Hyuk Jae’s eyes were painted with sadness. He held on tightly on the handle of his suitcase, willing himself not to leave Korea for the opportunities opened in the United States. Silence filled the gap between us despite the noise at the airport. I was at a loss for words, and he reached out to put his hand on my shoulder.

“Dong Hae, don’t be sad, okay? We already talked about this, though it means that I have to break my promise.” He said, smiling as happily as he could, just to stop me from making an outburst. I was trying to stop my tears from falling down, but it seemed that they’d escape from my eyes anytime. I looked into his eyes, and I saw tears welling up in there too.

“You know you won’t expect me to be happy, right? We planned this out. That after we graduate, we will go to work together, and make our own money. And after that, we would live our own married lives. Then you’ll just leave me alone? It hurts.” I said. I looked away from him and contemplated at an empty space. The thought of my best friend going abroad seemed to eat me up. We grew up together and shared gazillions of memories, which I myself can even remember.

He put his arm around me.

“I’ll be back, Dong Hae. I know you’ll wait for me. And when that time comes, we’ll spend all the time together, okay?”

I nodded, but without any soul. His flight number was called, and we both stood up.

My eyes met his once again. This time, I couldn’t help but cry out of loneliness. He hugged me before saying his last words.

“Remember this. We will see each other again. I don’t know when, but when we do, I’ll be the same Hyuk Jae that you met.”

I smiled and hugged him back. “Yeah. Just be back.”

With that, he broke free and waved goodbye. My heart sank as he took the steps to the plane, because I never told him how much I love him.