“Ladies and gentleman, our special award tonight goes to…”

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“Park Bom and Dong Youngbae!!”

I choked on my fruit punch when I heard my name being called. It took all my might to swallow the remaining fruit punch inside my mouth instead of spitting it out at someone’s face – more precisely, my best friend’s face since he was standing right in front of me.

We both wore the exact same expression on our faces – eyes widened, mouth slightly opened and me coughing my lungs out, which was very ungraceful by the way. We were both equally shocked.

I could feel a very bright light was shone at us from above. It was so bright that I could feel the slightest heat piercing through my bare shoulders. Why did they use such bright light when the whole hall was very dim? Even the slightest light would be very noticeable in this hall.

I recovered quickly when I felt every single eyes inside the hall were looking at the both of us. I shot a look that said ‘what the hell is going on?’ to my best friend and he just shrugged in response.

“Bom, Youngbae, please come up to the stage” I heard one of my classmate – who was the MC tonight – called us out from the stage.

I nudged his arm in attempt to tell him to walk first, and as if he knew what I meant, he started walking right away – leading me to the stage. The crowd around us dispersed as we walked passed them, making a way for us.

The bright spotlight followed us from above, shining our way to the stage. I walked up the stairs that led to the stage while lifting up my gown – carefully making sure that I don’t step on the dress and trip and fall down face first. Youngbae also helped me by holding my hand.

“Give them a round of applause guys!” everyone started clapping and some even cheered as both of us made our way to the center of the stage.

Another classmate of mine came out from the other side of the stage while holding a tray of a crown and a tiara in his hands. He carefully walked over to us while making sure he doesn’t drop them – he was treating it as if they were an actual crowns worn by the king and queen.

“Congratulations!” the MC said and proceed to place the crown and tiara on Youngbae’s and my head respectively. I got the chance to glance at the tiara before it was placed on my head and it was pretty – too pretty to be a fake one. It even fit my head perfectly and although I didn’t have mirror with me, I felt prettier.

The MC gave me her microphone after the so-called ‘crowning ceremony’ and everyone silenced, anticipating on my speech.

“Thank you everyone, for voting us. I’m truly happy that I could win this special award. You guys made it happen and I’m really grateful to experience the BEST prom night on my last day in Korea,” I paused and smiled as the crowd began cheering again, “I’m very lucky to have you all as my classmates and I will never forget my high school memories with all of you… You guys rock!!”

I ended my speech and another round of applause and cheering can be heard again. I glanced at Youngbae and he was clapping while staring at me proudly. Suddenly, a wave of sadness hit me. I really couldn’t imagine living a day without this guy and not to mention that by the time the sun came up tomorrow, it would not be only a day that I would be living without him by my side, it could be months – years, even.

“As the winner, you guys will also be given the privilege to have the entire dance floor to yourselves!” the MC announced, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Please make a way for the king and queen!”

I grinned widely and linked my arms with Youngbae’s as we walk down the stage. The spotlight followed us once again but this time, the light was dimmer and it turned into soft pink color with a little hint of purple – setting a romantic mood.

The slow song began to play when we reached the center of the dance floor. I released my arms from Youngbae’s and moved it upwards to circle it around his neck. Youngbae was much taller than me but thanks to these heels, I managed to wrap my arms around him without having to tiptoe. I felt him bringing up his hands and circled it around my waist. I would be lying if his gesture didn’t make my stomach do a backflip.

Everyone formed a big circle around us and watched us as we moved our bodies along with the music. We were both really bad at waltzing but I guess all those silly practices we did before the prom was actually put to a good use – at least we didn’t look like two sticks waltzing stiffly.

And in case you were wondering – no, we didn’t win the prom king and queen award. We were not popular enough to meet that standard or at least to get enough votes. We actually won the “best friend goals” award.

The committees responsible for the prom (which were my classmates) got creative and thought it would be fun to hand out several other special awards rather than just the classic prom king and queen award. And I guess it was a great idea – well, maybe mostly because me and Youngbae could at least get the chance to win one of those awards.

Not long after that, all of the people around us started joining us on the dance floor. The spotlight was not longer on us – everything went back to normal again. I looked around us for a few seconds before settling my eyes back to his.

