The drone of the teacher's voice fills the stagnant air of the classroom. You look at the clock that is on the wall. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.... 
You sigh, wishing the clock wasn't so loud and obnoxious. It sometimes bothers you when you are doing work. You zone out, staring at the chalkboard as you play with your pencil. You are nearly falling asleep by then, your eyes drooping closed every so often. You wake up with a jolt to the sound of the bell and the sound of people rushing to pack their backpacks and head home. You hear the sound of papers rustling and you look over to the desk to your left. Your best friend Taemin has just finished shoving everything in his backpack like he always does every time the last bell of the day rings, not caring if things get rammed. "Uh, can I talk to you?" Taemin asks as he stands up and puts on his backpack. "Sure. What is it?" you ask, looking up at him. Taemin's eyes dart around the room, fidgeting a bit as he bites at the corner of his mouth. He seems nervous. "Uh.. not here.. on the roof?" 

The both of you walk up to the roof of the school. "It's so nice and windy here!" You exclaim as you extend your hands towards the railing, looking down at the view of the students exiting the school. Taemin nods. "Uh, y-yeah." he stammers, nervously scratching his neck. You turn around to face him. "Okay, what do you want to tell me?" 

Taemin gives you a nervous smile. "Well.. actually..." he starts to blink, a habit he does when he is nervous. You wonder why he is so nervous. His eyes dart around again, avoiding contact with yours. 

He inhales and begins to speak. "Well, I.. I have to leave in a few days..." he slightly stammers.

"Huh?" You say confused. "What do you mean?" 

Taemin sighs. "My parents have to go to America because of their jobs." 

You stand there, taking everything in. You look down as you start to tear up. The gust of wind blows your hair in your face as the both of you stand there in silence. "Then... then we're not going to see each other anymore?" you mumble, your voice slightly quivering.

Taemin sighs and shakes his head. He gets closer to you and wraps his arms around you, placing one hand on the back of your head as you rest your head on his shoulder. "Don't say that." he murmurs quietly, gently your hair a little. "I will come back. I promise," he whispers, his soft voice in your ear. He pulls away after a few seconds, slightly biting on his lower lip as he ponders. His lips curve into a small smile. "How about we make the last few days we have together memorable?" 

 

---
The next day, Taemin decides to take you to a convenience store nearby after school. 

"What do you want to buy here?" You ask him as you apply pressure on the brakes of your bike, slowing down a little as you come to a complete stop. "You wait here!" Taemin says, getting off of his bike and running into the store. 

"Uh... sure, okay.." you mumble, getting off of your bike to sit on the porch steps. 

Taemin comes out of the store a couple of minutes later with two ice cream cones in his hands. "Here. Strawberry, cherry, raspberry flavor. Your favorite." he hands the ice cream cone to you. You look at the ice cream, smiling. "Thank you." 

Taemin sits down next to you. "We used to do this all the time back in elementary, remember?" 

You nod, your ice cream. You look at the ice cream in his hand. "You have the same flavor as me? I thought you hated it." 

Taemin shrugs. "I just want to try the things you like." 

 

---
"Hey! Over here!"

You turn around to see Taemin waving. You run up to him. The both of you are at a lake. 

The trees on the far side of the lake are being reflected on the lake, the leaves of the trees are full color, and as the lake ripples, they seem to dance with a life of their own.

"It's pretty hot today..." Taemin comments as the both of you walk around, taking in how beautiful the view is. You sigh. "Yeah. It's terrible." 

Taemin chuckles. You look up at the sky in silence, enjoying each other's company. 

"You know... because of you, I got to experience a lot of things." You smile at him. 

Taemin turns to look at you. "Really?" he asks. 

You nod. "Of course! And you taught me a lot about life too." 

"Well, I'm glad I did," he grins. Taemin's eyes catch something in the distance and he looks at the dock, smirking when he gets an idea. He turns to you, poking your side. "Ow! What?" You turn your head to him. When he doesn't respond, you follow the direction of his gaze, eyes landing on the dock. "Wanna do it?" Taemin smirks, looking at you. "Well, not if you go first." You reply, smiling. "Last one is a rotten egg!" Taemin yells as he takes a running start towards the dock. 

"Hey!" You shout, sprinting after him. "That's unfair!" 

The both of you run down the dock, your hair swishing from side to side past your shoulders, birds flying through the sky above. "Ready?" Taemin yells through the sound of steps pounding down on the wooden dock, reverberating. He grabs hold of your arm as the both of you get closer to the edge of the dock. "Jump!" 
You both leap into the water, creating a huge splash as the both of you break the surface. The both of you swim to the surface, laughing. "It's cold!" You squeak, shielding your face with your arms as Taemin starts splashing you. He stops and smiles mischievously, snickering as he swims away. "Hey! Come back here!" You shout, swimming after him. 

