"You taught me the courage of stars before you left
How light carries on endlessly, even after death
With shortness of breath, you explained the infinite
How rare and beautiful it is to even exist."

/ SC 5 / Courage
[ E U N H A ]

To my galaxy,

"It takes courage to live." That's what I told that night when I first saw you cry. You did not answer back then, because you told me that you can't fully understand what it meant. But as I watch you grow, I knew that you already learned what courage means without even realising it. 

Eunbi, thank you for having the courage to live. It became a flare for me too... to go beyond my limits, to take a leap without thinking the risk of falling. You taught me that courage is sometimes as simple as opening your eyes in the morning. Sometimes courage is the way you fall in love with your sadness, how you let it rock you to sleep, how you feel it and face it and tell yourself every single night that you can overcome it, even if you feel like you can't.

That night, all I want to tell you is that courage is not as hard as we think it be. Courage isn’t made up of war and bloodshed; sometimes courage isn’t made of combat. Sometimes courage is a quiet fight, a dim softness within you, that flickers even on your darkest days and reminds you that you are strong, that you are growing—that there is hope. And you have it all now. You don’t have any idea how proud I am. You've grown so far, Eunbi.

Thank you for making me stay. For making me feel alive.

I hope that you will keep that courage within you. Keep believing. Keep finding those little sparks in the darkness. For I will too. Let's be courageous together.

And if the time comes and I need to leave this world, please do not regret anything. I will always be part of you, my own galaxy. 

- Sojung Unnie

Tears keep streaming down my face as I read the last letter from Sowon unnie. Courage. She wants me to keep that within me. Who am I to think that this letter will be about herself? No. She's still thinking about me.

I can't still accept the fact that the person who taught me to live is slowly taking away from me–from us. No matter how much I tried to believe, the time is out of grasp. I need to let her go. I heard what happened in the hospital yesterday... the news. They are letting us spend time with her. They're giving us all the time we need... and it pains me. They're preparing us on what's bound to happen.

The last part of the letter hits hard. She's asking me to let her go without any regrets. Huff. Heavens know how hard I tried to find the courage left within me. But it's hard, knowing the person who gave you the courage of stars is leav– 

–no. I can't imagine such things.

A knock on the door stopped my raging thoughts. I stand up and opened it. I wiped my cheeks and fixed myself as I saw little Eunbi on the front door.

"Eunbi..." I can't see her face clearly but I think I already knew why she's here. "Is there a problem?" I asked. Thanked god I didn't stutter. 

"Can I sleep here, unnie?" She said in almost a whisper. 

I smiled and opened the door wider. "Of course," Maybe she feels lonely. Yewon went home, Yerin unnie is out and Sowon unnie is–

I bit back a sigh. At least I have Yuna by my side. I guess lil Eunbi will join us tonight.

"Where is Yuju unnie?"

"She's taking a bath." I said as I motioned her to lay down with me. She shyly moved to my side. We became silent for a moment, listening to each other's brea