Seulgi curled her fingers around the small chain safely tucked in her jean pocket. She inhaled deeply, feeling like her heart was somehow trapped in cellophane.

He stood there with his back facing her. The sun hit his hair in a way that made it look like he had a crown of sunset. She knew that so much has changed and that he might not even recognize her after all these years but step after step she took bravely. If she didn’t see him now she might never have the chance to see him again. Ever.

She took one more step, a smile forming on her lips as she began to speak. “Hello, Superstar.”

The look on his face when he turned around to see where the voice came from was unreadable. His mouth was slightly agape and his eyes wide. 

Somehow Seulgi was thankful for the silence because once he turned around and she could clearly see his face she became frozen. It has been too long since the last time they saw each other but she remembered him to be beautiful. The person who stood in front of her now though was way beyond that. He stood there looking like lightning. Everything around him seem to have become dull in contrast to his beauty.

Seulgi forced herself to speak once more in hopes of chasing away the awkwardness in the air. “You really mustn’t remember me huh.”

His voice was soft and low that if she wasn’t listening carefully she would have thought it was the wind whispering. “Seulgi.”

The smile on her lips was genuine now. “Welcome home, Superstar.”

Seulgi and Taeyong have known each other since kindergarten. But it wasn’t until Taeyong and his family moved next door to Seulgi’s in fourth grade when they really started spending most of their time together. They went to the same school their entire lives until Taeyong decided to pursue his dreams of becoming an idol and had to study in SOPA once he became a trainee. 

There was not a day they did not spend together. They knew each other the best. But as she stood in front of him now it was almost like meeting a stranger for the first time. A stranger she has known for a very long time in a hazy and long forgotten dream.

Taeyong’s eyes lit up as he spoke. “Is that really you?”

She could only spread her arms and shrug. “The one and only.”

Taeyong knew for a fact that the person who stood in front of him was indeed Kang Seulgi. The girl who lived next door who scraped her knees running after the ice cream truck. The girl who threw rocks at his window in the middle of the night. The girl who he would sneak out with because she wanted to lay in the lawn and watch the stars. The girl who was always top of the class and helped him with his homework no matter how much she slept during lessons. The girl whose friendship he abandoned.

“Wow you...you grew up a lot.”

Seulgi could only laugh at his comment and nodded. “I guess we both did.” She looked up at the house where she used to spend most of her time with Taeyong if they weren’t at hers. “I never thought I’d ever see you here again.”

“I didn’t think you’d still be here. I thought maybe you went away for college.” You know, get out of this small town just like we planned when we were kids.

She sighed and if Taeyong read her expression correctly, there was bitterness in her eyes despite her smile when she spoke. “A lot of things have changed.” She quickly changed her expression, a forced smile plastered on her face. “Well, I don’t wanna bother you now. I know you have things to do so I’ll just get going.”

Taeyong wanted to stop her. He wanted to talk and catch up but somehow she felt like she had a wall built around her and he couldn’t get through.

+++

Seulgi threw the third pebble and it hit Taeyong’s window with a soft thud. She was getting impatient now. Why was he not waking up? She threw another pebble with more force but before she realized it Taeyong already had his window open and the pebble hit him right on the cheek.

Taeyong came down to meet her. His cheek was swollen and bright red. A drop of blood traced his cheek and jaw. She apologized repeatedly and trapped him in a tight hug as if it would make the wound heal faster. But she hoped. She hoped it would.

They sat in Seulgi’s bed, the first aid kit laid open as she gingerly dabbed ointment onto his wound. She had her other hand on his mouth trying to muffle his whines and moans. “Taeyong, I’m so sorry. I promise you’ll be fine. Just please don’t make too much noise or dad’s gonna punish both of us for staying up too late.”

Taeyong pulled her hand away from his mouth and started to speak in angry whispers. “I no longer allow you to throw rocks at my window. You understand?”

“How else am I supposed to call you out when the stars are out?” She finished dabbing ointment on his wound and started to blow on it as if it would help. “I really am sorry, Taeyong. I promise I didn’t mean to.” She was too focused on his wound and feeling sorry for what her carelessness has done to her best friend that she did not realize she was getting too close. Her nose gently brushed against the softness of his cheek and before she realized what she was doing she planted a soft kiss on his jaw.

