Jin entered his house, checking whether his mother was home. Upon hearing his mother calling his name, Jin headed to the kitchen. Jin's mother owned a small jewellery shop near their house so it wasn't a new sight to see her making bracelets.

"Hi Umma," Jin greeted her and in return, she smiled at him and gestured for him to sit down. Sitting down on the chair across to her, Jin took a look at her progress. A small smile made its way across his face upon seeing how hardworking she was. Jin had always been, and still was, proud of her. Even after everything that happened, his mother had managed to pull through. That was something Jin hoped to be able to do, one day.

"Look at this one," his mother said, snapping him out of his thoughts as she handed him a silver charm bracelet. Every charm was different but each one stood out in their own way. 

"It's a new design," his mother continued. Looking up from the bracelet, Jin smiled.

"Well, it's really nice. I'm pretty sure it'll sell really well," he said, causing his mother to beam.

"What about the other design?" Jin asked, referring to his mother's idea of engraved bracelets. 

"Oh, quite a number of my customers had bought them. One person stood out though. She requested for the words 'Faith' and 'Strength' to be engraved onto the bracelet. She was such a nice girl. Most of my customers would head to other places and return to the shop after the given time, for collection but she stayed at the shop and had a long conversation with me while I engraved hers. It was nice having her company. It's unfortunate that I'd forgotten to ask for her name though," she sighed, wondering whether she'd be able to meet the girl again.

That was only her first encounter with that girl but the girl was like the daughter she never had.

≈♦♦♦≈

Later that night, Jin left his house to go for a walk in order to get some fresh air. Stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jacket, Jin walked along the pathway with an undetermined destination. The neighbourhood was quiet and only the sounds of the night could be heard. There wasn't a single car on the road. The only sources of light Jin had were the lamp posts that guided his path as well as the moon in the sky. 

Jin's gaze was directed to the front but his eyes weren't focused on anything in particular. He was physically there but as always, his mind was elsewhere. He had too many thoughts in his mind, too much weight on his shoulder.  After walking for quite a far distance, Jin stopped in his tracks and looked up at the night sky. All he saw was the darkness. There were no stars. Neither were there any clouds. The sky was completely pitch black. All it had was the lone moon. 

Jin smiled bitterly upon feeling as though he could relate to it. Just like the moon, Jin was alone. Jin was alone to face the darkness engulfing him whole. There were no stars to brighten the path for him. There were no clouds to cushion him from falling. Just like how the moon seemed to be losing its light, Jin was losing his as well, except that his light came in the form of strength. Jin heaved a sigh as he closed his eyes for a moment. He hoped that when he opened his eyes, he would see a few stars and maybe a few clouds but when he did open his eyes, the sky remained the way he had first seen it - empty.

Meanwhile, across from where Jin was standing, sat a lone figure on a bench with her back facing him. The only sources of light she had were a nearby lamp post and the lone moon in the sky. Hyun Ji had kept her gaze towards the front but even though she was physically there, her mind was elsewhere. When she did snap out of her thoughts and took a step into reality, she saw the darkness staring right back at her. 

Heaving a sigh, she looked up into the night sky. All she could see was the moon in the sky. Somehow, she felt as though she could relate to the moon. Just like the moon, Hyun Ji was alone. She was alone to face the long, dark pathway she had chosen to walk on even though she knew that there was a low chance of light ever brightening that particular pathway.

Hyun Ji heaved a sigh as she closed her eyes momentarily. After a second or two, she opened her eyes and looked at the sky once again. Her instincts had told her to look closer, in which she did. Upon squinting, Hyun Ji had managed to spot a few stars scattered about the sky and a few partially faded clouds could be seen drifting across the sky. Hyun Ji shifted her gaze towards the moon and somehow, it had appeared to look brighter than it was the previous time she had seen it.

A small smile made its way across her face. Just like the moon, Hyun Ji had thought that she was alone. In truth, she was wrong. Hyun Ji wasn't alone. In due time, stars would brighten her pathway and clouds would cushion her from falling. Just like how the moon had become brighter, Hyun Ji would too but in her case, she'd become stronger.

On the other hand, it was different for Jin. Heaving yet another sigh, Jin turned around and headed down the pathway towards the direction of his house. Somehow, the thoughts in his mind only became more tangled and the weight on his shoulder only grew heavier. Jin scoffed bitterly upon realizing just how pathetic he was.

Both had seen the exact same sky but both had different perspectives. Hyun Ji still had faith in herself and thus, she was able to notice the small details in the sky. Jin, on the other hand, had refused to have faith in himself and thus, he was unable to see the bigger picture. He had chosen to ignore the small details but instead focused on the obvious and completely visible image. If only he had looked closer. 

