My life had fallen back into its old, destructive routine after I was separated from Mina. I thought that time would heal me, but it didn't. It only buried me deeper into a pit of numbness. Drinking, smoking, and going to any bar I could find—just to escape. Brawling with anyone who looked at me the wrong way became my way of life. It was easier to focus on the physical pain than to face the emotional wreckage Mina had left behind.

I remember one afternoon, sitting on the rooftop of our school with Hyuga, and Gin. The usual cigarette smoke curled around us, and the conversations drifted like meaningless chatter.

"Did you hear the news that Bob was involved in a fight last night?" Hyuga asked, trying to stir up some excitement.

"Yeah," I replied, "I heard it was some group from Kurogin University. Their leader's supposed to be Tetsu's younger brother or something."

Gin laughed. "He said he's gonna get revenge on us, right? I'm looking forward to it. But honestly, I don't think he has the guts. Poor Tetsu."

We all laughed. It was the kind of laugh that masked the emptiness inside. We were pretending that life was normal, pretending that we were okay.

After we finished smoking, we went back to class. The usual discussions about fights, bruises, and ego-strokes took place. Bob, as usual, boasted about their victory, talking about how he and Honjo beat a group of five guys easily. "Pit started it, and we finished it. What do you expect?" Bob grinned, proud of his violent escapades.

I nodded, but none of his words hit me. I wasn't listening. Not really. The absence of Mina's voice in my life had created a silence that was deafening.

Then, during lunchtime, something happened that shattered the fragile calm I had managed to build. I received a text from an unknown number:

"Meet me at Queen Sirikit Park at 3 pm."

I stared at the screen, my pulse quickening. The only person who knew my new number, aside from my sister, Gin, and Hyuga, was Mina. My heart raced with a mix of excitement and terror. Was this a trap? Could I really meet her again?

I didn't tell Gin or Honjo about the message. Instead, I told them I wasn't feeling well and wouldn't be attending the last period. They didn't ask questions, and I was grateful for that. They were used to my sudden disappearances.

The whole walk to the park, I felt like I was moving in a dream. My thoughts were racing, and the world around me felt muffled, as if I were hearing everything underwater. My hands were shaking, and my heart kept pounding in my chest. I had no idea what I would find, but I knew I couldn't turn back.

When I arrived at Queen Sirikit Park, I didn't immediately see her. I stayed on my bike for a while, unsure whether I should remove my helmet, unsure if it was a setup. I didn't want to be caught off guard. But then, I saw her.

There, sitting on a bench, was a figure I knew all too well. Her back was to me, but I would recognize that silhouette anywhere. It was Mina.

Without thinking, I jumped off my bike and ran toward her, my heart crashing against my ribs.

"Mina!" I shouted, and the moment she turned around, I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around her.

For a long moment, we stood there in the middle of the park, her body pressed tightly against mine. I could feel the warmth of her, the softness of her skin, and the dampness of her tears against my chest. She cried softly, clutching onto me as though she never wanted to let go. Neither of us spoke for a long time, just holding each other, feeling the time we had lost between us.

"I miss you so bad, Chaeng," she sobbed into my chest. "I really do."

My heart shattered all over again. She had lied to her parents. She had told them she was going to the mall with Sana, but she had come to see me for one last time before her flight to Japan.

"They're sending me away, Chaeng," she whispered, pulling back to look up at me, tears still streaming down her face. "I leave on Monday. I had to see you before I go. I had to... one last time."

I could hardly breathe. I was both relieved and devastated at once. I was happy to see her again, but the reality of the situation hit me like a freight train. This was the last time. The last time I could hold her. The last time I could kiss her. The last time I could tell her I loved her.

We sat down on the bench, and we talked about everything that had happened in the months we'd been apart. She told me about how her parents had forced her to go along with their plans, about how they had controlled every aspect of her life, and how much it hurt to be away from me.

I looked at her finger, and my heart ached when I saw that she was still wearing the ring I had given her. "I bought this for you in Chiang Mai," I said quietly, my voice thick with emotion. "I wanted to propose to you back then. I was saving up, planning to do it in a special way, but everything fell apart before I could."