Both of us stared at each other for awhile and as if we had the power of telepathy, we both burst out a laugh.

“This is so weird… right?” he chuckled.

“Yeah, it is” I smiled, we always have the same thoughts on everything as if we can read each other’s mind. “But at least we won an award. It made this prom night unforgettable”

“True to that, but spending everyday with you will always be unforgettable” I saw his smile started to drop into a frown and I knew exactly what just crossed his mind. “Do you really have to leave tomorrow?”

I didn’t answer him, but I studied his face. His eyes… those happy eyes that always twinkle whenever he smiled. But those twinkles weren’t there now, and I didn’t like it. It was gloomy, darker in color and a little bit glassy – as if he was about to cry. Those chubby cheeks that I love to pinch so much… yep, I definitely will miss him.

Today was the last day that I got to spend in Korea. I will be flying to New York very early in the morning tomorrow. We just graduated from high school and I originally planned to stay in Korea over the summer until a week before college starts, but my sister got me a summer internship at a fashion company in New York. It will start next week which was why I have to go there tomorrow; I need a week to settle myself in a new environment.

Doing anything related to fashion is my passion and I really dream of becoming a fashion designer one day. This internship could be a great opportunity for me to start stepping my foot into the industry. To familiarize myself with the fashion world.

“You know I really wanted to stay, but I’m taking a step forward to pursue my dream. We’ve talked about this Youngbae-ah” I retract one of my hand from his neck to caress his cheek lightly.

“I know… I’ll miss you though” he gave me a small smile. I actually felt bad about it because we had planned so many activities that we would do over the summer. But now, I have to let it all go.

“I’ll miss you too…” I whispered, but it was still loud enough for him to hear.

“I have a plan,” he grinned at me. Uh-oh, I knew that kind of smile and I knew he was up to something. “Let’s ditch prom and spend the rest of the night somewhere else. I was thinking if you’re up for some late night adventure”

My smile instantly grew wider. I love every late night adventures that we did. Unplanned late night drive around Seoul city, creating a mini outdoor cinema at his backyard, visiting the beach in the middle of summer night and even jumping off a cliff that we found in the middle of the night. It was insane but fun at the same time – it made me feel alive, made me feel like I was living my life to the fullest.

“I’ll take that as a yes?” he smiled and I nodded my head eagerly.

He chuckled at my reaction and I felt him grabbed my wrist, pulling me away from the dance floor and away from the prom.

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We ended our night with our classic midnight drive around Seoul city since I couldn’t do much in these gown. But even so, we made sure we used the rest of the night wisely because no one knows how long it would be before we could do this again.

I opened the hood of his convertible and let the night breeze blew our faces and hairs. I slightly stood up on the car seat to feel the wind more. It was cold, but it was still bearable thanks to summer.

I stretched out my arms widely to my sides and closed my eyes as Youngbae stepped on the gas pedal more – making the wind blew my face harder. I chuckled as I felt the cold air on my face, my hair was blown to the back and I had to hold the forgotten tiara on my head to prevent it from being blown away. It was refreshing, even though there were a few chances that I might catch a cold. But I didn’t care.

“Woohoo!!” I shouted, not caring about the fact that I might disturb the people around. Heck, I’m moving out from the country tomorrow – I couldn’t care less about what people think anymore.

“You should get down now before you catch a cold” I heard him chuckle and as much as I wanted to rebel against him, he was right. Being sick on my departure day was the very last thing that I needed. My mom would be the one who kill me instead of the sickness.

I sat back on the car seat and he handed me his suit jacket. “Wear this, I know it’s summer but it’s still the middle of the night”

I took it from him and wrapped it around my body. I could feel the warmth of it through my bare shoulders. One thing that I love whenever he lends me his hoodies or sweaters was his cologne smell. It smelled so good and it was intoxicating – like a personal weed for me. I could smell his jacket the entire day and still wouldn’t get enough of it.

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That night turned out to be one of the best and unforgettable night in my life. I didn’t know whether it was because I was going to leave Korea or simply because I spent it with Youngbae – or maybe both.

“Hey,” he suddenly said, breaking the silence between us. We were both resting in his car while looking at the beach that we came across a while ago. He had driven quite far away from Seoul by now. The hood of his car was still opened and we both enjoyed each other’s company in silence – the only thing that can be heard was the sound of waves, which was very calming.

