She wanted to hate her parents for doing this to her, but she loved them too much for that. And it’s not like she wasn’t warned. Her parents had delivered the devastating news a month before but it wasn’t until now that she had the guts to tell her friends. And it wasn't until that moment that she felt the impact of it.

 

School had ended only 10 minutes ago and the Afterschool Arts club was cancelled for today. It seemed almost too perfect of a timing, for Sunny couldn’t face the entirety of the club with her news. Instead, she gathered her closest friends from the club into the same classroom where the event usually took place. They were spread out in the class sitting on top of the desks talking amongst themselves.

 

The only one at Sunny’s side was Taeyeon, her best friend since diapers and the only other person who knew about the news. They were holding hands while Sunny mentally prepared herself. Taeyeon squeezed Sunny’s hand lightly, offering her support. It was easier for her to hide her remorse of the news since she would be sleeping over at Sunny’s house tonight for their final goodbye, thus giving her a lot more time left. Or so she hoped.

 

Out of the 7 others girls gathered, only one was carefully watching Sunny. Yoona, who was a year younger and Sunny’s direct junior in their middle school softball team, could feel the gloomy atmosphere from her usual incredibly bright unnie. It was resonating all day in every moment she saw Sunny. All the girls had their theories about the news. Out of the darkest of their theories was the thought of Sunny being terminally ill, but they did their best to hide that thought. After all, they were still blossoming in their youth and had no space for that kind of negative thinking.

 

Seohyun had been talking to her about a group project while she was occasionally glancing at her unnie who was conversing privately with Taeyeon. Yoona usually gave her younger friend her full blown attention but today her mind was too impatient waiting for the news.

 

“Unnie, are you okay?” Seohyun finally asked, noticing Yoona’s usual bright smile fading throughout her story, “I didn’t bore you, did I?”

 

Yoona shook her head furiously, a little too much for Seohyun’s taste, “No! No! I’m fine.”

 

The maknae of their group rose her eyebrow, “You don’t look fine, unnie. Are you hungry again?”

 

Yoona laughed lightly at Seohyun’s concern which earned a small smile from the younger but taller girl.

 

“Guys! Be quiet and listen up!” Taeyeon called out, silencing the room. The small, baby faced eldest of the group had a specialty for asking for attention despite her short stature. She was the leader of the afterschool group and often lead the activities with the teacher. She was incredibly kind and friendly, but not exactly social. She enjoyed taking responsibility and helping out her younger friends but she was never the outspoken or loud type in a large group of people.

 

Everyone gave their attention to the shortest two of the group who stood at the front of the class. They were all curious about this meeting and follow up news since it was so sudden.

 

Sunny let go of Taeyeon’s hand so she could go stand next to Jessica and Sooyoung in the group. They exchanged looks as Taeyeon gave her best friend a nod of support.

 

‘Why are you even nervous?’ she thought to herself, smiling weakly, ‘You’re the one who waited until last minute to do this and it’s not like these guys aren’t your best friends.’ Her silence continued and Taeyeon tilted her head at her friend before nodding it again to urge her to speak. ‘If I postpone this any further, they’ll think I’m either pregnant or have some form of terminal disease.’

 

She took a step closer and put on her best smile for her friends. After all, Sunny had been known as the source of energy in her group of friends and she wanted that impression until she had to leave them for good.

 

But as soon as she forced her smile to widen, her eyes began to tear up. Her seated friends jerked in their spots at the sight of this and as Sooyoung began to stand from her seat, Taeyeon held her back with an arm.

 

“Sorry guys,” Sunny finally began, wiping the tears that started flowing from her eyes, “I’m sorry this is so dramatic, I didn’t really mean for it to be.”

 

Sooyoung sat back down and exchanged looks with Taeyeon. The oldest gave Sooyoung a smile of reassurance before they both turned back to look at Sunny.

 

“Sunny-ah!” Hyoyeon yelled out before Sunny could speak again, “Spill it already so we can all get a snack! I can hear Sooyoung’s stomach growling from the other side of the classroom!”

 

The girls all laughed at Hyoyeon’s comment. Sunny internally thanked the other girl for breaking the tension and for making her laugh despite the atmosphere. Sooyoung shot a glare at Hyoyeon, “Oy! That was Yoona too!”