She smiled sadly and took my hand. "I wanted to say yes, Chaeng. I always wanted to say yes."

It was then that I realized—no matter how hard we tried, life had pulled us apart. And as much as we wanted to be together, the world wouldn't let us.

It was time for her to leave. Time for her to go back to her parents, time for us to say goodbye. I held her one last time, not wanting to ever let go. I didn't care if the whole world saw us—this was our moment.

Before she left, she whispered, "Chaeng, promise me you'll wait for me. No matter what happens, promise me."

"I will wait for you," I said, my voice breaking. "I will wait for you for the rest of my life. No one can stop me from loving you."

We kissed. It was a kiss full of all the love we had shared and all the pain of knowing it was the last time. She slipped a handmade bracelet onto my wrist, saying, "Promise me you'll never take it off, that you'll wear it until we see each other again."

"I promise, Minari," I whispered, holding her hand one last time as she turned and walked away.

I watched her leave, tears blurring my vision. She got into the car with Sana, and before I could say anything else, she was gone.

"Mina!" I called out, but my voice cracked, and I dropped to my knees, unable to hold back the flood of tears.

It was over. She was gone. And I was left alone, broken in the park, with nothing but the promise to wait.

I didn't know how long I cried, but eventually, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Gin and Hyuga standing there, their expressions soft and understanding.

"It's okay, buddy. Cry as much as you need to," Gin said, his voice gentle. "And when you're done, we'll go grab a drink. You've been holding all this inside for too long."

I stood up, feeling a little lighter, knowing that even though she was gone, I had to keep going. I had to survive this. I had to wait, just like I promised. Two days from now, she would be on a plane to Japan, but I would hold onto that promise. I would survive the loneliness. I had to. Because I loved her, and I always would.

The pain in my heart was unbearable, an aching emptiness that I couldn't shake off. After Mina's departure, everything seemed like a blur, as if I was drifting through life without truly living. Hyuga, and Gin, could see the toll it was taking on me. So, after another long day they insisted that we should go to Khao San Road to drink, just to take the edge off.

"Come on, Chaeng," Hyuga said, his usual smirk on his face. "You need to stop drowning in your own sorrow. Let's go have some fun, yeah?"

Gin nodded, a rare seriousness in his eyes. "We can't just stand by and watch you destroy yourself. You're our brother, Chaeng. You have to remember that."

I didn't protest. I was grateful for their presence, grateful that they cared. We made our way to Khao San, the bright lights, loud music, and chaotic energy filling the air. For a moment, I let myself forget. I let myself enjoy the night, surrounded by the people I loved, in the only way I knew how—by drinking my pain away.

But then, the call came.

It was Honjo, his voice frantic on the other end. "We're in trouble. Pit and his gang—they're here. We need help, now!"

Without a second thought, we jumped into action. We didn't even bother to think, just grabbed our things and ran out of the bar. Hyuga was already calling Bob and the others to find out where they were. We raced through the streets, our hearts pounding with fear. Pit had been a threat for a long time now, but this time, it felt different.

When we reached the alley where Honjo and the others had been, my stomach dropped. There they were, lying in pools of blood, barely conscious. Bob was the first one I saw, blood dripping from a gash across his chest. He could barely move, his face pale as he groaned in pain.

"Pit... he... he had a knife," Bob whispered, his voice weak. "He stabbed me..."

Before we could react, Hyuga and Gin rushed to help Bob, trying to stabilize him. I turned to see  Honjo, also hurt but conscious, his face grim as he struggled to stay awake.

But then, something happened so fast that I could barely process it. Gin, who had been by Bob's side, suddenly turned as a shadow loomed behind him. I saw it too late—Pit, standing there with a knife in his hand, his eyes filled with rage. Gin didn't even have time to react before Pit lunged at him.

The blade sank into Gin's stomach, and in that moment, time seemed to slow. My heart stopped. Everything blurred.

"Gin!" I screamed, running toward him, but it was too late. Pit twisted the knife, and Gin gasped for air, blood spilling from his mouth. Before any of us could move, Pit turned and ran, disappearing into the shadows of the night.

Gin fell to the ground, blood pooling around him. He looked up at me, eyes wide with pain and shock. His mouth tried to form words, but they came out as barely audible breaths.

