"Bye, Eunji," Naeun muttered to herself and entered the departure hall. Queueing for the automatic clearance machine, she heard a familiar voice calling her desperately.

"Naeun! Naeun ah!"

Naeun continued walking, tears forming in her eyes as she heard the voice. Then she looked at the Stitch soft toy she had in her hand. It was just yesterday that they were having fun together. She walked away with her parents for a while, then lied to them that she was going to the toilet and ran back to a corner. Her abandoned girlfriend was now on her knees outside crying. That sight just broke Naeun's heart so much. While sniffing, she whispered, "I'm sorry Eunji. Thanks for everything. And Happy Birthday." Her heart ache slightly while saying 'Happy Birthday', knowing that Eunji would not have a happy birthday this year because of her.

Despite the airplane having the inflight entertainment, Naeun did not touch it at all. For the whole 15 hour duration, all Naeun did was hug the Stitch and look out of the window. She remembered when Eunji promised that she would try to regain her trust. She remembered when Eunji gave her the bracelet and dreamcatcher. She remembered when Eunji tried so hard to win the Stitch just to get a kiss. Then she thought of the first time she met her three friends. She thought of how she and Chorong had always been close and there for each other. She thought of how she yearned to have someone like Bomi, who did everything she could just for her girlfriend.

It was a feeling of emptiness, yet it felt like something was tearing it's way through her to reach for her heart. Like something was destroying her, bit by bit. She felt the pain, the ache engulfing her slowly. As hard as she tried, no tears came out. The agony she was in just gradually ate her up. She thought to herself, so this is how misery feels like.

Migrating to America was something extremely difficult for Naeun. It was not only the language barrier, but more of the fact that it was like she left her heart and soul in Korea. She turned into a super cold person who refused to talk to anyone, thus she had no friends at all. She spent her time doing only two things - studying and missing Eunji, and the rest of them. Unlike Eunji who had Chorong and Bomi to help, Naeun was suffering all alone. She could not wait for the day she could go back to Korea again.

***

When Bomi and Chorong returned, Eunji was still asleep. They started preparing the ingredients to cook noodles soup for Eunji.

"I can't believe this is how her birthday turns out to be like.. I hope she gets better soon," Bomi said. Chorong nodded. They worked a while in silence, until a sound came from the room. 

"Naeun ah! Naeun!! Naeun! Don't leave me..." Immediately, both of them stopped what they were doing and ran into the room, only to see Eunji panicking on the bed. Bomi ran to her and held her down, in case she injured herself somewhere. It was then that Eunji woke up and hugged Bomi. 

"I'm scared Bomi, Naeun left me. I'm alone now.." Eunji was having a cold sweat from the nightmare.

"It's okay Eunji, it's okay. Everything's fine," Bomi repeated. Finally, Eunji calmed down. "Come out and rest a while, the food will be ready soon."

===

After finishing the noodles, Chorong brought out a small cake. "Before you leave, happy birthday Eunji-ah."

"It's been so long since we've celebrated each other's birthdays." 

"Eunji ah, this is our present for you." Bomi presented her with a heart-shaped box. This tiny gesture of celebrating her birthday together made all three of them touched. It did not matter that they had not met for a few years. Childhood friends were still the best.

***

Eunji had to leave to celebrate her birthday with her family, so that leaves Bomi and Chorong together. The atmosphere was, however, rather still. Both of them were still caught up with thinking about the past when they were still young kids. For Chorong, that also reminded her of the times when her family was a perfect and happy family. Ever since her parents divorced, Chorong had always envied how other children had parents while she did not. They had people to welcome them home or even send them home from school, but she did not. Also, like Eunji, other people had family to celebrate their birthday with, but Chorong did not. She yearned for the feeling of having a family. The warmth that could only be felt through family.

"Chorong ah."

Chorong felt choked up. Those feelings of longing that she had long forgotten were haunting her again. It made her realise - she had not moved on, but simply became relatively numb to the feelings. And she knew that was not good. Being immune to her emotions meant that one day it would just hit her hard, and she would never know when it would be. It meant that she was constantly being swallowed. It was anguish given to her by installments.

"Rong? Chorong?" Chorong snapped out of her thoughts and saw that Bomi was waving her hand in front of her face.

"Huh? Oh, oh. Yeah?"

"What were you thinking of? You were so deep in your thoughts and your expression looked rather pained."

"Oh nothing, just some trivial stuff," Chorong replied.

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Chorong gave a convincing smile, then muttered to herself. "Yeah, it's trivial. It has been so many years and I'm still living fine."

"Chorong ah, we have to make it up to each other right? I have a suggestion."

"Hmmm?"

"For me, let's go watch a horror movie. There's one showing now anyway. Then you'll be so scared that you will come into my arms and I will hug you throughout the whole movie."

Chorong chuckled at Bomi's suggestion. "You sure you won't be the scared one?"

"No. Let's go~"

"Wait. How about me?"

"You.... How about you get hit by me a few times?"

Instead of agreeing to the idea, Chorong hit Bomi playfully on her .

"Ouch. I got hit by my father because of you after all," Bomi casually stated. She pouted and pretended like it hurt a lot.

And Chorong got tricked. She also felt bad from Bomi's statement. "Does it hurt a lot? Now and then?"

"Doesn't matter," Bomi took the chance and kissed Chorong. It lasted until they had to catch their breaths. Then Bomi looked at Chorong with eyes filled with love and said softly and sweetly, "You know, Chorong, you don't need to make it up to me at all. The fact you were born is already the greatest and everlasting gift for me."

"Yah Yoon Bomi don't be cheesy." Chorong held Bomi's hand and they went out of the house. They were silently thinking about the kiss they had just shared. Until in the lift, when Chorong whispered into Bomi's ear, "But you know what? Cheesy is not my kind of thing, Yoon Bomi is." 

Bomi blushed, both from the tingling feeling of Chorong's whispers and the actual content she said as well. Thereafter, the two of them, as planned, got a couple seat for the horror movie.

And guess who was the one screaming and hiding in the other's arms.

They still enjoyed the movie though. Anything done together was enjoyable for them. Each other's presence was already the enough, after all.

A/N: The events are a little squashed up here imo, but that's 'cause I'm going to fast forward in the next chapter to years later. After a few years, what do you think will be the situation for them? Will ChoMi actually still be together? Will 2eun still be missing each other only? Or will something else happen?

@ChristiiChan Finally right? Long distance relationships are hard to maintain, and might even hurt each of them further :/

@sparklinghealthykid and now we know Naeun doesnt have it easy either D:

@anon111 haha boyfriend or not, it's going to affect 2eun quite big time. or maybe, for all you know both just don't dare to love anymore.

@athousandreveries Naeun's not bad, she's left with no choice :( chomi's too cute together HAHA i cannot