~Natalie's POV~

The problem with distance is you never know if they will miss you, or forget you. Wouldn't he be busy? Wouldn't he be too tired to think about me? Wouldn't his mind be too preoccupied to wonder how I am doing? If I've eaten? If I'm thinking of him too? While I was sitting here at home alone, wouldn't he be surrounded by his adoring fans? His faithful Primadonnas and beautiful fellow celebrities? Wouldn't he find someone else? Wouldn't he eventually forget?

These were the kinds of thoughts you might think I would be having. But in actuality, none of these things ever crossed my mind. I soon learned that distance only matters to the mind, not to the heart. There were texts. There were phone calls. There were emails and webcamming and pictures. Pictures of everything. Enough pictures for a photo documentary. And everything felt so real, so genuine. What happened in Seoul that summer no longer felt like a memory to me – it was my reality. I was happy to be home, in my own bed, in my own house, in my own country. But as long as he was there, Korea would always hold a special place in my heart.

After FT Island had left, stepping out into the streets of Seoul had felt the same as it did on my first day there – empty and foreign. I felt like I had no purpose there anymore. Though I wasn't about to hop on a flight to Japan just to see them, coming back to the States gave me that much needed sense of familiarity.

Stepping out of the airport had felt like stepping out of dream. Nothing seemed to have changed since I left. I got home, and of course everything was as I had left it. Except maybe that squeaky left bathroom faucet. It might be a tad squeakier than I remember.

The first thing I did after placing my group photo with FT Island on my nightstand was sleep. I must have slept for a day and a half straight, I was so tired. It was a good thing that picture was on my nightstand though, because when I woke up, it was the only evidence that kept me from thinking that the entire summer had been nothing but a dream.

Seunghyun was doing well. Their concerts were selling out, and fans from all over Asia flocked to Japanese arenas to support them. As soon as FT Island landed, he had sent me a picture of him holding up my lucky pendant with that loveable grin of his.

"Successful arrival in Japan! Proof shot, your pendant is safe! ppyong~"

And of course, the rest of FT Island also sent there 'hello's whenever they could, even though they were often busy. I kept in touch with them as much as possible, and fulfilled my promise by cheering them on, even if it was from all the way over here in New York. I listened to their new songs, and Seunghyun would always ask my opinion on their live performances.

My best friend Mimi, the Shawol that had introduced me to k-pop, was freaking out when I told her what I did over the summer. I had brought her back a signed album from when I had met SHINee, and she went on and on about how I was the best person ever and that she wanted to marry me. When she had finally gained back her sanity after spazzing for a good few days straight, she only lost it once again when I let her meet Seunghyun over webcam. Seunghyun told me that Mimi seemed like a very excited girl; he didn't k