 

---
Taemin finds you sitting by yourself in the classroom during lunch. "Hey, why are you here? It's lunch time. Don't you want to go to the cafeteria and eat?" 
You don't respond and just stare down at your lap, clenching your hands into fists. 

"H-hey. what's wrong?" Taemin asks, his voice laced with concern. 

The tears that were threatening to fall finally triumphed. "I'll miss you. I'll miss you so much that I won't know what to do with myself." you sniffle, rubbing your eyes. 

"Hey..." Taemin whispers, going to embrace you. 

"I want you to leave remembering how I'm living my life happily here. I don't want you to worry about me. But I can't help but feel... feel sad that you're leaving all of a sudden. I'm sorry.. for being so selfish and childish." 

Taemin hushes you, patting your back. "It's okay to feel that way." he murmurs softly before wiping your tears away. "How could I possibly not worry about you? I promise I'll call you.. and text you as much as I can. Okay? And don't forget to write, call or text me too. Or I'll punish you." he grins, pinching your cheeks. "I will be back. It's not like I'll be gone forever."  

You nod. "Okay." you give him a small grin. 

"Let's pinky promise on this. That we will never stop being best friends." Taemin says, holding up his pinky finger. 

You sniffle, linking your pinky with his. "I promise!" 

Taemin smiles and ruffles your hair. "Come on," he says, standing up and taking you by the hand. "Let's go eat." 

 

---
Taemin turns around, beaming mischievously at you. "Surely one week was long enough for you to get me a present. Where is it?" he asks innocently, causing you to eye him in disbelief. 

"So shameless, asking for a present." 

"Aw, come on.. your best friend is leaving and you didn't get him a present?" Taemin pouts.

"Well..." You giggle, taking out what you are holding behind your back. "Tada!" 

"Whoa." Taemin smiles, taking it the big bear into his hands. "Thank you... It's cute." he chuckles.

"I also got you a bracelet with a piano charm on it. It's on the bear's arm," you grin. 

Taemin's eyes avert to the arm of the bear and he takes the bracelet off to put it on his arm. "I like it. Thank you," he grins blissfully, squeezing the bear with his hands. "Oh." Taemin reaches into his pocket. His eyes widen slightly when he realizes what he's looking for isn't in his pockets. "Where is it?!" he mumbles, putting his suitcase down on the ground and opening it. He frantically searches for the item, creating a mess out of his once neatly folded clothes. 

"What are you looking for?" you ask curiously.

"I probably forgot to bring it!" he says, sounding frustrated. He digs deeper into his suitcase. "Found it!" he pulls the item out and shoves his clothes back into the suitcase before shoving the suitcase closed. 

He stands up and walks closer to you, opening the small box. "Stay there." he walks behind you and puts a necklace around your neck. You turn around, surprised. "You.. you got this for me?" 

"Yeah.." he grins, a bit shy. "I worked hard to buy it for you. It's pretty, right?" 

You look down at the pendant, admiring how pretty it looks. "You didn't have to..." 

"But I wanted to. It looks great on you." 

You look up at him, slightly blushing. "Th-thank you.." you smile shyly. 

Taemin chuckles softly at your smile. "You're welcome." 

"Taemin!" Taesun calls out. "We're leaving now!" 

Both of your smiles are now replaced by solemn expressions. "I've got to go.. now.." Taemin mumbles, hesitant to move, to say anything else. 

You feel a pang of pain in your heart, not wanting him to go. Taemin sighs, gazing sadly at you before wrapping his arms around you. Your arms slither around his waist, pulling him closer to you, clutching the back of his shirt with your fists as you try not to cry. You observe his face, trying to memorize as many details as your eyes could take. 

"I have to go or else I'll miss the flight." 

Gradually, your grip around him loosens, allowing him to slip away. 

"I'll be back, I promise." 

He turns around and even though you could only see his face for a split second before he turned, you could swear you saw tears in his eyes. 
He disappears into the crowd. You start to panic. Not having him by your side just doesn't feel right at all. You don't like it. You hate the fact that he's leaving you behind. Like a child who has been abandoned, you cry in the middle of the airport, ignoring the people gazing at you. You try to picture Taemin in front of you again, yet you see nothing but a blurry figure, a pathetic figment of your imagination. 

You feel so desperate, wanting to hear his voice so badly. 

You turn to leave the airport, looking for an exit, not wanting to be in this suffocating place anymore. You wipe your tears and try to hold the tears back, not wanting to cry anymore. 

