The next week at school was bittersweet for Hyemi. Her black All Stars jacket had a new patch on the arm that read "National Champions". Yes, their duet won, both of Hyemi and Jaehyun in tears by the end of it all.
She was ecstatic to have won, and got many congratulations from her peers, but she felt sad. Jaehyun left right after nationals and was already rehearsing for the tour. She walked through the halls alone, missing him more than ever.
"Hyemi! Congrats on Nationals!" Yangyang, Xiaojun, and Hendery approached her, the three of them all giving her a big hug.
"Thanks guys!"
"How are you doing with everything?" Xiaojun asked as they walked together.
"I'm doing good! It was a stressful competition but I'm glad to have won." She replied with a smile.
"Oh yeah I meant with Jaehyun being gone... Yeji told us."
"Oh... it's uh it's alright. I already miss him but it's gonna work fine. I'm meeting him every weekend until he leaves so we'll figure it out." She said with a solemn nod of her head.
"Well, you still have us to bother you plenty during the day." Yangyang said with a goofy smile. "Have fun with rehearsal! We'll see you tomorrow!"
With that the three boys left her standing in front of the practice room door. Plastering a smile on her face, she opened the door to see the rest of the team already gathered there. The moment their eyes landed on her, everyone started clapping.
"Uh... what's going on?" She asked, putting down her bag as Yuta came and threw an arm over her shoulders, dragging her over to the team. "Why are you guys clapping?"
"Here." Sana said with a smile, handing her a black envelope. "This was left taped to the mirror when we walked in. Read it."
Hyemi curiously took the envelope, a pulling out the letter inside. Instantly she recognized Jaehyun's handwriting, a smile on her face.
To my team,
You guys never fail to amaze me with your talents. Despite me being a mess this past week, sorry about that by the way, you guys did it.
National champions. It feels good to be able to write those words again.
You guys truly are All Stars, and it's been an honor to be on this team for the past three years. I don't know what my future with the All Stars holds, maybe I'll come back, maybe I won't, but you guys don't need me. You've more than proven that each and every one of you is fully capable of driving this team to victory.
I hope as your leader for the past two years, you'll allow me to fulfill one last duty of mine. It's time to pass the torch along to the next person who'll lead you guys to greatness. Any one of you would be an amazing captain, but I trust you'll agree with me on my decision. Lee Hyemi, I hope you'll accept this role as the next captain of the All Stars team. Make no mistake, I know that Hyemi and I have a special relationship, but this is a decision for the best of the team.
Hyemi, from technique, to emotion, choreography, and execution, you never fail to amaze me with your creativity and attention to detail. You have the attitude and skill that this team needs to guide them and I know that together, you'll all do some pretty fantastic things. I leave the team in your hands.
Don't be a stranger, I'll miss you guys a lot. I'll be thinking of you on every step of the tour, since it's you guys who pushed me to be the dancer I am. You'll forever be my team. My national champions.
Keep working hard,
Your proud captain JH.
Hyemi put down the letter with a huge grin on her face, all the teammates around her mirroring her expression.
"So Hyemi," Sichen said, stepping forward, "do you accept the position?"
"Are you guys sure that I'm the right one for this?"
"Of course we are," Sana relied with a smile. "This isn't just Jaehyun's legacy, but Yuta and I's as well. We fully agree with him."
"Well then... I'd be honored to be your captain."
- - -
"Hey captain Hyemi."
"Oh shut up."
Jaehyun let out a deep laugh as she ran into his arms, the two of them hugging one another on the roof of the SM building.
"So, how's rehearsal going?" She asked as they settled down on one of the benches and stared out at the city.
"It's tough. Lots of dances and quick changed but all the other dancers are so nice. NCT, too, they're all so chill."
"Aw that's so exciting! I'm so proud of you." She said with a smile, squeezing his hand.
"Thanks, Hye. I wish you were there, though. I'm gonna miss you so much." He said sadly, staring at the stars.
"Hey, it's alright." She replied, making him look at her. "We'll deal. We'll make it work, don't stress."
He stared down at her, looking into her eyes as she stared back with a reassuring smile. Her whole presence was so calm, so certain, and it made his heart flutter.
"Hey Hyemi?"
"Yeah?" She asked, not breaking eye contact.
"I love you."
Jaehyun held his breath as the words left his mouth. He didn't want to rush her, but he couldn't help his heart. Slowly the smile on her face grew. She reached up, putting her arms around his neck and pulling his face closer to hers.
Gently, their lips met in a sweet kiss. Jaehyun smiled into the kiss, his hands going to her waist as her fingers ran through his hair. Soon they pulled away, both staring at one another with goofy smiles on their faces.
"Hey Jae?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you too."
- - -
In the four months leading up to the tour, Jaehyun and Hyemi continued to meet whenever they could, constantly texting and calling whenever they couldn't. Having spent the summer together, and Hyemi starting her second year at school as Dance Captain, they were closer than ever. Day by day as his departure got closer, his love for Hyemi grew stronger, and Jaehyun couldn't imagine being apart from her.
"Hey Jae," Hyemi said with a cheerful smile, giving him a quick kiss before intertwining their hands. "Are you all packed and ready?"
"Yeah, yeah I am. Packed up last night." He said as they walked through the park near SM's building.
"I can't believe you're leaving tomorrow... where is the first location again?"
"Uh New York City. We go through the states first then Canada, Europe, Australia, all over Asia and then back in 10 months."
"Wow, I'll just be starting my third year then...crazy right? Are you so excited? You're going to have such a great time!" She said with a smile, doing her best to hide just how sad she was about his departure.
"I'm not excited to be away from you for so long..." Jaehyun replied sadly, playing with her fingers.
"Neither am I, but you're gonna have a great time on your. Seeing all those places, meeting new people, performing on stage every night... you'll be living your dream."
"Minus you being there."
"Oh stop, it'll be fine, Jae, we'll be fine. We'll call and FaceTime everyday and you can text me whenever you want. I'll get up extra early to talk to you with the time difference, it'll be like I'm there with you."
"But you won't be..."
"I know Jae, I know. I'm sad too but I promise we'll manage. We'll figure it out." She said as the continued to walk through the park.
He remained silent, a frown on his face as he let out a sigh.
"What's wrong, Jae? It's not like you to be this down." Hyemi said, noticing his unusually depressed demeanor as she stopped to face him.
"I don't want to manage. I don't want to just figure it out." He said, letting out a frustrated sigh. "I don't want to spend all my time missing you and just wishing you were there with me."
"What are you saying? There's nothing we can do except figure it out as we go."
"I can't do it. I won't."
"What does that mean?" She asked with a small voice, staring up at his eyes that were not pooling with tears.
"We need to break up."
"What?" She whispered out, her voice breaking as the tears formed in her eyes.
"I can't do this. I can't be apart from you for so long, just wanting to have you back by my side. I can't do it. And I can't do this to you either."
"Jaehyun... please don't do this."
"I have to. This is for both of us. You have a life to live and deserve to be with someone who can be there with you for every step of the way. I can't be that for you. You'll find someone better than me. I'm sorry, Hyemi."
"Jaehyun, please!"
"I'm sorry. Maybe if this is really meant to be, I'll find my way back to you some day."
She could only watch as Jaehyun turned, quickly wiping the tears from his eyes as he walked away, leaving her alone in the park with tears streaming down her face.
"don't leave me."
- - -
Wow, I can't believe this story is finished! Well, not completely because trust me, you're going to want to read the epilogue (coming out in a day or so)
Thank you guys so much for reading and sorry for leaving you on this cliffhanger oops. I hope you enjoyed the story!
-Author Hyun