 

“Alright, alright girls settle down!” Sunny yelled out, laughing through her watery eyes. “I’m sorry for delaying this so much. And honestly, you’re probably going to hate me for this but…”

 

Yuri shot up from her spot, her eyes wide open then calm again, “Sunny, if you’re pregnant we won’t think any differently of you.”

 

All the girls turned to Yuri who bluntly spoke their inner thoughts, their eyesbrows all rising in unison. Taeyeon snorted at her sudden outburst and Sunny nearly fell over laughing at the accusation.

 

“Aigoo, Yuri please,” Sunny finally said after composing herself. She wiped her tears again and shook her head at the ridiculous outburst.

 

Jessica elbowed Yuri and whispered harshly to her, “Did you really just ask that??” She almost felt embarrassed for her.

 

“I’m sorry, the tension was getting to me,” Yuri softly replied, rubbing the back of her head with her hand.

 

“Anyway,” Sunny continued. Her tears had stopped  at this point and she was thankful for her friends’ inability to do anything straightforwardly. “I have some um, news for you all. I mean, you probably already knew that given the situation but ah.”

 

Taeyeon and Sunny’s eyes connected again and the former nodded again, urging her friend to just spill the news already.

 

“I’m moving to America.”

 

A collective “WHAT?!” echoed throughout the empty classroom and could be heard bouncing off the school halls despite the door being closed.

 

Sooyoung and Yoona were the first to stand up, but Tiffany was the only one who stood up and walked towards the shorter girl.

 

She grabbed Sunny by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes, “When?” she asked simply, her voice loud and clear for all to hear.

 

“Tomorrow,” Sunny answered simply, not able to meet Tiffany’s gaze.

 

“And you’re telling us this now?” Yoona yelled out, tears starting to build up in her eyes. The idea of Sunny moving away didn’t even phase her mind until now. She was already doing her best dealing with her unnies going to high school the year after but it didn’t seem to bad since Sooyoung and Seohyun would have still been with her. But losing one of her best friends to America? And so suddenly?

 

“This is unacceptable,” Sooyoung said firmly walking over to Sunny as well. She towered over the shorter girl, her eyes already red. Sooyoung had always been overly sensitive but Sunny’s news crushed her heart. It crushed all of their hearts.

 

“I’m sorry!” Sunny retorted, holding up her hands in defense. “It’s not like I have a choice in this Sooyoungie.”

 

Tiffany let go of her shoulders and crossed her arms instead, “Still, why are you only telling us this now? I’m sure your parents didn’t just tell you today, right?” Her voice sounded angry but Sunny could tell she was still being really sweet about it, not trying to overwhelm her.

 

Taeyeon and the rest of the girls were on their feet by now, each girl thinking carefully of what to say and trying to process the news of one of their best friends leaving them.

 

Jessica turned to Taeyeon, noticing the tears silently building in her eyes. Yuri had also noticed Taeyeon’s silence, knowing very well that her reaction should be different.

 

“You knew, didn’t you?” Jessica asked a little bitterly. But she understood. As close as all of the girls were, Sunny and Taeyeon’s friendship was like hers and Tiffany’s. One that blossomed since before all 9 of them met in elementary school.

 

Taeyeon could only nod and Seohyun walked up to her older sister, “Unnie! Why didn’t you tell me? This is too cruel of news to hide.” Although she wanted to yell, she could only speak softly. Taeyeon used her hand to wipe the tears from her younger sister’s eyes before she pulled her into a hug.

 

“I’m sorry guys, but Taeng was the only one I had the courage to tell when the news came,” Sunny explained, scratching her head innocently.

 

Hyoyeon hadn’t said anything but instead walked up to Sunny and gave her a hug. Her face was scrunched up in emotion and Sunny could feel her sadness through her tight grip.

 

“You better stay in contact,” she said simply, letting her tears fall on Sunny’s shoulders.

 

“Of course, what’s the internet for anyway?” Sunny joked, wrapping her arms around Hyoyeon.

 

“I want letters!” Tiffany yelled out, joining in on the hug. The force from her sudden hug pushed Sunny and Hyoyeon back, pushing Sunny into the wall.

 

“Me too!” Yoona called out after, joining in on the hug from the other side.

 

Eventually the rest of the girls found their way into the massive group hug, all except for one.

