Tears were suddenly forming at the corner of her eyes. Hikari saw the boy in front of her through tears. Wait no. Scratch that, he was no longer a boy. He, Shim Changmin, was a man now.

            It’s been a long time since she saw him. Her very best friend. They met each other in Japan. Back when she was so much younger. Too young to understand the real feelings she had for her best friend.

FLASHBACK

            “Princess!” Changmin called out to Hikari as he was looking for her for four hours already.

“Princess! Where are you?! It’s time to go home now!” he looked almost everywhere but found no Hikari. He was about to give up when he heard soft sniffs and sobs behind a bush.

            As he went around it, he found his princess rolled up tight into a ball as she held her knees close to her chest and her head bowed down with her hair flowing freely through the night breeze.

            “Hey, what’s wrong? I’ve been looking for you the whole time, princess.” Changmin knelt beside her and hugged her while he softly smoothed her hair with his hand.

            “Why are you crying, princess? You know I don’t want to see you crying like this. It breaks my heart.” He made her face him as he moved the strands of hair that were covering her tear-streaked face.

            “Tell me, who did this to you? Who made you cry?” he looked at her with deeply concerned eyes.

            Hikari stared at Changmin for a long time before answering. “You”

            Changmin was shocked at her response. “M…me? Wha…What did I do to make you cry, princess? Tell me. I can punch myself now for making you cry like this… worse thing is, I don’t even know what I did wrong…” he muttered restlessly.

            Hikari swallowed that lump that was starting to hurt so badly at .

            “You… promised me. You’ll never leave me behind. You said you won’t go anywhere without me. You promised!” she said between sobs

            “What do you…” he was about to ask her what she meant but he instantly knew what she was talking about. Yes, he was going away.

            “Princess, listen to me.” Changmin had a determined voice.

            He surely was holding back his own tears as he tried to comfort his breaking princess.

            “Don’t you ever think of me going away without you. Because to me, you’ll always be here” he vowed to her as he placed his palm on his heart to show where her place is in his life.

            “I will never forget you. Nor will I ever leave you behind. There will always be you in here. And I know that I will always be with you too” Changmin leaned in and kissed her forehead.

            “Hear my word and I will make it truthful. When we meet again, I shall not place a kiss on your pretty head solely but I will claim that day your innocent lips. For that day, we will never again be apart. This I promise you, princess” he pledged as he hugged her tightly to conceal his promise.

END OF FLASH BACK

            She had been waiting for years but he never came back. Well, he did. But he never visited her again. See, he was already too famous to remember her. She wondered if he even remembers his own promise back then.

            As she tried to avoid his eyes, Changmin noticed the tears that were about to fall.

            “Yah, when I left, you were crying. Now that I’m back, you’re still crying. What have I really done to you, princess?” he lovingly said. That answered all her questions. He still remembered his promise.

            Hikari looked at Changmin in the eyes to see if what he was saying were all true. And it was a wrong move since what she saw was honesty and…love.

            She hugged him immediately and cried in his arms once more. She didn’t mind if other students were watching them already. Shim Changmin a.k.a Max Changmin was famous alright. But he was still her Changmin. Her best friend.

            “Ehem…” she heard someone clear a throat. She didn’t want to let go yet until she heard that voice.

            “So, Changmin… you’re back from Japan” Hikari and Changmin turned to see the owner of the voice.

            Cho Kyuhyun stood on the corridor with flaming, burning eyes that could kill with just a stare. His expression was as cold as the two poles of the Earth.