“Byul-ah, do you remember this book?” Hyejin whispered as she placed the scrapbook on the table beside the bed. No response. She opened it slowly, revealing page after page of pictures, coupled with Byulyi’s handwriting beside some of them.
It all started out two years ago in high school. Byulyi had been in her third year and Hyejin was just a freshman. They were both on the athletics team, so they often trained together. In the span of a year trainings together quickly turned into frequent lunch-cum-study dates, and later on sleepovers and even a short camping trip at the end of Hyejin’s freshman year.
“Byul-ah, I’m scared. It’s awfully cold out here, and what if the animals outside attack us while we’re sleeping?” Hyejin whimpered from under her blanket in the tent they had set up at a popular campsite in Seoul. Byulyi laughed at the younger girl’s expression -how could anyone be so cute without even trying?- and pulled Hyejin closer to her.
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe,” Byulyi said as they cuddled in their tent.
Hyejin smiled slightly as she put the polaroid back in its place on the page in the scrapbook. It was a birthday present from Byulyi two years after they met, in Byulyi’s final year in high school.
“You’ll be graduating tomorrow, and I won’t get to see you as much anymore.” Hyejin kicked at the fallen leaves on the ground as she walked home with the older girl who had, in the last two years, become more like a sister than a friend to her.
“Silly girl, who said that we won’t be seeing each other? I just won’t be in school after this year, but it’s not like I’m leaving Korea or anything. Promise me you’ll be strong and continue to work hard even when I’m not there to keep you company in school, alright?”
Hyejin couldn’t help but smile, she knew that it was going to be hard but she’ll have to try regardless.
mellow, Byulyi had carefully written on the page beside the polaroids of their camping trip, along with other aesthetic autumn shots she’d taken of Hyejin without the younger girl noticing.
“I promised that I’ll be strong, Byul-ah, and I want you to be strong too, okay?” She leaned forward to kiss her gently on the forehead.
