“It’s a new day!” Ellie said as she walked into Kris’s hospital room. It had been a week since the events happened and thankfully, Kris’s surgery was successful. The only setback was that Kris was no longer allowed to do any strenuous activity for a long time since his wound might open up again.

            Ever since he got out of the surgery, though, Ellie had been visiting him every single day. Sometimes her parents came along and sometimes Chen and Xiumin came along, but she came every day without fail. “Good morning to you, too,” Kris grumbled as he got up.

            “Are you not happy today? Don’t you know what today is?” Ellie asked with her hands on her waist. “Today’s the day that you’re getting released from the hospital.”

            “So I can do what, sit at home and do nothing?” Kris asked.

            “You’re not going to just sit there,” Ellie said. “I’m going to make sure that you do something. You’re still Kris, you’re still my protector and bodyguard and my best friend, so stop being all depressed and get up. My parents are going to be here any minute.”

            “Say, what’s happening with Lay?” Kris wondered as he slowly sat up on the bed.

            “I don’t know,” Ellie sighed. “Chen hasn’t really told me anything about it, but if I remember correctly, his hearing is today. They’re pushing it forward because apparently Chen’s father is a big underground mafia guy or whatever he did, and they want to get this case sorted out quickly.”

            “Do you know what they’re doing regarding the case? Chen and Xiumin, that is.”

            “No,” Ellie said as she started packing up some of Kris’s things. “I’m assuming that they’re going to say self-defense, right? I mean, it only makes sense to say self-defense because that’s what it was. That guy was threatening you with guns and with his minions, so it was only natural for Lay to shoot him in order to defend himself. Anyway, you got hurt down there. I’d say that self-defense is the way to go.”

            “I think you’d make a great lawyer,” Kris said with a deep chuckle. “You seem like you know what you’re doing.”

            “Maybe,” Ellie sighed as she looked at Kris, “but I guess we’ll just have to see.”

            “You have to make your decision soon, though,” Kris said, “graduation is like right around the corner.”

            “It’s a little more than right around the corner, but I guess you’re right.”

            “I always am,” Kris said with a gentle smile as he looked at Ellie.

“He’ll be okay, right?” Chen worriedly asked Xiumin.

            “He’ll be alright,” Xiumin said as he put a supportive hand on his brother. “Thanks to Ellie’s parents, we have one of the best lawyers around. I’m sure he’ll be alright. He didn’t do anything wrong. Lay didn’t do anything wrong.”

            “Your brother is right,” Ellie’s mother said as she approached the two.

            “Ah, thank you,” Xiumin said bowing once he saw Ellie’s parents approaching and Chen followed suit. “Thank you for everything you’ve done.”

            “It’s our pleasure,” she said with a gentle smile. “I know how much you guys have helped Ellie and Kris and this is our repayment.”

            “Don’t worry about it too much,” Ellie’s father said, “I’m sure Lay is going to be just fine, nothing is going to happen to him. Now if you excuse us, Kris is getting released from the hospital today and we’re going to go pick him up.”

            “Of course, of course,” Xiumin said, “we thank you for everything, and I’m sure Lay would thank you as well.”

            “It’s no problem, we’ll see you later, alright?” Ellie’s mother asked as Xiumin and Chen nodded their heads as they watched them disappear.

            “Do they know about us leaving?” Xiumin wondered. “Did you tell Ellie about us leaving?”

            “I briefly mentioned it,” Chen sighed as he looked at his brother. “But other than that…I haven’t really seen Ellie very often.”

            “You like her, right?” Xiumin asked and Chen slowly nodded his head. “What’s going to happen to you two after we leave? Are you sure you want to leave?”

            “I’m sure,” Chen said with a definite nod of his head. “I’m sure. I don’t know what I want to do with my life and after all this time being separated from everyone, I just want time to spend with my family, it’ll be a time to find myself.”

            “Alright then,” Xiumin said as he looked at his watch. “We better get inside, it’s going to start soon.”

“Did you hear?” Ellie’s father asked her while they were sitting at breakfast the next morning.

            “Hear what?” Ellie curiously asked as she looked at her father.

            “Lay was dismissed of all of the charges. The lawyer that we hired for him just informed us of what happened this morning,” her father announced.

            “Really? That’s great, good for him,” Kris said with an approving smile. “After all, it was self-defense.”

            “He really did nothing wrong, it was that man,” her mother sighed. “I guess it’s good that he’s gone. Ellie, are you feeling alright?” her mother asked as she looked at her with a worried face.

            “I’m alright,” Ellie said with a smile. “I’m going to go to school now.”

            “Alright, have a nice day,” her mother said with a gentle smile.

            “Here, I’ll drive you,” Kris said as he began to get up, but Ellie stopped him.

            “You’re still recovering, you’ve only been out of the hospital for a day,” Ellie said with a chuckle. “I’ll be perfectly fine walking.”

            “But still, it’s far,” Kris attempted to argue.

            “But it’s what I’ve been doing since you went to the hospital,” Ellie said with a chuckle. “I assure you I’ll be fine. I’ll see you all later.”

            With that, Ellie made her way to the front room and grabbed her backpack before heading out the door, only to be stopped by a familiar figure standing right outside of her door. “How are you doing?” Chen asked with a smile.

