Narrator:

A sad smile was brought on her face as she brought the photo to her chest. A tear slid down her cheek as she traced the faces on the photo. Her finger lingered on someone’s face for a second longer. She glanced around her room. Everything had been stripped bare except for the photo in her hands and another on the wall. All the other photos were now squashed at the bottom of her backpack.

All the happy memories were locked. She placed the photo that she had been holding on to the wall beside the photo left there. One photo held memories of laughter, joy and happiness. The other was filled with tension. She didn’t know if this had been the right decision to make. It was what her parents wanted but would she be willing to give up everything she had? She would be leaving her whole life behind and come back to a country that would now be foreign to her. She could only faintly remember the bright lights of the city, the house she used to stay in and her old school. Everything seemed to be out of reach for her. It was as though she was stuck in the middle of the sea with sharks surrounding her and the only thing she could hold on too was a plank of wood. Frustrated, she lay on her bed with her blanket covering her face, a habit she developed over the years of living alone.

You could see from the window that her room as lost its life and what remained were only painful reminders of the days to come. An airplane ticket, the two photos and 2 suitcases and a backpack all full and ready to go. 

Your POV:

Good morning! The birds are chirping. The sun is shining. The weather is great. It’s the second of April! Wait. It’s the second of April, which means… my flight is tomorrow. I slumped back on my bed, all my energy drained. Back to Korea, the place where I almost suffocated. I didn’t want to go back there yet. It would remind me too much of my parents. It took me months just to get over it. Going back there would bring me nightmares.

I brought my Macbook to my lap and opened up a new window. I started typing furiously at the keyboard wiping away tears, which threatened to fall. When I was finally done, I saved that post in my drafts. It was not time to publish it yet to the prying eyes of my friends. There was one last thing to do today. Bravely, I took out my phone and texted a simple message. I jumped up as my phone vibrated signaling a reply. I cocked my head to the side, confused. Just then loud bangs could be heard. Who on earth could it be at 7am in the morning? After awhile the bangs disappeared. Either the person went away or someone let him in.

“Lee Jieun!” the person screamed startling me. I stood up with my hands in the air showing my innocence. This was why I was afraid to tell him about my flight. He may be my best friend but he sure as hell scares the out of me.

Let me introduce to you Robert Lee also know as Milk or Grandma~ Hehe. He’s my best friend of 4 years when I first came to Singapore. We just seemed to click. At that time my English was horrible with my accent making it sound even worse. We met on the first day of school and he laughed right in my face. Unlike other girls who’d start crying, I pulled him into a headlock and glared at him. An unusual meeting but it was what brought us together. Over the years we became best friends or more like twins. Even though we did not hang out together during break or walk home with each other we just had this connection that allowed us to communicate without talking. Just like twins. Through thick and thin, through hail and storm, through… I don’t know? Everything? He was the person I was most afraid I would lose, especially now that I had to return to Korea.

“Urm… Hi?” I waved sheepishly. I could see the rage on his face and his fists balled. Uh-oh. I’m in trouble. Cautiously I took a step back one at a time. Just then he charged at me. I closed my eyes tightly waiting for the impact to hit me then I felt his arms wrapped tightly around my waist and his head on my shoulder. I hugged him back. Once again tears spilled blurring my vision. He stood up and brought me to his chest. Sniffing, I cried my eyes out. I thought of all the memories we had together, the time spent, the fights we had, the laughs we shared and the tears we shed.  Finally, he removed his arms and brought my face leveled to his. I couldn’t help but trace his features as though trying to memorise them. No words were exchanged as he threw me some clothes and we headed out together for the last time.

2:00AM.

Why on earth did I pick a flight at this timing? Oh yeah cause I didn’t want any of my friends to know. Before I left Singapore I posted the blog post and send text messages to my friends. Well here I am in Korea! Yay me! Now all’s that left to do was to wait for my brother to pick me up from the airport. I pocketed my phone. It was useless for now cause I have no idea what I was doing and ended up dropping it into the toilet bowl spoiling both the phone and the sim card. Hurray for me!

3:00AM

Where is he??? I paced around nervously. Did he forget about me? Was he still asleep? After all, idols are very tired. Maybe I should go and surprise him! His dorm is still the same right? Scrunching up my face, I tried recalling the address he had mentioned before when trying to convince me to come back to Korea. I picked up my backpack and my 2 suitcases. It’s going to be a long night if I had to bring this with me. I made it to the taxi stand tripping ten times during the process! A new personal record! As I stood at the taxi stand a man dressed in black and a mask covering his face stood near me. A long trench coat covered him. Oh my gosh is he ert or a stripper? What do I do? Nervously, I took quick steps trying to escape without making myself noticeable. Each step I took, he took one long stride almost catching up with me. 

“Yah! Lee Jieun stop running away!”

Hearing that voice made me stop in my tracks. Lee. Jin. Ki.