It might be over. For a person with only one goal in his life, there was nothing he could do much but to sweat and cry, longing for perfection that he had never achieve. There were times he had to stand up with a scar on his knees, clenched his teeth and walked towards a path filled with obstruction obscuring his way.

Struggles lead to success, they said. But what could he do if he felt hopeless due to the constant failing? Another tears shed, another string of disappointment. The voice at the back of his head whispered to him, telling him that there was something waiting before him but he had no strength left in him.

“Just maybe, if you can try one last time, it’ll change everything because a step can make a vast difference.”

Her voice lingered in his head. No matter how hard he wanted to stop, the desire to keep her smile made him move forward a little bit. She told him to move only a step but he could safely say that she was the reason why he stood strong, keeping his dream alive, re-igniting his passion inside of him.

If Yeon Jin hadn’t met her at the peak of his depression state, he could not imagine the life he would be living in.

Screams and cheers filled his ears and he smiled in contentment. Constantly bowing, he promised to himself not to forget where he came from and thanking the people that had been supporting him, he held his head low, bending his body forward and kept his tears down as it threatened to slip away from the rim of his eyes.

Accepting the award from the host of the show, he stared into the sea of fans. The cries and happiness they shared together reminded him of someone who had been there for him all these while.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Yeon Jin made an inaudible speech to himself.

“Thank you Sri. Thank you for being there for me. Thank you for holding my hands and save me from the fall. Thank you for existing. Thank you.”

Confetti rained over him. His song was being replayed again and the adrenaline rush came back to him. The stage was made for him and he knew that happiness had open for him.

He smiled.

And my love, happy birthday to you. I’ll be home soon.