“Sehun, can you bring the last box downstairs?” My Mother yelled from the kitchen.

It turned out that everybody wanted to move much faster than I expected. Sun Hi was very excited to get a bigger bedroom which was even painted pink for her. My Mother and Father were obviously excited as they had initiated the plan. But me? I simply wasn’t ready.

Nonetheless, I didn’t complain and went along with everything. The following weekend, I found myself in an empty room which I once used to call mine. The room seemed so much bigger now that everything was gone. The floor seemed so much colder and the walls so much more bare.

“Here, Mom,” I said as I dropped the last box on the kitchen floor.

“Thanks,” She said as she checked through every cupboard for anything we forgot to pack. “Can you go check every room upstairs? We’re about to leave.”

I bit my lip and nodded my head. I really didn’t want to go check through every room as that just made leaving even harder. I started off with my Mother’s room. It was the biggest of course and now it was the emptiest. Then again, I always thought it was empty; it missed a man’s presence.

Sun Hi’s room looked cleaner than it ever had been. All her girly items were put away leaving the room to look normal. My Mother’s office was rid of all the papers and books that suffocated it before. The bookshelf on which I saw the flowers was gone and the desk my Mother spent hours on was moved. It was completely empty.

Lastly, I went into my room. It was the place I definitely didn’t want to leave. I was scared of not being able to come to my safe haven at the end of the day anymore. It was a place that was free of my past and allowed me to go forward. Now I would go back to my past every day.

I took a quick glance around the room to see if anything was there. While I was looking, I saw something shine from the window sill. I walked up to it and looked past the blinds to see the bouncy ball again.

It’s never too late.

I grimaced while bouncing it on the floor once. I decided to stuff it in my pocket and walk out of the room. I turned the light off and then closed the door, officially leaving it all behind.

○●○●○

“Be careful with that!” My Mother would say every time the movers carried a box with something expensive in it.

I would stand around and watch the movers go in and out. There were four of them and each was quite muscular. They carried everything in with ease.

“Sehun, can you help me with this?” My Father called. I turned around to see him standing on the stairs. He had a tool box in his hand which made me wonder what he was doing.

I followed him up the stairs and into the room that Sun Hi was supposed to use. The crib was still there and so were all the baby supplies. They looked untouched and ready to use. It was a real pity that Sun Hi never got a chance to sleep in that crib. I remembered picking it out myself.

“We need to disassemble this,” My Father announced as he got on his knees and took out the necessary tools.

I did as he told and within an hour, the crib was back in pieces and put into its box. We made space for Sun Hi’s actual bed and just like that, her room was almost complete. Sun Hi was very pleased with the way it looked and begged my Mother to get a bed sheet on the bed for her to sit on.

I left her room and walked across the hall to my room. I stared at the childish bed and walked up to it ever so slowly. Hesitantly, I sat down on it and was relieved to find that it still had its slight bounciness. I put my head on the fluffy pillow and stared up at the stars. They weren’t glowing right now but I had to admit, I was excited to see them glow in the night.

○●○●○

“Sehun, get up, honey,” I heard somebody say as they shook me. I let out a small groan and turned around trying to get away from them. That person persisted with what they were doing and continued to call me.

I finally gave up and opened my eyes to see my Mother looking at me. She smiled when she saw that I had opened my eyes and moved my fringe out of my face.

“Get up, Sehun. We’re going out to eat,” She informed me.

I nodded my head and slowly rose. I looked around the room and I felt like a child again. Waking up to see posters of soccer players and soccer balls lying around was an everyday routine. I had long forgotten that routine but it scared me how normal it felt today.

I shook my head and went into the bathroom that was attached to my room. It was one of the things that I was grateful for. Sharing a washroom with Sun Hi got difficult at times.

I washed my face and brushed my teeth before changing out of my dust filled clothes. I decided to save the shower for later. As I was walking out of my room, I saw Sun Hi come out at the same time.

“Oppa, don’t you love my new room!?” She asked, excitement flowing out of her. I nodded my head and told her it was very princess like.

“Sunggyu Oppa would love it, wouldn’t he?”

“I’m sure he would.”

“I miss him, Oppa. We haven’t been to the hospital in so long!” Sun Hi exclaimed as we walked down the stairs.

What Sun Hi said was true; we hadn’t gone to the hospital in a week. I called and told them that we were moving so I was needed at home and they fully understood. I texted Haneul as she was the only one whose cellphone number I had. She replied by congratulating me and telling me to take my time.

