It was already four in the morning and Haruto hadn't slept a wink. He couldn't fall asleep all night; he didn't know how he would manage it. Jeongwoo, his best friend, was going back to Korea, and this time he wasn't coming back. The worst part was that he hadn't even planned to tell him anything. If Haruto hadn't found his plane ticket, he wouldn't have known. The conversation was simple: he saw the ticket and asked Jeongwoo when he was leaving. The younger boy answered nervously. Then he asked when he would be back, but this time Jeongwoo didn't answer. Jeongwoo lowered his head and bit his lip. It took Haruto a moment to understand that there was no return date, that he really wasn't coming back. He got angry, yelled at him, even gave him a little shove on the shoulder. Was he just planning to leave without saying anything? Was he waiting for Haruto to come to his house and find out that no one was there anymore? He was his best friend, and he kept something so important from him.
"Haven't you slept?" Yoshinori asked, looking at his friend, who shook his head. "Are you okay?" he shook his head again.
Yoshinori sighed and got up from the floor to hug Haruto, who was sitting at his desk. Haruto involuntarily began to cry, and Yoshi comforted him, telling him that everything would be alright.
Yoshinori, Mashiho, and Asahi had gone to Haruto's house to sleep over and offer him support, though Mashiho and Asahi were now fast asleep on the younger boy's bed. This left Yoshi alone to hold back the tears that were Haruto, though he was somewhat grateful for it, since he had always been closer to Yoshinori and felt embarrassed to cry in front of others. But if it was Yoshi, it was okay.
"I don't know what I'm going to do now," Haruto managed to say. "What will I do when I don't see him anymore?" Yoshi tightened his hug. "I'm going to miss him a lot."
-Don't worry, you'll be fine, we'll support you.
-And what about him? Jeongwoo is afraid of storms, his house won't be a few blocks from mine anymore, he won't be able to come over to distract him.
"I know this seems like the end, but you can still stay in touch, you can call and text each other whenever you want." I took him by the shoulders to look him in the eyes.
"But what if she calls someone else? What if she doesn't think of me anymore when she's scared?" he said fearfully. "She'll meet another boy and take refuge in him when she's afraid, or when she feels overwhelmed. When she's happy, she'll go to him to tell him what happened or how high she's getting in her game, and she'll smile at him when she can't contain herself over some stupid joke she saw on her phone..." Haruto couldn't continue and kept lamenting, this time silently.
"Haruto," Mashiho said softly, having woken up a while ago, "Is Jeongwoo just a friend to you?" Haruto blushed, and Yoshi looked at him attentively.
-It doesn't matter anymore, there's nothing I can do now, he'll leave and I'll never see him again, he has no family here and I have no family there- she sighed- it's the end.
Haruto fell asleep, and the boys tucked him into his bed as best they could. His sad expression didn't fade even in sleep; the three of them felt sorry for their friend. They too were saddened by Jeongwoo's departure, but it affected Haruto much more. Now they understood why.
His flight was leaving at six; there was less than an hour to go. He was at the airport with his mother and brother, all three of them sitting looking at their phones. The younger brother, unlike the older ones who seemed relaxed, could barely hold back his tears. He understood why his mother was happy to be closer to her whole family, and why his brother, unlike him, preferred Korea, since most of his life had been spent there. Jeongwoo also loved his family and had friends in Korea, so he never felt bad about going there for vacation. But living there was different. Living there meant leaving Japan, his friends, Haruto, the most important person to him. Living in Korea meant giving up the walks from his house to school with the tall Japanese boy, it meant giving up listening to music and singing with his friends. Living there meant never seeing his best friend's bright and beautiful smile again.
She was about to burst into tears again when she received a call. For a second she hoped it was Haruto, but she saw Asahi's name and was a little disappointed. She answered, but it was Yoshinori who spoke.
"What time are you leaving?" I asked quickly.
"What?" I replied, confused.
"He said, 'What time does the damn flight leave?'" Mashiho asked from the other end of the line.
-In about half an hour, it's at six o'clock- there was no response.
There was a lot of noise from the other side; I could hear murmurs between Yoshinori and Mashiho, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I heard a thud as if something had fallen, and then Mashiho screamed.
Hurry, there's no time! What are you waiting for? Don't waste time.
"Guys?" Jeongwoo asked, confused, after a while in which he hesitated about whether to speak since they seemed to be in a delicate situation.
"Oh, sorry," Yoshinori replied, "see you later," and hung up.
That was strange, Jeongwoo thought, but he didn't pay much attention to it; his friends were a bit strange and noisy.
•••
Yoshinori was calling Jeongwoo from Asahi's cell phone, while Asahi and Haruto were getting dressed in a hurry with Mashiho yelling at them to hurry up.
Jeongwoo answered and Yoshinori asked his friends to be quiet, who continued getting dressed.
"What time are you leaving?" he asked.
"What?" Jeongwoo replied, somewhat confused, and Mashiho snorted.
"We don't have time for this," he said quietly. "He asked, 'What time does the damn flight leave?'" Yoshinori reprimanded him for his tone, but he just ignored him.