 

Sunny peaked from whatever view she had left at the tall shikshin, also known as the sweetest person in existence who is suddenly being cold to her. She knew her friends wouldn’t take the news too lightly, but she thought that the warmth from the current group hug would melt away any icy remorse towards her.

 

“Oy, Sooyoung, join the hug why don’t you?” Yuri calls out from her side of the hug.

 

“Don’t yell in my ear!” Jessica complained, earning a laugh from the rest of the girls.

 

Sooyoung cracked a smile at her friends, but still refused to move.

 

Instead, Sunny let go of her friends and walked over to Sooyoung. She hesitated a little and Sooyoung simply stared at her, studying her movements. She refused to say anything however and waited for Sunny to make the first move.

 

“You stubborn giant,” Sunny mumbled weakly, tears trickling down her face once again as soon as her body collided with Sooyoung’s. It didn’t take long for Sooyoung to wrap her long arms around Sunny in return. After awing at the cute scene before them, the rest of the girls re-enacted the group hug.

 

They stood altogether for about a minute before someone’s stomach growled.

 

Everyone looked up at the tallest friend in the middle before she laughed shyly in response.

 

---

 

The girls all went out for ice cream and hung out at Sunny’s house for the rest of the day. They all helped her finish her packing and said their goodbyes to her parents as well. Sunny could tell they were trying their best to stay cheery throughout the rest of the day despite the sadness of her news.

 

“I can’t believe our Soonkyu didn’t tell you guys about us moving until today,” Sunny’s mom said, apologizing to the girls.

 

“I just thought it’d be easier this way!” Sunny defended herself. Yoona and Seohyun were latched onto both of Sunny’s arms and shook their head in unison.

 

“Taengoo agreed with me!” Sunny called out again.

 

Taeyeon who was eating ice cream near the fridge nearly dropped her spoon as the rest of the girls glared at her, “What?” she called out, “Did you guys really want to mourn for a month over this? It would have just made the past couple of weeks depressing.”

 

“Yeah, but at least we could’ve known that our last moments were precious, unnie,” Seohyun responded to her older sister matter of factly.

 

Taeyeon and Sunny just sighed in defeat.

 

After dinner and dessert, Sunny braced for her teary final goodbyes with her friends.

 

Jessica was first.

 

She hugged Sunny tightly, something that was rare between the two of them, or for Jessica in general since she wasn’t incredibly fond of being touchy. The two girls sniffled in unison when they let go of each other.

 

“I’ll convince my parents to let us return to my home in the US for a week or something in the summer so we can hang out then, okay?” she stated sternly, poking her finger into Sunny’s shoulder sharply and repetitively.

 

“I’ll look forward to that,” Sunny responded, bowing to her friend and receiving one last hug.

 

After a few steps out, Jessica called back, “And you better visit too!!” She took one last long glance at her friend before running off and letting her tears take over.

 

“:Of course!!” Sunny yelled back, smiling at Jessica’s retreating figure.

 

Tiffany was next and already standing ready next to Sunny as Jessica’s shadow disappeared into the distance. She had her hand firmly on Sunny’s arm and Sunny could feel the taller girl trembling.

 

“Is this really goodbye?” Tiffany said weakly, pulling Sunny into a hug.

 

“Fany-ah, I can’t breathe,” Sunny muttered, but Tiffany only hugged her tighter.

 

“Answer me,” she demanded.

 

“Come on Fany, it’s not like we’re never going to see each other again.”

 

Tiffany loosened her grip and looked at Sunny with sad eyes, “Sica and I will visit when we can, okay? So make sure you’re free, alright?”

 

“And I won’t forget to write, Fany,” Sunny reassured, patting Tiffany on the head.

 

The two bowed before sharing one more hug.

 

Sunny took in a deep breath, she was starting to lose strength and she had only gone through two girls. Hyoyeon started dancing her way towards Sunny, humming a cute little tune. Sunny started dancing as well and the two grooved to Hyoyeon’s imaginary beat for a short while.

 

“I’m going to miss you shorty,” Hyoyeon said through a teary smile. Like the previous girls, she pulled Sunny into a tight hug and even pulled her up.

 

“Excuse me, you’re only like 2 centimetres taller,” Sunny retorted through a strained voice as Hyoyeon put her down.

 

“I’m still taller,” Hyoyeon said with an even wider smile.

 

“Keep dancing, Hyo. I want to see you on tv someday.”

