood. That didn't stop tears from eventually spilling out of her eyes as she hugged him goodbye. He asked her not to cry, telling her that she wasn't disappearing forever, although it did feel that way. But I could see how upset he was, too, just like the rest of us. 

The whole interaction brought down Anna's spirit just slightly for the rest of the night, making me dread the next morning even more. Reality was beginning to kick in that although she wasn't technically disappearing, she was about to become a whole lot more distant in more ways than one. We all had gotten so used to having her around that I didn't think any of us were truly ready to let her go. Happy and supportive of her, but not ready.

My thoughts were proven true the next morning when a melancholy air hung over the SKEES property. And yet, it seemed like the sun was shining over Seoul brighter than it ever had. The combination was a perfect metaphor for the unanimous feeling in all of us as Anna dragged her suitcase out of the residential building. It marked the last time she'd ever walk out those doors as a resident.

The juxtaposition between Anna's large suitcase and my small overnight one hurt. My emptier bedroom without her things in it hurt. The pained smiles on everyone's faces as they greeted us hurt. Her leaving me hurt like hell but I had to remind myself that she was going off to be happy again and that she deserved it.

All too soon, everyone was saying goodbye to her. She was crying in an instant, telling everyone how much she wished she didn't have to leave them and that she would stay in touch. The hugs were warm and suffocating in the best way. The words exchanged hopeful and encouraging. I'd never experienced a moment that more exemplified the word "bittersweet". 

"Well, I wasn't expecting that," J-Hope muttered to me in a mixture of sadness and surprise, watching Jungkook step away from his long hug with Anna. His eyes were glassed over with tears.

"I was," I remarked, doing the same. "They may bicker and jab at each other all the time but that's what's made them so close. He really cares about her and so does she, though I think Anna's the only one who'd actually admit it."

We continued to observe as Anna playfully brought a hand up to pat the boy's cheek, telling him not to cry. A few of us managed smiles as he stubbornly swatted her hand away.

"You're one to talk. You always cry," he whined back at her. Unfortunately, such the case was only more recently true due to certain events.

As the two 97-liners shared one last short hug, I looked to J-Hope, who was staring on at them with a sad smile. He had yet to say anything to her.

"Are you gonna cry?" I teased, expecting him to laugh or joke back with me. But all I got was a content expression, not even aimed at me. It was aimed at his best friend - at Anna.

"No," he shook his head. "She'll be back one day."

"And what if that day comes decades from now?"

"Then, I'll annoy her with texts on the daily until then," he said, giving me a much less corny answer than I was expecting. "And besides, I'm sure we'll all see her every once in a while at Family Concerts and other events."

I sighed, turning my eyes back to the girl who completely and undeniably won me over like no one had before.

"It just won't be enough," I muttered sadly, expressing my different mindset. I said it more to myself than to him, though there was no doubting that he heard me.

I wasn't paying much attention when Anna's eyes landed on Hoseok, who gave her a broad smile and opened his arms for her. I was busy trying to lighten my spirits again as she bounded over to him and threw herself into him, clinging onto him tightly and burying herself into his body.

"Thank you for everything," I just barely heard her whisper to him. 

It was unbelievably how much rounded into that one thank you. It was a thank you for his unconditional love and support all this time. For being the first person she knew she could rely on for anything when I wasn't there. For making her laugh and smile when she thought she never could again. For making her laugh and smile all the time. For all the times he'd push aside his goofiness to get real with her. For all the times he heard her grieve and cry and didn't hesitate to scoop her up into a hug. For being twice as much of a best friend to her to make up for the one she had lost.

For being her first friend here. It seemed like so long ago that he so warmly welcomed her in the dance studio lobby and yet, I knew that was something she never and would never forget. He accepted her without hesitation when everyone was still trying to take her in.

And with all of this in his mind, too, Hoseok did in-fact end up crying, despite his positivity that he wouldn't. She always appreciated everything he'd ever done for her, even though he'd never expected her to.

"You're very welcome," he told her warmly. "Just don't forget, you always have a home here."

"I won't forget," she assured him, pulling back to give him a teary-eyed smile. "How could I?"

"Also know that if you don't constantly keep me updated on your impending fame and fortune, I'll come find you and beat you down."

She let out a hearty laugh, nodding in acceptance. "Got it."

He grinned down at her, so proud of how far she'd come. He already had an older sister that he adored. Now, he had a younger one, too.

Unfortunately, we didn't have all day to be sentimental. All too soon, our driver was urging us into the car, reminding us of the time of our flight. It was the last thing any of us wanted to hear as it meant that this was it. There was no more pushing off reality. 

She briefly glanced around at everyone one last time before defeatedly opening up her arms. "One last group hug, please."

No one said no. Some were more enthusiastic or dramatic about it than others but everyone came together for one last hug. I could only imagine how lucky all of those who were watching us from outside the gate felt. They were lucky, but it was only because they were able to feel that way. They didn't have to experience the sadness of sending off a good friend.

"I'll see you guys, soon," Anna promised from the interior of our hug. Unfortunately, we would never know how close or far off 'soon' would actually be.

It was tough but we all managed to step away from the hug and away from Anna. Everyone's sad eyes lingered on her as she followed me into the car and closed the door behind her, unwillingly sealing herself away from everyone. Of course, there was no stopping her from rolling down her window and waving to everyone as she pulled away.

She regretfully rolled the window back up once we had reached the front gate, but only so no fan or photographer could snap a picture of the tears sliding down her cheeks. The world had seen enough of that from her. She leaned back into her seat so I could see, though, mindlessly looking at the driver's seat in front of her.

"You okay?"

She released a quiet sigh. "That was really hard."

"I know," I murmured, staring at her empathetically. "But you're giving yourself a better life. They're all proud of you and so am I."

She glanced over at me before giving me the smallest of appreciative smiles. "I know. Thank you, Yoongi."

I nodded and offered her a comforting smile, despite my own inner feelings. She reached out and took my hand with hesitation, refusing to let go of it until we reached the airport. Even as we sat on the large, international plane, even when either of us dozed off, I refused to let go of her hand.

Because no matter what I said or did, I feared having to let go of her.

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So sad :'(