She pushes her reading glasses up from her temple as she flip the page of her book, 50 shades of grey by E. L James. In her opinion the book was good but a little dirty. Not dirty as in it needed a bath, the dirty of the adult world. Her white Samsung Galaxy played a soft melody and it vibrated. Slowly she picks it up, full of curiosity. 

Message from Victiora : Heard you've been back! Why didn't you told anyone ? Let's hangout! ^_^

Message from Jia : I heard you're back in town, haven't talked to you in ages! Call me!

Message from Zhou Mi : Hey, Victoria told me you're back. We should catch up sometimes! 

They sat in the bubble tea shop, her eyes observing the people walking pass them. Only a glass window away, she peeked at him. His eyes didn't moved back and forth like hers, instead it was glued on his book. On Demonds Wings by Karina Halle, of course by his taste a horror genre. Which he claims to be better than her cheesy and book, they're not even in the same genre. She didn't moved half way around the world just to sit in a bubble tea shop and watch the filled streets of Beijing. She was originally from Canada, the land of hockey and red leaves while he was the Chinsese boy she met during her study. After a few months of learning chinese, she decided to stay. Not only for him, but for her internship. Swallowing the black pearl, she turned her head to look at him. 

"It's only a 2,5 hour ride on the high speed rail." 

"2.5 hours on a train is boring. What would I even do ?"

"Well, the scenery is nice. You can enjoy the countryside and it's relaxing. But, does it even matter ? Don't you want to visit me ?"

"Yeah, of course."

Letting out a small sigh, she stretched her arms into the ceiling and rolled off her bed. Dragging her lazy feet across the room and entered her bathroom. Flicking the lights for a few time to only noticed the light bulb is ragged. Cursing under her breath, followed by another sigh and a question mark of why she didn't stayed in Tianjin instead of going back to Beijing. Now she have to go outside to buy a new lightbulb. Hurrying out to the hall she grabbed her bag and keys, heading outside. She took a deep breath and looked up at the starry night. What she loved about Beijing was the stars at night, the street lights and the yellow, blue, red lights from the high buildings. A familiar feeling she couldn't recognize in Tianjin. 

"It's close to Qinhuangdao. My cousin just went there last summer. He said it's like Hawaii. There are hotels right by the beach."

"Close ? Qinhuangdao is still 3 hours from Tianjin."

"Not even. And anyway, there's a bus that goes directly from the train station to the hotel. I know! Whem my internship is over, we can go there to celebrate. By then it'll be off season, so there will be fewer people!"

"Off season ? That means typhoon."

Walking out from the supermarket with a new lightbulb on her hand she looked around, the night market has opened and there were a lot of people. Tourists, local people, teenagers and old people. Sensing the smell of fried meet with a pinch of chilly powder, she smiled brightly and followed the smell to a small meat stand. became watery just by seeing it being made and given to her, bowing her head and mouthing a thank you in chinese she starts her night wandering in the busy market. 

"Okay, we don't have to go to Qinhuangdao. Let's at least go on a small trip before I leave ? Fulong Beach! My uncle knows a backroad so we can get in for free. There's a really beautiful footbridge, we could take a walk though the hills. The mist makes the-" 

"Enough !"

She gave him a hurtful glare and stood up, grasping the straps of her bag and left the store. Leaving him behind. With small crystal drops falling down the corner of her eyes, she quickly brings her hand up to wipe them away. Running to wherever her feet could bring her. 

"Sulli !" 

She heard his voice calling her, but she didn't found the courage to look back. She couldn't find the energy to stop, she just couldn't.

The market brought back many memories she has long forgotten about her early life here in Beijing. It warms her heart to see nothing much has changed about the place she loves the most. Suddenly she catches a familiar place in the crowed. She saw him, rubbing her eyes twice and then thrice. When she opened them again it didn't proved her wrong, it was him. She blinked rapidly before analyzing the fact that she has caught her face too. Reacting quickly she turns her heels and start to run, yes running. She was never good at sports but right now it's the best alternative. 

