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Chapter 4

The next few days passed by in a blur.

She busied herself with settling in, registering Junghyun at a new school and ferried her to school every morning. At work, she tried to focus on her new job. It felt like landing in Vogue New York again six years ago - foreign, scared, yet excited to step out of her comfort zone.

At least one good thing happened out of this - the interview was extremely well-received by the public and reporters, which led Jihyun to attain other opportunities to interview other celebrities and visit other photoshoots for Vogue.

"Congratulations on the great results of your first interview, Jihyun!" She received a notification on her phone from a contact which read "Jihyun's Counselling Centre." Confused over the contact name, she decided to call the number.

"Hello? Sorry to bother, but may I know who you are? I have your contact but I don't seem to remember saving it as "Jihyun's Counselling Centre." She asked and heard a deep chuckle coming from the other end, "It's me, Jihyun." The voice said and she cocked her head in confusion, "And... you are?" She questioned again and he cleared his throat, "I'm going to get upset if you still don't recognize me this time."

Ah! Taehyung!

"Ah yes, Taehyung! Sorry I couldn't recognize you because you decided to save your contact name in a peculiar way." She teased while he snickered, "Well, you didn't call me, so I thought you might be busy. True enough, I woke up to news today that our interview became one of Vogue's most popular interviews thanks to you." He stated while she shook her head, "Nah, it became popular because you guys were in it."

"If that's the case, shouldn't I deserve a meal in exchange?" He joked, not expecting her to agree. "Sure, how about tomorrow?" She asked and he was slightly taken aback, "You're free?"

"That should be my question to you, Mr. Superstar." She chortled while he rolled her eyes, as if she could see his action, "Anything for you, Miss Kim Jihyun." He said as they both laughed.

"Send your address over, I'll pick you up at 11am." He said while she agreed, "See you tomorrow, Taehyung."

Despite her efforts to stay distracted in the day, she couldn't help but feel lonely and upset when it came to night time. Even though she tried to busy herself with Junghyun and have video calls with her friends in the States, she still spent most of her nights licking her old wounds and being upset over things which she thought she had gotten over after putting Junghyun to sleep. It was truly suffocating.

She needed someone to talk to, and Taehyung's call was extremely timely.

On the other hand, Taehyung had been thinking of contacting her for days. He spent the days typing and deleting his messages in the text box. Seeing Jihyun was a pleasant surprise to him.

Despite all the years that had passed and the few girls he had dated, he knew he always had a soft spot for Jihyun. Glancing at the bear keychain that he had kept over the years, he felt that the both of them meeting again was definitely fate. With that, he decided to send the message.

He had never told anyone before that she was his first love.

--Flashback--

It was graduation day, and they were all gathered with their friends in the large football field. Jihyun looked beautiful to him as usual as she donned a long black dress and white pumps with the graduation robe draped over her.

"I can't believe we're graduating!" Jihyun said excitedly as she scanned the crowd in hopes to find a familiar face. Taehyung followed her eyes and wondered where she was looking, her family was here - who else could she be looking for?

He glanced at her phone and saw her calling a contact name which read "Love❤". His heart fell. He had always known she was in love with someone else, but seeing that scene for himself made his heart wrench. He would see her with a blissful smile while she was texting, and he had once overheard her friends talking about the boy - but no one knew who he was. She was reluctant to reveal it despite countless questions from her friends, stating personal reasons and that she would talk about it at a more appropriate time. He didn't want to probe.

"Is he coming?" Taehyung asked softly and she whipped her head to look at him. They had always referred to the boy as "He/Him" since she was reluctant to even reveal his name. "Uhm..." She said hesitantly as she tucked a hair behind her ear. "He's not a fan of crowds." He knew she was making up an excuse because she seemed dejected. "That's not a good reason, Ji." He said while she sighed audibly, "I know. He's busy, I guess."

"Too busy to even attend his girlfriend's graduation?" He was seething with anger - the boy didn't seem to cherish Jihyun at all.

He knew he wouldn't do the same - he could treat her better. Whether it was the sweet smile she gave whenever he told her a lame joke, or the way she was kind to everyone and anyone she met, the way she included him in her clique and introduced him to new friends, he had undeniably fallen for Kim Jihyun. However, he was rational enough to know that their friendship would be ruined if he confessed - he knew she didn't feel the same way for him.

"Come on, let's go." He said as he pulled her to the stage area to settle down. As the graduation ceremony progressed and eventually ended, there was no sign of the boy. He could tell that Jihyun was disappointed, but she tried to keep her spirits up.

"Tae, I have something for you" She said sweetly, reminding Taehyung of the nickname that he loved when she called him once the ceremony ended. She pulled out a purple box containing a bear keychain. "I got this keychain because I felt that you resemble a bear. You look cold and distant on the outside but inside you, there's this warm and fuzzy soul with so much love to give." She smiled as he handed the box to him. Pulling out the keychain, he laughed when he saw the cute bear holding a heart shape in his arms. "Thanks Jihyun." He said as he kept the box in his bag. "I'm going to cherish this forever."

"I have to go now, but let's keep in contact. Don't forget me!" She laughed with twinkling eyes and he nodded, "Of course we will." He could never forget her, not in his entire lifetime. But it seemed that she was the one who chose to forget him.

When he tried to contact her the next week, it turned out that the number he had dialled was not available anymore. When he asked her friends, they told him that they couldn't contact her either. He was upset and he didn't know what else to do - and his feet had unknowingly brought him to the gates of a white house.

"Is Jihyun in?" He asked after a middle-aged lady walked out of the house when the doorbell rang. "Jihyun is not in the country anymore." She explained and Taehyung widened his eyes in surprise, 'What do you mean?"

"She got a new job in another country." She simply said and he nodded, "Where did she go?"

"I'm sorry, she doesn't want us to tell anyone." Her mother said.

"Thanks for letting me know."

She had left without saying goodbye.

He was sad for sure, but he didn't blame the girl - she didn't owe him or anyone anything. But he knew there was always a part of him that regretted not letting her know about his feelings even though she didn't feel the same way.

Punching his hand in the air and letting out his iconic boxy smile, he skipped to the room, feeling a sense of joy he hadn't felt in a long while. She's really back.