Chapter 6

They silently sat next to each other on the bus, leaving a huge space in between where Baekhyun used to sit. They were heading to the beach house Daehyun’s mother once owned. The three of them spent their summer there. Just the three of them.

They made a lot of memories there and it was also where Baekhyun asked Eunji out.

It was where Daehyun suffered from unrequited love and it was official.

It was a bright Sunday morning and it was a two hour drive going to the beach house. Daehyun sat at the window end while Eunji sat at the aisle end. They didn’t question each other’s distance nor did they ask each other to move closer. They knew that the space between them was the emptiness they felt.

Minutes later, Eunji ended dozing off and almost leaned her head on some random person until Daehyun caught her and leaned her head on his shoulder.

He noticed Eunji was always like this and it was usually Baekhyun who would catch her falling figure but he was no longer around.

The empty space in the bus was filled.

They arrived at the empty beach house. No one tended it anymore so everytime they came over, they had to clean it themselves. Daehyun pushed the key inside the knob and opened the the door. The place was like what it used to be. The way they placed it the last time.

The mahogany table was piled with board games and books. The sofa was covered in sheets and all the dishes were placed in the cupboard. Everything was dusty but the nostalgic feeling was still there. They headed inside and went straight to the cleaning cabinet. They swept and dusted every nook and cranny of the beach house. After they were done, they rested on the porch and sat on the railings, staring at the beach.

“This was where he asked me to be his girlfriend.” She said.

“I know…” Daehyun replied.

“You think I can live without him?” she asked.

“You have to. Live on for him anyways, like I will for myself.” He replied.

“Do you think we’ll ever find the person who made the bus crash? They said it wasn’t an accident. They said it looked intentional. There wasn’t anything wrong with the bus.”

“I don’t think Baekhyun would want us to dwell on that. I think he’d want us to move with our lives.”

“How do you know?”

“Because he said so himself.”

"But what about justice?" she told him.

"He told me that he'd rather get no justice than to see us miserable for the rest of our lives. The guy talked too much and at some part we talked about dying." He gave a silent snort and continued. "I never really believed this day would come though. I didn't think he'd leave first."

Daehyun’s stomach suddenly grumbled and Eunji genuinely laughed for the first time. Daehyun was glad she had her smile back. He playfully tapped her chin and said “Come on you violent gull, you’re going to cook me food.”

“What? Do it yourself Gayhyun!” she spatted playfully but ended up cooking for him anyways.

They did their usual walk on the beach after they ate lunch. It was a sunny afternoon and the tide was getting lower as darkness grew. The space where Baekhyun used to lie still stayed bare. There was no reason for them to fill it in just yet so they decided to leave it as it is for now.

They sat on the usual cliff they hung out whenever they visited the beach house. The watched as the sun began to set and evening came. There was silence between them. No one talked as much but the silence they shared was comfortable and nostalgic. Just like it always was.

As they headed back to the beach house, Daehyun then told Eunji his decision.

“Let me move in with you.” He said.

“What?” she said in surprise.

“I can’t replace Baekhyun but….at least, I can watch over you for him. I promised him that and its something I want to keep.”

Eunji held his hand and flashed him a warm smile. “Ok.”

She respected his decision to keep his promise with his friend, the man she loved. There was no malice in letting Daehyun stay with her. They were just friends after all. He was more like a brother to him than any friend would ever be. He stood by her side always and his presence was as comfortable as family. As they arrived at the beach house, both of them directly ate dinner then went to their separate rooms to sleep. That day was the first day Eunji had the feeling of serenity after Baekhyun had died. She somehow felt lighter.

As she lay on her bed and closed her eyes, she somehow felt his presence. His familiar hand touching her. His image formed in her mind. His warm smile that welcomed her everyday. His presence that made her feel like everything was ok, that nothing went wrong. She held onto it.

A tear trickled her cheek but she eventually calmed down and slept soundly, a smile forming on her lips.

“Yes, I will live on for your precious friend, Daehyun….” She said then soundly slept.

Thank you