It had been nearly a month since Shin's passing.  As I sat at a cafe, waiting for Jonghyun to appear, I remembered meeting his parents at his funeral. His dad was young, in his mid-thirties, but his hair was a little bit gray than usual and his face looked really worned out. His mother looked as haggardly as his father, yet she was gentle and soft spoken. "When we would come visit Shin," her voice was low, but loud enough for me to hear, " He would always talk about you with a big smile on his face-" I saw a trace of a smile from her lips, but it didn't reach her eyes. "We were very glad to see that somebody was easing up his days in this hospital," his father spoke grimly, "Especially since we weren't there to do it ourselves. We both have full-time jobs that would allow us to pay the hospital bills, so we could barely see him."

"I can only imagine how that feels..." I muttered softly to myself as a cold wind caressed my face. "How what feels?" Jonghyun sat down in the chair in front of me and rested his head on his hands with his elbows pressed against the small, wooden table. "Working, all the time," I began to explain myself mindlessly with my hands, "Knowing your sick child is at the hospital and all you can do is worry." I let my hands fall on the table and stared out into the streets. Jonghyun grabbed hold of my hands and squeezed them, "It's been a month Laila. I know you were close to him, but you haven't been yourself lately, and I don't think he'd want you to mourn him for so long."

"Not myself?" I repeated him absent-mindedly, as I noticed a group of elementary kids playing around in the park across the street. "We've been really worried for you Laila, your graduation is coming up soon, and you should be studying for your finals, but you're always blanked out every time we see you. You have to say good-bye to-"

"Shin?" a little boy with jet black hair, was jumping around and had caught my attention. I rasied my head higher, to try and get a better look. "Laila!" my head snapped towards Jonghyun and I felt a slight blush redden my face, "Sorry." He frowned with concern, "Have you been paying attention to anything I've been telling you?" I gently took my hands from underneath his and folded them on my lap, "Yes, of course." He sat back and crossed his legs, "Would you like to respond to what I just said?"

I nodded, "I just think it was too soon and he was too young. But I'm happy that his suffering ended. I just wish I could have said goodbye to him, properly." From the corner of my eye I could see the little boy cross the street and enter the cafe. He sat at the coffee bar and spoke to the person working there, I could only see the back of his head. Curiosity and desperation tugged at my heart. It can't be..

"Okay. We'll be on our way," Jonghyun put his phone away just as I realized he had been talking on the phone, "That was Key, I'm needed at the studio. Would you like to take our order to go, so that I can drop you off at home?" I smiled and nodded slightly, my heart beating faster as I approached the coffee bar.

"Excuse me, we'd like to take our order home. Something came up," Jonghyun spoke impatiently as I turned my attention to the boy. I felt my lips part as I struggled to breathe. His small head turned towards mine as he felt my gaze. Big brown eyes and a toothy smile. He looked so much like Shin. The boy smiled at me and I smiled back in response. Jonghyun slung a lazy arm over my shoulder, "Are you really okay? You seem out of it."

I nodded and felt my face wrinkle into what might have been the first genuine smile I've expressed in two months.

Five Months Later

"Why is it so hot?!" I fanned myself with my hand as Taemin tied my hair. "Your hair sure has grown longer," I felt a nice breeze caress me as I finally removed my cap and gown. "Laila!!!" I heard a familiar voice yell and suddenly I was being swung around in the air, "I can't believe we graduated!!!" I chuckled loudly and smiled, "I knew you'd get pass that literature final. Congratulations Kai!" I hugged my best friend and chatted with a couple of classmates before heading over to my car. Taemin was sitting in the drivers seat, waiting for me.

He looked like a god; his jacket was thrown in the back seat and his shirt was untucked with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He smiled widely at me from his aviator glasses, "Why are you just staring at me like that?" I smiled back shyly and shook my head. "No reason," I replied as I closed the car door behind me. We drove in silence, the radio playing loudly and happy before us. I'd glance at him once in a while, and he'd look back with a smile, making me shy away instinctively.

It wasn't until I saw the, "Now Leaving Seoul" sign that my senses became hyper active. "Taemin?" I watched as we drove by the sign before turning to him, "Where are we going?" He let out a low chuckle and continued driving without saying anything. Not fair! "Lee Taemin!" I demanded, "Tell me right now or I'll jump out of the car!"

"Yah! Don't exaggerate!" I could feel his eyes grow wide with caution from behind his sunglasses and I hel back a laugh. "It's a surprise!" he continued explaining, " Did you really think the guys couldn't come because they had an interview to attend? The wouldn't miss it for the world!" There was a small silence for a couple of seconds until I decided to probe some more, "Where are we going?!"

"You'll see," he smiled coyly as he drove through the high way, across a sun that will soon set.

I felt a pair of rough hands shake my shoulder, "Jagiya, wake up. We're here." My eyelids rose slowly and I felt them flutter in the darkness. The car wasn't moving and we were parked inside a house. As I sat up, I looked around in recognition. "No way!" I chimed with excitement as I finally realized where we were. He nodded, his expression matching my own, "Jooyoung and Jongin invited us here again," he climbed out of the car and walked around to open my door, "Come on, everyone's waiting." And without hesitation, I took my lovely boyfriend's hand.