“Noona, do you really have to go?” I couldn’t help but to pat the boy’s head. He was only a year younger than me, but at this very moment, he felt so much younger than that.

“It’s for the best, Changhyun. I have to stay out of the spotlight for a little bit anyway.” I could tell that he was trying hard to fight the urge to cry – he was at the age where he felt that he needed to prove himself, and that he needed to be “tough”. In all honesty, I was trying hard not to cry myself, because this was one of the hardest goodbyes I’ve ever had to go through. Changhyun really felt like a little brother to me. I was an only child, but I was thankful that my parents knew the Yoo family, even long before I was born. That was how I met little Changhyun.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’ll have Hyunseung-oppa with me at all times. You know how he is; he’ll be there to help me out.” I said, trying to reassure him that I will be fine leaving South Korean soil. Changhyun frowned at the mention of Hyunseung and I could tell that he was a little miffed that he wouldn’t be the one to “help” me.

“But I want to go with you, can’t I, please?” He was borderline begging me, all he had left to do was to kneel down and grovel at my feet – something that I wouldn’t put past him at this point. All I had to do was to say yes, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it. It would be wrong to ask my parents and his to bring him with me, it would be selfish. I’d already done enough damage at it was and I didn’t need to bring Changhyun down with me. Instead, I sighed and cupped his face with my cold hands, hoping that he wouldn’t feel them shaking.

“Changhyun, you have to stay here, with your Mom and Dad. You have a dream, the one you told me about. This is where you have to stay, so that you can fulfill that dream, so that when I come back, you will have something to tell me.” At my words, Changhyun’s tears rimmed his eyes, and his lower lip trembled.

“B-But noona, you’re the reason why it’s my dream. You’re so talented and the world loves you, I want to be someone like you, that’s why you have to stay, so you can help me.” A tear fell and I wiped it away with my thumb.