 

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Hyoyeon managed to say as her tears started coming on faster and faster.

 

“Aya, don’t cry like that you’re making this harder,” the shorter girl slapped the other, “Just get out of my sight.”

 

Hyoyeon stuck out her tongue before bowing and grabbing Sunny for another hug.

 

“I’ll be back in your life before you know it,” she called out as she walked away.

 

“That’s my line!” Sunny called out bittersweetly. They were still young, of course she’d see them all again. But still she had to wonder where all her tears were coming from.

 

Yuri picked up Sunny from behind making the girl squeal.

 

“If I take you to my house you won’t have to go, right?”

 

Sunny laughed at the seriousness of Yuri’s tone, “Ah you, let me down already!”

 

Yuri sadly complied and put down Sunny before pulling her into a tight hug.

 

Meanwhile in the living room, Sooyoung, Yoona and Seohyun were all preparing themselves for the final goodbye.

 

Taeyeon was in the kitchen helping Sunny’s parents but she couldn’t help but smile sadly at her other friends in the living room. She was lucky enough to be able to sleepover for the night and had more time with her best friend. She wanted to be there for their final goodbyes but she didn’t want to start crying again. She needed to save that for later.

 

Seohyun got up from her spot and walked over to her older sister in the kitchen and simply asked for a hug. Sunny’s parents sadly looked at the two siblings, wishing that it wasn’t so hard for them to move away. Unfortunately, this was a huge opportunity for Sunny’s dad and they had to take it. They knew Sunny was fine with it, but it didn’t make the goodbyes any easier.

 

“YURI! I SAID LET GO!” Sunny’s cry could be heard from the kitchen and all the girls started laughing as Yuri kept yelling no.

 

Sooyoung shook her head and walked over to the two to see Sunny struggling while on Yuri’s shoulders. She placed her hand on Yuri.

 

“You need to let go,” Sooyoung said, almost laughing at herself because it sounded like a line from a movie.

 

Yuri put Sunny down for the third time that night and hugged Sunny again, “I’ll be waiting for your letters and emails. Don’t you dare forget about us!”

 

Sunny patted the taller girl on the back, “Of course dark kid, don’t you worry about that. Yoona said she’d hunt me down if I didn’t contact you guys.”

 

The three laughed at their junior’s previously mentioned threat from dinner and had one last group hug.

 

Yuri walked away slowly, occasionally turning back to wave again at Sunny.

 

“That girl,” Sunny muttered with a smile, shaking her head.

 

Another hug from behind.

 

Sunny breathed in the scent of her taller friend who held onto her like there was no tomorrow. It was tight, but Sunny didn’t mind it at all. She knew Sooyoung would be like this. Despite their many arguments throughout the years, she knew that Sooyoung was going to be one of the girls who took this the hardest.

 

Sunny made Sooyoung release her grip as she turned around to wrap her arms around Sooyoung’s neck.

 

“You’re not really leaving, right?” Sooyoung almost whispered. Sunny could feel the dampness start to envelope her shirt and she held onto Sooyoung tighter. With every girl the goodbyes got harder and harder. Yuri made things easier by fooling around for a bit but Sooyoung wasn’t going to go that way.

 

“I’m sorry Sooyoungie but you’re going to have to abuse someone else’s lunch money from now on. I’ll tell Taeng to do the honours,” Sunny joked, laughing lightly through her tears.

 

There was no response until Sooyoung’s sobbing became more pronounced. She pulled Sunny closer and closer and the two fell to the ground in each other’s arms sobbing.

 

In the other room, Yoona had her hands over her ears to avoid hearing her unnies crying in the hall. She couldn’t take it. As much fun as they had since the news, she didn’t want to have to say goodbye to Sunny. Seohyun pulled the older girl into a hug and Yoona continued her sobbing into Seohyun’s chest.

 

“I’m sure we’ll see Sunny unnie again,” Seohyun whispered to Yoona.

 

Sooyoung and Sunny finished sobbing their hearts out after about five minutes. They were not exactly done, but they were both dehydrated.

 

Sunny opened the door for Sooyoung, “You better leave before that happens again.” She half joked, half prayed that it wouldn’t get harder.

 

Sooyoung lowered her head in defeat, “You promise to visit, right?”

 

“And I promise to write, and I promise to keep you guys updated and we can even skype, Sooyoungie. It’ll be like I’m not even gone.”

