Even though I’m reminiscing these beautiful moments, our whole relationship eventually came to an end in third grade. His halmeoni suddenly became really ill. We were really worried about her, but I was just a child, so I didn’t know what to do or what to think. We visited her everyday after school just to see if she was doing fine. However, her health kept declining as days passed by one by one. Tao was slowly breaking down. He was so young back then. I didn’t think he could take this as a whole. Finally, that one day decided to come. It was a Friday night and we went to stay at the hospital for extra hours. Tao sat beside her on one side and there was me on the other. We sat in silence as we waited for his parents to come.

      “T-Tao…” his halmeoni called in a barely audible voice. He gripped her hand tightly.

      “Please… promise me that… you’ll take good care of… _____-ah,” she whispered. I stared at her. Unknowingly, a drop of tear slid down my cheek.

     Tao nodded as he pinky-promised his halmeoni. “What else do you need?”

      “Look after your parents too. They love you a lot Zitao. Listen to them and be a good boy,” she answered straining with each word that came out of . “Ne…”

     His parents came in shortly after. She spoke her last words to them. Soon enough, she also gave her last breath. The heart monitor quickly transitioned from short jagged lines into a straight line.

     At that moment in time, I swore I had heard Tao’s heart break. His tears dripped down from his eyes slowly. Then, it ended up in sobs. He laid his head on her deceased body and cried really hard. His chest was hurting. Nothing had mattered at that time, but his dear grandmother. He loved her a lot. She was like his second mom. His parents were busy the majority of the time and worked a lot so he spent most of his time with her.

     The nurse ushered the both of us out. I offered him a hug. He gratefully pulled me in and continued to cry. Eventually, he quieted down from exhaustion and fell asleep.

     After her death, his parents wanted to bring her body back to her hometown. I decided to tag along to provide comfort for Tao. After the funeral and everything, Tao stayed behind a little longer by her grave. I stood by him as the rain pelted down along with his silent tears. He was soaking wet from head to toe. I wrapped my hand around his.

     I’ve never seen him cry so much before. Scratch that. I’ve never seen him cry once before. It had always been me who was the crybaby. He protected me. He did everything with and for me. Now that the situations have changed, I didn’t know what to do. "Tao... I'm sorry..." 

     He only gave me a weak nod. 

     After a moment of silence, he spoke again. "____-ah, I'm leaving."

     "Bwoh? Leaving?" I was confused.

     "My parents want to move back here."

     My eyes widened in shock. 

     "They want you to stay behind. A close friend of theirs is going to live with you until you're in high school."

     I didn’t say anything. I knew this was the best for him, but I couldn’t stand the thought of him leaving me. It only meant that I was going to be alone again. All these selfish thoughts rushed into my head. I dropped my umbrella and ran away. My tears mixed with the pouring rain. My feet splashed against the puddles. I found their car and locked myself in. I tossed off my wet shoes and socks and curled into a ball. I furiously wiped the tears off my face with my hands. After sobbing, I leaned my head against my knees, closing my sore eyes. I didn't want this to be reality, but I knew that when I opened my eyes again, nothing would have changed.

     Time passed. A few minutes? A few hours? I didn't know. When I woke up, the sky was dark and I was in Tao's arms. His cheeks were stained with his dried tears. He was finally sleeping peacefully for once ever since everything happened. I caressed his cheek. "I'll miss you panda," I murmured. I leaned over and pecked my lips on the spot I touched. His eyes suddenly opened. I gasped, immediately pulling back causing me to bump the back of my head on the car door. I winced as my cheeks flushed in embarrassment. He frowned at the sudden loss of contact.
    
     "Y-You're awake," I accused him. 

     He shrugged. "I didn't say I wasn't." He reached his arm out to pull me back. Or at least that's what I thought. I felt pain on my face. 
    
     "Yah!" I yelped. He was pinching my cheeks. "That hurts babo!" I smacked his hands away and rubbed my aching cheeks. He chuckled at my cute actions.
    
     He pulled me back in for real this time and patted my head. "Does it hurt?" I pouted, but nodded in response. Tao massaged my head gently, easing the pain away. 

     He let out a sigh. "Hey."

      “Hmm?”

      “I’m going to miss you too.” He poked my cheeks.

     My mouth drooped into a frown. You were reminded of what he told you earlier.

      “When are you…,” the word was too hard for you to say or even think of. “…leaving?” you choked out. A stray tear left your eye without you realizing it.

      “Next week,” he answered. He cupped your cheek with his hand and wiped away the wetness with his thumb. “Uljima…”

     After that incident, after one whole week, it was time for Tao to go. I promised myself that I won’t cry anymore. I had to stay strong for him. I helped him pack his bags and belongings and brought them to his car.

      “So… I guess I’ll see you,” he told you. He turned around to get into his seat.

      “Oppa, wait,” you ran back into his house and came back out with the stuffed animal. You handed it to him. “Panda oppa, look after my Tao oppa, okay?”

     He took it from me. “Gomowo _____-ah.” He opened his arms and hugged me gratefully. Without seeing it coming, he lightly pecked my lips stealing my first kiss. My eyes widened in surprise. My body temperature rose sharply and my cheeks turned a tomato red. He pinched my cheeks gently. “Wait for me, _____-ah. I’ll see you again my dear chubby cheeks,” he whispered.

     He got into the car and left. He made the panda poke his head out and wave his black arms. I waved back with a sheepish smile plastered on my face. See you too. I hope.