"In about half an hour, it's at six," Jeongwoo said.
"We have less than half an hour," Yoshi told them.
"Do you think we can make it?" Mashiho asked, sounding quite uncertain.
"I don't know," Yoshi sighed sadly, "but we have to try."
Haruto was putting on his pants and fell awkwardly in the act, he continued pulling up his pants on the floor and Asahi was running around the room looking for his shirt.
"Hurry up, there's no time, what are you waiting for?" Mashiho shouted to Haruto, who was putting on his shoes. "Don't waste time," she added, then lower in her voice, "Why are you falling right now?"
"This is difficult," Haruto said dejectedly.
"Did you forget how to tie your shoelaces too?" Mashiho approached and helped him with his shoelaces.
"Guys?" Jeongwoo's voice distracted him, and Yoshinori reacted.
-Oh, sorry, see you- she hung up- there's hardly any time left, what's the traffic like?
"I'll take it, riding a motorcycle is faster," Mashiho said.
"And more dangerous," Asahi commented.
"Okay, I'll go with Mashi," Haruto said.
-I'll be downstairs with the motorcycle running- Mashiho said.
"Hurry up," Yoshinori told Haruto, "Asahi and I will follow in my car."
"Going with you is also dangerous," Asahi commented.
-Well, get your license.
-I would do it if I could, but I still have a year to go.
-Then don't say anything.
"Guys!" Haruto shouted at them, "Stop talking!"
Haruto finished getting dressed and rushed downstairs. As soon as he sat behind Mashiho, wearing his helmet, the shorter man started the engine. At first, he drove slowly so Haruto wouldn't fall, but he quickly picked up speed. He sped through the streets as fast as he could, doing some things he knew he shouldn't. He weaved between cars, knowing it was dangerous, especially with all the rain that was falling, but he knew Haruto didn't care. This was the second time he'd taken someone to the airport under these circumstances. The first time, he hadn't arrived on time, and Junkyu hadn't been able to say goodbye to Noa when he returned to Japan. Shortly after, Mashiho had also left Korea, and like Jeongwoo, she hadn't planned to say anything. For better or worse, it worked out for Mashiho.
"Is that the fastest you can go?" Haruto shouted so the older boy could hear him.
Mashiho sped up, ran some red lights and turned onto streets where she shouldn't have, but it was okay, because this time she would get her friends to say goodbye properly, like two lovers.
They arrived at the airport, and Mashiho stopped in front of the gate. Haruto jumped out while Mashiho looked for a parking spot. Haruto ran as fast as he could; the airport was large, and he didn't have much time. He reached the area where Jeongwoo was supposed to be, and they started calling for his friend's flight. He panicked, looking everywhere but not seeing Jeongwoo. He was already there; he had to see him one last time. Their fight couldn't be the last thing they said to each other in person. His last image of Jeongwoo couldn't be the younger boy crying uncontrollably while he yelled at him. Without meaning to, he started to cry.
"Haruto?" Jeongwoo asked in a whisper, seeing his friend soaked in front of him. "What are you..." He couldn't finish because Haruto hugged him.
"I'm going to miss you," she said, giving him the strongest hug they had ever given each other, still crying.
-Me too- she returned the hug and also began to cry- I'm going to miss you so much, every day, every hour and every minute.
"I don't think it's appropriate to confess this to you, and it's cowardly to do it right now," Haruto sighed as the passengers of his friend's flight were called again, "but I love you, I have for a very, very long time." Jeongwoo cried harder. "I'm in love with you, I'm sorry."
Jeongwoo kissed Haruto, he was immediately embarrassed to do it in public so he wanted to pull away but Haruto wouldn't let him, they continued their kiss as long as they could.
Shortly after they separated, his mother arrived.
"Jeongwoo, hurry up, we have to go," he stopped talking when he saw his son's best friend and his son crying, holding hands. "I'm sorry, guys, we have to go," he said in a sweeter tone.
Mashiho came running and Yoshinori and Asahi were a few meters behind him.
"Jeongwoo," Haruto whispered.
"You have one more minute," his mother told him. "Don't be long." The woman said goodbye to the Japanese people and left with her eldest son.
Mashiho, who had arrived first, hugged her two friends. The other two Japanese men joined in the embrace, but they didn't stay like that for long. They knew their farewell to Haruto was more important, so they stepped back a little; this was their moment. They made sure no one interrupted the beautiful scene and glared at anyone who reacted negatively to what their friends were doing.
"Keep walking, sir," Mashiho said "politely" to a man who stared at her friends as they kissed again. "Nothing that concerns you is happening."
Jeongwoo and Haruto looked at each other and cried again, with a smile, feeling their hearts squeezing in their chests.
"I love you, I'm really going to miss you," Jeongwoo told her.
-We'll see each other again, I promise.
They shared one last kiss, one last hug, and said one last "I love you." Jeongwoo turned away, and Haruto felt like his world was collapsing, but in reality, his world was just slipping away; he was taking a flight to Korea, and he didn't know when he would see him again. His friends hugged him, and after a few minutes, they watched the plane take off with their friend and heart in it.