Strolling lonesomely down the narrow alley stairway that you and I used to stroll down together

Do Kyungsoo and Park Chorong were childhood best friends who grew up at Sogyeokdong, a small village at Seoul. They were inseparable and very playful. You could consider them as twins since they have big eyes, pale skin. As they grew up, they were more attached to each other. Although they found new friends, they never forgot each other. There were times when Kyungsoo's heartbeat would rise from 80 to 120 when Chorong put her head on his shoulders. There were times when Chorong would die when Kyungsoo leaned in close to wipe an ice cream smudge on her lips. Their love blossomed each day. When they were little, they made a pinky promise to stroll down the narrow alley stairway together, That stairway held a lot of memories, such as sharing their first kiss there accidentally (but they gave in anyway) and their first confession (which took 30 minutes for both of them to understand). But right now, it was only one of them strolling down the narrow alley stairway.

The day you went, actually I...

The worst day for these two best friends was moving away from each other. Sure, both of them are still in Seoul. But due to their different universities locations, they had no choice but to separate, Kyungsoo moved to Dongdaemun while Chorong moved to Cheondamdong. Those two districts are very expensive but they chose the cheapest ones, which were surpisingly comfortable. There was another pinky promise made by little Kyungsoo and little Chorong, to write each other letters every week if they go to different universities. The day they went separate ways, actually one of them went to somewhere else. And the other could not go there. There was an ultimate price that should be paid to go there.

Then one day, my world turned upside down

Kyungsoo was in class, taking down notes, while Chorong was busy hiking Mount Sorak. Kyungsoo was worried about Chorong. She had asthma and hiking was not good, especially Mount Sorak, that could go 600 m high. Kyungsoo had begged Chorong to withdraw from the field trip, but Chorong insisted, saying that it was very important. Knowing that Chorong could be very stubborn, Kyungsoo gave up and let her go, with one condition: 100 m was the limit. Chorong agreed and that day came. Chorong brought her inhalers with her, which was a must. Kyungsoo was in his class, taking down notes but his brain was not functioning well. He was extremely worried about Chorong. An incident occured when they were 13 years old. They were running a 5 km marathon, and it was compulsory for all the students to join. Chorong, who did not know she had asthma at that time, which was hereditary, joined the marathon. In the middle of the marathon, she started to have difficulty breathing normally. Kyungsoo saw her gasping for air and rushed to find a teacher and she was immediately sent to the nearest hospital. After some check-ups, a doctor told both Kyungsoo and Chorong that she has asthma, and should not do marathons or hikings that are more than 2 km. Because of this incident, Kyungsoo became very wary when Chorong do runs. That day, Kyungsoo's world turned upside down.

Cherish what you have now, for it could vanish in an instant.

4 years had passed, and Kyungsoo graduated from univeristy, majoring in engineering. He decided to return to Sogyeokdong and visit his friends and family. As he was walking down the street, he saw a girl, smiling and waving to him. She has a pale skin and big eyes. Kyungsoo ran towards that girl, beaming brightly, but frowned in agony as the girl vanished. Kyungsoo started to laugh, which turned out choking his laughter because he could not hold back his tears. The girl he saw was a figment of his imagination. The girl was Park Chorong. Kyungsoo's best friend and lover. 4 years ago, when they were still in sophomore year, Chorong went on a field trip to hike Mount Sorak. Chorong knew her limit, but pushed it aside as she thought it was worth it to reach the top, although it was 600 m high. As time goes by, Chorong started to gasp for air. She knew her asthma was attacking her, and she needed to stay conscious. She grabbed her inhaler and started inhaling but it did not work. The asthma was slowly defeating her. All she could remember was her friend Son Naeun shouting for her name and the teacher in charge and a group of students surrounding her. Then it was all black. Kyungsoo wished he spent more time with Chorong, cherish her, for she could vanish in an isntant.

I don't want to forget about this, but I don't even have a single photo left.

Kyungsoo called himself a fool. He had always thought Chorong would be by his side forever, so he never took photos of her. He regretted that thought. All those memories they made, going to the beach in summer, skiing in winter, go on dates, watch movies, pranking each other, was vivid in Kyungsoo's mind, but may not be in the future. He did not want to forget about this, his memories with Chorong, but he did not even have a single photo left. He was stupid. He wanted to reverse time, he wanted to take a lot of pictures with her, selcas and stop her from going to that field trip. But time is selfish. Time is irreversible. He could not do anything. He looked at Sogyeokdong for a moment. The memories started playing in his mind like a movie. He smiled gently and saw the narrow alley stairway. He went there and felt Chorong's presence around him, giving him a hug. Not physically, but spritually, He strolled down the narrow alley stairway, alone and crying, Kyungsoo wished, that Sogyeokdong would never change. It was the one and only memory of Chorong for him.