Kato Yuriya experienced her first six years of laughter, crying, and playing in Miyazaki, Japan. Her father, a Japanese soul, married a passionate Korean and eventually settled in Miyazaki. Their story is one that Yuriya adores. they met in a cafe where her father worked at the time in order to pay for college. Her mother just moved to Japan then and frequented the cafe in for coffee and breaks. After short exchanges over long periods of time, small encounters led to big sparks lighting between the two. Chance brought them together and fate sealed their futures later.

After heavy discussion between her parents, somewhere between her sixth and seventh year, the Kato family moved to Korea. Gwangju officially became their permanent residence from then forward. Yuriya enrolled in an international school somewhere within the heart of Gwangju, as requested by her father in order for her to keep her Japanese tongue. Least to say, juggling two languages proved to be a welcomed challenge for the young girl.

However, things started taking a new turn when a new family occupied the house next to her two years after. The Im family portrait consisted of a lovely, intellectual couple with their two equally adorable and active sons. Her mother welcomed the new family to a dinner, where Yuriya officially met Im Changkyun. From there, the two started meeting up after school and on the weekends; the two would enjoy teas in cafes, roller coasters at amusement parks, studying on frustrating nights, and casual evenings on the swings at the nearby park for the next few years.

Although Changkyun and Yuriya, or Yuri to him, attended different schools within different regions of Gwangju, the two kindled an honest but pure friendship.

“Say, Yuri-ah.”

She didn’t bother looking up from her phone as she responded, “Hmm?”

“So you know how I’ve been scouting around Seoul for a while lately?”

This time, Yuriya glanced up at the boy across from her. No, she hadn’t known that. “What have you been looking for in Seoul?”

This time, she could see that Changkyun fidgeted; it was either a leg twitch or a pull of a shoulder from him. He exuded a small twinkle of nervousness for some odd reason.

“Well, uh, I’ve been looking for some companies,” he continued. Yuriya still wasn’t quite following, though, so she urged him on with a soft nod. “And after a few auditions, I got into one of them.”

It took a couple of blinks and moments of processing for her to get it. With a gentle tap on her phone, she locked it and placed it face down on the table. The two met up a few hours ago in their usual cafe while nursing drinks; at this point of their friendship, these cafe meetings became routine for the two. Yuriya cleared and a slight, but genuine smile graced her countenance. She learned a few years earlier that although Changkyun admired his father’s scientific work, music eventually took over his heart.

“That’s great, Changkyun-ah,” she finally said. In response, the corners of his lips also lifted up.

After a couple months of transferring items from his old bedroom to his new small flat, and finding a new high school which turned out to be an arts and music academy, Im Changkyun was no longer a Gwangju boy.

Today was the last day having Changkyun in Gwangju before he moved to Seoul indefinitely. As per usual, the duo found themselves seated in the same-old booth in their usual cafe. The sun was sinking down past the earth in a slow pace. Yuriya and Changkyun nursed their blended drinks while basking in a comfortable silence. The both of them wasn’t quite sure on what to say. Changkyun and as well as Yuriya knew that the chances of him returning back to Gwangju were slim to none, however, neither wanted to say goodbye.

In the end, the two never shared that many conversations that night. They walked together to the bus stop, waiting for the 7:15pm bus ride from Gwangju to Seoul, Korea. Too soon, the bus arrived right on the dot. Yuriya wasn’t really the touchy type, unlike some girls she knew, but in that moment she deemed a hug to be appropriate. Sure enough, her arms reached around his torso and brought him close.

“Good luck out there, I hear it’s tough. Take care of your health too, but remember to have fun and go debut, Changkyun-ah,” Yuriya told him, a bit too quickly. He returned her hug briefly and then released her with a smile.