The next morning, everyone wakes up except Maria who took the last shift in watching Shelby as she slept during the night. When Shelby woke up, she saw that Maria was sleeping with her back against the wall of the trailer.

“Good morning, Shelby,” Yongsun says. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. Why?” Shelby asks.

“You were screaming in your sleep last night and it scared us. So, we took turns watching you as you slept to make sure that you slept well,” Byuli explains.

“Maria stayed up the most and by the looks of it, she finally fell asleep,” Yongsun says while looking at Maria.

“What happened during your dream?” Byuli asked.

“I don’t really remember. I do remember someone saying ‘I love you’ to me and that’s what got me out of the nightmare. That’s what saved me,” Shelby tries to recall.

Yongsun and Byuli look at each other and go back to Shelby.

“Do you know who said that to you?” Yongsun asked.

“I don’t. I just remember hearing a distant voice kinda like a whisper,” Shelby said.

Yongsun and Byuli look at each other again.

“Should we?” Byuli whispers to Yongsun.

“No. Let them work it out,” Yongsun answers.

“Yeah, but what if she likes her?” Byuli responds.

“It doesn’t matter. Just give it time,” Yongsun says.

“What’s going on?” Maria asks.

“The unnies are arguing,” Shelby says.

“What are you fighting about?” Maria asks as she lays her back on the bed.

“It’s nothing. Unnie was right about it anyway,” Byuli says.

“Okay. I’m gonna get some sleep if you don’t mind,” Maria says. She turns over and faces Shelby who’s sitting up. She glances at the blue-haired woman with loving eyes. “Oh good. You’re awake.” Maria smiles and sees Shelby smile before she dozes off.

“Just to let you know, we leave today for the train. Maria was supposed to be our ride, but I guess we can take an uber,” Byuli says.

“That sounds like a plan,” Yongsun says. “We’re already packed so maybe we can spend some time in town.”

Shelby looks at both of the women. “You guys go ahead. I’ll stay here with Maria.”

“Okay. Did you want anything to eat? Maybe we can get you something from the doughnut shop,” Yongsun offers.

Byuli snaps her fingers. “That’s right! I almost forgot. We’re not going on the train because I rented a moving truck. I was gonna take Shelby’s things to make sure they get there safely to Seoul.”

“And I’m going too right?” Shelby asks.

“No, you’re going with Maria in her car,” Byuli says. We’ll make sure that everything is nice at your new place.” She looks right at Yongsun after she finishes speaking.

“Oh, that’s right. We just wanna make sure your stuff gets there and is in place before you come home so that you don’t have to worry about anything when you get there,” Yongsun says.

“Sounds reasonable,” Shelby says. “All right, now about those doughnuts.”

As Yongsun and Byuli are in town getting supplies for their trip back to Seoul, Shelby gets out of bed and looks at Maria. She takes her phone out and takes a picture of her. She then goes to her notes and starts writing underneath the picture.

I’m overflowing with things I’m curious about

There are still a lot of things I haven’t figured out

Is that your charm, infinite imagining

I can see that in your eyes

(Universe - Mamamoo)

Shelby smiles as she closes the note and puts her phone back in her pocket. Just then, she hears her phone ring which means that Yongsun and Byuli came back with doughnuts and the moving truck.

As they begin to move things into the moving truck, Yongsun smiles at Shelby.

“What?” Shelby asks.

“You look happy,” Yongsun says as she puts a box into the trunk.

“I am,” Shelby says with a smile.

“Why?” Yongsun says.

“Can’t tell you. It’s a secret,” Shelby says.

“It can’t be that bad. What is it? Tell me,” Yongsun demands.

“Alright, but don’t tell anyone,” Shelby says.

“Okay. What is it?” Yongsun asks.

“I might be in love with Maria.”

After they finish packing the truck, Shelby, Yongsun, and Byuli say their goodbyes. They thought it would be best to not wake up Maria. Besides, they were gonna see each other in a couple of days anyway. When the two women drive off, Shelby goes back inside the trailer and sees that the bed still has Maria sleeping there. After around an hour, Maria finally wakes up to see Shelby on her phone.

“Tired?” Shelby asks.

“Just a bit,” Maria answers. “Whatcha doing on your phone?”

