"In a few months it will be our 5th anniversary since we first debuted with the guys, we've come so far to be where we are now- I've come far too, very far.... " Jungkook said as he looked at himself in the mirror, unconsciously he stared at his earring. The earring he has been using since his trainee days, a valuable gift from a very valuable, irreplaceable friend - perhaps even more than a friend. How could Jungkook know anyway, he was just a 15 year old kid back then who was trying his best to achieve his dreams.

---

15 year old hardworking Jungkook all alone in Seoul, its nearly been 2 years since he left Busan to chase his dreams to be a singer, he left his friends and family for this dream of his, it was his calling, it was his destiny, this is what he wanted to do and he was sure of it and he will do anything within his power to achieve his dreams. Although he was alone, living in a dull small dorm room in the big city of Seoul and dead tired with school in the morning and trainee practices in the afternoon. Back at his home in Busan, his family and friends are rooting for him, supporting him every step of the way.

Calling home proved to be difficult since the young Jungkook didn't have much money, just enough to make by in the busy city where everything was so expensive. But when he did have some spare change, when things were blue, he would call his parents and also his dear childhood friend Kim Yoona who was with him since they were very little.

2 years ago Yoona said to Jungkook before he set off to live in Seoul, "Jungkook, I don't want you to leave but I think you'll make a great singer, so i'm going to support you. Are you going to forget about me once you go to Seoul?"

Jungkook didn't look at her as he was too busy packing his things "You like writing don't you. Why don't you send me letters so I don't forget you?"

"You'll be lonely there so I just might, it would be the first fan mail you'll ever receive." Yoona said jokingly.

"Then i'll wait for it." Jungkook said as she replied him with a simple smile. With that she left the ambitious boy to himself in his room.  

That was 2 years ago and it didn't even feel like it was 2 years ago, times of youth passes by quickly without you even realizing it. That day Jungkook decided to call Yoona after practice, letters were great but talking on the phone was more fun, it reminded him of home, a moment of calmness for his busy life.

"I've made quite a few friends here, they're pretty cool, Nam Joon is a great rapper, Ho-seok is like an older brother to me and there's a bunch of others too. They're all nice to me. It's getting chilly here in Seoul, how's Busan doing?" Jungkook said on the pay phone as he breathed out a breath of cold air.

"It's not that bad but it does seem it's going to get cooler." Yoona replied as she let out a dry cough.

"Coughing? Did you get a cold? You should take care of yourself better you know." Jungkook said like an old uncle.

Yoona laughed at his words "Yeah right, you're the one who's always over exerting yourself during practice. " 

A moment of silence ensued between them. "Listen Jungkook, I sent you another letter this morning, you should receive it in a week or so, I think it's going to be my last one. You have good friends around you, I'm sure you won't feel lonely without me. "

"What's with that? You're joking right? Ah! The pay phone is running out of time. Don't you stop sending me those awkward letters, you promised me. I'll come home this summer, wait for me okay? Okay?"

"Sure..." the pay phone ended.

She was acting strange Jungkook thought, must be a phase or something. Girls can be complicated. The last time he saw her was 2 summers ago where she visited him in Seoul for an evening, showed her around the city, where she had the grand idea of making Jungkook get his ears pierced, it was a trend she said, all kpop idols do it- male or female it doesn't matter, fashion speaks for itself  and fashion hurts like hell.

"You'll have to use those starter earring studs for a few months so it won't close up or else you'll have to do it all over again, also keeping it clean is important, can't have an idol with an ear infection. That's not cool at all."

Jungkook just glared at her while grinning his teeth he couldn't even reply due to the unbearable pain.

"Haha, just look at you, you had to do it eventually you know, what better time than with a friend? Tell you what, when i have some money, I'll buy you a pair of earrings to make you look cooler. Then every time you look at it, you can remember me." Yoona said cheerfully as she laughed at Jungkook's face.

Last summer Jungkook was too busy to go home, sacrifices had to be made to be a great singer, the road wasn't going to be easy for him. Still everyone supported him. Yoona probably looks different now, a year isn't really that long though, maybe she changed a little, just a little. That cheeky girl couldn't possibly change that much.

2 months has passed since their last phone call. That letter Yoona mentioned, it still haven't arrived. Jungkook decided to call her but it didn't get through. Did something bad happen? She usually isn't like this and every letter she has sent, it's always on time, all the time, every month for the past 2 years, it has never failed him once... never. Just what is going on?

Summer was coming but he couldn't wait that long. Something is awfully wrong here, something was weighing heavily on his heart and he couldn't bear it any longer, it was like a bad omen.

"This weekend..." he said under his breath.

"Just a moment... I'll come home for a moment." So he did. A three hour ride to Busan all the way from Seoul. The longest train ride he has ever felt.

Jungkook was filled with anxiety but also anger. Just what is her problem he wondered. They've been friends since they were infants, a slight exaggeration, but that's how he felt. Years of friendship and he was not having it, he isn't just going to put this aside and cast it away like it had no value, is it because he's all the way in Seoul? The past 2 years had no problems, so what is it? Maybe because he wasn't there last summer? It was just once though, there's no way she would be so angry about that pathetic.

