A moment of silence emitted in the air and Hyeri stared at her schedule planner and realized that the day she had been anticipating for had finally arrived. 15th September – Myungsoo and her third anniversary as an official couple. How lovely, she smiled with warmth despite the coldness of autumn.

However, the smile disappeared after a second and she felt energy drained from her body. There was a tugging at her heart – the fact that Myungsoo and she weren’t able to celebrate this day bothered her so badly, it had almost driven her insane.

The bleakness purged her excitement and her heart gnawed at the heart-wrecking fact. It was the first time they were unable to be together for this special date. Hyeri then realized that they wouldn’t be able to have their annually routine: they would cuddle till the late noon, dress up elegantly then head to a posh restaurant–which they don’t patron normally because it is so ing expensive–and then watch the night fall and the coldness to intrude. The fact that it was the season of autumn made it extra romantic because they would also spend time taking strolls in the park to admire the fallen leaves. They would capture precious memories while listening to the rustling tree leaves that plow on in the mid air. They both just strangely adored the crispy crunch that would be produced when their sneakers smashed brittle little fallen leaves into smithereens. The sound made them satisfied, somehow. It made Hyeri laugh genuinely and Myungsoo would brush her flying hair away from her face and place a peck on her lips. Behind them would be the sun settling down.

What a beautifully perfect sight.

She remembered Myungsoo setting up his camera on the stand and locating his tools, facing them. She inquired his weird actions but he hushed her, telling her not to spoil the moment. She swung a punch to his shoulders playfully and he let out a cute pout, groaning at the pain she had caused.

“If you give me a kiss, I’ll consider about forgiving you.”

“Maybe I should punch you even harder–on your egocentric head.”

That was just one of the million times they fooled around together. Myungsoo had earned himself an A+ for his photography assignment that was titled, “Warm Fall”. Apparently, his professor adored it very much because there was genuine love and happiness evident from the way his pictures are taken and portrayed. It made his professor bubble with excitement because Myungsoo’s work was just that impressive…. And that resulted him in gaining a scholarship to New York.

She missed him so much that every part of her bones was aching for his warm presence and his comforting touch. She would love it if there was a possibly of spending their 3rd anniversary together. She wished that Myungsoo wouldn’t be too busy to neglect this day. If he had really forgotten, she wasn’t sure of how she would handle the blow.

What a pity that this year was going to be different.

❀❀❀

Myungsoo plopped down on his swivel chair and secreted his head into his clasped hands. A sigh escaped from his lips, expressing his helplessness self. He was so vulnerable and hopeless that he felt like just giving everything up and pack his bags for Korea. But he couldn’t. He had promised Hyeri to succeed here and he wasn’t going to go back on his words.

Yet another negative feedback from his professor… He wasn’t sure what he wanted from him. He wasn’t sure what to take photographs that could expressed himself freely. He was lost – he couldn’t recognize his own identify. Who was he? What did he stand for? Why was he here? Was he certain of his goals? He had no idea – it seemed as if a part of him had vanished upon the move; as if a part of his heart, mind and soul had stayed with Hyeri.

He lifted his head and his eyes met his calendar coincidentally. 15 of September. There was a slight frown creased on his forehead when he took notice of a red star drawn beside that date. Scratching his head, he closed his eyes and recalled what special occasion it was. It wasn’t his birthday nor was it Hyeri’s. It wasn’t a deadline for any of his assignments nor was it a special day in college.

It was…..

“,” he cursed loudly when the date finally dawned on him. Their 3rd anniversary! He couldn’t believe that he himself had forgotten this extraordinary day.  Guilt intruded his whole body and the feeling of failure engulfed him.

He quickly grabbed hold of his phone and switched his laptop on. Hyeri was last seen 3 hours ago on Whatsapp and Myungsoo doubted that she would still on online waiting to webcam with him. “She should have sent me a message,” he tried to push the blame to her but it went in vain because he still felt like a horrible boyfriend.

It was already in the wee hours of the night back in Korea so he wasn’t expecting her to be online because she still has school the next day. Thus, he decided to type a long message for her to express his regret.

“Hey yeobo, sorry for the late wish. But happy 3rd anniversary to us! It’s been 3 long and happy years together and I really really really treasure the times spent with you. I love you so much… and I know it’s little hard to keep this long distance relationship going but I’ll try my best because that’s how much I love you. There’s nothing or nobody that I need in my life except you. I know you’re sleeping by now but I just wish so badly that you were physically here with me so that I can express my love. I really miss you and I love you so much and forever till infinity. I know I’ve been very busy lately but I promise that I would never neglect you – I promise that I would find time for you. Goodnight! Dream of me!”

Spending quite some time to build sandcastles in the air, he tried to imagine a gift for Hyeri. He retreated from his desk to his couch and grabbed his guitar. Strumming the 6 strings, he realized that his guitar had gone really out of tune and it sounded so awful that it made it seemed as though it was Myungsoo’s degrading skills that caused it.

He then realized that his life hadn’t been normal and that playing the guitar seemed out of the norm.

Taking out his lyrics book, he flipped to a page with a half composed song with a title of “Autumn Leaves”. It was currently autumn and it was their favourite season ever because this season was full of romance and they also got together during autumn.

Do you ever wonder if the stars shine out for you?