I hadn’t been to Korea in seven years and even though everything was the same, it seemed so different. I walked the streets slowly, trying to take in everything that I had missed while I was in Japan. Nobody on the streets looked familiar and I guess even if I had known them, they wouldn’t have recognized me either. Even the café that was I was so accustomed to going to when I lived here seemed different, even if the name was the same. 

    I walked into the café and the warm smell of coffee filled my nose; a smell I had missed while in Japan. They still have coffee shops of course, but this one was special somehow to me. I had turned 25 earlier this year and told my aging mom that I wanted to move back to Korea. She let me and now here I am, standing in the same old coffee shop in the same old city I used to know like the back of my hand. 

    When I looked up at the counter, I saw the boy who had confessed to me the week before I left and who I had somehow fallen in love with as well. His hair was now a dark brown and it was styled up to show his forehead. He was talking to a girl with long black hair at the counter and I could tell he liked her by the way he looked at her. I watched him for a minute before approaching the counter, hoping he would realize it was me. 

    “What can I get…” he started to say when he noticed me, as a costumer, but when he saw who I was he trailed off, almost in shock. He coughed a bit and resumed his greeting. “I’m sorry. What would you like?” he smiled his wonderful smile and showed his dimples. I smiled back, happy to finally be in his presence again.

    “One small coffee bubble tea.” I ordered the same thing I had gotten every time I came here seven years earlier. He chuckled lightly, understanding this, and quickly filled my order, handing it to me. When he passed it to me, out hands lingered but he quickly pulled away, taking the money I had given him. I thanked him and started to walk out of the café, but a vibrating in my pocket caused me to stop. I pulled out my phone and read the text that showed up on the screen. It was from him.

Welcome home, Hyuk.

    I couldn’t help but laugh. I turned my head one last time and saw he had resumed talking with the girl from before, but there was a different look in his eyes, a seemingly relieved look. I looked back to my phone and deleted his contact. It was about time I moved on from the past and seeing that he already did, it just pushed me more.

    The city streets welcomed me once again and I made my way towards the old school I used to attend, wondering if it was still there. It was, but it was now called “Seoul Academy of the Arts.” I stood in front of it, looking up at the blue painted school, a smile of reminiscing stuck onto my face. Suddenly, a familiar face walked out of the school, his dark skin and smile unchanged. When he noticed me, he came running, yelling my name.

    “God, I haven’t seen you in years. How have you been?” the boy who I called once Hakyeon said. 

    “I’ve been good. What are you doing here?” I asked, looking once again at the newly refurbished school.

    “I work here as a dance teacher.” he said, his face lit up proudly. We talked for a little bit then I left again, wondering if he and Hongbin ever stayed in touch anymore and how Leo was. So many questions swirled through my head as memories joined them as well. It seemed like everyone was living happily now in their new lives and I was just about to restart my own.