Changes | Mark Lee

1.

Choi Gyuri was working when her shuffled playlist skipped to the next song and she softly smiled, hearing the familiar voice of her childhood best friend start off the song in a soft tone. She had a long playlist with chill songs that she often played at work since it matched the atmosphere of the coffee shop she worked in, and every once in a while a song would come on in which she could hear his voice.

Sometimes, her mind would wander to her childhood in Canada, and more specifically her best friend Mark. When he moved in next door, the two of them immediately stuck together and became best buddies. Their families were the only Asian households in their neighborhood, so their parents always kept in close contact.

Mark and Gyuri were the same age, so throughout their friendship, they grew up together. They were inseparable; everything they did, they did together. From going to school to playing outside; even going on holidays was something they did together. Both looked back on their childhood as a happy time filled with many great memories for both of them.

As they became older, they noticed how people always assumed they liked each other since they were always together. But for them, it was nothing more than being best friends. They trusted each other and enjoyed being around each other.

Gyuri remembered the random day when they didn't have school, which she used to spend time at her grandfather's farm while Mark followed his brother to a global audition for a Korean entertainment company. Gyuri was surprised when Mark told her he was going as it seemed out of place for him, but she could imagine him doing a good job and wished him luck. Little did she know that that day would change both their lives.

A few weeks after the audition, Mark rushed over to Gyuri's house to excitedly tell her he passed and was going to become a trainee. Gyuri gasped and jumped up from her bed to tackle him in a hug. He laughed and they jumped around the room. Gyuri couldn't believe it. Even though she knew Mark was very talented, getting into a company was very tough and only happened to the very best. She held Mark's shoulders, stopping him from jumping, and smiled at him.

"Mark, that's seriously incredible. I'm really proud of you," she told him sincerely, to which he smiled and hugged her again.

"I can't believe it. I'm gonna be an idol!"

The two spent the rest of their day fantasizing about Mark's future and watching other kpop groups and idols to get a glimpse of their world, the world to which Mark would be transferring.

Because of course, he couldn't become a kpop idol from Canada. He would be moving to the South Korean capital, Seoul, to start his training period and hopefully debut soon. It was the only con about this opportunity; the distance that would be put between him and Gyuri, and him and his family. However, all of them were way too proud of him to let their feelings get in the way of him pursuing his dreams. Besides, they lived in an age where contact from opposite sides of the globe was faster and easier than ever, and so they were sure it wouldn't be too bad to be so far away from each other.

And it wasn't, for a while at least. After Mark moved away, the two best friends often called and texted, updating each other about their now separate lives. But as weeks and months passed and Mark's schedule got busier and busier, the lack of similarity in their daily schedules in combination with the big time difference proved it to be more difficult than they expected to stay in contact.

Slowly but surely, their once-daily contact died down to almost nothing, with merely a quick call or text every so often. Gyuri had prepared herself for this to happen, but she really wanted it not to. She realized that his life had changed so dramatically that it was almost impossible for him to keep close contact with people who were on the other side of the world. Even though it hurt having to watch her best friend slowly drift away from her, it didn't change anything about the pride she felt for him and she just moved on, trying to accept that they would drift apart. What else could she do, but support him?

So, Gyuri got on with her own life, a new life without him. She put herself out there, made new friends, and did new things. His absence was noticeable to her for a long time, but slowly and surely she started to grow more into herself and get used to how things were now. She spent high school with different friends, even dated a little bit, and graduated with exceptional scores. At graduation, Mark's family came to celebrate with her as well as her own family. They still lived next to each other, and so Gyuri made sure to stay in contact with them as they truly felt like a second family to her. As she watched all of her classmates and friends get their diplomas in their matching caps and gowns, she was reminded of Mark once again, and how it should've been both of them up there on that happy day. Nonetheless, she kept a big smile on her face the entire day and celebrated the end of a chapter with all her friends and family.

After finishing high school, she decided to make a lifelong dream come true by moving to Korea and studying there. She'd always wanted to visit the country and visit her family, as well as see where her parents grew up. Besides, she knew the educational system was exceptionally good there and thought it would be amazing to study there. Ever since she was little, she knew exactly what she wanted to do. Growing up, she often visited her grandparents who owned a farm, and there, she discovered her immense love for animals and taking care of them. Therefore, it came as no surprise that she wanted to study veterinary medicine and eventually become a vet.

So she did. Right after turning 18, she bid her family and friends in Canada goodbye and moved to Seoul, where she started an entirely new life on her own. She moved into her family's apartment together with a roommate who would be doing the same study as her. She had to start all over again, making new friends and getting comfortable in a completely new city. When she left Canada, she also left her English name there and decided to start anew with her Korean name, which she hadn't used much in her life but it felt like a nice way to begin this new, fresh journey to becoming independent.

Mackenzie belonged in Canada, and Gyuri belonged in Seoul. Even though they were two names for the same person, to her it felt like Mackenzie existed solely for everyone she knew back in Canada, and Gyuri was for the part of her life that she spent in Seoul. In her mind, she categorized her memories into a "Kenzie" section and a "Gyuri" section; a Canada section, and a Korea section. Memories in Canada were made as Kenzie, and memories in Korea were made as Gyuri. 

Her train of thought was stopped when she heard the door to the store open and she looked up to see a guy walk in. She smiled politely and greeted him. When he reached the counter and looked into her eyes, Gyuri's heart stopped as she could recognize those eyes anywhere.

Those eyes that she'd looked into so many times. The eyes that she'd seen portray every emotion, every feeling. The eyes that had always fascinated her, as they always looked so full of life and hope. The eyes that couldn't be anyone else's, but his.

After eleven years with barely any contact, her eyes finally met his again as her childhood best friend was standing right in front of her.

OOOPPP
This is so scary im not gonna lie
First time publishing on here even though I've been writing for a long time

I hope y'all enjoyyyyy

Let me know if you have any thoughts on this chapter 🫶🏻