Sehun looked down at his watch. It was just past 5:00AM. Hamdeok was still incredibly dark, with gray clouds blotting the sky. Only a few others had gone on the plane with him early that morning. It was pretty stupid really, to take a plane ride at 3:00AM in the morning, especially when he was already feeling so worn out. All he knew was that he didn't want to wake up the next morning with this still hanging over his head.

Relying on his memory, he walked to a bus stop that would drive him right by the beach. As he sat on the bench, he closed his tired eyes for a moment. Fifteen minutes passed quickly in that way as he dreamed. Images of Jisoo and Minhee were mixing together. He began to frown as his dreams were unravelling. Then something honked loudly.

Sehun sprung up from his position, alarmed. He blinked his eyes difficultly, trying to remember where he was. He moaned under his breath. Right. Hamdeok. Beach. Have to find that letter. Then he squinted against the bright lights, realizing slowly that his bus had arrived. Quickly grabbing his bag and fishing for his ticket, he walked in.

…

He sat on the sand and took in a deep breath of the ocean breeze. He positioned himself several meters away from the shore. Because the wind was chilly, he closed the zipper of his jacket. Now the clouds were beginning to part, getting ready for sunrise. Still it was still fairly dark. He glanced around idly, noting that there was no one else in sight.

To his left was the old bottle. It didn't take much effort to find it. It was there, where she'd said she left it years before, untouched and unfazed by time. The letter was there too; its paper having aged with time. Sehun decided to wait until the sun came out before reading it.

So as he watched the sunrise, he put the bottle aside and opened up the folded letter.

Sehun,

I guess by the time you've read this, I'm already gone. That for you, since you won't get to see my pretty face anymore!

Ah, I can see your expression now. Sorry. I didn't mean it.

The real reason I wrote this letter is to reveal to you something that I've kept for a really, really long time. I'm not as brave or as strong as you. I'm really weak.

I've actually loved you all this time. Uwah, I finally wrote it out. I wrote in pen too so now I can't erase it.

I love you. I've been in love with you since we were…fifteen? I think I fell in love with you before you fell in love with me. Since that moment you gave me that cold glare and walked off with that bad attitude of yours, I was a goner. You never knew, did you?

When you became my friend, I couldn't have been happier. For the first time in my life, I was glad to be alive.

In the beginning, I was afraid to tell you my feelings. I couldn't even find the courage to talk to you properly until college. When we became closer, then it just became impossible. Our friendship means the world to me, if you only knew. That's really why I couldn't tell you how I felt.

About my sickness, I knew since I was a kid that I was going to die sooner than most people. I just don't want you to suffer more because of me. I'm sorry that I kept all this from you.

But you know, right now I'm happy. Even I'm sick like this, I'm happy that you love me. Is that weird?

And I'm actually really selfish, Sehun. Sometimes I have these crazy thoughts, like I want to be the only woman you'll ever love forever. But I know that's not fair to you. When I think about how it will be when I'm gone, I start to realize just how selfish it is to want to keep you for myself.

In all honesty, if I had one wish, it wouldn't be to save myself, since that's kind of too late anyway. No, I'd really wish for you to be happy. So please, be happy?

I don't know why but I have a feeling you're going to wait a while before opening up this letter. So I wanted to ask the present Sehun reading this letter. Are you in love with someone else now? I really hope you are.

My happiest memory is when you told me you loved me. Do you remember what I said to you then? What would happen if ever I fell in love with you and got the guts to confess? Well, here's me releasing you of your promise. So if you really are in love with someone, love her wholeheartedly and let me go. I got more than enough time with you, so make sure you give her 110% of your heart, okay?

And I want to end things right, so in case I don't get a chance to properly say this to you, thank you. Thank you for being my best friend all these years. Thank you for loving me and making that promise to me. And lastly, thank you for the memories.

You really were the highlight of my life.

Bye Sehun.

– Minhee

His body felt numb. Without his awareness, the letter fell to the sand, slipping out of his hands. He sat still, staring off at the dark sea, listening to the sound the waves crashing against the sand. All that kept flashing in front of him were the memories. She'd loved him this whole felt tears roll down his cheeks. He hadn't known at all. The girl he'd loved so immensely for the first time in his life loved him back. Only she had chosen to keep it a secret. Regrets and what-ifs came like a surge inside of him.

Just as he lowered his head and covered his face with his hand, gentle arms wrapped around him tightly. Jisoo's warmth and scent surrounded him immediately. He felt her cheek rest against the top of his head. Like a baby, he buried his head in her bosom. He couldn't even stop the tears from faling.

Jisoo repeatedly rubbed his back, feeling her own tears rise to the surface. She'd seen him, walked towards him as he read the letter, and saw how he just crumpled down as though lifeless.

For a long time, she held him as he cried his heart out.

…

The sun was beginning to shine a little brightly now. A long time had passed before Sehun could even gather himself up again. But just as he did, he wiped his face with his shirt. For the first time that morning, he looked up and met Jisoo's eyes. Hers looked just as puffy as his felt. He glanced down at the sand and found the letter. He passed it to her wordlessly.

While Jisoo read it, he continued staring out into the endless ocean. Thanks for writing me that letter, Minhee. I needed it.

After Jisoo finished reading it, she folded the letter and held it in her hand. She could only continue studying the wrinkled piece of paper that held so much unsaid words. The feelings between Minhee and Sehun were more than she could take in. They were so pure and filled with love. It made her want to cry for the mere fact that their love had been wasted because she had to die at such a young age.