+++

Seulgi couldn’t sleep. The day’s events kept replaying in her mind. Seeing Taeyong for the first time in years. Seeing her best friend after a long time only for him to feel distant and almost like a stranger. Things changed. How could she expect for them to just pick up where they left off? It never worked that way in real life.

She tossed and turned when all of a sudden she could hear hail hitting her window.

Wait...hail? 

In the middle of summer?

She bolted up and squinted her eyes to the direction of her windows. She must have been hearing things. But no. There it was again. Only it wasn’t hail. It was a pebble. She didn’t want to think it but who else could it have been? She could only think of one person. But it was impossible.

Seulgi pushed open her windows and there he was standing on her freshly mowed lawn. Lee Taeyong. Tall and beautiful and perfect. She was ready to close the window to go back to sleep for this was clearly a dream when she heard him talk.

“The stars are out tonight.” He smiled that perfect crooked smile of his and somehow it hurt that he was this close yet a thousand lifetimes away.

“I’ll be down in a minute.”

They sat on the lawn like they were fourteen again. Nobody spoke but the quiet was the ugly kind. Seulgi sighed exasperatedly and laid on her back on the grass. She didn’t know where the courage came from but the important thing was that it was here and it’s taking over her. “I can’t believe we would end up like this years later. When did we become so uncomfortable around each other?”

She could see Taeyong’s back stiffening but nonetheless he turned to face her. “I’m sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable.”

She sighed once more and looked back up at the stars.

Taeyong leaned back and was now lying on the grass next to her. His eyes were pinned on the sky above when he spoke. “I know this feels very different from when we were just kids but I just really wanted to do this again with you.”

She hummed, her voice a whisper when she spoke. “I wanted to do this again with you too.”

They laid there in silence save the beat of their hearts drumming in their chests. He wanted to reach out and tell her he was still the same that he was still her best friend but best friends don’t abandon each other. He did not deserve her. He was not going to give her hope. He knew too well that he was not staying for a long time and he would only end up abandoning her again.

She wanted to face him to look at him once more. To capture in her mind and remember for the rest of her days. She wanted to memorize his face, every contours, every imperfection, everything that makes him him. For if she died his face would be the last thing she sees just before she falls into the abyss. She wanted to hold his hand to remember the journey they had together. To remember all their adventures and mischiefs. The very hands that held her when she needed to be pulled back up.

But for now they only look up at the stars and trace the shapes of words left unsaid.

+++

“Taeyong?” Seulgi utters, keeping her eyes in the sky.

“Mhm?”

“If there’s something you want to tell a person but you can’t because you’re either too scared or just shy, and you can use the stars as messengers, would you tell the stars everything your heart feels?” She was facing him now but he was still looking up at the stars. Was it just the reflection or did Lee Taeyong’s eyes look like twinkling stars? He looked beautiful and peaceful. She wondered what it would feel like to be able to touch his face and let her fingertips memorize every contours of his face. His lips were the perfect shade of pink and they remained agape as he thought of an answer to her question. She thought of the lucky person who would get to love Taeyong. The person who would hold him and touch him and kiss him and—

Seulgi shook her head and averted her gaze. It was madness. Taeyong was Taeyong and yes he was beautiful and she was allowed to think that. But her heart was not allowed to hurt like it did just now.

Taeyong hummed in answer. “I guess I would tell the stars if they would be the ones to relay the message to the person it’s meant for.”

“Then tell me. I’ll be your star.”

Taeyong faced her this time and tapped her nose. “You can’t trick me, Seulgi.”

She whined and nudged him with her shoulder. “Come on, Taeyong. I won’t tell anyone else. I promise.” 

Taeyong exhaled sharply and closed his eyes.

Seulgi gave up and went back to stargazing. Earlier that week one of their friends told her that Taeyong was planning to ask this girl out but he was scared. Of what exactly, Seulgi wasn’t sure. She was happy for her best friend for finding someone he liked but at the same time she wasn’t.

“I want to tell her,” Taeyong spoke, cutting Seulgi’s train of thought. “I want to tell her that she’s the most beautiful person to me and that just a single glimpse of her makes my day instantly better. She makes my life better. She carries the sun in her shoulders. Her laughter makes my heart leap. She’s the one I’ve been longing for a long time now. I want to be the one to take care of her. I want to be the only one to love her. But I can’t. And I hate myself for that.”

Seulgi didn’t know what to answer. Her chest felt tight and tears threatened to fall. She did not understand why it hurt so much to hear that Taeyong was in love with someone else. She didn’t know why she wanted to scream. It hurt. It was hard to breathe.

