“If not for Sulli and Soojung, we would have been done with shopping for gifts earlier,” Suzy uttered.

“It was nice meeting them though,” Jongin shrugged.

“So are you sure that you’d settle for this gift?” Suzy eyed the necklace that Jongin was staring at for quite some time. It was a silver necklace with a small compass-inspired pendant so Suzy probed, “Does she like travelling?”

“Hmmm,” Jongin nodded, “So it’s natural for her to fall in love with a photographer, right?”

“So you’re a photographer?” Suzy asked with excitement written on her face.

When Jongin realized the words he just blurted out, he widened his eyes and cursed himself inwardly but he masked it all with a vague smile which Suzy took as an affirmative answer.

“You should meet my boyfriend,” Suzy happily exclaimed, “He likes photography too. Maybe you two would get along.”

Jongin weakly chuckled as he whispered, “How I wish we would.”

He then turned to the sales lady and proceeded on buying the simple yet elegant necklace and once they were out of the jewelry store, Suzy teasingly suggested, “You should pay me with food.”

But what she did not expect was for Jongin to quickly succumb to her request and moreover, he brought her to a five-star restaurant. Despite Suzy’s protests of not being fit for the setting especially with the casual clothes they were wearing at that time, Jongin insisted on taking her to his favorite restaurant. He convinced her by bribing her of the best foods that they had offered. In the end, Suzy forfeited in their argument and they ended up enjoying the meal.

However, after eating, Suzy was confused when Jongin suddenly froze. Then, he stood up and bowed. Suzy then followed the direction of his gaze and saw an elderly woman exuding sophistication who was smiling at them. Unknowingly, Suzy also bowed in greeting.

“Fancy seeing you here, Jongin,” the old woman said.

“You too, omma,” Jongin replied. He then turned to Suzy and said, “She is my mother, Kim Hye Soo. And this, omma, is my classmate in cram school, Bae Suzy.”

“Oh,” Jongin’s mother scanned Suzy from head to toe before exclaiming, “Are you perhaps the child of Choi Jiwoo and the grand-daughter of Choi Bool-am?”

“Y-Yes,” Suzy stuttered.

Hye Soo then flashed a smile as she said, “It’s a pleasure to meet the newest addition to the Choi Clan.”

“T-The pleasure’s mine,” Suzy replied. She didn’t know if it was Jongin’s mom or the association with the Choi’s prestige that was making her uneasy.

“I didn’t know that you’re friends with my son,” Hye Soo added, “I would like to know more about you but it seems like you have already ate lunch.”

Not knowing how to respond, Suzy just smiled and nodded.

“Ah!” Hye Soo exclaimed, “You’re coming to my husband’s birthday party this weekend right? I’m sure Jongin invited you.”

Suzy looked at Jongin and creased her eyebrows and Jongin just gave a small smile and a shrug in return.

“I would like to see you there, Suzy,” Hye Soo gently squeezed her arm, taking Suzy aback, “Come on. Let’s take it as an opportunity to know each other more. You’re coming, right?”

Knowing the subtle hints that she could no longer decline the invitation, Suzy just nodded and beamed, “I promise I’d come.”

Hye Soo smiled back and soon, there were other elderly women who were calling for her so she excused herself and reminded Suzy, “Just ask Jongin for the details. See you.”

The two bowed yet again in order to bid farewell to Hye Soo and when they exited the restaurant, Suzy told Jongin, “It’s somehow odd for your mother to be persistent in inviting me. Are all your friends required to come?”

Jongin just gave her an ambiguous smile in reply and added, “Soon, you’d know why she’s so interested in you.”

“And what does that mean?” Suzy raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t need to come to the party Suzy,” Jongin suddenly blurted.

“But I already said yes and I even promised,” Suzy retorted, “Why are you de-inviting me?”

“Is de-inviting even a word to begin with?”

“Don’t change the topic.”

“It’s just…” Jongin’s words tailed before he shuffled his hair, “Nevermind.”

“I don’t know if you’re ashamed to be my friend or what – “

“Of course not!” Jongin cut her off.

“But I’m coming,” Suzy sounded determined, “Whether you like it or not. I promised your mom so I’m coming to the party.”

“Hey, let’s celebrate our anniversary in Jeju,” Naeun told Myungsoo, “That place would appease both my wanderlust and your hunger for photogenic sceneries.”

“If that place would make you happy, then let’s go,” Myungsoo beamed.

“Silly,” Naeun pushed him teasingly before linking her arms with his and she gave him the smile that he loved the most as she added, “It’s you who make me happy.”

Myungsoo’s daze was cut short when one of the staff tapped his shoulder and said, “Myungsoo-ssi, can you please help us look for Naeun-ssi? We have to leave Udo Island now and we can’t find her.”

“I understand,” Myungsoo nodded and as if in automatic, his head turned to the lighthouse. Brushing away his hesitation, he proceeded on walking towards the lighthouse and suddenly, a surge of memories were coming back to him.

He raised his camera and took another picture of the girl running towards the lighthouse. But as she heard the clicking sound, the girl turned and smiled at him.

“Kim Myungsoo! Hurry up!”

Myungsoo chuckled but Naeun being impatient, ran back towards him and said, “As much as I love your shots and I love my pictures, I don’t need a photographer right now.”

She intertwined her fingers with his as she added, “I need the one I love the most. Be my boyfriend, first.”

Myungsoo swallowed the lump in his throat as he proceeded in walking and soon, he was inside the lighthouse. As he climbed the stairs – everything was almost the same – he could hear the crashing of the waves, he could taste the saltiness of the sea in the air, he could feel the rustiness of the railings, and he could see the sunrays peeking through the windows of the lighthouse. Then, at the top of the lighthouse, he found the scenery of the vast sea yet again.

Naeun’s hair flowed with the wind and a smile adorned her lips as she did nothing but admire the scenery before her. Suddenly, she felt masculine arms wrapping around her waist followed by a kiss on her cheek. She chuckled and turned to find Myungsoo smiling. She then cupped his face in her hands and whispered, “I love you Myungsoo – only you. Forever.”

She tiptoed to take his lips and after a long kiss, Myungsoo buried his head on the crook of her neck and whispered back, “I love you too, Naeun. Only you. Forever.”

Myungsoo punched his chest once then twice. Almost everything was the same as the last time he went in Udo but the love that they celebrated before was now only a memory of a distant past.

He looked down and finally found Naeun searching through the stones stacked at the bottom of the lighthouse. By the time that he went down, he could see that Naeun was holding a stone with a sincere smile on her lips. When she put it back among the stones layered below, Myungsoo saw the writings of a marker on the stone. He need not to see it to know that the ones written on that stone were their names for he could clearly remember the way they wrote the words:

“Kim Myungsoo and Son Naeun are to love each other forever.”

Myungsoo bit his low