"What does Navillera mean?"

"It means The Butterfly of the Stars."

Eunha watched as Yerin closed the book in front of her, a smile on her face. 

"Shall we head home now?"

It's hard to believe that walking home with her was something that happened years ago. It's been ages since they had graduated high school. Eunha sat at her cubicle at Source Industries, with the photo of the school trip in hand. She glanced at the unread email in her inbox.

"YJCG High School Class of 20XX 10th Anniversary Reunion."

"Will you be going?"

Yerin cheerfully asked the quiet Eunha, who slowly nodded.

"Great! We will have so much fun at the school trip!"

Honestly, Eunha did not really care about school trips.

She just wanted to be with Yerin.

She could not explain the feeling she had when with Yerin.

It all started when she was cycling to school at the beginning of freshman year.
She was making her way across the bridge when she got distracted by the sunlight glistening on the horizon. So distracted that she did not even notice the muddy puddle ahead of her.

It all happened quickly. 
The skidding.
The falling.
But Eunha would not remember any of that process. What she remembered was what happened after.

A hand was reaching out to her.

As she looked up, her eyes met one of the most beautiful faces she has ever seen.

“Wow, the school really has changed a lot!”

SinB skipped happily around the campus with Yuju close at her heels.
Eunha followed a good distance behind her former schoolmates who seem to have transported back to their teens. It was after work when Eunha received a KakaoTalk message from SinB who told her she got special access to the campus tonight, thanks to being a relative of the current principal. Somehow along with Yuju, they managed to coax Eunha to join them in reminiscing the good old days.

“Remember when you first transferred and was hella shy!” SinB continued, narrating her version of their youth story while pointing out familiar surroundings.

“Yeah, I remember that,” Yuju added, briefly looking nostalgically at the school music room she once dominated as the main vocalist of the school choir, “SinB was trying to get close to you but you were still awkward. You didn’t open up until Yerin kept pestering you…”

Their voices drew further and further, but Eunha chose to let it be.
The newly renovated gymnasium caught her attention as she naturally traced her steps back.

“Thanks for helping me find the nurses’ office just now…”

Eunha muttered as she sat besides the girl who helped her get on her feet at the bridge. She did not even dare to make eye contact with the girl, who seemed to have responded with a blindingly bright smile.

“It’s not a problem,” the other girl said, “You’re new right? I’m Yerin. Jung Yerin. You can ask me for help any time!”

Eunha clenched her fists tightly and simply nodded with her head hanging.

“Awww…you’re a quiet one,” Yerin giggled, “That’s cute.”

Eunha’s face colored uncontrollably.

Yerin would continue to about her shyness, even after pulling her into her inner friend circle made up of Sowon, Yuju, SinB and Umji.

“We were the .”

Yuju said, after having done multiple shots of soju at the pojangmacha. They were now joined by Sowon and Umji, who were uncertain as to how to deal with the overly intoxicated Yuju and SinB, having arrived later sober.

“We were sooo popular. Especially, Yerin. All the boys lovedddd her,” Yuju rambled on, “Don't know why she never had a boyfriend though…”

Eunha shrugged at the two girls as Yuju and SinB continued to reminisce.

“Wonder what Yerin is up to these days…” a drunken SinB mumbled, reaching for more drinks, only to be given a slight slap on the wrist by Umji.

“True,” Sowon noted, ordering some water for the drunkards, “We have not heard much from her after going to university…if only Yerin ever bothered to use social media to reconnect…”

Every time the squad met up these days, the conversation always somehow floated to Yerin.
How they never saw her after the last school trip and graduation.
It was like she disappeared off the face of the Earth.

Eunha was sitting next to Yerin on the bus during the school trip.
Yerin was not speaking as much as usual, flipping through the pages of a book with Navillera written on the cover. Eunha did not complain. It allowed her to slowly study the face of the girl beside her.

They have been friends for close to three years at this point, but Yerin had only gotten more beautiful in her eyes. The days when she saw Yerin, she was beyond delighted even if she failed a Math test. But the days when everything was going well still felt lacking without Yerin’s presence. Eunha wasn’t sure how to express her feelings all this time and had gotten used to admiring Yerin at a distance. But it would be a lie if she did not hope for a little more.

Maybe this will happen during their school trip.