“Writing. Why?” Shelby responds without looking up.

“Whatcha writing about?” Maria asks.

“You,” Shelby responds.

“What about me?” Maria asks.

“Can’t tell you. It’s a secret,” Shelby says.

“Can you show me when you’re done?” Maria asks.

“Sure. When the time is right, I’ll show you,” Shelby says as she looks up at Maria.

After Maria gets up from the bed and gets dressed, she joins Shelby at the small table.

“What did you wanna do today?” Maria asks.

“Maybe we can go to Hanok Village and the tree one more time before we leave,” Shelby says. “You know how much I love food and sunsets.”

“How could I forget?” Maria responds. “Speaking of leaving, where did Yong and Byuli unnie go?”

“They left in the moving truck to put my things into your place this morning. They also went to the shops and your parent’s house to say goodbye to your family,” Shelby explains.

“Well, that also explains why this place is so empty too,” Maria says as she looks around.

“Yup! I even trusted them with my baby,” Shelby says.

“I’m sorry… Your baby?” Maria asks in shock.

“I meant my guitar. My guitar is probably my most prized possession besides my phone. My phone is where I write, do some art, and take pictures. It’s like a journal for me,” Shelby says.

“Well, good to know. And don’t scare me like that! I thought you had a child!” Maria says.

“Don’t worry. I won’t. Besides, if anything were to happen to me, you’d be the first to know,” Shelby says with a smile.

“Good. Let’s get going before it becomes,” Maria says.

“With pleasure.”

Hanok Village is just as they remembered it when they used to visit as children. Both of the women walked around arm and arm while visiting some of the houses. Eventually, they stopped for a break at a restaurant to eat the very well known dish, bibimbap, before going back to exploring.

“That was the best bibimbap I’ve ever had,” Maria shouts after leaving the restaurant. “Besides my mom’s of course! Where to next?”

“Let’s go find some street food. I want to eat one of the churros. Ooh! Maybe some mandu too!” Shelby says. “Those were some of our favorites.”

“Yes! And there’s someplace special that I want to take you to, but first, traditional outfits and street food.”

After going to a nearby shop to buy traditional outfits, they waltz down the street to find the desperately needed churros and mandu (dumplings) Shelby had been craving. As they reached the stand for the mandu, the owner immediately recognized Maria.

“Wow! Maria Ahn! What are you doing here in Hanok Village?” the owner asks.

“I’m here with my best friend to buy some of your mandu of course! She’s been craving them,” Maria tells the owner.

“Well, how many would you like, miss?” the owner asks Shelby.

“I would like 2, please. One for me and one for Maria,” Shelby says as she looks at the owner and then to Maria and smiles.

“Sounds great. Let me get you some churros while I’m at it. My wife makes the best in town. Hey honey! Get me some churros for these lovely ladies,” the owner says.

As the wife comes over with the churros, she’s shocked to see who is receiving the churros. “Ma… Maria Ahn. You’re giving my churros to Maria Ahn and her friend? I’m so honored.”

“These are on the house for both of you. Please enjoy them as a gift from our family to yours,” the owner says.

“That’s so sweet thank you. Let me at least take a picture with you and give you some money as a gift in return,” Maria says.

“There’s no need for that. The picture would be nice though,” the wife says.

“Let’s have your friend in it too,” the owner says.

“That would be lovely,” Maria says.

After taking the picture with both her phone and the owner’s, the two women set off again after saying their “thank you’s.”

“There’s still one more place that I have to take you. It’s a surprise,” Maria says.

As they arrive at their destination, Shelby recognizes it as a blacksmith’s shop.
“What are we doing here?” Shelby asks.

“I’m going to make us something.”

As they walk into the blacksmith’s shop together, a woman approaches them.

“Hello, Ms. Maria. The rings that you requested are ready. All you have to do now is customize them.”
“Thank you very much,” Maria says. “Let’s get started.”

As the two are being led to the workbench, Shelby begins wondering what is happening. What are the rings for? Who are the rings for? Is this Maria’s way of proposing? What is going on? After all of the questions, Maria sits Shelby down on the stool and grabs her left hand. She puts a ring on her middle finger and smiles.

“It’s a perfect fit,” Maria says.

“What’s going on, Maria? Why are we here?” Shelby at this point wanted answers.

