The school bell rang for the final time for the day, signaling the end of the school semester and the beginning of Spring break. Ok Jin could sense the rest of her classmates gradually standing up and submitting their final assignment before rushing back to their seats to pack up as quickly as possible so that they could enjoy their freedom sooner. She furrowed her brows and stared blankly at the paper in front of her, unsure why they had to answer the questions on the paper because it was too early to predict the future, according to her. 

“Ya, are you still not done with that?” A voice interrupted her thoughts as she looked up at Moon Bin, her best friend of fifteen years. And yes, it was as if they had been best friends since birth. Similarly, to them, their father were classmates in high school and became close friends afterwards which is why their lives have revolved around each other, even though they occasionally dreaded each other’s company. 

“I can’t think of anything right now.” She replied, frankly and let out a sigh. 

Moon Bin sat down on his seat beside her and observed her with a teasing smile. “Just write whatever you can think of.”

“What did you write?’ 

Moon Bin hesitated for a while before answering her, “Dancing of course. You knew I always love to dance. If not, I would want to become an athlete.”

“You? As an athlete?” Ok Jin snorted as she rolled her eyes at him. 

“Unlike someone who nearly failed her physical fitness test.” Moon Bin grumbled as he packed his books in his bag. “You need to learn to be grateful that I trained you up for it.” 
 
“Well, says that someone who had a leg cramp in the middle of our swimming class.” Ok Jin reminded him, swinging her pen at him. 

“That’s because I did not warm up for it.” Moon Bin explained. 

“Over confidence at its best.”

The two of them continued bickering at each other until a chalk landed on Ok Jin’s head, knocking her back to her senses while their homeroom teacher’s voice boomed throughout the classroom. 

“Lee Ok Jin!” She screamed. “Where is your assignment?! You are the last one left!”

“Oh !” Ok Jin cursed silently as she quickly scribbled something down on her paper, ignoring the fact that Moon Bin is enjoying the sight of her being scolded by their teacher. She quickly walked to the front and handed over her paper, avoiding her teacher’s gaze as she returned to her seat to pack, only to realize that her bag and books had vanished, leaving her looking at an empty desk. When she turned to face the corridor, she saw that her best friend had already taken it out for her.

She immediately joined Moon Bin outside, knowing he was waiting for her as they would go home together after school as a pair without fail. A gust of cold wind blew against them as they exited their school, and Ok Jin noticed something floating in the air. 

“Dandelions.” She lifted her hand up as she grabbed hold of the pappus of the flower and admiring it on her hand. 

“Spring is finally here.” Moon Bin softly commented. 

“Do you have any plans in mind during the break? Do you want to join me and the girls for a day trip to Nami Island tomorrow?” Ok Jin asked, nudging him at the same time. 

Moon Bin smiled inwardly and shook his head. “No. And finally, I can get away from you. It’s a chore to see you every day in school, not to mention going to and off school with you.” 

Ok Jin remained quiet as she knew that he was just joking around like always does and did not care much. Anyway, that is how they communicate in their daily lives. They walked towards the food cart outside their school and joined the other students waiting in line for a quick snack before getting on their way home.

“Ajumma, annyeonghaseyo.” Moon Bin greeted the stall owner with a bow and a warm smile, revealing his crescent moon-shaped eyes that can mesmerized anyone on the spot. “Can I have a set of tteokbokki with fishcake soup and four sticks of grilled belly on the side?” 

“Ya,” Ok Jin stared at him unbelievably, “Are you a pig? You ate quite a lot during lunch break just now.” 

“I bought that for you, you idiot.” Moon Bin retorted as he pressed his finger on Ok Jin’s forehead which she slapped his finger away in return. 

“Since when have you been so good to me?” she asked, smiling widely from the food that she is going to eat and the simple gesture made by her best friend. 

Moon Bin cast a glance at her and moved his gaze to the front, as if he had not heard anything from her. He carefully took the food from the stall owner and handed it to Ok Jin, who gratefully accepted it as the two of them made their way home. 

The walk home was unusually awkward as Ok Jin watched Moon Bin from time to time, who was surprisingly quiet and deep in thought. She knew he preferred to be left alone at times like this where he was busy thinking about his dance practice or his upcoming swimming competition, so she avoided bothering him, but she noticed his demeanor was drastically different from the rest of the time. It was as if she could no longer read him anymore. 

“Did something happen?” She broke the silence between them.

“Hmm? Nothing.” lied Moon Bin, his gaze fixed on the front, fearing Ok Jin would notice his unusual self. Which in fact she did. 

“Liar.” said Ok Jin, matter-of-factly, “You’re not even acting like yourself today.”

Moon Bin disregarded her reply and attempted to change the subject. “So, what did you write in the assignment? What do you see yourself in ten years?”

“Wedding dress designer.” Ok Jin replied immediately knowing that what kind of response she will get in return from him and she braced herself for it. But, it turned out that she was completely wrong. Instead of laughing at her silly answer, Moon Bin nodded his head in acknowledgment. 

“You would make a wonderful designer.” He turned and looked into her eyes as he commented. 

“Ya.” Ok Jin stopped him as she stood in front, blocking his path. “Why are you acting weird?” 

“How am I weird?” Moon Bin inquired, clutching the straps of his bag tightly as he restrained himself from telling her the truth. “I was complimenting you.” 

“You would make fun of me. That’s you. That’s what you will normally do.” Ok Jin told him, her tone filled with worry and concern. “Bin ah, are you hiding something from me?” 