Locking the door her hand holding onto the light bulb and her breath still uneven from the running. Suddenly the knocking sounds from the door caused her to almost drop the newly brought light bulb in her hands. 

"Sulli ? Are you there ?" There was no doubt it was him, that voice. It's really him.

The knocking continued for awhile until it quieted, standing on her tip toes. She peeks at the hole and sees him sitting there, right in front of her door. A bucket of feelings washed over her, she slowly slides down the doorframe with her back against the wooden material for support. The buzz from her phone goes off, she bit her lower lips and waited for it to end. Usually it ends quicker than this, it felt like eternity but it finally stopped. Letting a heavy sigh slips from her lips, she looked at her screen. 

1 new voicemail 

Hesitating for a small minute she presses the small icon and put the phone against her ear. 

"Hey Sulli it's me, Luhan. It feels weird to be calling you. But I could've sworn I just saw you at the night market. I heard from Lay, that you're back.  I can't believe 8 months passed by so fast, I hope the internship went well. Last month, I went to Qinhuangdao with some friends. I remember, you really wanted to go there. But it was just like you said. We took the high speed rail down. 2,5 hours, was not long at all and we rode from the station straight to the hotel on the beach. Just like you said it would be. You would've liked it. I should've taken you. But now I can't give you these things. And now, I wish-" 

His message ended there, she looked at her phone and then at the door. Not sure if she should run after him or to ignore it, like she never saw him today. Shifting herself she accidentally swipes off the broom that was leaned against the wall, gasping and realizing what she just did. He must have heard it from outside. 

"Sulli ! I know you're inside. Open the door please ?"

She banged her head against her palm, blaming her clumsiness and nervously stands up to unlock the door. It has been awhile since she has seen him. Maybe too long. 

"Hey… Can I come in ?" 

Luhan gave her a soft smile, one of the many things she misses about Bejing. Fighting the feelings that are trying to burst from her bubble, she nods slowly and let him come inside. He grew a little skinnier and the color of his hair is no longer dark hazel brown, it's painted by the color of fire. Red. He, is the thing she missed the most about Beijing. 

"I missed you." 

They spoke at the same time, eyes meeting each others. He catches a small glimpse of her watery eyes before he takes her into his embrace. It always surprises him how she fits in his arms, like no other girl could. 

"I'm sorry Sulli… I'm so sorry…" 

His warm breath lingers on her ear, whispering soft words of apologies and regrets. She couldn't reply him, all she did was buried her face into the crook of his neck to muffle the sound of her sobbing. 

"I want to go to those places with you again…" 

"Some try to forget. Some tend to dwell. Me ? I will do neither."

Hooray for happy endings ^^ I decided the characters would be Sulli and Luhan since she is my bias and he's chinese, he originally came from Beijing and this ship is quite popular lately. It got into me also xD  As the description says, it was inspired by a short called "The Places We Could Have Gone" by Wong Fu Production. Below is what the director said himself about the short. I wrote it down in words and changed the characters. I went for a happy ending where she gave him a second chance. Because ._. I don't know... It felt right xD 

The feeling of regret or wishing for another chance is common when a couple separates. Whoever is at fault usually searches for sympathy as they have realized in hindsight their mistakes. In “Places” Becky (Sulli) has returned from a 6 month internship and runs into her exboyfriend. Based on the flashbacks we see that prior to her leaving, she made many efforts to keep him close, but he was not so receptive for whatever reason. While his rejection of her ideas to take trips may not have directly been the reason for their breakup, it’s enough to show his attitude toward the relationship and how much he had come to value it and her. Fast forward to her return from the job, we can see that she is not totally over it. And to her surprise, the ex-boyfriend has come to realize how he mistreated her. Whether or not she gives him another chance is left open, but the ending line is what I wanted to emphasize… When people break up, they usually handle it in one of two ways. They either push themselves to forget about it and move on, or they wallow in depression, holding on. In my opinion, I don’t think it’s good to do either. Trying to forget means getting rid of all the experiences and lessons. Dwelling means not accepting and growing from the same experiences/lessons. When Becky says “I will do neither”, she’s saying, I can move on, while still remembering why. -Phillip Wang