“I know. We’ll go soon, don’t worry,” I ruffled her hair.

○●○●○

“We’ll begin unpacking things tomorrow. There’s no need to do anything else today since all the necessary stuff has been unpacked,” My Father said.

“We’re lucky that we already have a kitchen set up and television,” My Mother said. All that needed to be unpacked were the things we had brought. My Mother asked for our old television and couches to be stored in the basement along with all the other stuff that was already at my Father’s house. She planned on selling all of our old things.

It was only two o’clock but I felt like I had been awake forever. We all woke up earlier than usual on request of the movers.

“I love Daddy’s house,” Sun Hi said with food in .

“Talk without food in your mouth,” I said as I gave her a disgusted look.

My Father laughed, “It’s our house, Sun Hi.”

We all continued eating our pasta and had small talk. We talked about things we planned on doing to the house and my Father even mentioned a vacation he really wanted to take us on. I felt he was just doing this because he was sorry for what he did before. I wasn’t ready to forgive him, though.

“Sehunnie, is that you?” I heard someone ask. I didn’t bother turning around as nobody ever referred to me as Sehunnie. I didn’t like that nickname.

“Omo, it is you!” I heard the same woman exclaim. I turned around and saw Ms.Choi standing there with a smile on her face.

“We missed you!” She exclaimed as she came closer to the table. She was wearing a red dress with a black blazer on top and black heels. I expected her to be in the hospital. What was she doing at a restaurant?

“Who’s this, Sehun?” My Father asked as he looked at the overly excited lady standing next to me.

I took a deep breath, “She’s a nurse at the hospital. This is Ms. Choi.”

“Oh, Sehun. I already told you to call me by my first name!” She slapped my arm. “I’m Choi Miyoung. It’s nice to meet you.”

She shook hands with my parents and even dared to bring a chair to our table. She waved to Sun Hi and told her that she loved her pink dress. Sun Hi smiled brightly before going back to her pasta.

“So how is the moving going?” She asked me.

“Fine.”

“Ah, really? That’s good. I hope you’ll be back soon, we all miss you a lot,” Ms. Choi pouted. I nodded my head and just stared down at my plate, not wanting to eat in front of her.

“Sehun, I can drop you off at the hospital today if you like,” My Father offered. I looked up at him and thought about his offer. If I went to the hospital then I would have to see Woohyun. I didn’t want to do that right now as I felt I wasn’t ready.

I knew I had to see him one day or another but I wanted to prolong the meeting for as long as possible. So, I just shook my head. But, Ms. Choi came into the conversation and offered to take me herself.

“I was just about to go back anyway. Sehunnie can just come with me!” She said as she stood up. She grabbed my arm and smiled at me.

“Oh, really? That would be fantastic! Thank you so much, Miyoung,” My Mother said. I gave my Mother a look telling her that I didn’t want to go but she didn’t seem to notice. She just smiled at me before getting some cake for Sun Hi.

I never thought I would miss Mrs. Lee. But today, I missed her much more than words could describe.

○●○●○

Her car was just as I had expected. She drove a black, sleek convertible. It had leather seats and was quite spacious. She some light music and even dared to hum along as we drove to the hospital. I opened the window a bit for some fresh air but Ms. Choi just closed them again, saying she doesn’t like it when the windows are open.

“Do you like your new home?” She asked.

It’s not new.

“Yes.”

“That’s good.”

“I would like a quiet ride, please. My head hurts from all the work today,” I lied. I really didn’t want to talk to her was all it was.

We finally got to the hospital and I felt like I had just been let out of an airless room when I got out of the car. I took a deep breath and began walking towards the building. Ms. Choi managed to catch up to me and even dared to hold on to my arm as we walked out of the parking lot. I walked to the back entrance as I tried to get her hand off my arm.

We were walking past the gazebo when a certain girl caught my attention. I made eye contact with Haneul who was walking back into the hospital with a book in her hand. Her gaze went to Ms. Choi and then down to our arms. That was when I pulled my arm away from her completely and lightly jogged up to the confused girl.

“Hey,” I breathed.

“Hi, Sehun. It’s been a while,” She smiled a bit.

“It has,” I said. “Let’s go in, shall we?”

“We shall,” She giggled. I smiled at her before taking her arm and putting it in through mine. And that was how we walked into the hospital.