 

+++

 

“My mom wanted to know if you wanted to come over for dinner.” Seulgi stood in Taeyong’s doorstep. After arguing with her mom for forty minutes that Taeyong couldn’t come because he was busy (which he wasn’t, she just did not want to risk getting rejected), she finally gave up.

Taeyong laughed and wrapped an arm around Seulgi’s shoulders, guiding her towards her house. “I was actually wondering when she would summon me. I used to eat at your house almost everyday even my own mother was getting jealous for spending more time with you.”

“It’s not my fault that you always wanted to stay next to me.”

Seulgi caught in her periphery Taeyong’s little smile as he looked down. 

Seulgi’s mom welcomed Taeyong like a son who have been living overseas that decided to return after twenty-two years. There were tears and hugs and kisses on cheeks (mostly from Seulgi’s mom). They talked and caught up a bit before she dismissed them so she could continue preparing dinner.

They went up to Seulgi’s room to watch a movie while they wait for dinner just like they did when they were kids. Taeyong stood in the doorway, his eyes scanning the place. “Wow. Nothing much has changed. You’re still very messy.”

Seulgi gave him a smack on the arm and pushed past him. “I’ve been busy, okay. So much things to do. So little time.”

“You still have this,” Taeyong held a CD that had ‘My Star’ written on the jewel case in his messy script.

“I had everything transferred to my laptop just in case it didn’t play anymore. It’s pretty old.”

“I cannot believe you still have this.” He said, ignoring what she just said.

“I needed something to remind me of you. Not that literally every single corner of everywhere in this house and town isn’t enough to remind me of you every second of the day.” She said mostly to herself but loud enough for him to hear.

Taeyong traced the words with his thumb and faced Seulgi’s direction, his voice low and quiet when he spoke. “Sometimes I still wonder if you ever relayed my message to her.”

Seulgi looked up meeting his eyes. There it was again the familiar tightening of her chest. She looked down and pretended to choose a movie as if her heart wasn’t just too brutally crushed by a past feeling she was sure she buried. “I never got a name. I didn’t know to whom I should be relaying the message to.”

“I thought you would just know.”

Seulgi could only give him a questioning look.

“I thought you would’ve just known who I meant. I mean I thought stars were powerful like that.” Taeyong shrugged and laughed.

She snorted and shook her head. “Sadly I’m not as powerful as the ones in the sky.” She shrugged and laughed to herself. “But seriously though, who did you mean back then? Was it Kim Sua?”

“What? Kim Sua? Why would you think that?”

“I thought you liked her. You were always following her around. Plus, everybody likes Kim Sua so,”

“I so wasn’t always following her around.” He laughed and threw a small pillow at her.

The pillow hit Seulgi in the face and Taeyong could only laugh louder. “Lee Taeyong!” She screamed and threw the pillow back at him, and another and another as she climbed on the bed to get closer to her target. Seulgi was enjoying herself so much that she did not notice she threw one pillow a little too hard.

“Ow!” Taeyong pressed a hand on his left eye and carefully sat down on the bed.

“A-are you alright? Let me take a look.” Seulgi positioned herself next to Taeyong and tried to pry his hand off his face when he tackled her onto the bed.

Laughing, he tickled Seulgi’s sides exactly where he remembered she was ticklish. “Revenge!”

Seulgi tried to wiggle out of Taeyong’s hold but he was far too strong. Her stomach hurt from clenching so much as she couldn’t stop squealing and laughing. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry I promise I won’t do it again! Taeyong! Stop i-it! Tae!”

Taeyong eventually gave up but not without a wide grin plastered on his face. His hand remained on Seulgi’s waist while his other hand reached up to touch her cheek.

Seulgi could only look up into his eyes. She forgot what it was like to be this close to him. Her heart felt like it was being squeezed and on the brink of exploding and she wasn’t sure how she handled being this close to him back then. How lucky past Seulgi was.

+++

They laid on Seulgi’s bed. Taeyong’s legs rested on the headboard while Seulgi’s rested on the edge of the bed but their faces were next to each other. So dangerously close.

“Do you think we’ll remain best friends when one of us gets married in the future?” Seulgi asked absentmindedly, her eyes lost, studying Taeyong’s facial features.

“I won’t get married if you promise not to get married.” Taeyong answered, closing his eyes.

