Haerin

I stood by the airport with the rest of the lads behind me, whispering stuff and Sehun still wasn’t around. I knew I was frowning, disappointed that Sehun let Jongin and Tao drive me to the airport when he promised he’d be the one to drive me here. And now he’s late. I kept looking in a distance, in the hopes of seeing my boyfriend run towards my direction to give me one last hug and a kiss at least before I go. 365 days without Oh Sehun isn’t going to be easy. I need to see him before I go.

“Where is that dip?” I heard Baekhyun hiss behind me. Everyone was anticipating Sehun’s arrival but seconds went by, he still wasn’t there.

And then I heard my flight being called. My eyes widened and felt that tight tug on my chest. I can feel my tears surfacing around my eyes. Where is Sehun? I frowned and wiped my tears as I sighed. He’s not coming. The guys started to call my name so I faced them.

“Well, that’s me, now. If you ever see Sehun please give him a punch for me,” I said, wiping my tears as they laughed but agreed. Each of them gave me a hug and told me their last goodbyes. All of them wanted me to take care and Jongin proudly told me not to miss him and his -ness too much.

“Hey, take care alright? We’ll see each other soon again. The lads and I will visit you there if we ever miss you too much,” Suho said as he pulled me into a warm hug.

“Knowing Sehun, he’d probably visit you like after a week. He’s going to go crazy,” Kris added as he gave me a hug too. I chuckled at his statement and he just ruffled my hair.

“Don’t hesitate to give us a call alright?” Kyungsoo smiled and hugged me. Next was Baekhyun but he seemed to be a little preoccupied. I gave him a look as Kyungsoo and Chanyeol nudged him.

“What?” Baekhyun asked as if he got dragged back to reality. He then eyed at me, “Oh! Yes, of course, um…well…take care?”

“Are you okay?” I asked as he earned another nudge from Chanyeol.

“Well it’s not like I’m not going to see her again- ouch! Alright,” Baekhyun exclaimed and pulled me into a warm hug, “Take care, okay? We’ll see you soon again,” He said.

After everyone’s turn, I was about to go until I heard someone yell my name from behind, “Wait! Haerin!” When I looked back, it was none other than my boyfriend, running. I immediately ran to him and met him halfway. Letting myself crash on his chest, I felt his loving arms wrap around me. I can feel his chest rise up and down, catching his breath. My tears rolled down my cheeks as I hugged him tight.

“You almost missed me you idiot,” I cried.

“I’m sorry,” He said as I felt him kiss the top of my head. Sehun pulled away from the hug and placed both of his hands on either side of my face, “Take care alright? Don’t miss me too much, it won’t be healthy,” He teased as I gave him a light punch in the stomach.

“Speak for yourself,” I muttered, jokingly.

He chuckled and kissed my forehead, “We’ll see each other soon baby. I promise. It won’t be that long,” And for the last time, he gently pulled my face as I felt his soft lips brush on mine. My tears betrayed me once again as it rolled down my cheeks through the kiss.

The next thing I knew, I was sitting inside the plane to New York. I sighed and closed my eyes. It’s just 365 days, Haerin. I repeated this mantra over and over again with closed eyes and a hand on my lips. In 365 days, I’m going to feel his hug again and have him beside me again, but for now, it’s just me.

I had many questions during the flight to New York. How am I going to survive? Who was going to listen to my endless rants about my first day? Or who was going to ask me to go to bed when I stay up until dawn to study? My world revolved on Sehun, maybe too much that I couldn’t think of my daily routine without him. The last time I was in New York because I was avoiding him, it killed me. And I lasted for like a month or two. This is a different story. This time it’s a complete year without him. It’s 365 days without Oh Sehun. How am I going to survive?

The flight was too long but I slept in most hours. I didn’t have anything else to do but worry about them back in Korea but at the same time, excited to see my dad and Payton. They told me they were going to hold up a homecoming party for me and they mentioned a lot of their friends coming. What they didn’t mention though was Lee Taemin’s name. That guy. I wonder how he’s doing. But wherever he is and whatever he may be doing, I’m sure he’s okay. He can handle himself perfectly. I still hope we’d get to see each other one of these days and catch up though it hasn’t been that long since we last saw each other.

Touchdown, New York.

Before my eyes, stood Lee Taemin holding up the cardboard that said: “WAITING FOR SOME GIRL NAMED SUN HAERIN.” He had that goofy smile on his face that made me want to roll my eyes at him but I was so excited to see him that I just ended up laughing.

“Some girl, really?” I chuckled as he approached me with open arms.

“Nah, not really,” He gave me a warm hug and then led us both to the parking lot. It was a pretty crazy night, like how it’s always been. There were too many people crossing the street, too many cars and everything just looks so busy. Taemin was silent for a moment, which was unusual because he was usually the talkative one between us.

“So,” I said and looked at him who was looking at the road ahead of us, “How’s life so far,”

“Don’t talk like we’ve been separated for a decade! It’s only been weeks!” He laughed and then eyed at me for a moment before looking back at the road again, “But I’ve been fine. Still in the middle of coping from that heartbreak but I’ll be