“Yeah?” I turned to look at him and he was already staring at me.

“Promise me one thing Bom,” he said as he held both of my hands inside his warm palms. “Promise me that you will never forget me, no matter what happen” I saw his eyes turning glassy.

I flashed him an assuring smile, “of course! I would never forget you, you don’t have to make me promise that. You’re my best friend, you’re basically my partner in everything, how could I forget you?”

“I still can’t believe you’re leaving tomorrow…” he blinked a couple of times to prevent himself from breaking down in front of me. I have always known him – no matter how sad he is, he would never shed a tear in front of anyone, including me. But there were times when he couldn’t hold it anymore and I’ve seen him broke down a couple of times. It would really take a huge amount of pressure or sadness for him to finally give up.

“Hey,” I placed my palm on his cheek, “it’s okay if you want to cry. I’m here for you, and will always try my best to be there for you even though I might not be able to physically be there for you again”

Right after I said that, a tear rolled down his cheek. I used my thumb to wipe it away but soon, more tears came out. I gave him a small smile and pulled him in for a hug.

“You’re such a big baby” I chuckled, feeling my own tears started to roll down my cheeks as well. I could feel his shoulders vibrating lightly due to the crying. “I’m just moving to New York, I’m not dead yet so stop crying would you”

He released himself from the hug and face me. His eyes were red and wet, his nose was slightly runny. I chuckled because of his face and wiped my own tears. “You look awful when you cry” I tried to lighten the mood.

I pulled out a few sheets of tissue paper and wiped his tears for him. “I don’t know how I would spend the rest of summer without you” he sniffed, “I mean, we planned so many things and… and…” his words trailed off as he started to sob again.

“I know… I’m sorry…” I pat his back; I can’t seem to find any right word to answer him anymore. It was all my fault in the first place.

We stayed silent for a few minutes, just listening to the sound of waves while Youngbae was trying to calm down. And when he finally did, he let out a chuckle. “You’re right, I’m such a big baby”

I laughed at him, the atmosphere slowly lightens. “I have an idea,” he said, “give me your tiara”

I looked at him confusedly, “what do you want it for?” I said while hesitantly taking off my tiara – we never knew that if he suddenly got a crazy idea that involves the tiara being destroyed. I wouldn’t want to risk that.

“Just trust me” he opened his palm for me to place the tiara.

“What are you going to do wit – no!” I quickly snatched the tiara back from his hand when I saw him taking out a pocket knife from the drawer under his car’s dashboard. Why did he have that placed there anyway?

“Bom, trust me. I’m not going to ruin it or something” he chuckles and motioned me to hand over the tiara again.

I looked at him skeptically while slowly handing him my tiara. He better not does anything bad to it or I will cut him myself.

He took the tiara from my hand and began examining it – as if he was looking for a specific spot. Which he was, because a few seconds later, he seemed to find one. He held the pocket knife on his other hand and began carving something on the plastic tiara. My heart stopped beating for a second right when he did that.

It took awhile for him to carve whatever he was carving before taking off his crown and did the same too. I watched the plastic residue falling to his lap as he carved the crown – it was somewhat satisfying to watch.

I know, I know, I’m weird.

“Done!” he grinned while handing me back my tiara. “I carved our initials on my crown and your tiara. So no matter what happened, we will remember this day and about us”

As cheesy as it sounded, I still thought that it was cute. He never failed being sweet to me. “Thank you” I smiled dearly and hugged him again.

“See you soon… bestie” he whispered next to my ear.

“See you soon too, bestie”

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“Y – young… bae?” I stuttered, completely stunned by whatever happened for the past ten minutes. “Is that really you…?”

No… this can’t be real. He can’t be Youngbae, he’s so different from Youngbae – physically.

“Hey… bestie” he grinned, “I told you I’ll see you soon”

I released a long breath that I didn’t even realize I was holding. He is real, he is standing in front of me right now, he has been here these whole time and I’m too dumb to even realize it. My best friend is here, Youngbae is here!