“That’s impossible.” Seulgi replied in a quiet voice. She raised a hand and gently ran her fingertips along Taeyong’s cheek earning a soft hum from the boy. “I know you’ll fall in love eventually.”

“I already have.”

Seulgi could not explain the pang she felt on her chest. Her hand fell and she quickly averted her eyes from Taeyong’s beautiful face. “Ah. So you’re in love with her? The girl you told me about the other night when we were stargazing.”

Taeyong hummed in answer. “Maybe.”

Seulgi nodded, not that Taeyong could see her, and looked up at the ceiling. She slid her hand in her pocket and clenched her fingers around the familiar small chain of silver.

Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be this time. Not in this lifetime but hopefully in another.

“Seulgi?” It was Taeyong who broke the silence.

“Mm?”

“Seulgi.”

“Taeyong.”

“Seulgi.”

“Taeyong.” Her voice was just a little above a whisper now as she turn her head to the side only to find Taeyong looking at her. She looked into his eyes, trying to read his expression. “Taeyong.”

“Have you fallen in love?”

She couldn’t seem to make her voice louder than a whisper, her breath brushing his lips as she spoke. “Yes.”

+++

They sat on the sand, watching the waves crash on the shore. They have been meeting almost everyday like this. They did things they normally did as kids except this time there was some kind of unexplainable tension in the air. But they were contented having to spend time with each other. They were happy in each other’s company like this not that they would ever admit to it.

The sun have already set and they’ve been quiet for almost thirty minutes now. Taeyong would occasionally glance to his side only to find Seulgi looking into the horizon. How could she be so close to touch yet feel so far away? It was almost like he was afraid to get too close but god how he wanted to. He wanted to reach out and touch her but he was afraid she might suddenly disappear. Everything still felt so surreal.

“It’s rude to stare.” Seulgi commented with a hint of laughter in her voice.

“I’m not staring.” He replied without taking his eyes off of her.

She looked down and smiled before looking up to meet his eyes. “Hey, Superstar.”

“Hello.” He mirrors her smile and without knowing it his hand rose to touch her cheek.

Seulgi closed her eyes, leaning into his touch.

Everything was dark now save for the waning moon in the middle of the sky.

“I missed you, you know.” Taeyong’s voice was so soft that if the waves crashed a little harder Seulgi wouldn’t have been able to hear him.

She opened her eyes only to be met by his glistening ones, looking almost scared and desperate. “You never came back. You never came to see me.” A lump was forming in now that she spoke slowly and softly to keep her voice from cracking.

“I’m so sorry, Seulgi. I’m sorry for neglecting you.” He held her hand with both of his and rested his forehead on their intertwined hands. “I’m sorry. I wanted to see you again but I didn’t know what to say. I was scared.”

Seulgi gently caressed his hair with her free hand and carefully pulled away from Taeyong’s hold. “Taeyong don’t.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“You’re leaving in a month. Don’t say things that might make it even more difficult for me.” Her eyes were pleading now, tears threatening to fall.

“Seulgi, I don’t understand.”

She looked down, unable to look him in the eyes for what she was about to say. “I don’t wanna give myself false hopes again. I endured enough.”

Taeyong held her face with both of his hands in attempt to make her look at him. “You’re not making sense right now. What do you mean?”

She looked at him for a long time before she found the words to say and the voice to speak up again. “When you left,” she started. “It became clear to me that everybody knew how I felt towards you. I was so sad that I started crying whenever I saw anything that reminded me of you and God knows that everything in this damned town reminded me of you. That’s when people started talking to me trying to cheer me up. They said that you were definitely eventually going to come back to me that I should just give you time because they said that. . .they said that you loved me too.”

“And I believed them. I believed them when they said you were in love with me too and that we just were both scared to admit it. But I was so wrong to believe that, Taeyong. I was such a fool.”

Taeyong didn’t know what to say and Seulgi already managed to get his hands off her face.

“I’m sorry for ruining this night. I want to go home now.” Seulgi said standing up.

They haven’t seen each other for a few days after that night which Seulgi was thankful for because she needed bed rest for the past three days. Now, however, she was feeling better but she was not allowed to go out and do activities that required sweating or walking. Her mother was on duty at the hospital and she was probably not going to be home until tomorrow morning so Seulgi decided to be a little rebellious and went out into the yard to sit on the swing.

She swung back and forth slowly and carefully counting the days she had left with every swing.

