Final exams were just around the corner for the four as they all felt the same exhaustion and stress in their studies. Taeng was especially stressed, on top of studying, working part-time, and talking to Tiffany, he felt himself burning out every night. He would stay up late to get everything done all while ensuring his girlfriend that he was getting the appropriate amount of sleep. He especially did his best to get rest as he didn’t want to worry the latter by ending up in the hospital again from overworking himself. 

On top of the stress and anxiety, his excitement kept building up as the day Tiffany would be in Korea inches closer.  Every time he would come home from school, he couldn’t help but stare at the calendar with the date circled with a big red marker: “She’s here.” The day was getting closer and closer and Taeng knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep until the day came.

 Taeng was busily reading his textbook, highlighting important sections and jotting down extra details in his notebook. The sounds of his pencil scribbling against the white sheet could only be heard in his room.

His phone vibrates, and he quickly picks it up knowing it was Tiffany replying to him. He smiles as he replies before setting it back down on his desk to resume his studies. As he picked up his pencil, he heard a knock on his door.

“Come on,” Taeng yelled with his focus still on the textbook in front of him. He hears the door swing open and he averts his attention to the dark-haired boy standing by the doorframe who had a smile on his face.

“Hey, Yul, what’s up?” He asked, a smile forming seeing his best friend.

 “Nothing much, I wanted to take a break from studying and see how you were doing,” Yul placidly said, rubbing his eyes from exhaustion.

Taeng tiredly sighs, “About the same as you. Man, I swear every year just gets harder and harder.”

“That’s college for you,” Yul chuckled, nodding his head in agreement.

 He takes a seat on Taeng’s bed and stretches, feeling relaxed for the first time since he got home.

“Have you told Tiffany yet?” Yul excitedly asked, moving topics to get both their minds off studying for a bit.

Taeng smiles and shakes his head, “Not yet…” He looks down to the ground with his smile still strong, “But I will tonight when she wakes up.”

“Why tonight?” The dark-haired latter asked, tilting his head in confusion.

Taeng looks up from the ground, his smile transforming to a wide grin. “Because it’s our 1 year anniversary.”

Yul’s eyes widen, he couldn’t believe that the dorky boy in front of him and Tiffany had been together for 1 year already. It felt just like yesterday they were strangers awkwardly video chatting and getting to know each other.

Time sure did fly by.

Yul smiles back at the blonde-haired boy and chuckles. He lets out a breath and shakes his head in disbelief.

“It’s been 1 year huh?” He said softly.

Taeng nods, “Crazy right? It feels longer to be honest but… it’s been one amazing year.”

 “I’m happy for you man,” Yul said with sincerity in his voice, “I’ve never seen you so happy and in love. You deserve someone as amazing as Tiffany.”

The blonde-haired boy chuckles again, sighing out of happiness as he stares at his best friend who shared the same happiness as him.

“We wouldn’t have existed in each other’s lives if it weren’t for you and Jessica,” He playfully argued, watching as the latter chuckled along with him.

 “I just can’t believe it… You and Tiffany, in a long-distance relationship for 1 year. Wasn’t easy though right?” Yul asked, wanting to know how Taeng felt about being in his first-ever long-distance relationship.

“Of course it wasn’t easy,” Taeng started, a soft look on his face, “But… every time I would see her on my screen, every time she would say my name, look me in my ‘virtual’ eyes and say ‘I love you’ …. I knew it was all worth it.”

Yul couldn’t help his smile grow wider seeing the dreamy look on the latter’s face. He knew long-distance relationships weren’t easy. He and Jessica have been in one for so long that there were struggles and downfalls. There were times when giving up seemed easier. But as the blonde latter had explained with a goofy smile on his face.

Everything was worth it.

“You seem so perky today Tiff, what’s going on?” Jessica said as she places her phone on the counter.

Tiffany’s smile had been bright and apparent since they woke up and she couldn’t put her finger as to why she was cheerful. She knew it wasn’t because they had final exams coming up, that would be the last thing to make her smile.

The blonde beauty watches as Tiffany shifts her gaze from her phone that was resting in her hands to meet hers with the same smile still on her face.

“It’s been one-year Jess…” Tiffany dreamily said, her smile growing wider that she felt her cheeks starting to ache.

Jessica her eyebrow in confusion, “One year?”

Tiffany energetically nods, “It’s Taeng’s and I’s one-year anniversary.”

The latter felt her eyes widen in shock hearing the news. She felt the corners of her lip tug up into a smile as she squeals with excitement. She takes Tiffany’s hands and squeezes them tightly trying to contain herself from jumping up and down.

“No way! It’s already been one year?!” She exclaimed, “Congratulations Tiffany! I am so so happy for you guys.”