Then again, when one's vision is clouded, nothing can change one's way of viewing things. Nothing but that person himself.

Tearing her eyes away from the sky, Hyun Ji looked at the item she was holding in her hands - a silver bracelet. On it were two engraved words.

Faith. Strength.

"The sky sure looks nice tonight, doesn't it?" Hyun Ji paused. That voice sounded nowhere near familiar.

Hyun Ji turned to her right and found herself staring at a boy whom she did not know at all. Hyun Ji didn't notice at first but when the light shone itself upon him, his hair had appeared brown. His bangs stopped right below his brows and his eyes were quite small though his orbs twinkled slightly. His nose was elongated and he had high cheekbones. His lips had been raised to form a smile on his face and his jawline was sharp. The boy appeared to be her age or maybe slightly older than that.

Hyun Ji was slightly baffled. She hadn't heard anyone approaching so where on earth did that guy come from? Surely, she would've noticed a figure sitting next to her, from the corner of her eye, but she hadn't seen that either. Then again, she was in her own field of thoughts so she might have just been oblivious to her surroundings. Hyun Ji stared at the stranger with furrowed brows. She couldn't seem to put a finger on it but something about him felt familiar to her even though it was her first encounter with him. 

Tearing his eyes away from the sky, he turned to face her and met her eyes. Something about those dark orbs of his made an assurance that he meant no harm and Hyun Ji knew that. However, that didn't mean that she would talk to a stranger, especially since she had never seen or heard of him before.

"Do you come here often?" the stranger asked. The tone he used was light, the kind of tone people would use when they talk to those whom they were close to. Hyun Ji remained silent and only responded to his question with a blink.

"Was that meant to be a 'yes' or..." he let his voice trail off in a questioning tone. Once more, Hyun Ji didn't answer him. Instead, she turned away and looked towards the sky instead, in hopes that he would get the message and leave her alone.

"You're not much of a talker are you?" the stranger asked, causing Hyun Ji to look at him and frown.

"I don't talk to strangers," Hyun Ji answered with an icy tone.

"Oh." There was a long pause as the stranger kept his gaze towards the ground, losing himself in his own thoughts. Hyun Ji found herself observing him. His behavior, his appearance and the way he spoke were familiar in so many ways but at the same time, she didn't know who he was. 

The silence between them was finally broken when he looked up with a smile plastered on his face and asked, "Don't friendships usually start with people being strangers?" 

Hyun Ji was rendered speechless. She hadn't expected him to say that. Feeling flustered, she stood up and turned to look at him.

"I have to go. It's already late," Hyun Ji said even though she didn't actually have a curfew and could go home at any time. She wanted to get herself as far away as possible from that stranger and she wanted it fast. Just as she was about to walk, she heard him call out.

"Wait!" Turning around, Hyun Ji raised her brow at him but he seem unfazed.

"I'm Howon. Lee Howon," the stranger said, expecting her to introduce herself but instead, she simply nodded and walked off. As Hyun Ji made her way home, she couldn't stop herself from thinking about the stranger. It wasn't that she had developed some kind of a crush on him but his words had some sort of an impact on her. Running her fingers through her hair, she shook the thoughts about that stranger away from her mind. Even so, she did have something else lingering about in her head.

It's funny how people let their guards down so easily for the people they think they can trust. 

≈♦♦♦≈

The sound of rain making contact with the roof of the school was drowned out by her cheerful humming. It was quite contradicting to the gloomy setting outside. Looking into the mirror placed in her locker, she scrutinized her appearance. Feeling satisfied, she shut her locker. Indeed, she was vain. Picking up her bag from the bench, she went out of the locker room.

“Alright, I’m all set,” she stated enthusiastically, expecting a reply, but all she got was silence. Frowning, she scanned the area for any traces of him. The moment her eyes landed on the swimming pool, she dropped her bag. A thud echoed around the enclosed area. In shock, she let out a scream and ran towards the swimming pool, frantically. Tears were already streaming down her face and her vision had turned fuzzy. Without bothering to remove her clothes, she plunged into the water.

Hyun Ji woke up, coughing. Her hand automatically brought itself towards her chest, checking whether her heart was still beating. It was. So why did she feel as though she was suffocating? Her mind replayed the dream she had. Something was out of place and she knew it. Her brows narrowed as she replayed that dream again and that was when it hit her. That dream hadn't ended with her screaming. In fact, it ended with her diving into the pool. What happened next remained unknown to her but what raised a bigger question in her mind was when she realized that in that dream, she had felt comfortable in the swimming pool. She was able to control her breathing underwater. She was able to keep her eyes open underwater. 

There was no pain, no struggle.

It was as though she knew how to swim.