“Lena Lena Lena, wake up!” Pem shouted from outside my room. I guess Will is here.

I got up and rummaged through my suitcase and found a nice oversized t-shirt and threw it on. Now I didn’t need to bother making sure I looked decent enough to go out. But even so, I looked myself in the mirror. My hair was short now, cut it myself, and dye back to black the way it naturally was. I’ve always loved colorful hair– every month it would change to a different color. But now, I needed to change. I couldn’t stand out, I needed to make sure no one could recognize me. It was all for the best, I kept telling myself. I looked down and silently spoke, “it’s all gonna be okay now my little angel.”

I finally made my way out of my room and saw Pem and Will by the kitchen island preparing breakfast. They looked so happy, so carefree. I miss that, I miss those days. But I can’t dwell on the past anymore, the future of my little angel is more important than my own. It was for the best.

“Hey guys, good morning!” I tried to sound as cheerful as I could. But I knew Pem could see right through my mask.

“Hey yo, Lena! How was your flight? Hope you’re not too jetlagged.” I thanked Will silently for not mentioning anything else, I’m glad Pem had already told him my reasons for coming back and leaving Seoul. I just hoped he could keep this news to himself. I didn’t want him to find out where I was, he didn’t need me to hold him back anymore.

“It’s been so long since I’ve slept this well actually. I might just sleep the whole day haha, you know how much I love to sleep.” Just these simple conversations made this new life a little more normal. It felt like I was back in college, back to the days when I only cared about when I needed to get up for class. This new simple life, I think I can get used to it. But I knew in the back of my mind this wasn’t possible, I can only hope it can last as long as possible.

“Lena, want some coffee? You should probably eat something too.” Pem offered as she headed towards the fridge. I knew she was gonna start making some eggs, my favorite breakfast food. She knew me all too well. I can never thank Pem enough for everything she has done for me, without her I don’t know where I would have ended up today. We’ve been friends since 2^nd grade, it’s been 12 years since then.

“Thanks Pem, I think I’ll just drink some milk and have some eggs.” I started towards the fridge too and taking out the carton of milk and poured myself a cup. The one thing I will miss about Seoul. The milk in New York just doesn’t taste as good, it always tastes so watered down.