The door opened, dozens of kids pouring into the studio at once. The sight never failed to make Jiah smile, as she watched the five-year-olds run up to her excitedly, hugging her at the knees or spinning around in circles, gushing about their days.

"My teacher gave me a gold star today! She said she loved my colouring in!"

"I won first place for running at athletics yesterday, are you proud of me?"

Jiah grinned, crouching down she pat the little boy's head. Another girl who'd also been telling her about her day was waiting obediently as well. Jiah tried to stop herself from attacking her with a cuddle, stroking her hair instead.

"That's amazing guys!" standing up again, she set her hands on her hips, "Are we ready for class?"

"Yes!" the group chanted, and she nodded.

"Okay, let's first go over what we did last week."

She'd moved to a smaller town a couple of hours from Seoul a few months back, managing to set up a karate training centre in no time. Parents were enrolling their students so fast she couldn't even keep up at first.

It was such a blessing that word spread fast about her skills, that she was surprised she ended up being so busy so soon.

Her routine was the same nearly every day, but there were little things here and there that made it all worthwhile.

"Thank you, teacher!" her students chorused after her last class of the day, coursing out of the room to meet their parents.

She watched the last of them leave before checking her watch.

It was about time Ji Young came home from school, and every second that passed without him walking through the front gate kept adding to her anxiety.

She'd fled Seoul for a reason. She changed her name for a reason. She's been doing anything and everything she could to undo what her life had become.

But nothing could override the innate feelings she built up whenever the smallest thing felt out of place.

Fishing her phone from her pocket, she locked the studio door and stepped over the cobble path to her new house. Ji Young's name flashed on the screen, a text that had come in a couple of hours before.

Ji Young: Noona, the basketball coach has let me try out for the team today after school so I'll be home a little later than usual. Don't wait up for me :)

Heaving a relieved sigh, Jiah dropped her phone back into her pocket. She would never stop being paranoid.

Searching the fridge for an iced coffee from her stash, she settled in a seat by the window. The giant ball of fire in the distance was slowly beginning to hide behind a hill, the streaks of gold and orange shooting through the sky, swirling through patches of blue-grey candyfloss.

And as she did every day as if it were second nature to her, her fingers clasped around the item hanging from her neck.

The small infinity symbol.

My fate is to love you, no matter who you are. No matter how we end up.

He'd known. He'd known, and yet he still went through with everything they'd done.

It had been a year and not a day went by without her feeling the ghost of her love enveloping her ruthlessly. Without making her wish everything was just a dream that she would wake up from any minute. Without Jiah begging the heavens for her to drive back to the apartment building she'd grown to call home, open his door and find him waiting for her, a blazing hearth in his arms.

She couldn't go a day without tasting him like blood in her mouth.

He had to destroy her in the most beautiful way possible.

And now that he's gone, she finally understood why storms were named after people.

But wasn't he just the most beautiful storm she'd ever encountered?

He'd taught her to love, and he'd proven to her that she was capable of being loved.

He'd shown her what it was like to want to spend the rest of her life with someone else. To want to have kids together, to grow old together.

The hole in her heart wouldn't stop bleeding. No matter how much time passes, the loss never gets easier.

She'd loved him in a way she never imagined she could.

And she would continue to do so.

It felt like she was in a living hell - and she accepted it. She knew it was atonement for all she'd done in the past. It was life's natural cycle of karma. The payback she deserved. 

The sudden click of the front door made Jiah jump, setting down her drink on the table and standing up immediately. Wiping away the tears that had slipped without her knowing, she crossed the room in two long strides.

"Ji Young?" she called out, peering around the door.

"Hi noona!" he cheered, rushing through the door, "I made the team! I was so scared that coach wouldn't let me join halfway through the season, but he did!"

She forced a smile, a hand resting on his back, "That's great, Ji Young, I'm so happy for you. Didn't you say the college basketball team would be hard to get into?"

"Yep," he puffed out his chest proudly, "I was so scared to even try out because I thought I would fail."

Nostalgia flooded his system then, suddenly remembering a certain person, their certain words, their certain presence that helped him overcome so much.

"Never forget," Taehyung had whispered to him, "You have all it takes. When it feels like the world's a bit too big, when it feels like your problems have turned into monsters, when it feels like boulders are coming at you and you just won't be able to push through, you need to remember that you have all it takes. 

"You're made with the same stardust that we stare into across the night sky every evening. That counts for something. Never let the fear of losing, of breaking your heart, of failing ever keep you from fighting the fight. You never know what happiness you'll miss out on."

And only now did Ji Young understand the look he'd worn when he watched Jiah then. He was staring at her with all the love he'd possessed, mixed with the misery of having to say goodbye. 

He knew. 

Jiah interrupted his thoughts, looking out behind him, she asked, "Did you come home on the bus?"

"Nope," another voice spoke from outside the door, and she raised an eyebrow.

And Jiah didn't need to see the face to know who it was.

"Jungkook?" she cried, stepping outside.

"Hey," he grinned, opening an arm out to her, "I've missed you."

"How long has it been?" gushing, she leaned into him, "I've missed you too."

"Hyung picked me up from school. He wanted to surprise you."

Jiah threw a wink over at her brother, "You know I hate surprises, but I'll let you off for this one. How about you get changed, and we can take Jungkook stargazing tonight?"

"Stargazing?" Jungkook chuckled, "Didn't know you guys liked stargazing."

They were inside now, Jungkook had thrown his leather jacket onto the couch and settled in a seat at the counter while Jiah leaned over it from the other side.

"We found the most beautiful spot in town to hang out, and turns out it's perfect for stargazing," Ji Young shrugged, "It's beautiful, hyung." 

"Okay little man," he ruffled the boy's hair, "Get ready, and we'll get going."

With that, Ji Young disappeared into his room.

"It's been like three months! How have you been?"

Jungkook reached over the table and pat Jiah on the head, "How have you been?"

"You answer first."

Dropping his hand from her head, he shook his head, "I still miss him, Jiah. I still love him."

His voice turning to a whisper, they were left to bathe in the silence hanging in between them. Left to stare at the remains of their souls.

"Me too, Jungkook. It's been a year, and I'm still in the same place."

"Stargazing sounds nice though," he decided to bring them back to the present, "Doesn't seem like you, but at the same time it does?"

"It makes me remember him; the stars remind me of him."

She pulled her phone out then, starting to tap away.

"Actually, I think today we're gonna be lucky."

"Huh?"

'I'm right," she looked up at him, a genuine smile blooming across her lips - the first in a long while. "We can see Saturn tonight."

Instantly, the corners of Jungkook's lips pulled up, "Well then what are we waiting for?"

Following chapters are the Afterword and Reflection (with a Q&A)

I love you guys so much thank you so much for reading this :( 💗