 

 

 

You lie in bed, staring at the ceiling of your bedroom, feeling empty. It has been 8 hours since Taemin has left that morning. He won't be in Los Angeles for another day. You look down at the necklace Taemin gave you. You wonder if you could open the pendant. You try to yank it open and it snaps open. You see a picture of you and Taemin. You smile softly at the picture, taking it out. You see a small folded paper that was hidden behind the picture. You blink, wondering what it is. You take the paper and unfold it. You recognize Taemin's handwriting, neatly jotted across the small note.  

"Hey, 
    As you can see, I've bought this necklace pendant for you. I remember you were eyeing this necklace when we were strolling around the mall a few weeks back. 
If you ever feel lonely or if you need someone to talk to, you can call me. I don't care whether it's 5PM over there, and it's 3AM where I am. I don't want you going to other people while I'm not around. I'm the only person you can show your weak side to, alright? 
I'm gonna miss you so much. I know it's a cruel thing to say, especially through a method like this, but I love you. I love you so much. 
I was afraid to ask you this because I don't know what I'd do if you said "no" to me directly; but would you wait for me? Would you be my girlfriend once I return?
If you will, just let me know. If you don't.. just pretend you never read this letter. Burn it, or something. ^^; 

Love,
 Taemin." 

Your hand covers your mouth in shock. You try to hold back the tears that are threatening to fall. You put the letter down and reach out for your phone to call him but stop when you remember that he probably hasn't landed yet. You sigh and get up, pacing around the room. You glance at the clock and decide to try to call him. You reach out for your phone. The phone starts to ring and you quickly pick it up.

"Hey!" you hear his voice on the other end. "I've landed in Hawaii an--" 

"You idiot!" you yell, attempting to sound angry, but you're actually over the moon after hearing his confession. You hear a small cackle from the other end of the line. 

"So will you wait for me?" Taemin asks. You could visualize the smug smile he would have on his face. 

"You're not allowed to look at other girls in America! Don't even think about it! Don't you dare forget that I'm waiting here! You better come back soon or I'll find myself another guy!" 

"Anything else?" Taemin laughs. 

"Don't skip your meals. Don't forget your jacket and don't forget to rest when you're tired. And.. and don't leave me here too long." 

"I got it. I'll remember that. I'll come back before you have a chance to get another guy to replace me. Don't replace me or I'll be really angry." Taemin grins. 
You smile. "Okay, I got it."  

Everything seems to be alright once again. Nothing has really changed. You didn't really leave. 

 

---
It's a blazing hot summer day. Taemin stands in the middle of a busy airport near the terminal gate, waiting for you. He nervously checks for any creases on his clothes and fixes his fringe. He inserts his hands into his pockets, exhales, puffing his cheeks out and tapping his foot. He's excited to see his best friend again. He can't wait to take you places around Los Angeles. But he's also nervous. What if things have changed? It's been years since the both of you have seen each other. Many thoughts run through his head as people continue to walk out of the gate. He turns around to look at the board that lists all of the flights arriving and departing. He sighs, looking at the time. 

Where is she? 

Taemin continues to gaze at the board, becoming more anxious. His breath hitches when he hears footsteps approaching him. He turns around, his eyes sparkling in delight. "He--" he stops, his heart dropping. His smile slowly turns into a frown, the bright shine in his eyes gone, feeling disappointed. It was just a stranger.

"Uh... do you know where the bathroom is?" the girl asks. 

You exit out of the gate, frantically looking for him. Your heart races as you scan the crowd of people. You finally spot him standing there, his hands in his pockets, looking down at his feet. You let out a sigh of relief and smile. You could recognize his figure anywhere. He's definitely gotten taller, his hair is a little longer and his shoulders have gotten broader. Someone behind you bumps into you, causing you to snap out of your thoughts. They apologize to you as they walk away. You exhale and start to walk up to him, each step gradually speeding up as you get closer to him.

"Taemin?" 

Taemin's head snaps up at the sound of his name and turns around. His dull expression turns into a surprised one as he gazes at you, thoughts forming sluggishly in his mind. "Hey.." A beaming smile graces his lips as he greets you, his eyes sparkling at the sight of you. He runs, wrapping his arms around you, embracing you in a tight hug, almost causing you to lose your balance. You stand there, surprised but you wrap your arms around his waist, missing the warmth of his hugs. The both of you feel calm in the comfort of each other's arms, feeling all of the fears and worries disappear. 
"I missed you." Taemin utters softly, kissing the top of your forehead. You smile, finally hearing his voice after so long. 

"I missed you too."

 

 

 

 

 

"Be humble, say thank you to the people around you, work hard to be the best!"
— Lee Taemin