Welcome back! She tells herself as soon as she sets foot in the airport. It has been five years since that day she left her home to pursue her dream of becoming a well-known professional pianist. That didn’t end well, though. So she comes back. This place is where home is, after all. She smiles as she looks around her. Nothing changed much. The airport still looks the same as it was five years ago. Maybe, some things aren’t really capable of changing. Like her.

“Seohyun!” She hears a very familiar voice calling her name. She squints her eyes looking for the owner of the said voice. Her smile grows even wider upon seeing the person. She quickly walks as she waves her hand.

“Hyoyeon unnie!” She hugs the older girl tightly. “I missed you so much! How have you been? You look extremely pretty! Your soon-to-be-husband is so lucky!”

Hyoyeon chuckles as the younger girl continues bombarding her with questions. Oh, how she missed this silly girl. “Seohyun, enough! I’ll tell you everything once we reach your apartment. Gosh, I miss you! You’re going to stay here forever, okay? No more leaving!”

Seohyun smiles as she breaks the hug. “I promise, unnie. Besides, this is home. Everything I live for is here.”

“Tch, you say that now after you leave for five freaking years. You didn’t even contact me until half a year ago when you told me you’re coming back! So much for being your closest unnie.” Hyoyeon frowns as she remembers how the younger girl left without even telling her where she will go.

“I’m so sorry, unnie. I know you would stop me if I tell you!” Seohyun looks down, feeling guilty for not telling Hyoyeon about her plans. She remembers how Hyoyeon yelled at her when she first called the older girl. They quickly fixed that problem fortunately.

“Don’t worry about it anymore. It’s all in the past. I’m just glad you’re back!” Hyoyeon pats Seohyun’s right shoulder before she grabs her hand and starts walking. “Come on, let’s go. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

###

“I heard she arrived this morning.” Minseok says as he prepares a cup of coffee for his best friend. He takes a quick glance of the other guy, trying to read his expression but his best friend only has his stone-like face, something the guy has mastered for five years since she left. Minseok sighs.

“You still haven’t moved on, I see.” Minseok places the cup of coffee in the table in front of the other guy. “Luhan, it’s been five years.”

“Who says I haven’t moved on yet, Minseok?” Luhan glares at his best friend. For five years, he has heard that line coming from Minseok and it’s really becoming an annoyance. He has already moved on. That’s what he tells everyone.

“Yeah, prove it.” Minseok smirks and Luhan badly wants to swipe that smirk off his best friend’s face.

“Why should I prove it to you?” Luhan asks.

“Who told you to prove it to me? Prove it to yourself.” Minseok leans in and looks at Luhan straight in the eye. “As for me, however, you don’t sound very convincing.”

Luhan stands up, gets his jacket and walks. But before he can open the door to his best friend’s apartment to leave, he hears the other guy calling him.

“Hyoyeon noona invited us for a simple get together tonight at the usual club.”

“I won’t go.”

“I don’t expect you will. But for your information, Junmyeon’s going. The poor guy had waited five years. Still in love with her, I think.”

“They can all go and flirt with each other. I don’t care.” Luhan opens the door and slams it shut right after he steps outside the room.

Minseok sighs.

###

“You can relax now, Seohyun. He isn’t coming.” Hyoyeon says as she watches the younger girl walking back and forth. “He’s still the one, isn’t he?”

Seohyun sighs and finally takes a sit beside Hyoyeon. “Nothing much has changed, unnie. I’m still that girl who’s desperately in love with him. Pathetic, isn’t it? Five years and it’s still him.”

“Then why did you leave?” Hyoyeon asks. She can’t fathom the reason why Seohyun has to leave. The younger girl was doing so well in the music school. She was happy.

“Because I have to, unnie. You just can’t say no to Juilliard.” Seohyun has always dreamed of becoming a professional pianist and being admitted to one of the most prestigious arts school is just one step away from that dream.

“When did you even auditioned?” Hyoyeon sighs.

“That week I told you I’m going to stay in my grandma’s. I went to New York for the live audition.”

“Luhan will seriously kill you if he knew you lied to him.” The older girl shakes her head in disapproval. Hyoyeon knows how the two are so in love with each other. In her opinion, however, the break up is unnecessary. With the amount of love they have for each other, they could have easily worked out a long distance relationship. But Seohyun, being the stubborn girl she is, chose the difficult path.

“He will, probably.” Seohyun lets out a chuckle. “And maybe I deserve that.”

“Are you going to tell Soohyun about Luhan?”

“I don’t know, unnie.” Seohyun closes her eyes as she remembers Soohyun. Of course, he deserves to know about Luhan. She knows that.

“You have to.”

“I will, when the time comes. It’s just so difficult for now given the current circumstances. Gosh, I hate myself.”

Hyoyeon envelops Seohyun in a hug, whispering comforting words. After a few minutes, she offers her hand to the younger girl. “Come on. We have to go. Everyone’s going there. Well, except him.”

###

The two arrive five minutes later than the agreed time. Hyoyeon has to calm Seohyun down as the latter keeps on worrying about even the smallest things. Seohyun knows that everyone is sort of mad at her for leaving without any words. She is scared at what they will say.

