~Natalie's POV~

After hesitating for a moment, I found myself making my way up the flight of stairs that led all the way up to the top of the building. There, I found Hongki leaning against the waist-high concrete parapet that surrounded the perimeter of the roof. Joining him, we both stood there quietly for a few minutes, with nothing but the light breeze and the faded sound of traffic coming from the streets below.

"Are you happy?" he suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Sorry," he glanced at me with a small smile, "That came out the wrong way. I meant, are you happy with him? Is he taking care of you?"

I nodded. "Yeah," I replied honestly.

He smiled absentmindedly. "That's good."

I stared out at the fading sun sinking beneath the horizon, tinting the clouds a light purple, then looked at Hongki curiously. "You've never had your heart broken, have you?"

He chuckled quietly. "Actually I have, believe it or not."

I looked over to him in surprise, and a sad smile was etched on his face.

"I used to be in love, once upon a time, with a noona that I used to know..." The evening breeze blew lightly as he spoke, with wisps of his hair brushing against his face. "But one day she broke my heart, and I was a mess after she left. I just couldn't believe what she had done to me."

I looked at him inquiringly, but he just glanced away.

"That's okay...if you don't want to talk about it," I said.

"Ever since that day, I swore I would never let anyone belittle me, for as long as I lived. So yeah, I might walk around like a big shot sometimes, and I guess it's no wonder I've gotten such a reputation as a player, but I guess I just don't like opening up to people anymore, ever since...then," he looked down at his hands.

After a moment, he turned away from the sunset, leaning backwards against the parapet. "Maybe I will someday, but I guess I just can't change who I am, you know?"

I nodded and leaned against the low wall beside him.

"But, I've realized a lot of things lately," he seemed to think something over. "You two are good together, you and Seunghyun. He cares a lot about you, you know. I can tell," he said, and I smiled back at him. "I'm glad I met you, Natalie," he looked at me, "You reminded me what it's like to care for somebody."

"I'm glad I met you, too," I replied, and I suddenly found myself in his embrace.

"Have a good flight back to America," his smile was sincere and set my mind at ease. "And don't get into too much trouble while we're gone, alright?" he advised, as if I would see him tomorrow. I nodded, and he turned to go back inside.

"Hey Hongki," I called out to him, and he turned back to face me. "Have fun in Japan."

He returned my smile with a nod. "I will. Oh, and don't tell the others about what I said, okay? Or I'll deny every word of it," he smirked, and I nodded with a laugh, "Deal." I guess some things never change.

As I stood there alone on the rooftop for a bit, watching the twilight sky as the light of the cityscape began to overpower that of the slowly emerging stars, it seemed like reality finally caught up to me. I had now said goodbye to everyone – everyone except Seunghyun. The past few days had felt so surreal; they seemed to just pass by in a blur. Just like that peak of excitement a child experiences on Christmas Eve, like that split-second moment of anticipation a track runner has at the starting blocks right before the gunshot, like that gut wrenching surge of stage fright experienced by even the best performers just before a b