Despite my tangentially awkward relationship with Suzy in theory, I easily came to the conclusion that my self-proclaimed holiday (otherwise known as temporary refuge) at her Airbnb was beyond satisfactory. Objectively, Suzy had been a warm host who was friendly and gave me the space I needed. If I hadn't joined Baekhyun on his ludicrous quest, I might have ended up as friends with the female. 

I guess I could always compensate for that aspect by leaving her a superb review. I had one in my mind already: 

Outstanding interior that will leave you in awe (designed by the original owner who liked sleeping under the mattress instead of on it) and a friendly host (suspected of cheating on her boyfriend, but is now disproved)  who was drop-dead gorgeous with an equally charming boyfriend (who looked like he did not match her height and I'll be damned if he knew I ever admitted he was charming). She keeps the place squeaky clean and doesn't bother you at all, leaving you to (hide his prying boyfriend who is suspicious of her) enjoy your trip. 

I'm still debating if I should remove those in parenthesis. After all, greatness is always in the details. 

The fact that Suzy had made me farewell breakfast this morning only reinforced her wonderfulness. Her cooking was not as outstanding as Baekhyun's, but the gesture warmed me immensely. I realised given the lack of interaction between us over the past days, this breakfast was the opportune time for me to find out about this woman who had captured the heart of my eccentric friend. 

The most striking thing about Suzy was how effortless she seemed in exuding her aura of perfection. She dawned a pink floral dress beneath the Muji-esque muted colour apron. Her hair was up in a loose bun that suggested a casual, lazy tying that acted purely as a functional method to get her strands out of the way during cooking. My mind might have CGI-ed some Instagram filters or Disney songs over this scene to make her even more of a princess than she already was, but reality didn't seem far from it either. 

Suzy and Baekhyun were clearly made for each other, especially in the culinary aspect. Suzy's English breakfast was the best I'd had in a while and she'd made it her duty to converse as comfortably with me as possible. I was immediately impressed by her intelligence and amiability in the conversation. She'd first started with a simple and barely awkward survey of whether I enjoyed my stay here. It was only immensely unbearable because of what I'd been hiding from her. 

"Was the bed comfortable?"

Yeah, except for the first night. 

"Was the room spacious enough?" 

"Oh yes, in fact I would think it fits two comfortably." I know this for a fact. 

"Is it your first time staying in a thematic design Airbnb? My boyfriend and I really put in a lot of effort into the up-keeping of this place. Just last year we spent a sum to get some of the new photographs printed and framed up. I kept the one in your room for sentimental reasons, but otherwise he's replaced every photo work in the house. He's a talented photographer working overseas, and gosh the pain of having to do all the refurbishing myself!" 

Why Baekhyun would want to replace all of his works around the house was beyond me, but I agreed with Suzy that the one in my room was worth keeping for sure. There was just something about it that made me sure that I would remember it for years to come, just like this unexpected friendship I share with Baekhyun over the past ten days of my trip. It dawned one me as I finished the last mouthful of breakfast that I was probably never meeting this boy again, at least not in the near future. He would be madly in love with his fantastic girlfriend again as they reunite, and even on their wedding I would not be on the invitation list because that would be awkward. Even if I visited Incheon again, this Airbnb probably wouldn't exist anymore after Baekhyun's back to reclaim his room proper. I might text him on days of festivals, wishing him and Suzy a happy celebration; I might spot his photograph in a National Geographic magazine and internally gloat for his success; I might even visit his photography exhibition if he ever held one and bothered to drop me a text, but I would probably miss him in action while he goes around greeting guests with Suzy by his side. 

And I might have someone by my side too, however far into the future that might be. 

The day spent yesterday seemed so far away, like a very improper and unsatisfying farewell for a friend that appeared at an important point in my life. Fate made us each other's support when we ran into troubles with the loved ones in our respective lives. That's huge. That's significant. That's an impact that, no matter how short it is, should hold more meaning than just a ten-day friendship. It's irrational, but I suddenly felt like I didn't want to leave. It felt like dragging my luggage out of this place would necessarily mean that I was walking out of Baekhyun's life too, and he out of mine. So even if it was selfish and ridiculous, I felt like lingering for a while so that I could meet that boy fleetingly again in the corridor to say goodbye again. And maybe ask him whether he actually had a plan for how to woo Suzy back. 

That was why I told Suzy that my ride was only coming at noon, because that was the time that Baekhyun said he would come back. 

And of course, Suzy being the angel that she was, allowed me to stay in the apartment for the morning before my transportation arrived. 

The morning was largely uneventful, because I refrained from sending Baekhyun any messages in case he was busy preparing whatever surprise he had in mind for his girlfriend. I spent the painful minutes of waiting on admiring the house and what I knew was the last would see of it. The minutes ticked by and Suzy went about th