Wonwoo feels like leaving the two to their own since the whole atmosphere itself is making him feel emotional and teary eyed, but Soojung told him to stay and Seulgi only looked at him without saying anything. 

Now, they sit in the floor of the room in a some sort of a triangle form with each of them as the middle, but since Seulgi is their main attention now, all eyes in the room are on her. 

"I didn't receive your letters, Soojung. How could I reply when I didn't even know I have any?" Seulgi replies to Soojung's question, asking her why she stopped replying all of the sudden.

She frowns. "But I sent them, Seulgi. Seungwan replied to all my letters. And Wonwoo here, I bet, received all of my letters. Just that he replied to some of them only," Soojung scoffs offensively and he shrugs it off without much thought.

"You pretty much told me all about mundane things and updated your whole life on me, seriously. I only replied to those which were worth commenting about."

Soojung crosses her arms over her navy blue shirt, raising her eyebrows judge mentally. "You do realise that by sending letters, you are also telling me about your life there, not merely commenting mine, right?"

He nods in agreement. "I know."

"Then why?"

"It's pretty normal there. Not much things happening. Studying and all that stuffs, school festivals and all," he holds back himself from saying that whatever things happening here is way more interesting than in the city.

A glimpse of envy fleet through Seulgi's eyes and she shakes her head as if refusing that thought away. Wonwoo sees that. 

"My father probably kept all of the letters. He's probably trying to cut me away from you all," Seulgi leans her back against the bedframe, pulling one of her knees close. 

Soojung keeps her gaze at Seulgi who stares ahead of the wall with pictures of her and her friends by the wall, her with the Cosmic Children on the graduation days, and many other photos of them in candid when Seokmin brought his father's small camera with him.

There are pictures of Seulgi standing on the branch of the tree, smiling to the camera, and there is more picture of them playing rock paper scissors, and another picture of Seulgi with Wonwoo in a position to fight, and her put in a headlock around his armpit.

There are lots of it, it's like a wall of memories and he can't help but to notice the ones when he was there. There are an equal amount of it, and there are even pictures that don't include Seulgi herself. Like that one picture of Seokmin being tickled to death by him and Mingyu.

And another picture of Soojung and Mingyu having a staring competition, and they both lost at the same time with tears trickling down their eyes. Another photo of Seungwan smiling with a bunch of flowers around her. And then there is a quite blurry and hazy picture of Soojung smiling close to the camera, her hand trying to cover it and by the lack of technique, he predicts that it was Mingyu who took it.

He was never good with camera after all, despite how good he looks through a camera. Not better than Wonwoo, though. 

"What happened to you, Seulgi?" Soojung asks softly, her eyes fleet to the piercing, to the light hair, to the simple silver bangle that is at the end of her elbow, and to all this darkness that doesn't intimidate Soojung at all.

The reason Wonwoo stays is also because he's curious and it's not like Seulgi would want to tell him as easy as that. But if it's with Soojung, it will be fine. The two had always been the closest to one and another after all. They were all close, but Soojung has her way of being more precious to Seulgi more than the others.

"Horrible things happened," she let her words linger, including all three of them in the story. ", it was terrible."

"That place is obviously not a school. It was a ing war everyday. No kids should be allowed to that place-"

"It's too complicated to explain, but long story short, that place ruined me. I don't have friends there. Whoever people who claim me as theirs must be lying, because all we did was mess with each other," anger rips out from her lips but she keeps it low enough to not be heard by her mother. Her mother must have been unaware if this. 

"I'm so glad that I'm out of that hell hole." Wonwoo is aware of that hell hole since it's well known for its notorious students and he only learnt this in his second year of middle school, even though middle school is supposed to be the age of growing up when smoking is out of the option. And even tattoos.

He can't believe how Seulgi is sixteen and already has so much wounds in her body. For Wonwoo, a tattoo is a form of a wound that will never heal and disappear. 

At that time, he was only in contact with the four others except Seulgi. He was completely out of touch with Seulgi since she didn't send letters and didn't have a cellphone. 

Wonwoo fiddles with the tribal bracelet on his wrist as Soojung goes on. "And that thing on your nose, can you take it off? No matter how laid back this high school seems to be, I think they would not allow a piercing that is so obvious-wait, we're attending the same high school right?"

"There is only one here, Soojung. So, yes," Wonwoo replies, looking up to them for a moment. 

Seulgi touches the ring-like piercing on her nose. "Yes, I will take it off, of course."

"Won't it hurt?"

She smiles, her smile raw and herself, as she shakes her head. "I'm used to get hurt," she let her feelings off to the two of them, eyes too dry to weep another tear.

And Wonwoo can't help but to reach out and put his hand on her shoulder, rubbing it in the hopes to comfort her. Seulgi lets him, as if feeling like she needs that, just someone who listens and understands her.

Æ

After graduation, Mingyu felt so free he couldn't get enough of it. He graduated with a score that silenced his mother and brought smile to the soft edges of his father's face. His father has always been kind with him, that's why he is okay that his father will be there as a teacher. 