Tiffany chuckles, squeezing her best friends’ hands back, “Thank you, Jessica. I’m so happy too. I can’t believe Taeng and I have been together for one year.”

“See, it wasn’t so bad, right? Even though you guys aren’t physically together, you made a year. It passed by so fast and you’re still in love with him,” Jessica stated, feeling so happy for the dark-haired beauty’s milestone.

“So in love with him Jess… You have no idea,” Tiffany breathlessly said, running a hand through her hair.

“Do you have any big plans for it?” Jessica asked.

“We’re going to video chat soon. No studying, no talk about school and final exams,” Tiffany briefly stated, “Just me and him… expressing our love and how happy we are.”

 “Awww, that’s so sweet,” Jessica cooed.

Immediately Tiffany embraces Jessica in a hug, taking Jessica aback but she immediately wraps her arm around her best friend who was resting on her shoulder.

“Thank you, Jessica…” Tiffany said softly against her, tightening her hug on the blonde-haired latter.

Jessica chuckles softly, “Why are you thanking me?”

“For asking me to video chat with you, if you hadn’t done that I would have never met Taeng.”

Jessica chuckles again, “No need to thank me. You have Yul to thank, he was the one who encouraged Taeng to join us.”

 Tiffany laughs and remains in Jessica’s embrace, letting silence seep between them. Her mind couldn’t help but think about Taeng and all the wonderful memories they have shared on their little screens. The laughs, the tears, and everything in between was all precious to her. His voice was soothing, his eyes were welcoming, and from there she started wondering more of what was to come when they meet.

She imagines his arms being wrapped around her, his body warming her up as she rests against him, and his scent wafting in her nose. She then imagines looking at his face, his gentle onyx eyes more vibrant than what she saw on her screen, and his lips; inviting. She could imagine herself growing closer to his lips as she closes her eyes and imagines what it would be like to share her first kiss with him.

“TIFFANY, WAKE UP I’M NOT TAENG!”

 Tiffany immediately opens her eyes and realizes that Jessica’s face was inches away from hers. She quickly pushes her away and covers her lips with her hands, her face growing extremely red.

 Jessica erupts in laughter, holding her stomach as she couldn’t stop laughing and it was beginning to ache.

“Oh my god, you were dreaming that much about Taeng? You were about to kiss me!” She said through her fits of laughter.

“Yah! I’m going to kill you!” Tiffany muffled, still covered by her hands.

“Aigoo, that was so cute Tiffany,” The laughing blonde-haired latter said, trying her best to calm herself down.

“I’m so embarrassed…” Tiffany quietly muttered, her face still burning from embarrassment.

 Jessica happily sighs and shakes her head, “Don’t worry…” She walks closer to Tiffany and smiles, “It’ll happen soon.” 

“Alright Taeng, you can do this!” Taeng said to his reflection in the mirror.

 Even though they weren’t physically meeting, he decided to get a little dressed up while he and Tiffany celebrated their one-year anniversary. He stares at himself one last time, grooming his hair, and fixing his collar before sitting down at his desk to open his laptop. He texts the latter that he was logging on and waits for a response. He feels his phone vibrate and sees Tiffany’s username change from offline to online and he quickly clicks her name to invite her to a video chat.

As he clicked on her name, he felt his excitement soar out of his body which then turned into nerves. He wasn’t sure why he felt nervous to tell Tiffany the exciting news, he knew she wasn’t going to react poorly to it, but he was sure it was going to cause some sort of scene.

Tiffany’s face slowly fades in, she smiles seeing her loving boyfriend load on her computer screen. She tilts her head as she notices Taeng didn’t realize she was already on. He appeared lost in his thoughts. 

“Taeng?” She called out.

 Taeng out of his nerves and thoughts and stares at the breathtaking girl on the screen. He hadn’t realized how long she had been on the screen as he stares at her. She sends him a loving smile and cutely waves to him saying hello.

Taeng gulped as he gawked at how radiant his girlfriend appeared, she wore a simple red dress with her hair curled that rested along her shoulders. She had makeup on and she had a simple gold notice wrapped around her neck. She looked stunning.

 “Wow…” He breathlessly said, “You look beautiful Tiffany.”

Tiffany felt herself blush, the butterflies in her stomach never failed to erupt like crazy whenever Taeng would say such sweet words.

 “Thank you Taeng… You look so handsome. I love that shirt on you,” She replied with a smile on her face.

“Well, it is our one-year anniversary,” He proudly said.

“Happy one-year Taeng…” Tiffany shyly said, a tinge of red appearing on her cheeks.

“Happy one-year Miyoung-ah,” Taeng cooed back, his smile resting softly across his face.

“Time sure did fly huh? It’s crazy to think we went from strangers to where we are now,” The dark-haired beauty expressed, thinking back to the times Taeng and Tiffany would casually talk with Yul and Jessica.

