one lie can ruin sweet exchange of words,

“You see Hongki,” She spoke with her soft, melodic voice while scooting closer to him and his opened, inviting arms, being enveloped by them. Pointing at the left dimming star from the dark, dull and gloomy night sky above them, she went on and continued what she wanted to get across. “Many stars you look at in the night sky seem like a single, distant glimmer of light but they’re actually a two star systems or better yet, binary star systems.”

Looking at her with puzzlement written all over his face, she only laughs lightly before pecking his lips lovingly and out of habit before deciding to explain further. “It means that they are so far away that they just end up appearing as one speck of light.”

“I still don’t get what you’re trying to say but you know what?” He asked, grinning from ear to ear like a complete idiot who’s totally lost it.

“What?” She questioned, tilting her head slightly to the side in confusion.

“I can’t believe that someone as amazing as you could ever be with me.”

After words were spoken, their lips molded together, perfectly to one another in the cold, breezy night sharing a blanket which was draped on their shoulders causally to provide them some sort of warmth despite their body being so close together and from the embraces and cuddles they share.  

a moment shared with one another,

“Guess what? I finally did it!” She announced in glee, having had to rush all the way from the town nearby their shared apartment just to declare to him the good news, still heaving slightly from all the running she had to do. Contentment and felicity in her face which says it all before sprinting over to where he stood, showing him the piece of paper she’s been holding since getting it and reading it.

“I finally did it; I finally received my master’s degree and can start teaching in a college or even, university if I please.”

Her smile shows her happiness and how joyful she was, and being completely honest, he felt the same way for her. She’s been working her off just for that degree, even pulling up an all-nighter for the past few weeks countless of times already. She deserves it.

Returning the smile etched across her face, he caresses her face onto his palm before starting to shower her face with kisses, mumbling lowly in between the small, short kisses words he’s been meaning to say. “Congrats. You deserve it.”

She laughs lightly before responding quietly far too distracted from his kisses, “Thanks. I love you.”

Halting into a stop from what he’s doing, he stared onto her eyes lovingly as she did the same too. Whispering lowly but audible enough for her to hear the words she so love to hear from him before capturing her lips onto his passionately.

“I love you too.”

promises made by two,

It was one spring evening, soft pastel coloured clouds which resembles cotton candy in a variety of colours moving fairly slowly that it was unnoticeable.

“Say Hong-chan, when are you going to be finish with the song you’re working on right now?” Mina asked as she began poking his bare chest lightly, using his arm as her pillow while they snuggle close together.

“It’s nearly finish, I just need to go over it and finalise it.” He replied, her hair lightly with his callous hand.

Slowly looking up to him before flashing him one of the smiles he knows all too well, he already figured out that she probably wants something, again. Sighing as he decided to ask even though he already kind of has some idea to what she’s probably going to ask, he still asked. It’s not like it’s gonna hurt to just ask and play along, right?

“Why? What is it this time?”

“Well, I was wondering. You know once you finish your song? Can I be the first person to hear you sing it and play it?” Sitting up slightly and facing him, she her head slightly to the side while grinning innocently, hands interlaced together in a pleading manner.

“Yes, and you know you didn’t have to ask, right?” He chuckled lightly before reaching to ruffle her hair lightly with a playful grin painted across his face.

 “I know, but still. It’s just right to always ask, now, you have to promise to me that I’m the first person to hear it once it’s finally finish.” She said as she holds out her pinkie waiting for him to intertwine his with hers, which is what he just did.

“I promise, from the bottom of my heart.”

and dreams forged together.

Work taking a toll on the both of them; they haven’t actually had much time to spend with one another.

She was busy with her teaching career in the college she was accepted in while he was far too busy on trying to achieve his dream onto becoming a successful singer along with his band mates. They hardly talk to each other anymore due to the fact that when she comes home, she was greeted with an empty apartment with Hongki only coming home already late at night due to his unavoidable schedules and her long asleep already by that time. In the mornings, Mina has to wake up far too early and not wanting to wake him up, she always just leaves him breakfast with a sticky note attached on the fridge. That’s how they usually communicate to each other nowadays, to be honest.

It was one late evening when they were fortunate enough to catch each other without one being asleep. Mina sorting out and marking the exam papers she has to finish off tomorrow while Hongki has just came home from one of his late gigs.

“Hey, how was your day?” She greeted him still far too busy with the papers in front of her, not having time to be able to glance at him even for just a short while.

“Great, the crowd of people coming to watch is increasing every week.” He responded before plopping his self on the bed beside her, giving a light, feather peck on her forehead before lying down exhaustedly.

