“Passport, boarding pass, luggage, and admission forms” Alice said out loud as she helped Seunghyun to do a final roll call of the things he needed to bring. He nodded at her as he stood still in the living room. He took one last look at everything around him, the memories of him growing up in the house kept well by the pictures that hung on the wall. It was then that he noticed a framed picture by the stairs. A boy and a girl, a much younger version of Alice and Seunghyun with a huge smile on their face and both were enjoying an ice cream cone while holding hands by the beach. He took the picture and kept it in his backpack.

“Did you pack enough underwear?” she asked.

He turned around and saw Alice smiling as she stood by the door. She had a really sweet smile on her face despite the puffy eyes and red nose. He knew immediately that she must have been crying.

“You know I can delay if you want me to wait for you.” he said.

“No. Go. I’ll catch up in two weeks.”

“Okay. Let’s go then.”

His parents have gone to the airport earlier to settle the heavier luggage. So it was only the two of them heading to the airport. They laughed and joked like they always would, to lighten the gloomy mood around them. Her heart was heavy and his expression was cloudy as they pulled up at the airport.

They stood in front of the departure gate, facing one another for one last goodbye. She couldn’t look up to his face because she knew if she did, she wouldn’t be able to let him go.

“Be careful in the states, don’t get shot or bombed or anything. And make sure the plane doesn’t fall from the sky.”

“Don’t stress yourself out. It’s not like I’m the one flying the plane pabo.” He chuckled. He then pulled her into his arms. He hugged her tightly. It was as if he didn’t want to let go. He tilted his head a little and she responded by closing the gap between their heads. Their faces were mere inches from each other; she could smell his minty breath and he could feel the heat escape from the skin on her cheeks. They were so close to kissing but inside they were both fighting the urge to just melt in each other’s arms and Seunghyun in the end planted a long lingering kiss on her forehead. It was so close yet so far. They both let go of each other, both were looking away, silently wiping away their tears.

“I have something for you.” Alice said, breaking the silence and awkwardness. She pulled out a box with a red ribbon from her handbag and handed it to him. He opened it immediately and a beautiful black watch glistened before his eyes.

“I set this watch to Korean time so that when you check your watch, you’ll know what time it is here.” She said with her words choked and lumps began forming in .

“I have something for you too. We’ve never been apart so long and I thought you might just miss me too much.” He teased while pinching her cheeks. Seunghyun pulled out a miniature bearbrick with a batman design on it.

“Usually guys give girls teddy bears and soft toys but you giving your bearbrick that means a lot.”

“He’s my favourite but I want you to take care of him”

“I will definitely take care of him. You take care over there. Stay in touch.”

He nodded with a sombre and forced smile. He pushed the strands of hair that covered her forehead behind her ears and kissed her temple one more time.

“See you in two weeks then.”

Seunghyun turned around and walked towards the gate. His steps were heavy and slowly tears began escaping his eyes. Suddenly, he stopped as he felt two arms cling around his waist from behind. Alice cried to her heart’s content, wetting Seunghyun’s black shirt. He held her hands tightly. She was making their goodbye harder than it already was. Seunghyun tried his best to fight back the tears.

“You don’t know how much I’m going to miss you pabo bingu.” She said in between her hiccups. Her eyes were puffy and her nose was red because of the crying. Seunghyun turned around to face her once more with a forced crooked smile across his façade.

“What’s two weeks against 14 years of friendship?” Seunghyun pulled her tiny frame into his embrace, carrying her making her dangle above the ground. She held on to him as tightly as he held her. It was as if they were both reluctant to let go of each other.

Instant message from: Hyunnie

Seunghyun : Hey how r u?

Alice : The usual. U?

Seunghyun : Lonely ): I just sent my parents to the airport.

Alice : Aww, you’ll get used to it or make new friends. U miss me?

Seunghyun : Like crazy! So when are you coming?

Alice : I miss u like crazy too. No pain in the feels weird.

Seunghyun : about the apartment.

Seunghyun : You get the room with the central park view. The place is awesome.

Seunghyun : cheap too (:

Alice : about that :’( I’m not coming in two weeks.

Seunghyun : Y? T.T so when?

Alice : I dunno. I can’t answer that. I have to go. Bye.

Seunghyun : Why? You didn’t get the offer?

Seunghyun : Hello?

Seunghyun : Alice?

Seunghyun : Did I upset you or something? Sobs…sobs…

Seunghyun : I’m sorry if I did.

Seunghyun : Answer me? Fine……… Bye………..

Instant message from: Hyunnie

Seunghyun : Anyeong! ^^ R u still angry at me?

Alice : I’m sorry I left you hanging a few days ago.

Alice : I was upset that I couldn’t go. That’s all. Not because of u.

Seunghyun : Gwenchana. But who is going to live with me? Huhu…Sobs…

Alice : I’ll reapply and come. Wait for me! ^.^

Seunghyun : I’ll wait for u even if I die waiting. Huhu…am I sweet?

Alice : Euw >.< so full of yourself as always.

Alice : Btw, I have to go. @ Work now. Mianhe. Talk next time? Bye.

Instant message from: Alice

Alice : So how is first day of college life? Fun?

Seunghyun : Hehe…first day was ok.

Seunghyun : The professors are so cool. The lecture halls are damn cold.

Seunghyun : I’m the only Korean guy in my class. But I think there is another Asian.

Seunghyun : How was your day?

Alice : You think? :/

Seunghyun : I didn’t talk to them.

Alice : My day? Boring as usual.

Seunghyun : I miss you pabo.

Alice : I miss u too bingu.

Seunghyun : So what did u do today?

Alice : Work. There was this crazy customer. She nearly drove me nuts.

Alice : She ordered a caramel macchiato then changed to a vanilla latte.

Alice : but guess what?! She wanted to change again. Michi!

Seunghyun : Cool, btw I have to go. The lecturer just came in. Bye

Alice : Oh. Bye then.

Instant message from: Alice

Alice : Hey!

Alice : I dunno y but I find myself reminiscing nowadays.

Alice : especially when I have to watch other people kissing.

Alice : I miss u bingu, there’s no one to annoy me.

Seunghyun : Hmm…It’s 4AM. Zzzzzz T.T

Seunghyun : Can we just talk later?

Alice : Oh I forgot, sorry.

Instant message from: Hyunnie

Seunghyun : I dreamt I was a rocket last night and I was flying off into space.

Seunghyun : Hello??

Seunghyun : Sorry, I forgot its night time there. Hmm, time difference .

Seunghyun : Good night Alice. Sweet dreams <3

SEUNGHYUN

We tried our best to stay connected and keep to our promise to always stay in touch. We were able to do so the first couple of months. Calling each other at the end of every day, video calls every other weekend, telling each other every little details of what happened in our days. Like I said, what was a few weeks of being apart compared to our 14 years of friendship? But long distance revealed our weaknesses and like every other friend you ever had, life pulled us in a million different directions. I was busy, she was busy. When I was free to talk to her, she would be engaged with her work. When she was finally able to speak to me, I had classes to attend and discussions to go to. Slowly we lost the common matters we would usually ramble about and our usual hours of phone call little by little became a couple of minutes consisting mostly of hums and ahs. Our situation was frustrating. The time difference was burdening us. It was like we were becoming strangers again. Eventually we both gave up.