"It is the time of the year again, the 5th of August 2020. Everyone is mourning for the loved ones lost in the tragedy."

"A lot of people have gathered in Song-do Central Park in observation of this sorrowful da--"

Kim Taeyeon, who was seated on the front passenger seat, suddenly turned off the radio.

"Why did you turn it off?" I asked while focused on driving as we're on our way to Song-do Central Park.

"It's the same news over and over again," she said. I noticed her sad and dull eyes as she stared over the road.

"Taeyeon-ah..."

"Yeah...?"

I couldn't utter a word, however. I wanted to speak to her about this sadness she has been bearing for years. Yet, I could never know when is the right time or even how to start the conversation.

"What is it, Hyoyeon?" she asked.

"Where do you want to go to eat after the visit?" I asked, instead.

"I don't know... Anywhere is okay..."

"Okay." I sighed deeply. I guess I will never have the guts to make her open up.

The remaining time for our travel to Song-do was in total silence. It was even the same as when we arrived and headed for the memorial tombs at Central Park.

Complete silence.

It has always been like this for us in the past years ever since that horrible thing happened.

It was exactly two years after a ferocious unknown entity landed on this World and decided to wipe out half of the population of Earth. Rumors say that it was even the entire universe.

Wipeout? Yes, it was mass genocide.

How did it happen? It wasn't anything pandemic. It wasn't anything violent. It wasn't even a natural disaster. It was something that no one on Earth was able to explain.

People have vanished and turned into dust. It was indeed a mysterious phenomenon. There was not even a pattern or basis of who was chosen to be left alive. The selection was rather random.

Are Taeyeon and I considered lucky we survived?

No. I think it's the other way around. Seeing your loved ones turn into dust right in the very front of you would scar you for life. That was not even the worst part. Taeyeon and I treasured the 5th of August for many years before the tragedy. It was one of the most important days of our lives.

Taeyeon and I were members of Girls' Generation, a South Korean nine-member girl group debuted way back on the 5th of August 2007. Taeyeon was our leader.

Our career flourished throughout the years and have received lots of blessing and love from all over the world. I guess I could say we were one of the most successful K-Pop groups in South Korea. Yet, later in the years, each of the members decided to pursue different paths one by one, with one permanently leaving the group.

We continued as eight members. We were still the closest friends. Best friends. Like a family. And on that day, the 5th of August 2018, we were celebrating our group's debut.

You know what happened next...

It was the title of all the monumental stones built in Song-do Central Park days after the incident. The tombstones list all the names of those confirmed who turned into dust. Central Park has served as the main memorial ground for such tragedy.

Taeyeon and I went separately to visit the tombstones for our families. It was the same for both of us. None of our family members survived.

Right afterward, we went together for the memorial stone for our vanished friends.

It was tragic for both of us as we witnessed Sunny, Tiffany, Yuri, and Joohyun died in front of our eyes during our celebration.

It was even more traumatizing when we found out Choi Sooyoung, also one of our members, suffered from a car accident as her boyfriend driving the car vanished into thin air. They were on their way to our place of celebration. She is currently in a comatose condition for two years now.

On the other hand, Yoona, exactly during the tragedy, was boarding an aircraft back to South Korea from Japan. The aircraft was still nowhere to be found even after two years. Despite that, the government has written her name on the memorial stone.

And Jessica? Honestly... we never knew. She... she was the one who permanently left our group many years before the tragedy. After that, our communication with her was long gone. She could have... she could have really vanished as well...

"Hyoyeon." Taeyeon suddenly uttered after the long silence we shared as we stared at the tomb.

"Yeah?"

"Can this be our last?"

I looked at her. She was still immensely staring at the names of our friends. The sadness before even deepened. "Last on what?" I asked.

"The last time visiting this place."

"Taeyeon..."

"What's the point?" She looked at me. "They already died. We've seen them gone. What's the point of this?"

"Okay... If that's what you wanted then, I'm okay with it..."