The ticking of a clock could be heard throughout one lonely apartment as it counted seconds, minutes, years.

                Minji stayed unmoving, sitting at the dining table and staring at the small jar that was on the shelf above her kitchen sink. Although the jar was sprinkled with a layer of dust, the small, multi-colored paper stars that filled it were still vibrant, in colors of blue, red, green, orange, and purple.

                Finally taking her eyes off the container, she slowly got up from her chair and made her way to a drawer, where she picked out a pair of scissors and a white sheet of paper.

                She sat back down in her seat and cut two thin strips, laying them out in front of her. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, reliving a moment from exactly four years ago.

----- 

                The sound of crickets could be heard throughout the grassy field where two friends were crouched over a backpack.

                “Since it’s your birthday, but I couldn’t get you a cake, I’ve prepared something else,” Taemin said, pulling an assortment of objects from his bag. Different colored papers, a pair of scissors, and a glass jar the size of his hand.

                Minji looked on curiously as he cut a long thin slip of blue paper and folded it into a flattened knot, making a pentagon appear on the straight strip. He expertly folded the remainder of the strip around the pentagon, and then pinched each corner, creating a mini star.

                He took her hand. His cold touch cooled her warm skin. Unfurling her fingers from the fist they had unconsciously formed, he placed the star into her palm, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, “Now, make a wish.”

                His warm breath tickled her skin. As he backed away, Minji noticed her heart racing, but decided to ignore it. Thinking intensely, she silently came up with a wish.

                “Well, what did you wish for?” Taemin asked, breaking the stillness.

                Minji bashfully answered, “Uh, well, I wished to finally pass my driving test.” She blushed, expecting to be ridiculed for such a trivial desire.

                “That’s a good wish. You should put it in here,” Taemin said, holding out the uncapped jar, the opening tilted towards her. She did as he instructed, tossing the star in and praying her wish would come true.

                 “It’s sure to come true now,” he said, as if he had read her mind. Beaming brightly at her, he asked, “Do you want to do more? It is your birthday, after all.”

                 She nodded, and proceeded to watch him cut several more strips, differing in color. He handed one to her, and held one in his own hand. “You fold it like this,” he demonstrated, and she copied. His ended up perfect, and hers, lopsided. She crinkled her nose and frowned, staring at the result in her hand. He chuckled once he saw her expression. “Don’t worry, you’ll get better with practice. Let’s fill this jar with wishes, okay?”

               She grinned at him. “Okay. But for this one,” Minji held up her first self-made star, “I wish to make better stars.”

               “Okay,” Taemin replied. “With this one,” he held up his own star, “I wish I’ll be able to spend many more birthdays with you.”

               Minji felt her heart grow warm as he dropped the star in the glass container.

-----

               Her hands shaking, Minji picked up one of the strips of paper and folded it into a flattened knot, making a pentagon appear on the strip. She continued to make the rest of the folds until she squeezed each corner, and made a perfectly even, tiny, star.

                She took another strip and began to make another star. After making the folds and squeezing the corners, this star turned out to be very different from the previous one, the sides disproportionate and uneven.

                Both stars in hand, she walked over to the sink counter. She stood on her tippy-toes and reached for the glass jar. Once she grasped it with her fingers, she brought it down and placed it on the counter. Uncapping the top, she didn’t dare gaze into the opening to see the numerous stars, she was too afraid of heartache.

                She took the perfect star in a weak fist, careful not to damage it. She held it over the opening, ready to drop the wish into the jar at any given moment.

                “I wish I could forget you,” she whispered. The lump in made it hard to speak any louder.

                Closing her eyes once again, she let a painful memory arise. 

-----

                Nothing could be heard in the apartment as the friends-turned-lovers shouted at one other.

                What had started out as playful teasing turned nasty as they continued pointing out one another’s flaws and weaknesses, each and every little annoying quirk.

                “Your family is always ragging on me, picking out every little thing I do wrong. Right now you’re doing the same! You can be so difficult to please,” Minji exclaimed, shaking her head in frustration.