Sunny said this all to convince herself too that not much is going to change. Taeyeon kept repeating all these things the past month so the two could swallow the news better. And yet, she found tears in her eyes again.

 

“I’m going to miss you so much, shorty,” the taller girl confessed before bowing and hugging Sunny for the last time in who knows how long, “I love you.”

 

Sunny smiled at her younger and taller friend, “I love you too, Sooyoungie. Now get off my property before I have to release the hounds.” She stuck her tongue out at Sooyoung and the taller girl returned it, both of their eyes red from the crying.

 

When she closed the door, she was surprised to find that Yoona wasn’t already behind her.

 

Suddenly Taeyeon made her way to the doorway, clearly out of breath.

 

“Y-Yoona…she, we…she’s,” Taeyeon managed to say inbetween pants.

 

“What happened? Where’s shikshin junior?”

 

Seohyun entered the hallway after, “Yoona refuses to say goodbye until you come find her."

 

Sunny sighed, “Aigoo, that troublemaker.”

 

“I tried running after her but she’s too fast and her legs are too long and-“

 

“It’s okay Taeng, I know exactly where she went.”

 

The two siblings looked at each other with curiosity as Sunny walked out the front door.

 

Standing in front of a large tree that had been in her frontyard since she could remember, Sunny looked up to see Yoona sitting on a branch.

“Oy! Get down from there before I come and get you.”

 

“I’d like to see you try, shorty!” Yoona called from her place.

 

It was dark so Sunny didn’t want to annoy her neighbours with the excessive noise so she gave into Yoona’s request.

 

Swiftly she climbed the tree with ease and sat herself next to Yoona.

 

“Why are all of you making this so hard?” Sunny sighed, crossing her arms and shaking her head.

 

“It’s punishment for telling us so last minute, unnie,” Yoona replied simply, “and for leaving in the first place.”

 

“It’s not like I want to leave you guys. You’re all like my second family.”

 

“Still, this isn’t fair.”

 

Sunny smiled sweetly at her junior before pulling her into a side hug, “Yoona, you’re the weirdest kid you know. I’m going to miss you, grow up well.”

 

“Unnie I’m only a year younger than you!” she whined before wrapping both of her arms around the shorter girl.

 

“I’m not taking back any of my words,” Sunny retorted, patting the other girl on the head.

 

The two sat in the tree for another five minutes holding each other before Taeyeon and Seohyun came out of the house to look for them.

 

“Aigoo, you two! Get down already it’s almost midnight!” the eldest called out to the two in the tree.

 

“Yoona unnie your parents just called!” Seohyun yelled out as well, but she had to use her hands to elevate the sound of her voice unlike Taeyeon.

 

Sunny and Yoona came out from the tree without complaining and walked towards the siblings.

 

“I’m gonna miss you so much unnie,” Yoona muttered, her eyes beginning to water again, “You better keep your promises and I better see a letter in my mail box within the next week.”

 

The shorter girl hugged Yoona one more time, “Don’t worry about those things, okay? Graduate well and make our softball team proud.”

 

“I will, unnie,” she said before bowing.

 

Yoona walked off towards her house, hiding the sudden burst of tears that had been coming in and out throughout the night.

 

Seohyun took her chance to hug Sunny for a last time, “I’ll be waiting for your return, unnie,” she said with a smile. Sunny found this goodbye to be refreshing, but she pat the girls back.

 

“It’s okay to cry you know, you’ve been acting too brave all night.”

 

Taeyeon watched her sister hug her best friend as the two shared a heart to heart. Or more, Seohyun kept repeating “I’m going to miss you” over and over again to Sunny. Her heart began to feel heavier at the sight, knowing that her time would be coming soon. She still had a few hours, but with the way time went by today, she knew that she’d have to face her doom sooner than she’d want.

 

“Tae-unnie, please call me before you come back home tomorrow, okay?” Seohyun finally says to Taeyeon before leaving for her house.

 

“Aigoo, what, you think you’re walking home alone at this time of night?”

 

“But unnie, we’re only a fifteen minute walk away.”

 

“I’m coming and that’s final,” Taeyeon turned to Sunny, “I’ll be back in a bit!”

 

“Goodbye Sunny unnie, have a safe trip!”

 

“Bye bye maknae, try not to fall so much, okay?”

 

“I’ll do my best, fighting!!”