A/N: Before reading this one-shot, I would like to say that, I hope you guys like my gift to all my readers and subscribers - the four chapters I posted last September 1. I am grateful for knowing that there are people reading my stories, and supporting Henber as much as I do.

Thank you for all the comments I have read and the support my Henber one-shots, flashfics, and drabbles have received so far.

“It is already past midnight. Who would that be?” Henry was eating some meal he cooked using whatever ingredients left inside the refrigerator. In his pajama bottoms and white shirt, he went towards the door.

Through the peephole, he saw someone; his heart skipped a beat and couldn’t help but to smile.

-x-

September 17, 2013, minutes away from her birthday, she packed her bag and left without saying a word to anyone about this plan of hers. She stopped herself by dropping by at his apartment, seeing him for the last time before leaving for good. There was no turning back for her at that point in his life.

She stood there in front of his house, waiting for him to stand by his window to see him, holding that bag of hers over her shoulder, but he didn’t.

She saw only his light turned off. It was a sign. That it was time for her to leave him behind. She entered the main door of his apartment building. The guard recognized her because she was frequently seen entering the building with Henry.

She stood in front of his mailbox. She removed the silver necklace she was wearing and slid it inside the small opening. The moment she heard the necklace dropping inside the metal mailbox, she left. He felt that was the right thing to do at that moment – leaving something special to him for him to treasure.

He gave her his necklace. Her leaving brought the purpose of him giving her that said jewelry in the first place to a dead end. She would always remember the day he gave it to her together with a promise. “If I am not there with you and you miss me, just look at the pendant, it will remind you of me. In this way, I am always with you.”

It symbolized that hope of being together, being in love for the years to come, was now just memories she chose to leave behind. She knew he would take care of it, even if the owner wasn’t coming back anytime soon or ever. At least she gave it back to its original owner bearing the same promise, but now it was his turn to hold on to that promise. 

She was part of her past the moment she took that step away from his house and took one last glance to him bedroom window, curtains closed, lights turned off.

Like watching a play, theater’s curtains would fall and lights on the stage would be turned off, marking the end of story acted that night but the thing was in her case no one’s watching. No one ever did.

Even Henry never attended the play and even stayed to see the first act or scene to know what was really going on. It wasn’t Amber’s fault he wasn’t there when she bowed and then looked at the empty seats before her. She never told him about the one woman show anyways. She swore to herself, she would never burden him with her problems.   

-x-

She tried to smile at him. All she could show was her faint smile. He stepped aside for her to walk inside the apartment.

Amber saw that nothing changed in the apartment. Being there brought her almost to tears. She fought back the tears from falling. “What are you doing here?” Words had finally been spoken.

Finally, he heard her voice again. “I ask you the same thing.”

“I asked first.” She looked at with her doe eyes.

He touched the pendant of the necklace he was wearing. “I came here looking for you the moment I saw this necklace downstairs upon checking my mail. I tried calling you even if I know you wouldn’t pick up. I sat here,” he told her, sitting down, “at this same spot, waiting for you for hours, telling myself I was wrong, telling myself…convincing myself you would come back. And you did, sadly, two years later.”

“That’s still doesn’t answer my question. What are you doing here, Henry?” She put down her bag and sat at the single-seater sofa near Henry.

“Look around you, Amber.” He couldn’t hold back his tears anymore. “Everything in this apartment, in your apartment reminds me of you. And I don’t want to forget about you.”

“You should have, Henry. You should have chosen to forget about me.”

“I would if I could but I couldn’t.” He wiped his eyes.

“If you put your heart and mind into it, you could.”

“If only my heart and mind would let me. All this time, I kept this apartment, paying the rent, taking care of your things because I took the chance, the possibility of you coming back, wanting to see your old stuff again. I know you would be happy to see that they have been taken care of. Your apartment, your things, everything is still here waiting for you like I am.”

“Since you are living here, what happened to your old apartment?”

“I let the guys stay there.”

“Oh. They are still here.”

“Yeah, too much work to do lately.” He realized something as he stared at her. “No one is meant to know you are here, isn’t it? That is what you are great at anyways, not letting anyone to know.”

“I am sorry for leaving you behind because I gave up with my dream. I never wanted to hurt you, never in a million years, but I just need to go away from here. It kept on reminding of how things ended up, how wrong my decision coming here when I was 15 just for a silly dream.” She bowed down her head, crying.

Henry knelt in one knew in front of her, holding her hand, “Your dream wasn’t silly. Those people who crushed them for you were. They had failed to see your potential, your talent and they just let it slip away. Stop blaming yourself.”

 “I should have said something but I didn’t. I just let them walk over us, neglect us.”

“Victoria, Luna, Sulli, and Krystal called and talked to everyone they knew who knows you here and in America just to find you, just to know what happened to you. All of us did but we couldn’t find you. We just need to accept your decision and whatever reason you had for leaving. We had our own ways on accepting like in my case, I stayed here. That was my coping mechanism.”