I felt tears started to form in my eyes and my vision became blurry. Without further ado, I launched myself forward and hugged him tightly. I clung on so tight because I’m afraid that if I let him go, he would disappear again.

He returned my hug tightly as well, we were both squeezing the life out of us. I missed him and even though the thought of him has been pushed to the back of my mind a few years ago, I still miss him sometimes. We lost contact not long after I got together with Jiyong and I have never heard a word from him ever since. I tried looking for him but nobody knows about his whereabouts. It was as if he was just my imagination, that he never existed in my life in the first place. But I know damn well that he is real and what we had was real too. 

Hot tears streamed down my cheeks the moment he held me inside his embrace. Everything made sense now of why he knew my favorite food before I got the chance to tell him, why I felt an unexplainable sense of familiarity whenever he held me in his warm embrace, why he knew certain things about me that I have never told him before – it was like a huge missing puzzle piece in my life has returned.

I even suddenly realized that our high school name was written in all of his past trophies. How could I not notice that?

“Where have you been…?” I whispered. I could feel the euphoria building up inside me and I was trying my best not to freak out. “I miss you…”

“I miss you too, Bom” he said while releasing me slowly. I really didn’t want the hug to be over this quick but luckily, he only released me a little so he was able to look at my face – his hands were still wrapped around my waist, keeping me close to him. “I’m sorry… for hiding this from you”

“It’s okay, I’m really really glad that you’re back” I grinned. I’ve never felt this happy again after all those hard years. “You look a little different than before… in a good way”

Actually, scratch that. He looked totally different than before – of course, still in a good way – but the differences are too much that I didn’t even recognize him as Youngbae. The old Youngbae I knew was chubbier – not fat, just slightly chubby especially his cheeks. I remembered that I used to love pinching his cheeks before, it felt like a cookie dough.

The new Youngbae that I know now was no longer chubby. He is skinnier and he has a very toned body which I believe that underneath all the clothes that he wore, was a very healthy and delicious looking line of abs. He no longer has chubby cheeks; instead, his jaws were more defined and sharp. I bet I would cut my finger if I ran it along his jaws.

And to top all of his glow ups, he is extremely handsome now. Well, not that he was ugly before, he was handsome too but just not this handsome. This left me wondering how hard did he work himself up to become like this?

“Thank you, I just… made changes here and there” he chuckled.

“Why didn’t you tell me this sooner? I mean, why did you let me think you’re somebody else?” I couldn’t help but to ask.

“As strangely as this might sound, I actually want to try and befriend you from the beginning again. I want you to like me and accept me as who I am now, I don’t want the ‘best friend title’ I have to be my easy pass to your life again” he smiled, “and besides, I’m always me. Taeyang is just sort of my stage name. And if you haven’t realized yet, stage name is quite popular among celebrities here” he chuckled.

I rolled my eyes at his last remark, “oh please, you’re no celebrity”

“Hm… really? Then I wonder why my face is plastered all over the billboards in Seoul. I’m pretty sure it’s as much as Jiyong’s” he smirked. Suddenly, I found his smirk very attractive and I thought the only person’s smirk I found attractive is Jiyong’s – irresistible, even.

“Come on, let’s get back to the couch. We have a lot of things to catch up” he added, before I could reply to what he said.

We ended up talking way longer than we originally intended and it still wasn’t enough for us to talk about everything that happened while we were separated. But I still did learn quite a few new things about him though. Like how he decided to start a hotel business right after he graduated college, how he started training and dieting hard during college to get to where he is now and surprisingly, he did get into a quite serious relationship for two years before it came to an end.

I didn’t quite get the information on his relationship though since it was getting late and I need to go home because I have work tomorrow. I was literally dying to know about that and about why he disappeared, but I guess it will have to wait. After all he is back now, and I don’t intend to let him go ever again.

“I’ll see you soon, Bom” he said, quoting our infamous parting line.

Instead of straight up saying “goodbye” we said “see you soon”. That way we believe that no matter how long we were separated, we will eventually come back to each other. And tonight, those words just proved us its magic.

“I’ll see you soon… Youngbae” I smiled from ear to ear.

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I'm back! And surprisingly, Uni assignments haven't killed me yet lol xD

Thank you for reading my story! I hope you guys enjoy it, don't forget to leave a comment ^^