She shares my dreams, I hope that someday I'll share her home

To think that something so wonderful was about to end had kept him up at night. He didn’t want that last day to come, he didn’t want to shoot that final scene, he didn’t want that kiss with Yoo Jung to be the last one they ever shared.

He’d thought long and hard about their relationship and what would happen to them now that they wouldn’t see each other every day. In a way, he wanted to tell her how he felt and wait for her response, but at the same time, he had promised himself that if there ever was to be something more than a friendship between them, he would let her make the first move. It was the right thing to do, for he wanted her to be completely sure of her feelings.

Still, he feared that she’d never do it. He feared they’d slowly grow apart, becoming just former co-stars and work acquaintances, and that they’d lose what they had at the moment. Bo Gum knew that the friendship they had was beautiful and real, and that they completely trusted and understood each other. It was rare to come across something as wonderful, and he’d never met anyone who made him feel like she did.

Before he knew it, the day had come. They were shooting their final scene together in the middle of a field of cosmos, where he held her hand and delivered his last lines as Crown Prince Lee Young. He wondered if she could see the longing in his eyes and how badly he wanted to never let go of her.

“You are the Ra On that fills my entire world.”

He said his line and smiled at her. She smiled back and he leaned in for their final onscreen kiss. Bo Gum tried to push aside the negative thoughts and just enjoy the moment. He consciously made this kiss a little longer and a little more eager than their first one, not only because it was something natural for their characters, but because he wanted it to be that way. He wanted to make sure he remembered every single detail: the sun shining on her hair, her firm grip on his hand, her pretty smile, the touch of her warm lips on his, how it felt to hold her.

It felt surreal. It was beautiful, and Bo Gum didn’t want to let go.

“Okay!” He heard the director yell. “Yeorobun, it’s a wrap!” Unwillingly, Bo Gum softly parted from Yoo Jung’s lips. His hand was still on her cheek, so he quickly caressed it one more time and gave her a tender, loving look before turning away from her and facing the crew.  

Everyone was cheering and clapping to celebrate that they’d successfully wrapped up filming, and they clapped as well. Bo Gum was still close to Yoo Jung, and he suddenly felt the need to hold her, so he leaned in with open arms and gave her a quick hug. It was short and sweet, and if it weren’t for the whole crew standing in front of them, he would’ve definitely kept hugging her for a lot longer.

As he let go of Yoo Jung, Bo Gum heard the happy and excited cheers from the crew, and he couldn’t help but feel emotional. This was it. It was over. His favorite role so far, the one that had taught him so much about life, about acting, about love… He parted from Yoo Jung and faced the crew again. They both went up to the director, producers and staff, and started hugging them. This time, he couldn’t hold back the tears, and felt them flowing freely against his will. As much as he didn’t want to cry, he couldn’t help it. He was happy, thankful, proud, sad and scared, all at the same time.

Bo Gum looked over to where Yoo Jung was and saw she was crying as well, as she thanked the costume and makeup staff. His heart hurt at the sight of her crying, as it always did, but he assumed she must’ve been feeling the same conflicting range of emotions as him. After all, everyone in the project had grown really close together, and it was not easy to let go.

They took their time celebrating with the cast and crew, until it was time to leave the location. The production staff started packing everything up and Bo Gum looked around him, trying to find Yoo Jung. He didn’t want to leave without talking to her first, and telling her everything he wanted to say. He turned around and found her making her way to where he was.

“Yoo Jung-ah!” He called out to her, much more cheerfully than he was truly feeling. “There you are! I was looking for you.”

She smiled at him. Her eyes and cheeks were still a bit wet from the tears she had shed, but she looked calm and collected.

“I was looking for you too, Oppa.” She smiled. “Should we go for a walk around the field? I want to look at these pretty flowers one more time.”

Bo Gum just smiled and stretched out his hand for her to take. She shyly complied and they started walking together through the field of cosmos. After a while of walking in silence and once they were far enough away from the crew, he thought it was good time to start talking.

“Yoo Jung-ah…” He started.