“You think too much.” Moon Bin shakes his head and looked away, “That’s the problem with you girls. Always over thinking.” 

“Are you sure you are okay?” Ok Jin asked again, staring at him intently as she unknowingly closes the gap between them.

“Yes, I’m fine.” The closeness between them did not bother Moon Bin as he glanced down at his watch and looked back up at her. In fact, he tries to cherish the moment before the next few words came out from his mouth unwillingly. “I need to make a move, Ok Jin ah. I’m afraid I can’t send you home today.”

“Ah, going for your dance practice again?” Ok Jin wondered out loud. 

Moon Bin let out a forced smile and nodded his head, trying to convince his best friend. 

“Ya, don’t train till too late. I wouldn’t want your mother to call me in the middle of the night and ask me to ask you to go home again.” Ok Jin told him off, cheekily. 

“Araseo! You’re bossier than her seriously.” Moon Bin replied with a hint of fake annoyance in his tone. 

Ok Jin returned with a playful punch to his arm, and he grabbed hold of her wrist naturally. They both looked at each other as if time had stopped for them but Moon Bin wished that they could stay like this forever and he knew he had to let her go. Maybe, this might be the last time he will see her, his close confidant and he hated the feeling so much for not telling her the truth because they have never kept secrets from one another no matter how embarrassing the matter is. 

“Ya, it hurts.” she told him after a while, patting his hand away as he unconsciously tightened his grip on her.

“Jin ah, can I hug you?” Moon Bin ignored her plea and continued to ask, surprising her with his sudden request. 

“Eh?!” 

“Can’t I?” Moon Bin’s voice lowered to a whisper, and Ok Jin observed a hint of disappointment in his response.

“Of course, you can, you idiot.” She smiled and opened her arms wide for him and he leaned in to embrace her tightly. “You sure, you’re okay?” 

Moon Bin nodded his head in return. “Enjoy yourself at Nami Island tomorrow.” He told her. 

“I will take lots of pictures to show you and make you regret your choice for not following me.” Ok Jin replied, hugging him back. 

Moon Bin closed his eyes and let out a deep silent sigh as he hugged her even tighter. “Make sure you stay out of trouble all the time. And that silly head of yours, it’s hopeless. Please learn how to take care of yourself.” 

“You are saying as if I’m a burden child, which clearly I am not.” She complained and pushed him away. 

“You are one since the day you are born.” Moon Bin retaliated. 

“Ya!” 

Moon Bin laughed at her reaction and gently fickle his finger on her forehead. “Now go.” 

With that, Ok Jin waved him goodbye with a warm smile and continued walking back home, not knowing she was leaving behind a teary-eyed Moon Bin who was suppressing his emotions and standing alone in the same spot as he watched her silhouette fade from his sight for the final time.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ok Jin fidgeted in her bed and checked the time in her phone, realizing it was seven in the morning.  She literally spent the entire night while intermittently staring at her phone, as if she were worried about missing any updates or messages that were coming in. She sat up and stared lazily outside her window as she pondered about the events that happened on the day before.

While she was having a blast and hanging out with her friends at Nami Island, she made sure to send Moon Bin every picture she took, but finds strange because he never responded to her texts. She initially assumed he was busy rehearsing his dance with his dance mates or working out, but when he did not answer her phone despite it being late at night, she started to feel anxious. There has never been a day when they did not speak to each other, and Ok Jin finds it unsettling that Moon Bin will always respond back to her, whether it be by phone call or text.

“Why is he ignoring me? Was it something that I said?” Ok Jin questions herself irritably as she fears that she might have said something bad that hurt him unintentionally. 

She sat up on her bed and quickly went to wash up herself and ran out of her house before her mother could even stopped her for breakfast. Whatever it was, she had to discuss it with him. She detested the sensation of holding her own emotions inside and will always confide in her best friend about it. 

Ok Jin hurried along the few streets where Moon Bin is residing as she passed by a group of workers who were moving furniture and loading it into a vehicle. She paid no attention at first until she overheard a conversation. 

“Never before have I encountered a family leaving with such a short notice.” One of them commented. 

“What is the unit number again?” Another worker inquired as he joined his colleagues on the move.

“Level 19, Unit number 04. Ya paili (faster)! We will not finish on time if we continue at our current pace.” 

Ok Jin immediately came to a halt as she felt her heart drop the moment she heard the unit number. “Isn’t that Bin’s house?” she thought as she looked up at a specific apartment as she thought her ears were playing tricks on her. She then looked around at the furniture more closely and realized how familiar they appeared to her. 

Refusing to accept the truth, she could feel tears swarming in her eyes as she picked up her phone again with shaky hands and dialed the same number she had been trying to reach for the past one day. 

But the result was still the same; no response. 

It was as if Moon Bin had abruptly vanished from her life without a reason. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hi everyone, 

Hope you guys will enjoy the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it but with a heavy heart. It’s been 16 days without Moon Binnie in our lives. I’ve been watching Astro videos and listening to their songs everyday just to remind myself that our brightest star is still with us in a way just that we couldn’t see him that’s all. 

Few days back, I was on my lunch break at work outside when I noticed dandelions at the side of the road, which reminded me of Moon Bin. I also saw videos of a white butterfly sighted at his memorial space in fantagio and dandelions seeds floating about at Eunwoo’s Thailand event. Things like this comforted me that he will always be watching over his loved ones and us because he is an angel sent to us. I’m hoping you feel the same way I do although we will always miss his smile and charming character physically. 

Hope you guys will have a wonderful weekend ahead. Stay happy and take care everyone <3

XOXO