“I’m making a promise to you. With this ring, I’m promising you all of the things that I promised before to you and the things that I promised to your grandma on her grave. I’ll take care of you, love you, cherish you, and will always be here for you no matter what. You’re my perfect angel in this crazy world and I don’t ever want to let you go. I don’t want to hurt you. My ring will remind me of that,” Maria explains.

“So, you’re doing all of this for me and my grandmother?” Shelby asks.

“Yes. I mean everything with all my heart, mind, body, and soul. I promise you,” Maria says.

“Then I promise to do the same and wear the ring as long as we’re together,” Shelby says.

“Then, I will get an ‘S’ on mine while you get an 'M’ on yours. On the inside, mine will say ‘Shelby Jung’ while yours says ‘Maria Ahn.’ It’ll be exactly like the ones we always wanted.

“Sounds like a plan,” Shelby says with a smile.

After customizing their rings, they each get a box to put it in.

“I think I know where we should go right now,” Shelby says.

“I think I know too.”

As the two women reach the tree, the sunset is in its prime. All of the most glorious colors are visible, making the field of grass look more orange and yellow. As the two get out of the car, Shelby gets on the hood and sits down while Maria walks to the tree. When she turns around, she sees a picture-perfect moment and proceeds to take a picture of Shelby. She smiles at it and looks up to see that Shelby was also taking pictures of her and the sunset.

Shelby walks over to Maria who is now staring at the sunset.

“I guess great minds think alike,” she says referring to the picture taking.

“I guess so,” Shelby responds.

“So, how do you feel about moving to Seoul?”

“I’m really excited. I’ve never been there before,” Shelby says.

“You can’t be serious,” Maria responds. “You’ve never been to Seoul?”

“Never. I’ve never set foot on the train that goes there. Not even the train station itself,” Shelby says.

Maria looks at Shelby in disbelief and leans on the tree. “Why haven’t you been to Seoul?”

Shelby takes a deep breath. “Well, for starters, I couldn’t afford it. I also had to work and go to school just to support myself which also made weekends not an option either. I also was scared that I would see you. For a while, I thought the reason why you didn’t come back to Jeonju was that you didn’t wanna see me.”

“Why did you think that?” Maria asked.

“Because of New Years Day. When we kissed for the first time, you said that you didn’t want it to happen again. Couldn’t understand why because you never told me,” Shelby answers.

“That’s because I was in love with you,” Maria says as she turns to Shelby. “I read my journal from that day and literally had a flashback. I remembered thinking that my feelings would go away if it didn’t happen anymore, but they didn’t. In fact, I fell in love with you even more because I got to see you for who you truly were.” Maria pauses. “And now that I look at you, it’s like I’m thirteen again. I remember everything that happened. I remember what I felt every single day. And now that I look at you, I wish I didn’t move to Seoul just so that we could be together. Ever since I got here, I haven’t stopped thinking about you, talking about you, and wanting to be with you.” She pauses again. “I’m in love with you, Shelby.”

Shelby looks at Maria with her sparkling, brown eyes. All of a sudden, she finds herself moving closer to Maria. “When I saw you, my heart dropped and now it’s lifted up again. It’s like you broke my heart and came back to fix it.”

“Then, let me continue to fix it with everything I have.” She pauses to pull out the ring she made for Shelby. “I made my promise not to break your heart and I intend to keep that for as long as I live,” Maria says as she puts the ring onto Shelby’s left middle finger and puts her hand on Shelby’s heart. Shelby puts her hand onto Maria’s and looks deep into her eyes.

“I’m so glad you came back because I’ve always loved you. In fact, I’m in love with you too,” Shelby says as she pulls out the ring she made for Maria. She puts it on Maria’s right ring finger.

With all said and done, Maria palms Shelby’s cheek and pulls her in to kiss her dimpled cheek.

“You missed,” Shelby says with a smile.

“No, I didn’t. I was aiming for it… And right here,” Maria says as she kisses Shelby’s other cheek. “And finally, right here.”

Maria slowly touches her lips with Shelby’s. When they kiss, it’s like fireworks went off in their minds. Love, passion, and promise were awarded to the two women who waited all their lives to say how much they love each other, how much they cared about each other, and how much they needed each other.