“Seohyun, relax! I’ve told them everything we talked about in that phone call six months ago. Well, of course, except that thing about Soohyun.”

“Alright, unnie.” Seohyun lets out a sigh. She has to face them and apologize. “Let’s go.”

It isn’t like what Seohyun expects. Yoona and Sooyoung almost crushed her as the two hug her so tightly. Minseok, Junmyeon, Sehun and Kyungsoo are smiling so widely at her. Seohyun has to look at Minseok for a little longer as if asking the older guy something she, herself, doesn’t know. Minseok just shakes his head and smiles sadly at her. Seohyun nods and smiles back.

“It was so good to see you again, Seohyun! I missed you so much! Don’t ever go anywhere again without our permission, okay?” Sooyoung says making Seohyun laugh.

“Unnie, you’re not my mom!” Seohyun jokes.

“I didn’t say I’m your mom. Just―just don’t go anywhere again without telling us. We’ve been so worried especially Luhan! That poor boy.” One thing Seohyun dislikes about Sooyoung is the girl’s lack of ability to shut up. Everyone’s expression suddenly turns serious. Sooyoung let out a forced laugh after a few seconds. “Let’s just go sit and get drunk.”

The group are having fun catching up with each other’s lives until some finally decided to go hit the dance floor. Seohyun refuses the others’ invitations, saying she is tired and is still suffering from jetlag. Everyone left the private room until it is just her and Minseok.

“How―how is he?” Seohyun asks, looking anywhere but him.

“He’s doing fine, I guess.” Minseok takes a sip of his drink. “He changed a lot, you know?”

“I would be surprised if he didn’t.” Seohyun feels a pang in her chest. She wonders how much he changed. She regrets leaving him but she doesn’t regret trying to achieve her dreams.

“Why didn’t you tell him? You know he’s going to support you. You should have just told him. It could have been a lot easier.” Minseok asks.

“I know.” Seohyun tries so hard not to cry. “But that time when I decided to leave, I didn’t know when I’m coming back―if I’m coming back at all.” She explains. “I can’t give him the assurance that I’ll come back and he doesn’t deserve that, oppa. He deserves someone who will prioritize him―someone who’ll be there beside him all the time and it wasn’t me.”

Minseok closes his eyes. He actually can’t bear to see two of his dear friends suffering like that. If only the two will talk and fix everything but knowing how stubborn the both of them are, it will be too difficult to even force them to be in the same building. Besides, if the two really still love each other, they will find their way back in each other’s arms, without needing the help of their friends.

Minseok stands up, walks towards Seohyun and puts his right hand at her shoulder. “Everything’s going to be okay. Come on, let’s cheer you up a bit.”

“It’s okay, oppa. I think I’ll go out for a while. I need some fresh air. You go, join the others.” She smiles.

Seohyun finds a nearby park and decides to stay there for a while. She misses Luhan and she can’t also stop thinking about Soohyun. She is lost in her thoughts when she hears footsteps coming towards her. She turns around to see who it is but the person isn’t someone she knows. Her instincts told her to run because the person screams danger with that devilish smirk plastered on his face but her body stands frozen.

“This lady is not so bad. Pretty face,” The guy looks at her from head to toe. “Nice body, too, I might say. Would you like to join me tonight?”

Seohyun steps back and looks around her only to find herself alone with the guy. She screams when the guy holds her arm and starts dragging her. Tears are falling on her cheeks as she screams for help. She tries to free herself but the guy is so much stronger than her.

“Help! Please, someone help me!” She screams at the top of her lungs. What happens next ends up a blur. She just feels the guy losing his grip on her and another man is suddenly in front of her, as if protecting her from the erted guy. There is something oddly familiar with the man who saved her though. His perfume, I know it. She looks at the man in front of her. His back.

“Don’t touch her.” Her savior warns the other guy. His voice. Seohyun watches as the erted guy runs away.

Her mind’s about to explode from the possibility of her savior being him―that one guy she loves more than life itself. Luhan.

Her savior finally turns around to face her. Seohyun gasps. It’s him! It’s really him!

“What the hell are you doing alone at this goddamn hour?!” Luhan yells at her. He looks at her from head to toe. “And with that ty dress?!”

Seohyun is wearing a black tube dress which only reaches up to her mid-thigh.

“I―” She doesn’t know what to say. Upon seeing his face, that face she misses so much, her mind’s suddenly blank. She just watches as he takes his jacket off and throws it at her.

“Wear it. And go back inside.” He glares at her. She looks at the jacket she’s now holding as she bit her lower lip, suppressing her emotions. She extends her hand and gives his jacket back.

“That―that won’t be necessary. I think I’ll just go home.” She quickly turns around. She won’t cry for the second time that night. Especially not in front of him. “Thank you. For helping me.”

Seohyun walks away. Just a few steps away and she is suddenly being dragged again. This time, by him.

“Let me go!” She screams, trying to get his hand off her wrist.

“Stop being so stubborn! I’ll drive you home!” He screams back. Seohyun closes her eyes and finally stops protesting. His familiar touch and warmth send shivers down her spine. She wants to be so much closer to him that she’ll accept anything he can offer just so she can be with him. Be it a short fifteen minute drive home.