~*Your/Hye Ri's POV*~

From: L Oppa <3

To: Hye Ri

Hey Angel. I miss you. :(
Come spend the day with me, yeah? I'll be waiting for you at our usual spot. Make sure to stay warm, okay?

I smiled as I read and re-read his text. It reminded me of the times when we had just become a couple. He would always be reminding me to take care of myself.

With a giddy feeling in the pit of my stomach, I hurriedly gathered my things and fixed myself up before heading downstairs. When I was just about to reach for the door, my parents came down the stairs. They were fully dressed in their formal work clothing and looked as if they were in a hurry for something.

"Umma? Appa?" I called, confused.

"Ah! My little girl. You're awake already?" My dad asked with a smile as my mom fixed his tie for him. "Thank you, yeobo." He beamed.

"What's going on? Are you going somewhere?" I asked with wide eyes.

"Mmm, honey. Daddy and I had an urgent business trip to go to." My mom informed me with apologetic eyes. "We don't know when we will get back, but we'll try to make it for Christmas. We're sorry honey. We know you don't like to be alone."

My eyes bugged. "Ch-Christmas..?" I whimpered. "That's over a month away.."

"We know. We're sorry, baby girl. We would have turned it down, but this is an important one. We would have told you earlier but..." My dad sighed. "We've barely even seen you. You're out with your friends and then you come back exhausted so we never had the time to tell you. We're really sorry, baby girl."

I put my gaze to the floor.

Over a month... I'll be alone for over a month... Alone in this house for over a month...

My eyes started to get watery. I didn't want to be selfish towards my parents, but I was scared of the thought of being alone. It wasn't just for a day or a week either. It was for a whole month, maybe even more than that.

How was I supposed to cope by myself?

"Come over here, baby girl." My dad opened his arms and my mother did the same. I ran into their embrace and the tears trickled silently down my face. My parents' eyebrows knit together in worry. When I peeked up at their espressions, I could read the conversation that they were having with their eyes.

Should we have turned it down?

We can't leave our baby alone...

I don't know what we should do..

I shook my head and stood firmly before them, attempting to wipe the tears from my eyes. "I'll be fine. Don't worry Umma and Appa. I don't want you to miss this opportunity." I hugged both of them. "Just come home soon. I'll miss you."

My mother kissed my cheek. "Don't worry, honey. We'll be home before you know it. We promise."

"We love you Hye Ri-yah." My father added as they exited the house, leaving me alone.

I shut my eyes tightly.

Be positive, Hye Ri. Umma and Appa will be home soon. They'll be home before you know it. Besides, you have L Oppa. He'll make you feel better, you just have to go see him now.

Slightly reassured, I left the house, making sure the door was locked behind me, before heading to our 'usual spot'. The park.

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Arriving at the park, I expected to find L there, leaning against his tree in his signature pose. However, there wasn't a trace of him anywhere.

He probably just isn't here yet. I'll wait for him.

I took ginger steps towards the trunk of the tree in order to wait for L but stopped when I saw a neat envelope posted on the tree. My heart pulsed uncomfortably when I saw my name printed across the front of the white envelope. My body was telling me that something was wrong, but my mind worked on convincing myself that nothing was wrong. That everything was normal.

This is probably for someone else... A different Hye Ri... I just have to find out which one so I can give it to her...

With shaking hands, I reached for the envelope and opened the flap, pulling out a handwritten letter. Before this point, I had thought that my day would not get any worse than my parents leaving.

How wrong was I?

For at least a moment, I could have sworn my heart stopped when I laid eyes on the letter.

This... can't... it isn't... for me. No. Why would someone give me a letter like this? It's not mine. It isn't.

But who was I kidding? I was sure the letter was for me. There was no denying it now.

I'd know that handwriting anywhere.

"L Oppa...?" I whispered.