She laughed.

“What’s so funny? I am serious here and you are laughing.” Clearly he was acting he was hurt as he stood up, and went back to the sofa to seat.

“Coping mechanism”

“Did I use it in a wrong way?”

“No. You just used it. You sounded like a nerd.”

“You are the one who’s wearing eyeglasses, Nerdber”

“I missed this. I missed you the most.”

“I missed you too, my hot nerd.”

“Well I can’t deny I am hot.”

“Am I the only who knows you’re back?”

Amber kept silent.

“You mean you are just visiting?”

“I came here not sure if I will stay.”

“Stay. Please. You could stay here until you are ready to face them even if it will take a month or two.”

“When I heard the talks about focusing the group’s efforts on solo activities for a while, and the rumors about disbanding, I was pissed. I was disappointed. I lost hope. I wanted to run away from all that drama, and I did, without thinking of the consequences. I asked the company to let me go, and they did. It was an easy process and that convinced me even more. It was too easy for them to let me go. Now, I don’t know what to say to Vic, Sunyoung, Jinri and Soojung. After I left, all group activities were on hold, focused on their solo activities, and eventually, disbandment. I keep tabs on them, that's the least I could do. And don’t worry. I keep tabs on you too.”

“For sure, they would be happy to see you again.”

“They became successful on their own, without the group holding everyone back. Victoria had successful movies in China. Luna is always busy with musicals like she always wanted. Krystal and Sulli are busy with acting in dramas and movies. Everything turned out great.”

“What about you?”

“I am still on track on fulfilling my other dream. I am going to college studying Music, and improving my Korean and Chinese. They are a bit rusty now. More language you know could give you leverage compared to others in composing. I learn that from you.”

“Of course, you learned from the great Henry Lau. You have been around me too much that I have influenced you.”

“You are full of yourself because you have successful first studio album and two mini albums. Success got to your head. And speaking of albums,”

“What?”

“Where are my copies?”

“Didn’t you buy yourself copies?”

“I did. But it is different when they come from you with signatures on them of course.”

“You just gonna sell them online.” He kid.

“Excuse me, how dare you accuse me of something like that? But let us stop for a sec and think about what you said,” She did mathematical calculations, index finger writing numbers in the air, even redoing her calculations to make sure if it was right. “That much. Okay, where are my copies?” She was kidding as well.

“Let me get them for you.” Henry stood up and went towards the bedroom.

Amber looked around the apartment. She couldn’t believe that he chose to stay here. She felt like she didn’t even left seeing her old stuff and of course, some of Henry’s things from his apartment. Her old apartment looked like she and Henry were living together. She smiled at that thought.

“Here.” Henry gave her the albums she wanted. “Good luck selling them.”

“Henry.”

He smiled at her.

“I can’t sell these now. They have my name on it.”

“Oh well. Sorry to foil your plan.”

“Be thankful, I am too tired to be mad at you.” She lied on the sofa where he was seating a while ago.

“This is still your apartment, Amber. Sleep in the bedroom.”

“Beside you?”

“I was thinking I would just sleep on the sofa but if that is what you want, Amber, I am up for it.”

“No, I was asking you a question. Beside you?” she repeated her question. “Listen to how I said that.”

“Question or not, you need to sleep in a comfy bed. The perk is that you would sleep beside me.” He led Amber to bedroom.

“Mr. Bread, Mrs. Bread and Breadette, I miss them so much.” She saw her stuff toys still in her room. She was hugging them as she lied on her bed.

“I was actually surprised to see how many stuff toys you have. I had been to your bedroom quite a few times before you left, but when I started to live here, I noticed you have so many stuff toys.”

“Fine, you have my permission to throw them out.”

“Really? You are serious about that. I start putting them on garbage bags now.” Henry tried to get Mr. Bread and his family away from her.

She tightly hugged them. “I am just kidding.”

“Forever a kid, Amber. Forever an adorable kid.”

“True that.” She smiled at him, still hugging her stuff toys.

-x-

In the middle of the night, Amber slowly moved away from Henry’s embrace, walking slowly, without making a sound towards the bedroom door. Put her shoes on and grabbed her bag at the living room, ready to leave Henry again.

She went there, not knowing if she would be staying for good or not. And clearly, she already made her decision.

“Goodbye Amber.” He was standing by the bedroom door as Amber was already at the main door. “Finally, I have said goodbye to you. I am not going to stop you. Even before, I wasn't going to stop you. You have your own way of dealing with your problems. I understand that.”

“I am sorry.”

“Don’t be.” She then walked towards Henry and kissed him.

“You can always go back. I will be always here for you. I will be waiting.” And he kissed her.

“I know.”

They stood there, looking at each other since it will be long time before they could see other again.  

“Goodbye Henry”

“Goodbye, Amber” And for the second time he had said this to her but it was his first time watching her close the door behind her, leaving him again.

He bowed down his head and sighed, the moment he heard the sound of the door closing was also the moment he started to miss her again.

-x-