 “I know right? Who would have thought I, Kim Taeng, would be able to call the most beautiful girl in the world, Tiffany Hwang, my girlfriend,” Taeng said with a goofy smile on his face.

Tiffany chuckles, “Dork…” She couldn’t find any other words to say, he always knew how to take the words right of and leave her speechless. It didn’t take much for him to.

 The blonde-haired boy chuckles with her. “It’s true though, I don’t know how I made you fall for me, but I am so grateful for it. I have never been so happy Miyoung-ah, you mean so much to me and I know us being in a long-distance relationship isn’t easy but… I wouldn’t want to experience this with anyone else but you.”

Tears brim at the edge of Tiffany’s eyes, she couldn’t believe the boy she was looking at the screen could make her feel so strongly. She couldn’t believe the love she had for this boy was growing more each day despite their lack of physical touch and communication. She knew that every word he had said was true and she couldn’t feel any luckier to know she was the one this dorky blonde-haired boy was gushing about.

“Taeng…” She sniffled through her tears, “You have no idea how much I love you. I never thought I would be in love with someone who lives thousands of miles away from me yet never fails to make me smile and make me feel so incredulously loved. I am so incredibly thankful for you and the impact you have made on my life. I don’t think there are enough words to describe how in love I am with you.”

Taeng smiles as he listens to the sincere words his girlfriend was saying to him. He felt his heart skip a beat as the love he felt for her was growing stronger. It didn’t matter that they were thousands of miles apart, they could feel each other’s love through the screen and for that small moment it felt as if they were in the same room embracing each other and drowning in love.

Silence seeps between the two as they absorb into each other’s loving stare. It was a comfortable silence, a silence that made them feel they were together in the same room. Taeng takes a deep breath and sends a loving smile to Tiffany, she reciprocates one back which to him signaled it was time. He takes another breath and stares deep into the dark-haired beauty’s eyes. 

“I have something for you…” Taeng quietly said, his nerves starting to build up again as he tried to think of what to say.

Tiffany tilts her head in confusion, “What do you mean?”

He picks up his phone and begins to type something, leaving Tiffany to grow more in curiosity and confusion as she watches the latter work on his phone. Taeng hits send and places his phone down on his desk. He takes a deep breath and looks at the latter on his screen with a smile on his face.

“I sent you a text…Open it,” He softly commanded, his smile soft yet showed so much excitement.

Tiffany, still confused, hesitantly grabbed her phone that was on her desk. She looks at Taeng who was sending her an encouraging smile before she averts her attention to her phone to pull up the text he sent her. She nervously clicks open the text message but instead of an actual message, it was a link.

She her eyebrow and looks at Taeng with even more confusion. Without asking, she clicks on the link and waits for the webpage to load.

 Her eyes widen seeing a flight itinerary. She scans the page word for word, not believing if it was true as she scrolled through the page to see her name filled on the screen as the passenger.

“Taeng… What… what is this?” Tiffany softly asked, feeling tears pool up in her eyes again.

 Taeng softly chuckles, “Remember… when I was in the hospital?” He waits for Tiffany to look at him.

“I didn’t pass out from the study sessions…” He started, “I was working part-time in a restaurant, so I could save money to buy you a plane ticket to come here… Yul also helped me out and gave me the rest of what I needed.”

The tears that brimmed in Tiffany’s eyes failed to stay as they started falling down her face. She gazes at her phone only to look back at Taeng who was looking at her with soft eyes.

“I… Taeng… I,” She stopped, not knowing what to say as she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Tiffany…The past year has been amazing. I love you so much…” Taeng said softly, “I want to hug you so tight that you’ll never feel afraid, I want to hold your hands to reassure you I’m not going anywhere, I want to cuddle with you so you feel warm, and I want to kiss you to show the whole world how much you mean to me.”

 “Taeng…” Tiffany said breathlessly.

She looks down once again to her phone, tears falling as she rereads the content of her flight itinerary.

“I can’t believe you… You really did this?”

“Of course, I would do it all over again if it meant I can have you in my arms.”

Tiffany sniffles, she felt her heartbeat out of control, and her stomach flip upside down.

 She couldn’t believe it. What she held in her hands was the one step she needed to be in Taeng’s arms.

And he did that just for her.

“A million thank you’s isn’t even enough to say how lucky and thankful I am Taeng…” She said as she felt her lips curve into a smile. Her grasp tightens around her phone, to her it had felt like she won the lottery.

Tiffany wipes her tears and chuckles, feeling her emotions taking over as she felt happy, excited, and nervous all at once. She looks up to the blonde-haired latter and watches as he chuckles along with her.

 Taeng smiles, “You don’t need to thank me…” He tilts his head and stares lovingly into her eyes, “Just start counting down the days with me.”