One year was a long time to wait especially if you know there are people waiting for you back home.

The past year has been filled with a ridiculous number of days feeling homesick but no matter how strong the urge was to come back, there is always the stronger temptation of the road of Arizona.

Every weekend after your work from an elementary school, you will find yourself packing for two days and joined this hippie group on their road trip all over the county in the lead of Victoire, a british woman three years older than your age.

Just like you, she and her friends were all seeking an out from the tiring expectations of the society or in other cases, they wanted to find themselves in the road.

From what they'd tell you, you'll find more of yourself among the strangers. In the most unlikely places is where you would learn a life lesson than any staying at home could ever have done.

You think they were right so far from what you'd experience. How will you ever imagine a year before you'll have the chance to meet a war veteran in a train station?

He enjoyed telling you his childhood spent working in the morning in their farm and running in the hills or climbing in the trees with his friends. There were some instances they had stolen foods when the era of the Great Depression occured.

But story had turned to be a tragic one as he shared the moment they have to joined the war and it is with a solemn tone did he tell you how he have to watch many of his comrades died in the face off between two unions.

That's why he told you this important life lesson; the past can't be changed but it's okay to let go and move on. Things will always get better in time.

And that was how you started messaging your dad from time to time. It was strange, not being able to see his face but slowly you were getting there, at the phase of developing to know how to forgive someone with a closure.

Finally after talking to her doctor and receiving money from you to visit, your mom was coming down for a week with the intention of not sharing it to anyone else.

It was mildly overwhelming, going from only seeing her face through the screen to potentially seeing her face before you fly back with her in Sokor.

Now waiting for her at the bus station, you leaned against the pillar and cast another glance at your watch; maybe you shouldn't have arrived so early. But you didn't want to miss her bus, not after having missed her so badly.

You absentmindedly picked up your phone when it rang. Your bestfriend's name flashed on the screen and you answered with no hesitation.

"Victoire?", you said in greeting, turning away from the direction of the bus approaching and read the board of the arrivals.

"Seeing as you answered the call without waiting a second, is there still no sign of Mama mia?", she called back, speaking loudly over the sound of something going off in the background.

You glanced at your watch again, checking the time and guessing that it was probably her break from the Saloon she was working at.

"Her bus is not supposed to be here for another ten minutes", you said with a sigh, pushing closer to the pillar you were leaning against so a large group of tourists could walk past you, "I know it's good that I got here so early so she didn't have to wait for me"

"Oh please", she scoffed, "You're getting impatient for real because for all we know, you wanted to scoop a news from your three Prince Charming"

"I honestly regret telling you that", you said, for a brief moment entertaining the idea that when she finally met the trio, she would call him that in their faces, "Now I should doubt inviting you to visit me in Seoul next month"

Even thinking about of her telling them that they've been you could only talk about was too horrifying.

"You're worried about me slipping up", she guessed correctly, "Don't worry, I won't embarass you in front of your boyfriends"

Trying not to scoff, you remind her as the chatter behind you increased, "I have no boyfriend in the moment"

"You spent an awful lot of time talking about one of them to someone who doesn't want him to be her boyfriend", she remarked knowingly.

"I'm not sure what he is, but he isn't my boyfriend seeing that I left there -", you insisted, turning back to face the direction of the approaching bus.

As soon as your eyes settled on the boy standing not far from behind you and he's helping your mom with her bag. Your eyes raked greedily over Sunghoon, not listening to Victoire as she talked in the other end.

Looking her over, you tried to catalogue whatever had changed in the past year but you couldn't really see anything.

It was strange - in your head the one year was so long that Sunghoon had changed enough to match it. But he really hadn't changed, not at all.

He was still tall, handsome only - he was frowning at you. You hadn't expected him to be frowning when the two of you met again.

Frowning as well, you absentmindedly spoke back to Victoire, "Do you mind if I call back? The coldest one of them is here"

"Have fun with your happy ever after", she teased, ending the call.