When he arrived he went straight to Yoona's house. It looked exactly as he remembered it, nothing has changed. Jungkook rang the bell. "Bet she'll get surprised seeing me here. Came without warning may have been rude." His thoughts were disrupted when her mother greeted him instead.

"Is Yoona home?" Jungkook asked. Her mother looked shocked nearly put to tears, not long her father came through the door.

Her parents took Jungkook to the hospital. Only silence in the car ride, no one dared to speak up. Her father brought him to a hospital room, they stopped in front of the door.

"She didn't want you to know." Jungkook stood frozen for a while before he entered.

He was right, something was awfully wrong, for once he wished he was wrong, hoping it was just a bad dream. There Yoona was, lying helplessly on the hospital bed, wires, tubes, machinery everywhere surrounding her skinny body, you could see her bones. Where was the cheerful cheeky girl who was so full of life 2 summers ago? Jungkook was lost in his thought-  he was shocked, this cant be happening, how can this be?

"I thought you were coming in the summer?" her dry voice said to him.

"Why didn't you tell me? WHY?" Jungkook cried out, looking at her was so painful. He can't even stand the thought that she was suffering all this time.

"I didn't want you to worry, you should focus on yourself."

"That's crazy! I'll be alone without you, you said it yourself i'll be lonely without you."

Yoona cut him off. "But you're not alone, you have your parents supporting you and also friends that will be with you for a lifetime."

"No.... please don't..." Jungkook held her hand.

"I'm proud of you ya know.... Hey do you remember when we got your ears pierced? I promised i'll get you a gift. With this, i'll always be with you and you'll always remember me.... thanks for coming Jungkook, I really did miss you...  " Yoona took a small box from under her pillow. A pair of silver earrings.

"I'm sorry Jungkook, I'm a bad liar, I don't think I'll be here this summer.... but i'm glad i could see you one last time....". Then it was silence. She died that day. Her mother sobbed endlessly, her father tried to console her when he himself was breaking. Their little girl is gone.

Tell me its a lie, a really bad lie but it wasn't. She's gone. Behind every letter was her suffering in silence and Jungkook didn't realize it. How could he? She hid it so well from him. Extremely well. The funeral was small, just close friends and family. The girl they all knew and love was no longer on this earth.

Jungkook's parents encouraged him to stay a while longer in Busan, nothing useful would come out if he stayed, it would just make his grief even worse and so he went back to Seoul. Planned to drown himself with work, anything to distract himself from grief. But when he got back to his dorm, he saw something familiar, a letter on his doorstep. The last one he'll ever receive from her.

   Dear Jungkook, 

It's been 2 years since you left and I know everyday you're there, doing your very best for your dreams. I said it before and i'll say it again, I think you'll be a wonderful singer Jungkook, at the start you won't have much supporters but give it time and keep on going and i'm sure before you know it you'll have thousand of people behind your back, heck maybe MILLIONS! 

I don't know if i'll be there for you when that happens, but to me you shine the brightest from the very beginning. You've grown Jungkook, in ways I would never expected, i'm so happy you made friends, i'm confident they'll always be there for you in your most difficult times. Now you won't be lonely anymore, you don't need these letters anymore. 

This letter is very much different than any other letters but I don't want you to worry about that. You should focus and keep on running towards your dream Jungkook, like you always had it's not that far off now. Live on. Live, live and keep on living! Live life for the both of us. Goodbye Jungkook, take care of yourself and don't forget about me.

Yours truly,

Kim Yoona.

That was her last letter to him. What else could he do but cry out and keep silent. She was suffering and now she's gone but here he was alive and standing. Her suffering has ended and Yoona would have wanted him to move on, keep living his life just as she said in the letter. So that was exactly what he did, he stayed strong for himself and for her - worked twice as hard as he did before. Everything he did since then paid off, that's where the Jungkook we know today is. The lovable boy we know now, well not much of a boy anymore, he's already a 20 year old young man now.

---

5 years has passed since Yoona died and everything she said was right, he did meet friends that we irreplaceable, friends that sings and dance beside him, doing the things that he loves to do too. She was also right about having millions of fans that supports what he does. But from time to time Jungkook finds himself reminiscing about the past, about his childhood in Busan, spending time with his parents and Yoona too. As irreplaceable the boys were to Jungkook, Yoona was just as irreplaceable as any of them, supporting him from the very beginning meant  a lot to him.

Jungkook found himself staring into the mirror, caressing the earrings that Yoona gave to him.

 "I wished you were here to see me, see me sing and perform with the other guys, you would've been 20 this year too, another year we could've had our first drink together, you could've grew up into a fine young lady. I wonder how you would have look like? Would you tie your hair up in the summer and let it down during winter? Would you still enjoy writing? You would be happy to see where I am now? You missed so much great years. I'm fine though, I don't feel much lonely now so you don't have much to worry about Yoona. It does get tough sometimes but I try my best to stay healthy and take care of myself, can't sing well if I'm sick now can I?"

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Rapmon shook his shoulders. "Are you daydreaming? Are you staring at blank space or yourself? Come on Jungkook, it's time for practice, the guys are waiting."

Jungkook followed behind Rapmon to the practice room.

"I still remember you Yoona.... and I think I always will." Jungkook thought to himself before doing his best at practice, like he always does.