            “Good, how about you?” Ellie asked. “I heard about what happened with your brother, congrats.”

            “It’s all thanks to your parents,” Chen said as he gestured towards the house with his head. “It’s all thanks to them.”

            “Well they know that your brother did no harm and after all, you guys helped with Kris, too.”

            “But not as much as you’ve helped us, but that’s not the real reason I’m here, Ellie.”

            “Then what’s the real reason?” she curiously asked. “I mean, you aren’t enrolled in school since you don’t have your uniform on anyway…”

            “I’ll walk you to school, how about that?’ Chen suggested.

            “I’d like that,” Ellie said with a smile.

            The walk to school started out with silence. Chen didn’t know what to say and Ellie couldn’t think of something to say to break the awkwardness. Ever since Chen told her that he was going to be leaving with his family, Ellie was dreading the day. Somehow she wanted to talk about it, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. She knew that he liked her and she returned the same feelings, but if Chen was going to leave, then what was the point in having a relationship with one another.

            “So…” Chen awkwardly began as he shoved his hands into his pockets, “how’s Kris holding up?”

            “He’s holding up. He just got released yesterday and he wants to jump right into things, but of course, his injuries still need to heal,” Ellie said with a chuckle, “but I’m sure he’ll be back to normal in no time.”

            “That’s good, that’s good.”

            “How about Lay?” Ellie wondered. “How’s he after the trial and everything.”

            “Good, he’s spending some time with Luhan-hyung,” Chen said, “he’s spending some time with him before we leave.”

            “Ah…that’s right,” Ellie quietly whispered.

            It was a hard reality to accept that he was leaving. Ellie would admit that over time, she grew fond of Chen and she would miss him when he left. However, it was something that Chen needed to do, he needed to leave for a short while, not only for himself, but also for his family. They had gone through too much, and while it might’ve been okay to stay in Korea, they all came to the unanimous decision that it might be best to leave for a short while to calm themselves.

            “Listen,” Chen said as he and Ellie stopped out in front of the school gate. “I’m leaving today…right after this actually.”

            “You’re what?” Ellie asked in disbelief.

            “I’m leaving right after this,” Chen sighed as he slowly looked into Ellie’s eyes. “This is my goodbye to you, this is the last time that I’ll probably be seeing you for a while.”

            “Do you know where you guys are going to go?”

            “We’re going to go to Japan for a short while.”

            “Japan? Why there?” Ellie curiously asked.

            “It turns out that we have relatives there. Look, Ellie, I don’t know how long I’ll be gone or what’ll happen to me after I return, but just know that I’ve liked you all this time. I really have liked you and only you. I’ve never liked Jiyeon or anyone else in the school. I’ve never done bad things with my life, and even though my father is who he is, that doesn’t mean that I’ll be exactly like him.”

            “I know,” Ellie said with a nod of her head as the tears began to gather in her eyes. “I know you’re not like your father. You’re Chen, you’re Kim Jongdae and no one can change that and I believe in you.”

            “Thank you. Thank you for believing in me,” Chen said as he slowly hugged Ellie. “Thank you for always believing in me and I hope you’ll believe in me in the future, too.”

            “Who says I won’t believe in you? As long as Chen exists, I’ll believe in him. I’ll wait forever for him if I have to.”

            “I don’t want you to do that,” Chen said as he pulled himself away from Ellie. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be away and feelings can change over time, especially with distance. If you find someone who can make you happier than I can make you, then I want you to chase that person. Don’t go waiting for me, live your life, alright?”

            “How can I live it if you’re not here?” Ellie questioned as the beginning tears began falling out of her eyes. “How can I live my life if the one person that I know I want to be with right now is leaving?”

            “I have to do this,” Chen softly whispered. It hurt him to see Ellie cry, but he had to leave, he just had to. “I grew up in a difficult situation and I feel as though this will help me find myself, this will help me learn about myself and who I’m supposed to be. I would never leave you for no reason, Ellie, but this…I have to do this.”

            “I understand,” Ellie softly whispered as she took a step away from Chen. “So I’m assuming that this is goodbye then.”

            “No,” Chen said shaking his head. “It’s an I’ll see you later.”

            “So then I guess I’ll see you later,” Ellie said with a slow nod of her head before she turned around to walk into school.

            “Ellie! Wait!” Chen called before she could get too far.

            “Hmm?” she asked as she turned around.

            “There’s something I need to do,” Chen said as he approached Ellie, “there’s something I need to do before I leave.”

            “And what’s that?” Ellie playfully asked with a knowing look.

            “This,” Chen said as he pressed their lips together. “So I’ll see you later then, right?” Chen asked as soon as they pulled away from one another.

            “I’ll see you later,” Ellie said with a nod of her head before she walked through the school gate, but not without taking one last look at Chen before disappearing through the doors.

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What is going to happen in the future? Will Chen and Ellie reunite with one another?

Here's Chapter 31. Hope you enjoyed :D

And the next chapter will indeed be the final chapter. It will take place sometime in the future, not entirely sure how long in the future right now, but maybe while Ellie's still in college. How will things turn out for the two after being apart? What will have happened in their lives since then? What will be the ending? 

So have a good morning, good afternoon, or goodnight. See you soon with the final chapter :)