“Hi.” The voice made her jump and out came from behind her was the angelic face of Lee Taeyong.

“Hello,” she replied in a small voice. The memories of the night at the beach made her blush in embarrassment. You’re so stupid, Kang Seulgi.

“You’re mom came by at my house earlier. She asked me to look after you for the night.” He scratched the back of his head, unsure of what her reaction was going to be.

“No. Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine, Taeyong.” She smiled up at him and stood up to make her way back into the house.

Seulgi reached the front door when Taeyong spoke again. “I also wanted to spend time with you.”

They sat on the couch and Armageddon was playing on the TV not that anyone was paying attention. They sat as far as they could from each other pretending to not be bothered by each other’s presence. 

It started to rain heavily and almost halfway into the movie the power went out. Seulgi froze in her seat and cursed to herself. Great! This was just great. She hated the dark the most and not having someone close to her or someone to hold her was making her sweat and her heart was beating frantically. Calm down. Please calm down. You cannot have an attack right now.

She put her feet up and hugged her knees to her chest when she felt Taeyong moving closer. He knew very well how scared she was of the dark and just like when they were younger he was not going to let her be scared. He was going to protect her.

Taeyong was now next to Seulgi, their arms brushing against each other. “It’s alright, Seulgi.” And just like that he had an arm around her shoulders, his free hand moving down to intertwine with hers. “I’m here.”

Her hands were cold from the nervousness of having Taeyong this close to her but she couldn’t let it show in her voice. “You don’t have to do this, Taeyong. I’m not a kid anymore.”

“I want to do this.”

“No, you don’t.”

She could hear him sigh as he caressed her hand. “I really do, though. I told you. I missed you.”

“No you don’t.”

And in that moment he let go of her hand to wrap his arm around her and pulled her into his chest. “Yes, I do.”

+++

The power went out while they were doing their homework in the living room. Taeyong have been holding Seulgi in his arms for an hour until she eventually fell asleep. He could not explain the happiness he felt in his heart as they sat like that in the dark. He cupped her cheek, gently caressing her face with his thumb. Even with only the dim light emanating from the candle she looked beautiful. Taeyong almost never told her that but he always found her the most beautiful person he’s ever laid eyes on. She did not only looked beautiful but her heart was too.

He looked down at her peaceful face and studied her perfectly sculpted features. Her lashes gently touched her cheeks that was tinted a little bit of red. Red. Her lips were red and full and pretty. He swiped his thumb along her lower lip and whispered. “If only you know how beautiful you look right now.” He closed his eyes and leaned down to rest his forehead against hers. “I wish I could make you mine, Seulgi. I want to be the one to take care of you like this always. I’m sorry that I can’t. I’m sorry I have to go away. I just want to tell you I love you for the first and last time.” Before he could think about it he leaned down to press a soft kiss on her lips. 

And during that night when the rain fell hard, their homework left undone and the power was out, Taeyong confessed and they had their first kiss.

+++

“Can I ask you something random?” Taeyong spoke in the darkness, still holding Seulgi against his chest.

“Sure. What is it?” She was getting more comfortable now. Her arm wrapped loosely around Taeyong’s torso.

“Who’s your first kiss?”

Seulgi back stiffened as she was caught off guard. Her cheeks was suddenly on fire and her heart was beating frantically. “I- I’m. . . I mean-“

Taeyong laughed, rubbing her back gently as he felt her tense up. “What? Are you embarrassed to tell me? Is he someone I know?”

Seulgi cleared in attempt to make her voice sound full and confident. “No. No one that you know.”

“You’re still so bad at lying, you know that?”

She pulled away from his arms and faced him, thankful for the moon that shone through the window that his face was slightly illuminated by. “What are you trying to say?”

Taeyong smiled that crooked smile of his and placed his hands on her waist as he teasingly leaned in. “You still haven’t had your first kiss, have you?”

She furrowed her brows and pressed a finger against Taeyong’s chest. “Look. Just because you’re an idol and have kissed a lot of girls doesn’t mean you get to make fun of me! I’m just simply preserving myself.” She rolled her eyes subtly and looked away.

He chuckled softly and gently tugged her closer, his arms now completely wrapped around her waist. “Who ever said I kissed lots of girls? I only kissed one.”

She shrugged nonchalantly, still not looking his way. “I don’t care.”

“Oh, you’re so cute.” She didn’t see the way he looked at her lovingly as he cupped her cheek, a soft smile plastered on his face.