"Gin, no!" I shouted, my voice cracking. I knelt beside him, holding his hand tightly as Hyuga and I tried to keep him conscious. "Please, don't leave us. We're right here, buddy. Just hold on."

Gin squeezed my hand, his lips curving into a faint smile despite the pain. "Chaeng," he whispered, his voice weak. "I'm sorry... but... I've had enough..."

His breath grew shallow, his eyes fluttering closed. My heart clenched in agony as I shook him, trying to keep him awake. "No, Gin. Stay with us, please. The ambulance is coming. Just hold on a little longer."

But Gin didn't respond. His grip on my hand loosened, and his head slumped onto my lap.

"Gin! Wake up! Please!" I cried, my tears mixing with the blood on his shirt. Hyuga was beside me, his face twisted in grief, holding onto Gin's other hand, trying to keep him with us.

But it was no use. The ambulance arrived minutes later, but it was already too late. We could do nothing but watch as they tried to revive him, doctors and nurses working feverishly to bring him back. But all the machines, the wires, the frantic efforts—they couldn't save him.

The sound of the machines, the beeping noise that once represented hope, now only echoed like a death knell. It was silent outside the emergency room, save for our cries. Hyuga and I stood there, helpless, unable to do anything but cry. We couldn't believe it. It felt like a nightmare we couldn't wake from.

I couldn't move. My body felt numb, like it had frozen in place. The pain in my chest was unbearable, and I couldn't stop hitting it, trying to somehow lessen the weight of the grief crushing me. But nothing helped. No matter how much I tried to push it away, the pain never stopped.

The doctor eventually came out, his face grim. "I'm sorry. We did everything we could, but... we couldn't save him."

I collapsed to my knees, unable to process what had just happened. Gin was gone. Our friend, our brother, was gone. The other person who had always stood by my side, no matter what, was never coming back.

We couldn't even bear to tell Chanda yet. We just told her Gin was in the hospital, that there had been an accident. But when she arrived, and saw us, the moment the truth hit her—it was like the world had ended for her, too.

She screamed, a heart-wrenching cry that tore through my soul. Her hands shook as she crumpled to the floor, hysterical. Hyuga and I tried to comfort her, but we couldn't even comfort ourselves. The weight of this loss was too much. How could we tell her that Gin was gone? How could we tell her that the man who loved her, the man who had always been the light of our group, was now just a memory?

I held her as she cried, but nothing could ease the pain. The world felt empty without him. And as I stood there, broken, I realized something—no matter how hard we tried to live, no matter how much we fought for what we loved, sometimes life just took away everything we held dear.

Gin was gone. And we would never be the same.

The night after Gin's funeral was the darkest I had ever known. The pain of losing him was still too raw, too fresh, as if a part of me had been ripped away. The world seemed quieter now, less alive. Every corner we turned, every memory we shared, all felt like a cruel reminder of the brother we had lost. I could feel the emptiness in the air. It was as though the whole universe had gone silent in mourning.

Hyuga and I walked back to our favorite spot, the place where we used to sit and talk for hours, watching the lights of Bangkok flicker like stars. It had always been a place of comfort for us, a place where we could forget the weight of the world, if only for a moment. But tonight, it felt different. It felt like the city lights were mocking us, flashing relentlessly as we sat there in silence.

We lit cigarettes, the smoke swirling around us, matching the turmoil inside. We didn't speak for a long while, just staring out into the vast expanse of the city. But eventually, Hyuga broke the silence.

"It's only just you and me now, buddy. So you better take care of yourself. I don't want to be alone in this world," he said, his voice low and tired. "Besides, you need to fulfill your promise to Mina."

I nodded slowly, my heart heavy. It felt like I was living in a fog, everything blurry and distant.

"Yeah," I murmured. "She'll leave tomorrow. Actually, I decided to go to the airport. Maybe... just maybe, I can see her one last time before she leaves."

Hyuga let out a sigh. "You want me to come with you?"

"No," I said quietly. "I can do it alone. Besides, I know you need to be with your sister tomorrow."

