"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Bomi looked at Namjoo with a face that screamed concern. In response, the girl just looked back at her with a small smile on her face, indicating that she was optimistic. The two girls were standing at one of the stations in the city. There weren't many people around, as it was early in the morning. The weather was freezing, with biting winds that bode well for winter to come very soon. Namjoo usually felt excessively cold, but just that day, she regretted not wearing a warm coat.

"Of course, I'll be fine." Namjoo replied, pulling her friend's hands slightly up to hers. "Huiwang is probably a lot safer than Seoul.” She continued.

Bomi nodded as she pouted.

"I know ... It's just ... I'm worried because we won't always be together as we have in the last few days. I won't know if you're eating properly and if you're sleeping well without having nightmares."

Namjoo smiled at his friend again. She knew that Bomi cared a lot about her. The two met three years ago, just before Namjoo graduated from college. For her, Bomi was definitely someone very important; a dear friend, especially in the last month, with the mysterious death of her father.

"I promise I'll be fine." Namjoo assured. "I'm going to call every day and when you can't speak, I'll send a bunch of messages."

"Promise?" Bomi sniffed as she allowed her tears to roll down her face.

"Come on, don't be a crybaby." Namjoo held out her hands to wipe her friend's tears "I promise, okay?"

It didn't take long for Namjoo's train to arrive. It was difficult to say goodbye, but they had already gone through that whole ritual the day before, entitled to a big dinner and a speech by Bomi explaining how much she would miss her friend.

Namjoo would be lying if she said it was easy to leave Seoul. It was definitely a rich place and full of opportunities, but still, she was not an ambitious girl. She liked the tranquility of the countryside. She would like to be able to walk through the city streets calmly, without being pressured by the routine and stress of everyone around her. Perhaps it was something that she always have in her roots. Not to mention that a change in habits could occupy her mind and help her not to think so much about her father's death.

His death had been a blow to her. They were always very close, since it was just the two of them since she was a baby. The last time she saw him alive, it was on another normal day, where she left for work early in the morning and he was still at home, reading some book. When she returned in the evening, she found his bloody body on the chair; his skin on his arms and face appeared to have been torn by claws. Whoever did that to her father, marked her deeply, so intensely, that even her dreams were tormented by the image of a black shadow tearing his skin while the man screaming for help.

The move could do well, she decided. Huiwang was her hometown. It was a beautiful and very peaceful place. There were some schools, a local college and many dense woods preserved by the local authorities. The city has always given her a deep connection with nature and maybe that was one of the reasons that made her want to go back there, regardless of the reason that made her move with her father years ago, of course.

For a child, growing up in Huiwang shouldn't be a difficult task. At least it was like that for Namjoo during the spring of her childhood.
From everyone's point of view, she was an ordinary child; always lively and very sweet, even for a girl whose mother had died in childbirth. She seemed to be happy with her father and had no difficulty making friends.
There was one in particular that marked Namjoo's life forever.
A skinny littleboy named Baekhyun.

At primary school, despite being very sociable with the girls, Namjoo was always accompanied by a troupe of boys whose energy seemed to be inexhaustible. Among them was Baekhyun.
Byun Baekhyun was a funny boy. He liked to be the center of attention, to play bold games and show how brave he was. He was the closest person to Namjoo after his father. Always playing with her, protecting her from bullies and anything that scared her. Namjoo grew up beside him, being cared for him while nurturing his purest and most altruistic feelings.

They had been like that until the summer of eighth grade.

If a small amount of time had the power to change someone's life so dramatically, it would be that summer.

Namjoo had decided to confess to him. She opened her heart, told everything she felt on an orange-stained afternoon in the twilight, but she didn't count on Baekhyun's actions afterwards. He rejected her so harshly and broke her heart as cruelly as possible.

She remembers running home, heartbroken, and didn't see him again until school started with the end of the season. That was when her real hell started.

Baekhyun ended up becoming quite popular and influential in his first year of high school. And that only resulted in trouble for Namjoo. He started to