“That’s great! I just wish I was there to watch you perform and hear the new song you just composed.” Deciding to do all the marking later instead, she put all her works on the small table sitting beside her side of the bed before turning to look at him with a smile.

“I’ve missed you.” She confessed, trailing her index finger on the bridge of his nose before leaning to peck his lips.

 He groaned deeply, opening his eyes slowly and tiredly before yawning, mumbling lowly but audible enough for her to hear. “I’ve missed you too, so much.”

Caressing her face on his hands as he stares at her lovingly, he captured her lips onto his, kissing her softly and slowly as if savouring the taste of her lips onto his. Missing how it feels against his. He shortly broke the kiss though, smiling like a little kid who just received his very first candy.

“God, how I’ve missed those lips! How I’ve missed you.” He stated, pecking her lips very lightly and quickly. “But we just have to both bear with it for a little while; it won’t be long from now until we can finally buy the house with all our savings in the bank.”

“And once we have the house, we can just settle down in there and start our life once again. But this time, without having to worry about our opposing families.” She smiled, nuzzling their nose together as she giggles lightly.

Her giggle was like music to his ears. He loves hearing it for it brings comfort to him, letting him forget about all the troubles and dilemmas he has to worry and fret about.

“Marry me,” He muttered lowly under his breath, not realising that it just came out automatically pass his lips making it loud enough for Mina to catch on what he has just spoken.

He has never seen her grin as big and enthusiastically before compared to what he’s currently witnessing now, her eyes were twinkling with excitement and joyfulness as if she’s been waiting for him to popped the question up (which didn’t really come out as a question, if you must) for a long time already before nodding her head quickly.

“Yes, yes! Of course I will marry you Lee Hongki!”

And they sealed it with a kiss. Long, passionate and fiery before moving onto the next stage with one thing of course leading to another.

one lie can ruin a thousand truths.

“I’m sorry but I don’t feel the same way for you as before, Mina.”

His confession brought her in the verge of breaking down and crying, but she tries her complete best to swallow the lump forming in . Reaching out to caress his face softly, he only turns his head to the other side avoiding her eyes.

“B-babe, tell me you’re lying,” She pleaded repeatedly, stammering as she holds onto her chest while biting onto her bottom lips. “P-please tell me you’re lying. Y-you’re lying, right?”

He tries his best to hold his tears as he shook his head slightly after a while of her repeating pleads.

“I’m not.” He replied hoarsely.

And from those two words he has spoken, her heart seems to have suddenly fallen apart, crumbling into small, tiny pieces.

Dropping onto her knees not caring about the cold tiles under her, all hopes and comfort she wishes and repeated to herself and in her mind seems to have suddenly all disappeared like a puff of smoke. Bursting into tears, she watches him turn around and start walking. This time, away from her, away from her life.

“It’s time to move on my dear.”

A smile tugs on the corner of her lips as she stares at the toddler in front of her, taking small steps with a slight struggle towards her way while she films the little moments in life like this one in her handphone. 

“Come on Shin, one more step to mommy,” She encourages before putting her phone to the side and opening her arms getting ready to catch and envelop the little child onto her arms as he takes another small step before leaping into her arms with a wide grin. Embracing him in her arms with a smile spread across her face, she couldn’t help but let out a sigh of content and happiness.

Turning her head slightly as she felts a light pat on her shoulder, she grins only to see a tall, lean man standing behind her while holding a visible plastic containing a big pink fluff of candy floss inside with a wide grin playing on his lips.

“Oh look Shin-chan, daddy’s back with your little reward!” She announced to the toddler before slowly scooping him onto her arms and standing up while carrying him, bouncing him lightly and carefully, hearing him giggles softly.

 The little boy only claps his hands happily before extending it happily to the said tall man in front of them, asking to be carried which the man took the sign of before reaching out and taking the kid to carry on his arms while holding the bag of candy floss in his free hand.

“Welcome back honey, what took you so long to cross the road and buy a bag of cotton candy?” She joked before leaning to place a light, feather peck on his lips.

“I decided to stop by the post office remembering that there was a letter marked as highly important waiting for us which was delivered in our house but we were away that time so instead, the post man left a note saying to pick it up but I only remember it now.” He explained, scratching his head slightly before fishing out a letter envelope folded once or twice to fit into his pocket before handing it to her with a shrug. “It’s addressed to you,”

“Thanks Hyunwoo.” Taking it as she unfolds and opens the envelope with a grin, she took the folded letter inside before unravelling and reading it slowly with a smile still painted across her face.