She looked down to hide her expression as she felt herself give in to his touch. What was it with the darkness that made them both a little bit more bold? “I’m not.”

He tucked her hair behind her ear and leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Seulgi decided to let her curiosity get the best of her. She shifted in her seat and tugged on the hem of Taeyong’s shirt. “So,” she sat up to look at him. “Aren’t you gonna tell me who that one girl you kissed was?”

Taeyong only grinned at her question and pulled her back into his chest. “Not telling you.”

“Tell me. I probably don’t even know her anyway.”

“Nope. Let’s just sleep for now, Seulgi.”

They were quiet for some time but their frantically beating hearts would not let any of them sleep. And it was Seulgi who broke the silence with her quiet voice.

“Can I tell you something random?”

Taeyong hummed and nodded in answer.

“It was another night like this back when we were kids. The power went out and you were just sort of holding me until I fell asleep. I- I don’t know why but I sort of had this weird dream.” Seulgi stopped and immediately regretted her decision of bringing up the stupid dream she had when they were fourteen.

She could feel Taeyong stir and somehow his body stiffened but his voice was soft. “What did you dream about?”

Seulgi laughed nervously, tugging at the hem of her shirt. “It’s gonna sound stupid but it’s whatever. I sort of dreamed that you kissed me. Hah. Ridiculous, right?”

“Ridiculous? Ridiculous how? Did you not like the kiss? I mean. . .in the dream?”

“No, it’s not that. I mean I like it. I mean like not in a creepy way. It was I don’t know. It’s just that. . .I mean, why would you even kiss me? That’s just ridiculous.” She sat up, absentmindedly fixing her hair.

Taeyong hugged his knees to his chest, his eyes searching for hers. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Seulgi eyes widened as she turned to face him, her heart banging on her chest. “What do you mean?”

Taeyong smiled bitterly to himself and looked down. “I’m sorry, Seulgi.”

Silence.

And nothing prepared either of them for what was going to be said next. Taeyong inhaled sharply, the courage he has been gathering still wasn’t enough but it had to be said now or he might never be able to tell her at all.

“For the longest time I knew it was going to be you. It has always been you. And God knows how much I prayed it was me for you too. I guess everybody knew who I was in love with all this time except the girl who threw pebbles at my window herself. But I guess that was a good thing because how could I tell you I loved you when I wasn’t going to be here for you? When it was impossible for me to take care of you. I guess when I left I just tried to forget you and threw away our years of friendship because I was too scared to hurt you. But somewhere beneath all that, I still hoped to come back to you one day.”

Seulgi could only watch as he spoke, tears threatening to fall. Her heart clenched and she didn’t know whether she should be happy or be mad at him. She spoke in a whisper then but her voice still broke. “I wish you would have just let me love you, Taeyong. Because I don’t think I can love you anymore now. I loved you and I still do but this time I’m the one who wouldn’t be around anymore.”

There was a lump in Taeyong’s throat and it took all of him to not breakdown right there in front of her. “What? Why? What do you mean?”

Seulgi produced a small silver chain from her pocket with a little charm with their initials engraved on it. LTY + KSG. “Remember this?” Seulgi softly chuckled at a memory. “I told you I bought this for a boy I liked, right? And you always assumed it was someone else. I wanted to give this to you that one night but when I went to find you, nobody opened the windows for me. The next day I found out you left. I was going to confess to you that night, Taeyong.”

“I’m sorry,” was all he could say as a drop of tear rolled down his cheek.

She shook her head and took his hand, putting the bracelet on around his wrist. “Now you will always have something to remind you of me when I’m no longer around.”

He looked up to meet her eyes. They were both crying now. “Why do I feel like you’re saying goodbye?”

“Because I am, Taeyong.”

“I don’t understand!” His voice was louder now, he was gripping her shoulders as if urging her to reveal something she’s hiding from him.

“My last wish was to see you again but I got way more than that. I heard you say you love me and that makes me the happiest I’ve ever been, Taeyong.” She smiled but there was sadness evident in her eyes.

Taeyong cupped her face, looking at her intently in the eyes as tears fell from his own. “I love you, Kang Seulgi. I love you so much, okay? I have loved you since we were kids. I loved you even when we didn’t see each other for years. I’m here now. I’m here now, baby, please stay with me. Please.” He pressed his forehead against hers as they cried. “Please.”

“I wish I could, Taeyong. I love you so much, too.”