They promised him that if he does well in his studies, he can do anything that he wants. And he did. Mingyu rose as the golden boy, with people attracted to him like moths are attracted to fire, resulting him like now, reckless and free in the crowd of the so-called cool kids. He's comfortable, way too comfortable in his spot now to move away any sooner. 

Wonwoo came back a few weeks ago, and he wanted to spend time with him. But with him already becoming comfortable with the friends he has now, he didn't try hard enough in talking to him that time. And he seemed to notice this.

These few weeks, he saw him walking to places with a girl of golden locks with a nose piercing that became the talk of his friends. How dark and intimidating she looked was all they talked about, but when their eyes met and he had a clear look to her face, it was Seulgi.

Before he could call her, she had already walked away furiously. He couldn't help but to feel offended by his old friends who couldn't accept his change.

It's 9PM and he is trying to fall asleep. Another three years of school and he will have to go through it all over again. He looks at the window for a very long time, imagining Soojung knocking on his window and then left with a smile and a kiss on his cheek. He quickly shakes that thought away. It's been years since he tries to forget that moment. 

He found her very cruel, to leave and act like nothing happened at the next day. Call Mingyu sensitive and pathetic, but that is what he felt when Soojung didn't notice him not looking at her in the eye, three years ago when she left. 

The ceilings of his room looked like a sky full of stars back then, but for him, it was Soojung who made him feel that way. So simple and easy for him, to see a galaxy that she loves so much, with just a mere light brush on his cheek with her lips. He unconsciously touches his cheek and smiles, then sighs. 

He hears a soft knock on his window while he lays on his stomach, head to the window. His eyes are closed and he thinks that he is losing his mind over his imagination. He waits for the knock to stop. It does, then it begins again. More hurried, but still soft. 

He opens his eyes, pushing back his grey hair from his forehead and stands up then look to the window.

When their eyes meet, she stops knocking and cross her arms. She is not smiling, and it's obvious why since he never replied any of her letters. But he read them, all of them when he felt tired of studying. 

He slowly makes his way to the window and open it, letting the cool air flow in. She stands there, eyes looking straight at him and she still looks the same, only that her eyes are clearer now even in the night and his lights off. Her hair is now in gentle waves of brown and she looks pallid. Pallid in a healthy way for him since she doesn't look frail. 

"So now, you're going to stop ignoring me after three years," she blows out foggy breaths between the two of them and Mingyu sighs. It's going to be difficult to explain himself to such a stubborn girl like her. 

"Come in, Soojung. It's cold outside," his voice that is now more deep and unlike what Soojung heard years ago echo to her ears, and she feels like she has to get used to it. So much changes have happened here with puberty kicking in, making her have to look up to the boy in front of her. Not that she's short. She's tall for girls her age, it's just the boy in front of her who is too tall for his own good.

This caring side of Mingyu for girls and a certain sense of protectiveness over them is something that will never change. It's something that his father taught him for the longest time: to treat girls right and to do no harm to them. This, is one of the reasons why a lot of people (mostly girls) like him.

"No, I'd rather stay here. I'll be quick," Soojung stays outside as he begins to falter into the darkness, only to return back. She is clothed in her blue Smurf hoodie over her set of green pajamas. Her hands are dug deep into the pocket of her jacket. Whoever Soojung is now, she is no longer the girl who was less reckless than Seulgi, yet brave enough to climb in his room at night time as if giving him her full trust to him. It's as if Soojung realises that it is no longer appropriate for her to do things like this, approaching some boy like him in night time.

"I just want to ask why, why did you never reply my letters?"

Mingyu crosses his arms over his black sweater, gliding his tongue across his chapped lips. "Because I was angry at you."

As if someone has pinched her eyebrows, Soojung stares hard at him. "What? What kind of nonsense is that? What did I do to you to deserve that kind of treatment, anyway?" 

"Gosh, Soojung. This happened a long time ago, I don't want to talk about this," he feels heat creeping to his cheeks, for being reminded of that time, three years ago. How clueless can Soojung be to him is astonishing, and at the same time frustrating to him.

She silences herself and stares at him, looking something over her head. She immerses herself in a deep thought, pondering and weighing her choices. "You know, it's okay if you don't want to talk about it," at that moment, Mingyu is ready to tell her about it but she brushes it away, so he nods instead. He's not sure if he is relieved or disappointed, though. 

"Are you still angry at me?"

"I think it doesn't matter anymore, now that you're here," he wants to bite back his own words for being so straightforward, but she only nods with a satisfied and relieved smile.

"It really wasn't my choice: to leave. But still, I'm sorry if I hurt you by leaving," when Soojung's palm touches his lightly tanned skin, apologetic soft brown orbs looking dearly at him, he is reminded again of Soojung in the past. Her palm is warm from her pocket and is scented with fabric softener, with her thumb close to his right eye, as if rubbing an invisible tear away, and another four of her fingers laced to his defined jaw.

Some things in people never really change, after all.

It's okay, even though Soojung doesn't know the true reason he was upset with her, Mingyu thinks it's better for the truth to be left that way. 

