A/N: 2nd last chapter. 

Explanation for the postcard from Taiwan: the word 'xing fu' in Mandarin/Chinese is similar to 'haengbok' in Korean. Translated to English, it is 'happiness' or the verb, 'happy'. It is to be noted that 'happy' is an overly used common word in English that has a wide span of definition from having a good mood one day to long-run happiness. In the case of 'xing fu', it is more than just being in a good mood, it tends towards the definition of life-long happiness. Hence, 'We can be very happy' or 'wo men ke yi hen xing fu' (from the postcard later in this chapter) means something like we can have happiness in our lives. Hope this makes some sense. ><

Kyuhyun picked up the first postcard in the box. It was a picture of the Eiffel Tower.

Dear Kyuhyun,

It has been two months since I left for New York. How is everything going for you?

Everything is well for me. I have been cleared by my doctors at New York – less pills and no regular counseling. Hence, I am in Paris now! More specifically, I am sitting in a restaurant at the 30th storey of a building and the Eiffel Tower can be seen clearly from my seat. The night scene is amazing here; Paris really is the most romantic city.

I think I will be traveling for quite a bit around the world. Take care.

Sungmin.

The second postcard was one from Amsterdam.

Kyuhyunnie~

Yes, I am traveling alone. My friends have their own work in New York and I don’t want to trouble them any further. I like traveling alone anyway. Oh, and talking about my friends, they are all really awesome composers and producers. If we get a chance, I will introduce you to them. And with their help, I got back to writing songs about three weeks before I left New York. Music triggered memories definitely, but it didn’t trigger the pain anymore. It faded, for the better. And so, I have been writing songs on my laptop as I travel too. Traveling gives a lot of inspiration.

I visited The Anne Frank House yesterday. There were a whole lot of stairs to climb, but it felt surreal when I reached the attic. The narration, the photos and being in the house itself. Things didn’t seem to matter as much anymore. I have been lucky to have what I have now and the important thing is to treasure and to be happy.

Sungmin.

And there was one from England, one from Germany, one from Austria, before it moved onto Beijing, Hong Kong and the most recent one was from Taiwan.

Brat!

Guess where am I~

I am at JingTong, Taiwan! Took the train here and I almost got lost while looking for the right platform. I learnt three Chinese words though – TING BU DONG! It means I don’t understand, kkkkk.

This is the place where they release those sky lanterns and hang bamboo rods, both where you write your wishes on. I did both, but nope, not going to tell you my wishes here~

The back of this postcard is a photo of the bamboo rods and the one that the words can be seen clearly (there’s only one) says ‘We can be very happy’. Sending you blessings to be happy…let’s all be happy.

Sungmin.

It has been three weeks since Kyuhyun received that last postcard from Taiwan. He had received one postcard each week on average previously and made sure he sent replies to Sungmin’s email so that Sungmin knows he reads them and will keep sending. But without warning, the postcards stopped coming.

It felt terrible like the first two months, not knowing what Sungmin was doing, where he was, whether he was safe. Kyuhyun sent another two emails after Sungmin stopped sending postcards, but there was still no reply. He didn’t want himself bugging Sungmin to reply, afraid that Sungmin would find him irritating.

Kyuhyun placed the last postcard back and covered the box. Then, he realized that there was a vibrating sound coming from the table. He climbed off his bed and walked towards the table, picking up his phone.

24 missed calls.

Had I been reading the postcards for so long?

Every time he felt tired and empty, Kyuhyun would re-read all the postcards, picturing the smile on Sungmin’s face as he wrote them and recalling Sungmin’s cheery laughter. For the first two months, it was Sungmin’s only letter that kept him going – he had to keep his promise to become one of the best singers. So, he buried himself in work, hoping that Sungmin would come back the next day, even if Sungmin only treated him as a friend.

It hurt to think that Sungmin didn’t need him as more than a friend. The letter was like a death sentence for Kyuhyun, before he did even confess. But he wanted Sungmin back so badly. He missed that smile,