Hyuga sighed again, and we both sat there, staring into the darkness. The air was thick with unsaid words, and we both understood—this was the end of an era. Gin was gone, and Mina was leaving, perhaps for good. The future felt uncertain, a hollow space where only grief seemed to reside.

We parted ways that night, knowing things would never be the same. I tried to convince myself that I would be okay, that I could survive this emptiness that weighed on my chest, but deep down, I knew the truth. I didn't know how to live without Gin, without Mina by my side.

The next day, I went to the airport early, my heart racing with the hope that I might catch a glimpse of her. Maybe, just maybe, I could see her one last time before she disappeared from my life. But as I waited, the minutes dragged on, and the familiar feeling of hopelessness crept in. The airport was busy, full of people coming and going, and I felt like a ghost wandering through the crowd. I never saw her.

It was already 11 PM when I gave up and started heading home. The thought of going back to an empty apartment filled me with dread, so I decided to stop at the park before I went. The night air was cool, but my chest was tight, weighed down by the thoughts of Mina and Gin, the life I had lost. I sat on the same bench where Mina and I first met, the place where everything started.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, the sound of the city distant in my ears. I thought about that day, about how everything had changed so quickly, how one moment she was just a stranger sitting on that bench, and the next, she became everything to me.

"I love you, Minari," I whispered into the night, the words tasting like salt on my tongue.

I sat there for a while, the cold air biting at my skin, until I heard the sound of footsteps behind me. I didn't turn at first, not thinking anything of it. But then, I heard someone calling my name.

I froze, my heart skipping a beat. Slowly, I turned to see who was standing beside me.

"Tetsu?!" ~~

~

Four years had passed since the day the world crumbled beneath Mina's feet—the day Chaeyoung was taken, leaving behind a void that time could never fill. It had been four years of walking through life with a smile that barely reached her eyes, with a heart heavy yet determined. Each year, Mina made a flight back to Bangkok, a city that bore the weight of both her happiest memories and her deepest grief.

Returning was never easy. Every street corner, every scent of jasmine in the air, every echo of laughter seemed to carry a fragment of Chaeyoung. But Mina returned, year after year, for the one reason that kept her grounded: Aki. Their son. The boy who never met his father but carried his warmth, his gentleness, his very soul.

On this particular visit, the weather seemed to mirror Mina's emotions—clouds hung low, casting shadows over the bustling streets, and a soft breeze whispered through the trees. With Aki's small hand in hers, Mina approached Chaeyoung's grave, her steps slow and deliberate. A bouquet of white lilies trembled in her grip, their petals soft and fragile, much like the memories she clung to.

As they reached the grave, Mina knelt, carefully arranging the flowers. Her fingers brushed against the cool stone engraved with Chaeyoung's name. She lingered there, her hand resting on the gravestone as if it could bridge the chasm between them.

"Mommy, is this Daddy's present?" Aki asked, his bright eyes wide with curiosity.

Mina turned to her son, her heart aching at his innocence. "Yes, sweetheart," she replied softly, her voice barely steady. "Mommy always brings flowers for Daddy. It's a way to let him know we're thinking of him."

Aki nodded solemnly, his little hands clasped together as he mimicked her reverence. Mina couldn't help but smile faintly, though her chest felt unbearably tight. Aki had so much of Chaeyoung in him—the way his eyes sparkled when he was curious, the way he tilted his head in thought, the warmth he exuded even in silence.

As Mina sat back on her heels, she whispered to the grave, her voice trembling with emotion. "Chaeyoung, it's been four years. I still miss you every single day. But look, Aki's here. He's growing so fast... you would've been so proud of him."

Just then, a familiar voice broke the stillness. "Mina??"

Startled, Mina turned to see Hyuga standing a few steps away. His expression was a mix of shock as his eyes fell on her, then on Aki.

"Fancy meeting you here," Hyuga said softly, taking cautious steps toward them. Mina offered a bittersweet smile.

"Aki, this is Uncle Hyuga," she said gently. "He's Daddy's best friend."

Aki looked up at Hyuga with a curious gaze before offering a small bow. 

Hyuga's lips curved into a sad smile as he crouched down to Aki's level. "Nice to meet you too, little guy," he said, his voice thick with emotion. Then, standing, he turned to Mina, his face clouded with confusion. "But...