"So... you're all alone here. It's just you and her."

I nodded, taking a sip of my tea. Grandma went to bed shortly after bringing us some towels, blankets, and dry sleepwear. I didn't even know we had clothes for a boy lying around the house. I figured it was probably Grandpa's or Daddy's- not that I knew what either of them dressed like.

A comfortable silence settled between us again. Sanghyun and I sat in front of the fireplace together, wrapped in our fluffy blankets. We had spent the last hour or so fading in and out of conversation. I thought maybe if I told him a little about me, it would ease him into opening up. It was working fairly well, but he hadn't cracked a smile since entering my house. 

"What's it like to have siblings?" I asked, resting my head on my knees and looking at him.

"Well, I'm the baby. Durami and Sandara Noona never let me forget that. I remember them dressing me up and down in their clothes like a life-size doll... back in the Philippines..."

His face froze and he sat there unblinking. Sadness washed over me at seeing him like this again. He must have gone through really difficult times in his younger years. 

"You said Sandara-sshi was famous there, right? And she's preparing to debut with a group of girls here," I went on, trying to keep the conversation going. "Is that why you're a trainee for this other company?"

Sanghyun's shoulders rose up and down in a small shrug. "There's no doubt that Noona would become just as succesful here in Korea, if not more. She's talented, pretty, and has the determination and perseverance to make it. I really hope I'm good enough to become an idol like her." He wrapped his hands around his warm mug. "Honestly, I don't know what else to do with my life. Music is the only thing I know right now. I was a pointless student in school and I don't know if I have any other talents. I just need to become something so my Noona and mother don't have to support the family by themselves."

"You sound like you admire Sandara-sshi a lot. That's why you want to help her."

"She's like... my second mother. She took charge of caring for the family... when my father left us..."

So we were the same. Well, almost. My father left after I was born. Sanghyun probably had his for at least a couple years as a child. I expect it would be harder on a person to have someone taken away from them rather than never knowing them at all.

Suddenly, Sanghyun broke down. His face contorted in pain and sadness as a loud sob ripped through him. He placed his mug down and grabbed at his hair as he cried harder. I watched the tears stream down his cheeks and his chest rise and fall in uneven breaths. I never felt so helpless in my life.

Unsure of what to do, I put my hand on his back and rubbed in small circles, hoping to soothe him. He looked up at me with tears still b over his swollen eyes. It killed me to see someone so beautiful in so much pain. Without a word, I pulled him gently toward me and he layed his head on my shoulder. Sanghyun held on to me like a child clinging to his mother.

"It hurts," he cried. "I've always done my best, but everything just turns out wrong!"

The silent, stubborn boy I met on the beach sobbed uncontrollably in my arms. Everything he had been holding in for years- every thought, every feeling, every heart ache, and every problem - was finally being released. Sanghyun poured all his troubles out to me like the rain. It didn't stop. He continued, one thing after another. I his hair, holding him protectively, and listened to every detail about his life. From his father, to his hardships as a trainee, to his sibling problems, and to his almost nonexistent circle of friends here in Korea.

Eventually, his tears stopped flowing and his cries turned to small wimpers. We sat together in silence, watching the flame in the fireplace burn out.

I leaned down and kissed the top of his head. "You are so strong," I whispered.

I felt him laugh lightly. "I just cried another ocean for you, revealed how pathetic I really am, how I'm never going to add up to anything in my life, and you think I'm strong?"

"There's no use regretting the past, worrying for the future." I reached down and gently wiped his tear-stained cheeks with the back of my hand. "Live in the moment where it's the most meaningful..." I stopped and tilted his head so he would look at me. "The most beautiful."

The fire popped one last time before the silence settled back in. Something about this moment felt so... right. I had read about these things in my books before. Those moments where time stands still and you feel like you're surrounded by a warm, comforting glow. Unconsciously, I began to smile.

"What?" Sanghyun asked me.

I bit my lip and looked away. "I don't know. I'm just... I just feel really... happy." I smiled at him again, but this time, he smiled back.

"Yeah," he said, nodding his head. "Me too, I guess."

We smiled at each other again and started laughing from how silly we looked just grinning at each other. He glanced behind me and gestured toward the window.

"It stopped raining."

I looked back, too. "And the sun is rising already."

"You mean it's morning? Were we really up all night?"

"Probably not. I'm pretty sure we fell asleep somewhere in the middle of that."

"Oh..."

We both watched the golden light slowly peek out from behind the clouds, listening to the morning birds fly overhead and the soothing sound of the rolling waves.

"I should probably go," Sanghyun said, quietly getting up.

"Right, right," I agreed, standing up too and getting his clothes for him. "You can change in the bathroom. It's just right down the hall."

While he went to get dressed, I busied myself by folding up the blankets and putting our mugs away. He came back shortly, carrying the pajamas in his hands.

"Thank you," he said, placing them in my arms.

"Oh yeah, of course," I said with a smile.

"No, I mean-" he looked down and hesitantly took the sleepwear back, placing them on a chair. To my surprise, Sanghyun wrapped his arms around my waist and dipped his head to speak softly into my ear. "Thank you."

His hushed voice and warm embrace filled me with that soft glow of happiness again. I didn't understand how someone could make me feel so unreasonably happy by just doing the smallest things. Slowly, I reached up and held my arms behind his neck.

"Of course," I whispered back.

We held each other for a little while longer until he squeezed me one last time. Pulling back, we exchanged small smiles again, and he turned toward the door.

"Goodbye," Sanghyun said, turning around.

"No, don't say that," I replied. " 'Goodbye' means that we'll never meet again."

He stood at the doorway. "You... you want to see me again?" he asked.

I blushed from the way that he phrased it. "Well... yes. I would very much like to see you again. I get awfully lonely out here and you're actually very good company."

Sanghyun tried to hide a smile that was creeping its way to his lips. "I hope to see you again too."

"So..."

"So..."

"Until next time then?"

"Yes," he agreed cheerfully. "Until next time."

And with that, he left. I walked over to the big window with the seat in front and sat myself down. Was it weird for me to watch him go? I hoped he wouldn't turn around to see me.

A door in the hallway creaked open. Grandma approached me slowly with her hands behind her back.

"Sanghyun-sshi is going back home?"

I nodded, still staring as he walked down the beach. 

"You two stayed up rather late. Sounded like you were getting pretty close."

"We did. I finally got him to open up to me. It felt like we were friends." I turned toward her. "Like best friends."

Grandma gave me a small smile and petted my hair. "Well, I'm very happy to hear that you made a new friend." She started to move toward the kitchen. "Let's hope he comes back soon."

I silently nodded, knowing she couldn't hear me from where she was, and returned to gaze out my window.

"I hope he comes back really soon."

Out in the distance, Sanghyun's small figure turned toward the direction of my house. It was almost as if he heard my simple but strong request.

"Come back soon."

Sorry about not updating in a while. I wanted to finish my senior year off strong ^_^ Graduation is this Saturday~!!