“Can we ever really know anyone well? Let’s just say we often found ourselves in each others company and neither of us minded.”

After graduation, Eunha started reading the Navillera book that Yerin was so engrossed in. The Butterfly of the Stars. And looked into the other writings of the author Bernard Werber in general. This was her favorite quote from his works, reminding her of the time she spent with Yerin. She was never sure if she really knew Yerin, but she knew being next to her made her high school life a lot more interesting.

She got to be a butterfly and break out of her cocoon.
She got to slowly grow bright like a star.

Not only did she got closer to the other girls, she also understood herself better.
Not long after college, Eunha started seeing some girls.
She became sure of who she was, what she wanted.
Thanks to Yerin.

Yerin was just their, softly sleeping in front of her.

Eunha did not even remember what led up to this moment. She just wanted it to last forever. Slowly, with the greatest courage in her life, she leaned towards the face of the girl she loved.

Blushing, Eunha pulled back, clasping her lips that were burning from the intimate touch. As she traced her fingers on the girl in front of her, she knew it was not a dream.

“HEY!”

Eunha almost jumped in shock as she heard SinB at the door.

“What are you doing?”

“You two are cute…”

SinB laughed at the photos of Yerin and Eunha together in the old yearbooks.

“Great visuals,” Yuju added, “Would totally ship.”

“Guys, stop joking around,” Eunha frowned, whacking a roll of newspaper on Yuju’s head. “I told you guys to come help me clear out some old things, not write fanfiction about the past!”

“I’m sure you saw Yerin as a friend,” Yuju responded, somewhat falsely, “But knowing how you are really like after college, dating girls and all, I would have totally gotten you two to date in high school! Yerin was single af back then…”

“Nah, Yerin would have been out of Eunha’s league anyways,” further SinB, adding hurt to injury.
Sometimes, Eunha wondered if she should have confessed her past crush to her best friends instead of keeping it a secret.

“Yeah, Yerin never saw me that ways, I’m sure…”

For the rest of the camp, Eunha acted awfully chummy with SinB and later Yuju.

She needed to act more touchy and open than usual. This was the only way to make SinB believe the “incident” with Yerin was completely normal. Although SinB was usually oblivious to such things.

“Hey come to the bonfire now!”

Sowon called to the other girls while Yerin beckoned them to hurry up and help with the barbecue.

Eunha and SinB were lazing around when Yerin tried to pull Eunha over.

“Yah, Eunha’s mine for the day,” SinB teased while Yerin made faces. Eunha just smiled awkwardly, playing along with this cute banter.

“Yerin would understand,” she thought, “She will just think that I’m just using the last camp to bond one last time with the others…”

And Yerin seemed to get it. A bit too well.
After the camp, she didn’t talk much with Eunha, almost encouraging her to hang more with the other friends of hers.
After an awfully quiet university exam study period, the last she heard Yerin’s voice was when she said goodbye during graduation.

“I wonder if Yerin will turn up…”

The girls stood at the yard with some other people they recognized to be from their year. Today was the 10^th anniversary reunion, and the opening ceremony of the time capsule they buried back then.

“Who knows,” Yuju responded to Sowon’s statement, “I’m just worried I will be embarrassed by what they find that we left behind…”

“I don’t think we left anything embarrassing…” Umji noted.

“Do we even remember what we left behind?” SinB chirped in, “It’s been 10 years!!!”

Eunha did not remember what she left behind too well either.
She wondered what Yerin left behind. It would be good to see something related to Yerin even if she did not turn up.

It’s been 10 years.
Eunha had long given up on her feelings.
She would be happy knowing Yerin was a part of her memories.
And hopefully she was a part of Yerin’s.

Yerin was quickly drawing on the rollerblades.
She could hear the girls chattering outside, telling her to join them in the time capsule burial ceremony soon.

“I’m coming!”

She finished her last words and proof-read it, unconsciously touching her own lips, which burned as a memory emerged in her mind.

Scrawled under the doodle of a heart, were the words Yerin left before her family moved abroad.

When you see this, know that I knew what you did.
At camp.
You really grew up, playing with my feelings
While being chummy with SinB…although I don’t think you meant to
You probably are just as confused as me
…We might never see each other again, so I want you to know
That you have become a butterfly

And always, my Navillera.