The moonlight seeped in through the curtains, which were parted and tied in a knot at either side. Silver light streamed across her room, spilling over the turkish mat on the wooden floor. Her books were stacked away on the shelves. Her stationary were neatly placed into holders on the study desk. Her clothes were hidden inside her wardrobe. Still, the moon pressed on over the arch of the window.

    She tossed and turned in her bed. Her head buzzed with the memories of  Hongbin’s eighteenth birthday party. And the revelation that came with it. He had only invited his friends from the orphanage. That was all.

    Throughout the whole ordeal, she was breaking apart on the inside. But it could not be helped.

    Hongbin was leaving Korea. For good. That was what he said. His eighteenth birthday party, which they celebrated in a fastfood store, could be the last time they would all be together. He promised to keep in touch over Facebook. Maybe give them a quick video call over Skype. He promised to follow them on their Instagrams.

    But the truth was inevitable. He was leaving. Suzy felt the warmth of his sunlight slipping through her fingers. She grasped her Thousand-Suns, and squeezed the teddy bear until her arms were numb. Tears trickled down her cheeks. She sniffed into the soft toy.

    Not Hongbin. Not Hongbin with his glorious sunny smiles, and his presence that was full of sunshine and days of summer. Why was the world so cruel? Why were they taking him from her?

    She sat up, grabbed her phone and scrolled through her contacts. She would make him change his mind. America was too big for him. Besides, his English . He could never survive by himself.

But now that he became the owner of a wide estate, Hongbin was rich beyond her dreams. There would be girls chasing him in the busy streets of Boston. She imagined him strolling between skyscrapers that were too tall to see. She imagined him dizzy between those tall buildings, euphoric when he met those beautiful American girls. She imagined him eating non-Korean food.

    All these thoughts meshed into a doleful pain that suffocated her. Suzy threw her phone over the bed, ignoring the crash after. She pressed her hands against her temples, and she cried.

    He had decided to betray her! She will tell him that to his face. She will not go to the airport to wish him goodbye. He could rot away in Boston, for all she cared. She would be content in Korea, will wait for Myungsoo to return from his studies, will spend her days with Jongin and the rest of her friends.

    Hongbin can be washed away from the past. She will erase all traces that hinted at his existence.

    But could she erase what was trapped in her heart? With that shaking nervousness, she succumbed to sleep.

Her phone kept buzzing. Suzy jolted awake. It was too bright for her. She rubbed her eyes with one hand and pressed her phone against her ear with the other.

    “‘Lo?” she mumbled.

“Suzy, where are you? Hongbin’s boarding time is soon.” It was Myungsoo. “Don’t tell me you’re still in town!”

Suzy panicked. She hurriedly got out of bed, changed from her pyjamas. She did not have time for makeup, because he told her he would come to pick her from Seoul. She decided against waking her mother, for the woman was still grieving at the idea of losing Hongbin forever.

In an hour, Myungsoo was outside her house and she stormed into his car, her satchel dangling over her hip. He gave her a bemused look.

“What?”

He shook his head. “It’s nothing. Anyways, I just hope we’ll reach Incheon on time. He might be through the boarding gates. I tried to ring you for so long.”

    “I couldn’t sleep last night.” She scrunched her nose. There was a moment of silence. “So he’s really leaving, huh?”

    “That’s his decision.” Myungsoo pressed on the accelerator when they entered the highway. “I respect that, as his good friend.” He gave her quick glance.

    “But I don’t Myungsoo! Do you think it’s fair that he told us he’s only leaving the day before?” Suzy was surprised with her own outburst. Her voice warbled. “I didn’t think he’d be so sly about it.”

There was another silence, followed by her occasional sob. She tried so hard to suppress her feelings but became hoarse and sore.

    “I think he might have something to say to you when we get there,” said Myungsoo, calmly. She was glad that he did not comment about her sobbing.

Suzy wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “What does he want to say?”

    He chuckled. “Don’t ask me. Ask him.”

By the time they reached the airport an hour later, Suzy’s heart was throbbing like a frenzied animal trapped in a cage. She pushed through the crowds to get to the Departures. Jongin, Kyungsoo, Chanyeol. Eunji, Naeun and Soojung. Some of Hongbin’s friends from his class. They were all there except for her.

    “Where were you?” gasped Naeun, grabbing her wrist. “He just went in through the boarding gates.

S