When you pocketed your phone, you hesitantly wrung your hands together and eyed the distance between the two of you before taking a hesitant step towards him with your mom smiling cheerfully behind.

This really was not how you imagined it would be like.

"Sunghoon?", you called out softly, not sure how to act around him after you runaway.

"I'm not your boyfriend?", he said instantly, "What do you mean I'm not your boyfriend?"

Caught off guard, you paused a short distance from him, "What?"

Sunghoon's frown, turning more into a pout deepened, "I've been waiting for you all this time and you haven't been thinking of me as your boyfriend? Really? Or do you go around here kissing men without me?"

You knew better than to smile, and yet you hadn't realized that Sunghoon was so adorable when he was pouting. Seeing your smile, his thick brows furrowed and you gathered yourself.

You closed the rest of the distance between the two of you, and take your mom's hand and held his hand with the other. Your mom chuckled when you tugged at his arm and offered a teasing smile as Sunghoon did not want to budge.

With a sigh, he dropped into step beside you, "Be thankful, I love you too much that I'm now here with your mom"

"Come on, Hoon, why would I think we were dating when I have not seen you in one year?", you pointed out, watching as he shook his head.

He grumbled petulantly under his head, "And to think I even brought you so many gifts from me and our friends"

"You did?", you asked, glancing up at him with a smile you hoped would sway him.

"Don't look at me like that", he tried his very best not smile you but he failed. Looking down at you with a teasing smile, he rolled his eyes, "You're going to have to be patient until I unpack before you get it, though. But you hurt my feelings so I might not give them to you"

"Well, how can I make it up to you then?", you asked before sharing a wink with your mom beside you.

"Give me some time to think", he stated, the look in his eyes was making you already regret asking.

"Forget it", you said instantly, leaning into his side when he wrapped an arm around you.

"No way", he said, leaning down as if he was going to kiss you.

Before you could speak another word of complaint, your mom let out a reluctant laugh before letting go of your hand when you were hoisted into another hug, with your feet off the ground. It led you to wrap your arms around Sunghoon's neck until he let you back the ground.

"Do you have any idea how I miss you so much?", he asked, the grin refusing to leave his face as he held you close to him, a hand framing your face.

"I could see it now in your eyes", you said, unable to remove your smile either.

He embraced you suddenly, arms coming around you to pull you into his chest. Before you could ask what he was doing, his arms tightened as if to squash any rebellious urge for you to go and runaway again.

"Don't you ever to do that again", he warned in a voice like a steel.

"Sunghoon", you objected, not quite understanding him.

"Please", Sunghoon's voice lost the edge, softening to nothing more than a plea, "Please don't ever do that again. Don't ignore my calls or my messages or to stop me from coming to find you. Just don't disappear from my life like it's easy for you to do, like I mean nothing to you"

His words clogged your throat, blocking you from spilling out the apologies and the assurances that he did mean something to you.

Unable to bring yourself to say the words, you lifted your hands to press between his shoulder blades in a silent assurance. He breathed in sharply at the gesture, drawing back to look at you and you cautiously raised your eyes to his.

"Promise me?", Sunghoon tried to order but really it came more off as a request.

"I promise", you murmured eventually and he let a deep breath leave his mouth before hugging you towards him again.

You didn't quite let yourself relax as you asked hesitantly, "Does this mean you're not mad at me?"

"No", he said resolutely even as he tightened his arms around you, "I'm still mad that you just ran and made me go through hell for a year. We still need to talk about that - and we will. But for now, let me just hold you"

Distantly your mom wondered just what your next year will be like and it would be a few more months until she finally find out.

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To be clear, Sunghoon's ending will be the last and not this.

One more chapter before Jay's ending because I'd like to show what happens to the other characters like Sunoo and Heeseung.

And more importantly, her dad and her stepsiblings.

I love them esp. Yeji. Vote!