                “Like you never point out the faults in me, right,” Taemin replied, cold anger in his voice. “You’re always telling me what your friends think about me, their criticisms. It’s hard to live up to your standards. I’m not perfect, you know. Neither are you!”

                 “I wouldn’t be so picky if you just put some effort into finding out things I like, things that interest me, instead of dragging me to do things that only you want to do,” she retaliated, crossing her arms.

                 On and on the verbal match went, never pausing, neither side relenting. Finally Minji had enough, she could not stand being offended anymore.

                 “Shut up!” she screamed in a wild fury. Everything about his face, expression, demeanor, and voice incensed her. Anger clouded her thoughts, and she said three powerful words. “I hate you.”

                It wasn’t true, of course. But she knew it would hurt him, and in the heat of the moment, that was all she had wanted to do.  

                She watched Taemin’s reaction carefully. The normally animated features of his face had disappeared. He blankly stared at her, then turned his back and began walking around the apartment, gathering his things.

                “What are you doing?” she asked, confused.

                “I’m leaving,” he said, carelessly throwing his belongings into a suitcase. “Since I’m such a burden to you, and we obviously have our problems with each other.”

                Minji felt a stab in her heart, and immediately regretted ever fighting, but her stubbornness wouldn’t let her seem weak. “Fine. Leave. I don’t care,” she said. She felt immature, acting this way, but was too afraid to tell him what was really on her mind, how sorry she really was.

                She wasn’t able to summon up her courage until Taemin put his hand on the handle of the door. “I’m sorry,” she blurted out, breaking her stony façade. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. Please don’t go. Stay, I’m sorry.”

                He stopped, but did not turn around. Her hope that he would stay grew; a small smile appeared on her face, ready to make up.

                But then the door opened, and Taemin stepped out, not once looking back at her.

                Minji’s expression fell.

                As soon as the door clicked shut, she crumpled to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. She let out the tears she had been holding back the whole time and sobbed, wondering how things turned so bad.

-----

                She opened her eyes and stared at her fist, still held over the jar. “I wish I could just forget you,” Minji repeated. A tear delicately ran down her cheek.

                Instead of dropping the star into the vessel, her hand tightened its grip and crushed the paper.

                Stunned, she let the star fall from her hand onto the counter. For a moment she stared at the now crumpled star, wondering why her hand did not listen to her brain. Then she caught sight of the other star, sitting on the other side of the counter, still in its original, irregular shape.

                Hesitating, she slowly brought her hand to it and gently picked it up. She didn’t hold it in a fist this time, but let it just sit in the crest of her hand.

                Her hand extended over the top of the jar and stayed there, unmoving. She could do nothing but just look at the star and think of the wish she had thought of when she made it.

                “I wish,” she said, trying to draw out the strength to say what was truly in her heart, “I wish you’d come back.” Her voice was barely audible.

                Looking at the lumpy white star in her palm, she realized how ridiculous her wish was and shook her head. She moved to throw the star into the trash can.

                The sound of the doorbell cut through the silence of the apartment and startled her. Minji gasped, her hand jerked suddenly, and the star tumbled into the top of the jar.

                She frantically grabbed the jar and looked inside. Time seemed to stop; she couldn’t breathe. All she could see was the single, startling white star against the collection of colors.

                A knocking at the door reminded her of the waiting visitor.

                In a daze and still holding the jar tightly, she shuffled her slippered feet to the front door. She put her hand on the handle, and her heart skipped a beat, as if it knew what was hiding right around the corner.  

               Pulling open the door, her sight fell upon the person standing in front of her.

               He was there, his hair perfectly tousled, his eyes reflecting regret, and dozens of tiny paper stars spilling out from the pile in his hands.

               Holding them out, Taemin spoke. “I wish you would forgive me. I wish you knew that I forgave you as soon as I stepped out of the apartment. I wish we could forget that stupid fight. I wish I could hold you in my arms, and never let you go again.” There was sorrow in his voice, but he still managed to give her a shy grin. “I wish you have everything you want today, because you deserve it. I wish you have a happy birthday.”

              The corners of her lips curved up in a tentative smile, and her eyes sparkled. Saying nothing, she held out the small jar that was in her hands, tilting the opening towards him.