“Bo Gum Oppa…” Yoo Jung said at the same time as him.

A bit flustered, they stopped in their tracks and laughed together. Bo Gum then stared at her in silence, as if encouraging her to speak up first. Yoo Jung took a deep breath.

“Oppa, I’m going to miss you so much.”

Bo Gum wasn’t expecting her to say such a thing. He was taken aback by her words, but felt warm inside. He wanted to hear more.

“Me too, Yoo Jung-ah.” He simply replied and stared at her for a bit longer, waiting for her to continue talking. His heart was pounding in his chest.

“It really has been an honor and pleasure to meet you and work with you, Oppa.” Yoo Jung was looking down at her hands, but she looked up to meet Bo Gum’s gaze. Her eyes were full of tears again. “Please don’t forget about me.”

Bo Gum couldn’t believe his ears. Forget about her? How on Earth could he do such a thing? It was impossible for him to forget about her. Even if he never got to see her again in his life, his heart would still belong to her, and he would forever be unable to let go of her memory. He loved her way too much.

“Baboya!” He tried to laugh, but he felt his eyes filling up with tears again at the sight of Yoo Jung crying in front of him. He cupped her face in his hands and dried her tears with his thumbs. At the same time, he could feel a silent tear streaming down his face. This only made Yoo Jung cry harder, and she went up to him and hugged him tightly.

Bo Gum froze in his spot at Yoo Jung’s sudden move. She hardly ever hugged him; it was mostly him who hugged her first. He felt his heart pound harder as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. Her face was now on Bo Gum’s shoulder, and she kept crying quietly. There was still so much more he wanted to say to her before they had to part ways, so he tried to pull himself together and keep talking.

“I’ll never forget you, Yoo Jung-ah.” He started. “I’ll miss you a lot too and I am also so happy to have met you. We went through so much together and we learned a lot together… I am forever thankful that I got to live out this experience with you.” He felt Yoo Jung relaxing her grip and softly letting go of their embrace. She was no longer crying, and a small smile was slowly drawing on her lips as she looked up to him. “We’ll keep in touch and always go out to eat despite our busy schedules, ye? Yagsog?”

That last remark made Yoo Jung laugh.

“Ne, yagsog, Oppa! All the time!” She kept laughing as she nodded.

“I’m happy to hear that! Because, you know?” Bo Gum felt his cheeks and ears turning red as he was getting ready to confess. “I was also worried you would forget about me. That things would go back to normal for us and that you’d slowly forget about me. Babo, ne?” He laughed at himself, trying to lighten the mood.

“I could never forget you, Oppa.” She shook her head, dead serious. “We’re best friends, ne? I could never forget you.”

Bo Gum felt a pang of hurt and joy at the very same time. He was so happy that Yoo Jung considered him her best friend, but at the same time… It was just that. Nothing more. Still, it was fine, he thought. He had to be patient. The best relationships start out as friendships; he’d always believed that and he wanted their relationship to be no exception. And truth was, they really were the best of friends! They talked all the time, ate together and shared their secrets and fears with each other. He valued his friendship with Yoo Jung above all things, for it was what had brought them closer in the first place.

“Ne, Yoo Jung-ah. You are right. We are.” He smiled brightly at her and stretched out his hand again, ready to make his way back to where the crew was packing up to leave. She readily took it and gave him one more smile. After a short while walking together, she let out a sigh.

“This is special, ne, Oppa?” She said, her voice small and shy but still clear enough. “What we have.”

Bo Gum’s heart took a leap as he turned around to face her. Her cheeks were red but her eyes were full of hope as she kept her gaze down, intently waiting for his answer.

“Ne, Yoo Jung-ah.” He squeezed her hand a bit harder, wishing he could drop everything and kiss her right then and there. Now, he was sure he knew what her heart was feeling. “It is.”

As they walked away together, hand in hand, the field of cosmos behind them and the spring sun warm above their heads, and as he gazed down upon the smile and the sparkling eyes of the girl he was in love with, one thought was clear in Bo Gum’s mind: he would remember this moment forever.