Yewon waved away a mosquito from over the bouquet of roses before she placed it on the ground in front of her. She took a moment to gather herself and find the words to say to him.

“I’m sorry it took so long to finally come talk to you,” she said out loud. “Did you miss me?”

She waited, as if Seungcheol could respond to her from under his gravestone. He couldn’t respond, of course, but Yewon had faith that he still heard her.

“I missed you a lot. It’s been hard the past weeks without you,” she managed to say. “I cried so, so, so much, and I don’t think I have any more tears left to cry anymore. So today, I don’t think I’ll cry, even though I feel like I want to…” her voice wavered, and she took a moment to collect herself. She was determined not to cry; she was determined to show him that she was okay.

“I’m strong,” she told him. “It was hard, but I think I pulled through and came to terms with the way things are right now. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, okay? I hope you’re fine too. You’re in heaven, right? I’m not worried about you, because I know you have your best friend up there with you too.

“You forgave Seungkwan, right? If you didn’t, then you should forgive him. Seungkwan was a scapegoat in all this. The poor guy was probably manipulated into doing it, and he even had to die for it. Even if you did die by his hand, I forgive him, and you should too.

“Anyways, please don’t be mad at me, but I decided not to marry Wonwoo, and so I’m not going to be the Queen of Solen. I know how much you wanted me to, but please understand I can’t stay in this country any longer. I can’t live in the palace for the rest of my life, in the place where you died, among the people who killed you. I’ll be eternally miserable if I do.

“I’m going back to Galacia. I no longer have the princess title, and my people there hate me, but it’s still home. My ship sails tomorrow actually, which is why I’m here now. I needed to talk to you one last time before I left, to say goodbye and to tell you that I’m okay, and that you don’t have to worry about me. I’ll be happy again soon.

“Still, I am sad to leave. Poor Yulhee– she cried so much when I told her I was going back. She told me that everyone was suddenly leaving her: first Soonyoung, and then you, and now me. I felt so sorry for her. I wish I could take her with me.

“Besides her, I also want to take you with me. I’m so sorry that I won’t be able to visit you again. Maybe, in a few years, I’ll come back and tell you how I’m doing, but I’m not sure if I’ll have the strength to visit this country again. The memories are just too painful. Even the happy ones are painful now.

“When you lost Solbin and Jeonghan, it must have been hard for you stay in the palace, but you did it anyway. Now I realize how strong you had to have been to be able to endure it all those years. I also understand why you changed so much, why you became so cold and aloof. I’m happy you can finally rest after the turbulent life that you lived. I’m sorry that it couldn’t end like you imagined it.

“I love you so much. I really, really, really love you, Seungcheol. I wish I could be wherever you are right now. A part of me wants to die and follow you up there, but I still have some time left to live. And I will live it happily, because I know that’s what you would have wanted for me.

“I’ll let you go now. I guess this is my final goodbye to you. Thank you so much for all the lessons you taught me, all the passion you made me feel, and all of the happiness I got from knowing you. Even though it’s my memories with you give me so much pain right now, I don’t regret a single thing. I’m so glad I got to know you, and I’m so glad I got experience this wild and wonderful journey with you.”

With that, she leaned in to kiss his gravestone, bowed to him one last time, and turned to leave.

She had managed to keep herself from crying in front of him, but as soon as she turned, the tears silently streamed down her cheeks. She felt the finality of their goodbye in her bones, and it hurt.

As she wiped the tears away and headed for the carriage waiting for her outside the graveyard, she had a feeling these would be the last tears she would ever cry for him.

-

Letter #7

Dear Yewon,

I’ve always said that the Galacian custom of talking to dead people was ridiculous, but as you know, sometimes I say thing things I don’t really mean or truly believe. Like in this case.

Even though it makes sense to human brains to think that everything ends when we die, the theory does not sit too well with human hearts. It feels so wrong to believe that people just end when they die, because the human soul is much too intricate to be understood in such determinate ways.

I think there is truth in the fact that we retain some consciousness when we die. As much as I make fun of you for it, I think you Galacians have been right about that all along.

When I took you to the graveyard that one time and you talked to Solbin, I must admit that I was moved. And ever since then, I’ve gone to the graveyard multiple times, and I’ve spoken to Solbin and Jeonghan. I tell them about what’s happening in my life, what I’m feeling, how much I miss them. I think they appreciate it when I do that. Wherever they are.

I want to use this letter to thank you for giving me this much-needed sense of eternity. It’s very healing to believe that the people I once loved hear me and live on with me, even when they’re not here in the flesh.

Thank you, my love. Thank you forever.

Sincerely,
Seungcheol

A/N: it’s a short chapter. the next chapter will be longer I think. I’ll try to update soon because this chapter was tooo short lol. And sorry for leaving yall on such an angsty note!