Sehun turned and looked back at her. He saw the tears in the corner of her eye. "You're crying," he said as he reached over and wiped them away with his thumbs.

"Why did she have to die?" Jisoo asked, shifting away so he couldn't touch her. "You loved each other so much. It doesn't make any sense." She swiped at her eyes with her arm. "Doesn't it make you mad?"

He stared at her in disbelief. He hadn't known what to expect out of Jisoo, but this reaction stunned him.

"The kind of love you shared with Minhee, it's so special. It's a love that comes by once in a lifetime, Sehun," she murmured. "Why didn't she just tell you? You would have had so much more memories together."

When he caressed her cheek with his hand, she looked up, meeting his gaze.

"Can I have it?"

She passed the letter to him. He then stood, holding the letter in his hand, and walked to the shore. Sehun studied it for a long time. It was the last thing that remained of the past. He had to let go of it all now. He took a deep breath, feeling his heart being squeezed painfully again. But knowing Jisoo was there was enough to give him the courage to say goodbye.

"Minhee, I never got to say bye to you properly," he called out. "I'll do it now."

He let the letter fall into the water. A tear escaped and fell on his cheek. He wiped it away. Goodbye, Minhee. He straightened and stepped back a few steps as he watched the piece of paper get carried away by the sea. Then he turned back.

Jisoo was standing a ways away, her hands covering her face. Her shoulders were shaking.

He practically ran back to her and pulled her firmly into his arms. He held onto her as tightly as he could. She was the most precious person in his life now, and nothing, no one, not even Minhee, was ever going to change that. He was going to do what Minhee had said. His whole heart was Jisoo's now.

"What are you feeling right now?" She managed to ask amidst her sniffles.

He looked down, shifted so he could study her face. With the way she was looking at him and with all that compassion in her eyes staring straight back at him, he couldn't help but lower his lips to kiss hers. "Why'd you come after me?"

"I didn't want you to cry alone."

It was like the heaviness in his chest disappeared with that single sentence. He didn't realize how badly he needed her to be there for him until now. "She loved me all this time and she didn't tell me."

"When you love someone with all your heart, you want them to be happy, no matter what. For Minhee, all that mattered was you."

Sehun rested his forehead against hers. "It's a lot to take in."

She closed her eyes. "But you found what you were looking for."

"She told me to find it after she died but I never got the courage to look for it. It took me all this time," he admitted quietly.

"I didn't know if I should come here. I thought…it really wasn't my place to be here. I…was almost ready to give you up you know. Almost." She let out a small laugh, finally opening her eyes up to him. "When I let you go the second time, I was so lonely. Then I was sitting on my bed, realizing a lot of things while crying like a puppy dog. It didn't matter how I felt. All that mattered was you. I could picture you here, alone…probably crying too. I got so sad. Sehun, you know, I really…I lo-"

"I'm saying it first," he interrupted, cupping her cheeks. "I love you. Minhee asked me in the letter if I was in love. When I read that, your face was all I could see."

She kissed him first this time. "You love me?" she asked when his lips travelled to her forehead, then to each of her eyelids, then to her chin. "I really love you. I've never said that to a man before."

He then kissed her on the mouth again. "That means I get to take the rest of your firsts, huh?"

"Don't say that so smugly."

"You know how badly flawed I am. I can be pretty dumb and say the wrong things. And this probably won't be the last time I make you cry, so I won't make any promises. You'll still love me though, right?"

"I probably will never understand you the way Minhee did, but I'll love you even when you don't need me anymore," she offered, feeling her emotions come to the surface again.

He bonked her head lightly. "Stop with the tears already," he chided. When she could only giggle, he held her again, close to his heart.

Jisoo turned her head so she could look over at the water. "Don't worry Minhee. I'll do my best to make him happy."

Sehun looked down at her hair, catching the way the sunlight formed a halo at the top of her head. He couldn't have asked for anything more. All the pain, all the sorrow he'd experienced in his whole life were all replaced now with indescribable happiness. He'd never felt this happy to be alive.

"I love you, Jisoo," he said, this time for himself.

…

Jisoo straightened out her legs on the carpet floor, sitting against the wall with the suite telephone against her ear.

After everything that had happened, both of them had gone to a nearby hotel and fell on the bed right away. In less than a minute, both had fallen asleep, emotionally spent and physically fatigued from the travel. After three hours, Jisoo woke first.

"So that's why you chased after him," Irene murmured.

"Mm. We've been on the phone for almost an hour and he's still asleep," Jisoo answered as she glanced up at the bed. Sehun's face was currently buried under a pillow, but she could see some of his hair sticking out. "Unnie, I've never gone after someone before."

"That's because you've never fallen in love before."

"You saying that means you must be acknowledging Luhan's declaration of love for you, right?"

Irene became quiet for a moment, before she hummed. "I kissed him. In Jeju. I didn't plan on doing that, but…he…"

Jisoo smiled, completely happy for her best friend. "Aww. You still love him."

"Argh. I told him we're taking it slow this time. He practically cried when I said it." She sighed. "I have to admit, it's nice having someone love you exactly for who you are. It was hard for me to open up again, you know. I felt like I couldn't trust him anymore. I guess I never gave up on him after all this time. I wanted to make him fight for me…because he never used to."

Jisoo looked outside the window from where she was. "That's how it must have been for Sehun too. He couldn't lean on anyone because everyone left him…and the one person he l