Seunghyun held on to that jar as if it was his safety blanket, never once letting go of it while in the plane or while transferring. He wanted to open it immediately but he wanted to follow Dara's wish. It was almost comical to his family how he hugged it while sleeping on the plane as if it was his pillow. He was so protective of the jar that he snapped at a flight attendant when she offered to put it on the overhead compartment. "It stays with me" he growled. 

After an eternity, they finally landed in Canadian soil. The first in his priority was to open the lid and see what Dara left for him. And true to her words, there was a little note attached inside, stuck on the lid. The note read "I'm guessing you're in Canada now. Welcome to your new home! See? The journey wasn't as terrible as you thought, right? You have many things to look forward to in your new home, so stay strong! I'll still be your Dara when you come back." 

Seunghyun shook his head and laughed heartily, perhaps the most he laughed since he heard the news of their departure. What was he expecting? A love declaration? He should've known better than to expect that. True to her form, Dara successfully removed the sadness in his heart and replaced it with wonder and hope. 

Whenever he gets bullied in school or when he gets into arguments with his parents, Seunghyun would take a piece of candy from his jar and read a note attached to the stem. It would range from "Stay strong!" "You can do it!" and his favorite, "Stop being a crybaby!" His best friend, even from afar, knew how to lift his spirits. He just wished he did something like this for her. In the first year of since he left Korea, they talked on the phone weekly. But as the months and years passed, the calls would come less often and communication would diminish to post cards for the holidays and birthdays. First of, they didn't really talk that often when they were together. The would mostly just sit beside each other and do their own things. If they talked, they were up to no good anyway. Their companionship was not typical as they found comfort in each other's silence. Second, they were both getting busy with their own thing that keeping track of each other through oceans and time zones were becoming a task. They would still hear news about each other through their mothers and sometimes, they would briefly talk on the phone. There were times when he wanted to go back to Korea because he missed Dara so much but he made an agreement with his father that he won't come back until he finishes his studies and is earning his own money. 

Despite the lack of contact, Seunghyun's feelings for Dara still didn't falter. He took their time apart from each other to work on himself, on how he can be the best person he can be not only for Dara and his family, but also for himself. As he grew up, he learned that striving to become somebody for the sake of someone else would only end up in failure. He didn't live completely closed off from society, as a matter of fact he made many friends in Canada. People there, he found out, were nice and agreeable. He went on a couple of dates set up by his friends but he never went past first dates. In his heart, there was only Dara. His friends make fun of him for carrying a torch for his best friend for that long. They call it a Long Distance (one sided) Relationship. No matter how many girls they push on him, or how many girls push themselves on him, none of them could hold a candle against his Dara. 

A girl, Chaerin, once asked him if he was only in love with the image of Dara in his head instead of with the person herself. This made him rethink his actions and his feelings but after some time, he still came to the conclusion that he loves her. If, in the end, Dara changed into a person the opposite of what he remembers, then he would want to get to know that new Dara. He knows that people change, heck he even changed a lot himself. The image of Dara in his mind wasn't perfect; she throws tantrums when they're alone, she's not very communicative, and was as mischievous as any boy he's known. Regardless of those qualities, he still finds himself gravitating towards her. He doesn't love her because of tangible qualities but because of what she makes him feel whenever someone as much as mentions her name. 

Seunghyun worked really hard in school, he finished his Bachelor's degree in 2 years and even completed his MA in 1 year. Soon, he found himself a teaching position in a university in Korea and he couldn't wait to see his Dara again. He made sure that his return was a surprise to Dara. Before completing his MA, he heard the news of Dara's relationship and it almost crushed him. But he carried on and resolved to come back to Korea to see his soulmate again.

It didn't matter if she loves someone else, he didn't delude himself with the idea that Dara would wait for him when he hasn't even made his feelings known to her. He just needs to satisfy himself with being her Seunghyun again, her best friend. He just needs to ready himself to see her happy in the arms of a man that's not him. It's going to break him, it will make him cry harder than all those times when he was homesick, but he needs to be strong because he knows that the happiness of seeing Dara again, being able to touch her even as a friend, would be much stronger than the pain of seeing her smiling at another man. At least he would see her smile again, hear her angelic laugh, and feel her warmth again. 

Little did he know that what awaits him is completely the opposite of the image he has in mind. The moment he saw Dara again, crying by herself on the park bench outside her house, cemented his resolve to never leave Dara again. He made the right decision in coming back.