‘Dear Mina,

You may be wondering what this letter is about or why someone like me would write a letter when we clearly know that I’m not the letter type of guy to someone like you when the last time we saw each other ended up with me breaking your heart.

I remember the day still fresh on my mind when I told you I didn’t love you just to break it up to you and keep you from being hurt further more.

The truth is; I lied that time. It took me a while to ask you to marry me because I was hesitating but when I asked you, it just came out automatically and the smile you had that time was so unbelievable and mesmerizing that I never saw you that happy before in the whole entire time I’ve spent with you. Gosh, how much I miss your smiles! Now, don’t get me wrong here, I had all intentions in asking you but at the same time not. I was scared. I was scared of leaving you. Leaving you in this miserable, ed up world.

You may have noticed the distance which grew on us and the whole reason for that was because of me. I wanted to distance myself from you and for you to distance yourself from me to the point that when I break it up to you, you won’t be affected by it too much and won’t end up getting hurt but I guess it didn’t really worked out as planned because I realised that I can never distance myself from you, not before, not now and not ever.

The real reason why I had to lie and leave you was because I found out that I have cancer a few months before I popped out the question. It wasn’t much serious at first so I didn’t really take it into that much of an account but I noticed that it seem to have been getting serious and worse so I had it checked up again and they said that it was in the stage where it’s vital. There was a treatment of course, but the rate of it tuning into a success and me coming out alive was less than fifty percent.

I’ve thought about it over and over again, possibilities of it turning into a complete disaster and me leaving you in this world, and knowing you, I know you will never move on, so instead, I decided to play the role of the bad guy. I don’t want you to mourn forever over my death if ever the surgery goes wrong because you still have far more to live.

I loved you and I still do, forever, therefore I decided to let you go that time. Like you say right, “it’s just a chapter in the past; all you have to do is just turn the page”.

The surgery turned out into a success and ever since, I’ve been watching over you, asking how you’ve been and if ever you’ve moved on, which I should already know the answer to by now, yes, yes you have.

You have a great family, loving husband and adorable kid. I thought things through before, the ‘what if’s’? What if I never left, would it be us in that situation now? Then it hit me, whatever we had in the past will remain in the past. It’s irreversible and it can never go back as it was before.

But if I had the chance to go back to time, I won’t. You’re happy right now and I should accept that, which I have. You’ve moved on and it’s time for me to move on as well rather than living in the past.

I’m giving you the ring that I never had the chance to give you, I’ve kept it for far too long, even during when I was laying down in the hospital bed hoping and praying that the whole surgery turns into a success which it did, I just realised it was far too late already after I was all better.

Please accept the ring, accept the ring for me to be able to move on already as well.

Remember, I love you and I always will. Don’t forget to smile because you look very beautiful when you do.

I wish you and your family for the very best, and thank you. Thank you for teaching me a lot of stuffs including how to love. How to love someone enough for you to willingly let go and move on. Thank you and farewell, my angel.

-Hongki.’

She reads the last sentence over and over again as tears began cascading down her cheeks dropping on the water and leaving the ink to smudge slightly without her even noticing until it was too late. She has almost forgotten about this part of her past, but who knew from this one simple letter, it has suddenly reminded her of a thousand and thousands of memories floating back into her mind. Looking in the envelope, she found a ring, a plain, silver ring with a small, diamond stone in the middle. Taking it and staring at it, she tries to contain herself from bursting into more tears before she was disrupted by the deep, low voice of the man carrying a small toddler in front of her.

“Mina, are you all right? What’s wrong?” He asked concern and worries written all over his feature as he reaches out to wipe the tear which slid down her cheek using his thumb.

Slowly snapping back into the reality, she put the ring in her pocket before folding the paper and putting it back in the envelope, wiping her tears away before forcing out a smile and nodding.

“Of course, let’s go home. I’m pretty tired already.” She grinned before she leans to give a light peck on the little boy’s forehead who only stares at her blankly at first but smiles afterwards.

“Let’s go home.” Hyunwoo repeated with a smile across his face while bouncing Shin slightly on his arms.

They began walking beside each other with smiles painted across their faces while chattering softly and laughing to each other’s jokes every now and then, back to the place where they call home not noticing the man standing not much far away from them, watching the family before a small smile tugs on the corner of his lips and retreating away to the other direction.

‘Farewell to you too, my love.’

“Maybe it’s not about the happy ending,

Maybe it’s about the story.”