Hyunjin's POV
I'm sorry, Aeri, I wish I could have done things different, but it was impossible.
As much as I wanted to stay with her, graduate with her, actually spend time with her like a normal teenager, I couldn't risk her health or future, nor her parents'.
I promised her we would end this together, that we'd return the shell and find a solution for this together, yet I couldn't keep it. This is a decision I'm going to regret for life.
I'm not certain of what am I going to do in America, or how long will I be there. I'm probably never going to see her again, and it feels awful.
I never got to tell her properly how I felt for her.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Aeri's POV
Gone. He's gone.
I don't know why, but him being gone feels like complete emptiness. I wonder if our souls truly somehow met in past lives, because it felt like someone really important to me was gone.
And it's not that he's not important to me, because he absolutely is, but it feels weird, as if we've shared years together, not only months.
How am I supposed to do this alone? Why do I feel my heart so heavy?
On the way home, my mom tried talking to me, but I just didn't feel like it, and she understood.
Once I got home, I tried messaging him, but of course, my messages weren't even delivered. He probably changed his number.
I wanted to hate him, I wanted so bad to do it, but I couldn't.
During the week, I had to hear every single day from every teacher, the news about Hyunjin, that he left because of family issues and he wasn't coming back.
I had to explain his friends, because apparently he only left a letter to me. Felix was the one who felt devastated, he appreciated Hyunjin a lot, and not hearing a word from himself hurt him.
I told Minju we'd cancel the weekend trip to Incheon. If the shell remained untouched, it wouldn't cause any problems, and I wasn't feeling well enough to just forget him and still go.
There were so many things we didn't understand about Hyunjin's departure. Felix even planned on talking to his father, but I told him he'd waste his time, as that man isn't accesible at all.
It took me a few weeks to feel better, and it was still strange to think about him and how strong my feelings for him were. By now, I was just convinced that our souls were connected through years, it absolutely felt like it.
.
.
.
.
.
As it was, the shell never caused us any problems again, so I decided to wait for the year end's trip to Incheon with my parents to finally return the shell.
As time passed by, graduation finally came. Minju and I became much more closer with the boys than before, especially Minho and I.
Somehow, he worried about me enough to distract me from feeling down. He seemed resentful to Hyunjin for leaving just like that, and for the marriage matter. Minho was the only one I told about that, not even Minju or my parents.
~
"What are you doing for vacations?" I asked Minho through phone.
"My parents are going away, but I don't feel like going. I prefer staying here."
"You're such a grandpa. You should have fun before college."
"Should I?" He chuckled, I did too.
"I do want to do something, I just don't feel like going out of the country, I'm too lazy." He said.
"My mom invited you to Incheon and you also declined so I doubt that's the case."
"You know what? I'll go."
"To Incheon?!"
"Yup"
"With me?"
"Yup"
"We leave tomorrow!"
"So? It's just a week so I'll just pack a few things."
It's not that I didn't want Minho to come, I did want him to. During all this time, he became like my male best friend, and spent a lot of time at my house with me and my parents.
If he was going with me, I had to explain about the shell and what happened last year, and I didn't know how he'd react. He missed Hyunjin, but felt more mad with him than anything, especially for everything that happened with me.
"Okay fine, pack your stuff!"
"I'll be there for dinner."
"Kay, see ya!" I hung up.
My parents were happy Minho was coming. I feel like they always wanted another child but for some reason never did, and so any friend of mine they'd accept, but with Minho it was like he was their son, and amazed me actually; a year ago I wouldn't have thought that.
We finally arrived to the beach. I held the box Hyunjin left, with the shell inside and the pearls. After unpacking and everything, we went for lunch and back to the hotel, we spent some time in the pool and then went to rest to the room.
Since my parents like to nap after lunch, that's what they did, but I hated that. I told Minho and my parents I'd go for a walk, but Minho insisted he'd come. He also loves to nap, but he said I shouldn't go alone.
"What are you holding there?" He asked me as we walked through the shore. I was obviously heading to the cliff.
"It's nothing, I just need to toss this to the sea."
He laughed at what I said.
"What?" I questioned.
"Nothing, you just sounded dramatic."
"It's because this is pure drama." I said as I eyed the box.
"I'm not even asking." He giggled. "Do you want some juice?"
"Sure." I replied. He reached his pocket to take out his wallet, but palmed each one of them without luck.
"I left it."
"It's okay" I laughed, "we can buy it later." I patted his shoulder.
"No! I want to treat you." He said. Hesitant, he decided to head back to the hotel, I tried convincing him not to, since we walked about 15 minutes, but he insisted.
I eventually let him, because this was my chance.
"Stay here." He said, and left running.
Of course I didn't stay. I had to take advantage of being alone to end all of this. The cliff was just 4 or 5 minutes away, so I started walking, slightly faster.
As I got closer, I noticed the tide wasn't low, at all.
"What do I do now?" I questioned myself. There was no way I could reach the rocks where I found the shell, they were completely covered with water.
Maybe if I climbed the cliff, I could do it from there.
The climbing wasn't as easy as I thought. I actually had to walk some kind of trail to get to the top. For a minute, I felt like I walked a lot, I just kept walking upwards, I knew I'd eventually arrive.
Finally, I made my way up to the cliff. The view was spectacular, it made me want to stay there. Recently, I developed some kind of fascination with the sea and everything about it, so I was enjoying the feeling a lot.
For a second, I remembered the day I met him here, how rude I was with him. He probably went for a walk after a fight with his father, and maybe he just wanted someone to chat with, even if it was a stranger, and instead I behaved rude.
"I'm sorry." I said quietly, although he was never going to hear me, I believed he could feel it.
I opened the box, revealing the shell. I took it out of it, and held it with my hands. Some part of me, strongly, didn't want to toss it away, because deep inside I wanted to see him again. Yulhee used it to see Sang Hoon, but he had the other half. Hyunjin doesn't have it, and there's no way I'll send it.
Besides, I'm sure he's probably made his life there. He probably graduated already, and probably married that girl too. But for some reason, I felt like the shell could still help me see him.
But I have to be stronger than that. I have to forget about him and move on, and having the shell won't help.
Even with a few tears running down, I got impulse, the shell in my hand, and for a second just thanked the universe for letting me get to know Hyunjin at least this way, even if it was weird.
Finally, I threw it. It was like in slow motion, the shell going down to the ocean, and getting lost in the water. I felt weird, like relieved but distressed at The same time; this was probably the only chance I had to comunicate with Hyunjin, but things were meant to be this way, not otherwise.
My phone suddenly starts to ring, it was Minho.
"Where the hell are you?!"
"I went to see something, I'm on my way back."
"I told you not to move Aeri!"
"I'm fine, wait for me there."
I put away my phone and start going down the cliff. As I walk, I noticed a small trail almost erased, leading to the other side of the hill, downwards.
I felt intrigued, so I managed to walk between some rocks and small trees. Strangely, it lead me to a small abandoned house, most of it torn away.
I was still up, but not on the top of the cliff. I wandered around the structure, some furniture was still fine though.
I felt a strange sensation walking around it, again that split feeling. My chest hurt, I started having some sort of Deja vús', or that's what it felt like, as if I've already been there.
I decided that's the place where I'd leave the little box, I wanted it to remain there, as a memory mark. I kneeled in front of what looked like a nightstand, already severed by the years. The drawer seemed to be losen, so I tried opening it, and I did.
As impossible as it sounds, there was an envelope, very old and almost shattered. I took it, out of mere impulse, and opened it.
"To my love."