17 DAYS TO GO | KWON SOONYOUNG

50

To everyone who stayed till the end of this story,

Heyy👋🏻

I genuinely don't even know how to start this because oh my god??? This book is FINALLY over.

I started writing 17 DAYS TO GO back in 2023. And honestly? At that time it was just a random little idea in my notes app after reading In 27 Days. I never thought this story would become something I'd carry around with me for almost 2 years.

But somewhere along the way... it did.

And now it feels so weird because when I started writing this book, I was still in high school myself. And now while writing the graduation chapter, I've already graduated too 😭

So in a really strange way, I grew up with this story.

And I think that's why this book became so personal to me.

But more than anything, this story is really REALLY special to me because of SEVENTEEN.

This book was inspired by them from the very beginning. Not just their names or personalities, but THEM as people. Their bond. Their chaos. Their comfort. The way they love each other so loudly and sincerely. The way they stay beside one another no matter what.

The characters in this story are basically them.

Just in a different world.

A world where they were high school boys instead of idols. A world where they carried different kinds of pain and loneliness. But at their core, they were still the same people I've always admired.

And honestly, I think writing this story comforted me too.

Because somewhere along the way, these characters stopped feeling fictional.

Hana became someone I cried with.
Soonyoung became someone I desperately wanted to save.
And the boys became a place I kept returning to whenever life felt too overwhelming.

This story was never really just about time travel.

It was about grief.
Loneliness.
Wanting one more chance.
Wanting someone to stay.
Wanting to save people before it becomes too late.

And at its heart, I think this story became about choosing life anyway.

Even when it hurts.

Even when it's hard.

Even when tomorrow feels impossible.

I also wanna say sorry for the HUGE gaps between updates 😭 I know there were times I disappeared for weeks or months at a time. Life got busy, I got overwhelmed, writer's block beat my ass, and sometimes reopening this story felt emotionally exhausting because these characters carried feelings that felt way too real.

There were genuinely so many moments where I thought I'd never finish this book.

But every single time I came back, there were still people here waiting for updates, remembering this story, loving these characters despite all the random disappearances.

And honestly... thank you for that.

Like genuinely.

I don't think you guys understand how much that meant to me.

And now after all this time, I finally got to give them the ending they deserved.

No funerals.

No empty seats.

No one missing from the final picture.

Just warmth. Graduation gowns. Loud arguments. Caps thrown into the air. And a future they almost never got to have.

I think that's all I ever wanted for them.

And maybe for myself too.

Thank you for reading this story.
Thank you for loving Hana and Soonyoung.
Thank you for loving SEVENTEEN through this story too.

And lastly -

Please be kinder to the people around you.

Sometimes the people smiling the loudest are hurting the quietest.

Sometimes all someone needs is one person who stays.

Seventeen days changed everything for Hana.

But maybe even one conversation, one small act of kindness, or one moment of understanding can change someone's life too.

Thank you for staying till the end.

Really😭😭