The contact between their skin breaks as Soojung's hand returns to the pocket of her hoodie, and she looks at the sky. "Mingyu, look at that star up there, the one with the brightest light," she turns her back to him, and she points her finger to a star that stands out amongst the others. It winks back to him in the dark, smiling bashfully and joyfully while its gleams shrinks and grows.

"You know, it has a name. Its name is Sirius. Isn't it beautiful? Its gleam is so bright to the point we can see other stars that are dim," Mingyu leans to the window frame and looks at Soojung, whose eyes resemble the twinkling star now, who has moved away so that he can see what she is referring to. 

Mingyu realizes after all these years, that Soojung's curiosity is what makes her look so magical and dreamy. At least, that is something that he used to think about her yet brushed away in the past, with her constant hunger for knowledge and the need to share it to him (with them being neighbors and all). There was a time when he thought that she was being such a know-it-all kid that would end up getting hated. But now, after seeing that she is still like this, it's actually something that grows on her more and more.

With people around him losing their interests in something small like this (like really, who would remember a name of a star these days with people so busy caring over their looks?), it makes him realize that there is something special that is born with her ever since she knew how to think. Her knowledge is still far ahead of his, but at least with the way he is now, he is able to understand what she is saying.

There stands Mingyu, a boy who dreamt and dreamt until it becomes a reality and Soojung stands there, a living dream herself: something Mingyu can never be.

She turns to look at him then. "Well, I guess it's time to leave now."

"Good night, Soojung," Mingyu breathes out, as she begins to walk back and she turns her head back to flash him a smile with a light nod of her head. He stays there now, waiting for her to climb into the her room without looking back. That's one of the cruel things about Soojung, she doesn't look back for a second time when she leaves and it's still the same. He still has to get used to it again now, after all these years having the room in front of him empty.

But then she stops in her path, and turns back to him and shuffles to his window, then she suddenly takes out something that sticks to her neck. 

"I still keep this, just so you know," Soojung shows him the Saturn pendant he gave her three years ago, with a silver necklace attached to it so it can rest on her neck without falling. She is closer now than before, and he can see her face even more clearer. She smells like jasmine, at least that is what Seungwan will say with her undying love for plants. Remembering that, it makes him wonder if she has realized that he is no longer close with his old friends. "If it'll make you better, I wear this everyday by the way," she grins brightly, as if to soothe any anger that she senses to be visible from his eyes.

"It's just another small pendant, Soojung. It's probably a fake."

"It's probably a fake  but you're the one who gave it to me," he knows what Soojung means by that, and he refuses the thought of taking it the wrong way. 

"Well, anything that makes you happy, then."

She is holding and looking at that pendant again, holding the edges with the tips of her fingers preciously.

"Soojung, have you-have you met the others?"

Her hands are dug deep in her pocket again, and she looks at him, searching for any kind of worry in his eyes. If she can't see it, well her eyes must be quite muddy since there are lots in his eyes. "Yeah, except Seokmin."

He purses his lips in a deep thought, and he feels the need to explain himself. "I don't know what you've heard but-"

"It's okay, I know that you're changed now. People change. I guess you are not an exception also," she tries to sound cordial, but Mingyu catches that he is letting her down. "I hope you didn't change for the worse. Because Seulgi-oh gosh, Seulgi. She's been through so much, too much things happened to her," her fingers rub on her temples as if she's in a headache, and he feels somehow regretful that he hadn't managed to try to even call Seulgi, to strike a conversation with her. There is this air of intimidation around her now, but he thinks he can break it down. Like, it's Seulgi. They've fought too much in the past (not as much as Wonwoo, but still) to be uncomfortable with each other. He even stood up for her when Wonwoo crossed his boundaries.

"I just want you to know that the Cosmic Children will never be separated. We'll always be here when you need us, since you must have met lots of different people when the three of us left, when I left. It's okay," it's as if she is telling him that it's okay that they are no longer close, and that she takes a part in the fault of this separated group. A part of him agrees, and a part of him thinks that he is just way too comfortable being in the big and loud crowd. The name of the group itself sounds like a distant dream now, and it's been so long that he's heard of it, since it's meant to be a secret between the six of them.

After that, she bids him good night and climbs into her room, now for real as she has closed it behind her without looking back and close the blinds and curtains.

He shuts down his window, and smiles while shaking his head, finding it hard to believe that Soojung still keeps that pendant, when he gave it to her as a mere farewell present. He feels warm, knowing that she cares for it for a long time. And he feels like reaching out to his friends, he hopes that he will have enough bravery to step out from his comfort zone, to step into his group of friends who are just a bunch of misfits with starkly different personalities.

Despite being comforted by the fact his change didn't seem to offend her in any way possible, he still wishes that she had pointed out how tall he is right now, if his grey hair suits him or not, if his smile makes her feel anything like most girls back in his school, if he is now handsome in her eyes. And even though it's a really arrogant thinking he has right there, Mingyu doesn't regret it as it is something that he keeps to himself. 

And of course, it is perhaps a good thing also, that Mingyu didn't bring that topic of a kiss up.

Because if he did, he would end up disappointed. Especially, after knowing that Soojung has forgotten that she had boldly gave away her first kiss in the cheek, to no other than Kim Mingyu.