"You f*cking coward!" She shouted at him and gave him a hostile scowl.

"I'm really...sorry," he averted his eyes and puckered his lips.

"You deserve way more than just a slap, you know?"

"I know, you can do anything you want to me later on. Slap me, punch into my face, fling your drink at me, or whatever. But please...hear me out first, this is very important. And I'm doing it for Eun Chae," he said and put Eun Chae's journal onto the table.

"What's this?" Hae Rin sat down and took a look.

"Eun Chae's journal. You can keep it for a while and read it when you come back home. But most importantly, there's a farewell letter that she wrote for you at the back of it."

"Farewell letter?"

"Eun Chae was actually...battling with pancreatic cancer so even if there wasn't any accident, she didn't have much time left to live. She prepared the letters in case..."

"Is this a joke? She would have told me," Hae Rin stared at Yu Jin with a flustered face, and he quietly shook his head. She began flipping to the first page and became convinced that this was really her friend's journal, "This is...this is really...Eun Chae's handwriting."

She kept scanning through the pages, not being aware that her hot Americano was served. Her face soon became a teary mess. She was looking at the journal with her reddened eyes. Her cup of coffee got cold without a sip being taken, with a pile of damp tissues placed next to it.

"I...I can't take it anymore," she weakly shook her head, closed the journal and pushed it towards him when she was only halfway through it.

"You need to read this," Yu Jin turned to the last pages where the farewell letter Eun Chae wrote for her was located, "I know it's hard to accept, but please read this...it's only about one page. Eun Chae...had a lot of things...to tell you."

Yu Jin also wanted to cry, but he could not. Partly because he could not cry in front of Hae Rin, partly because he had been crying so much that he already ran out of tears.

"Hi Kitty Kang, it's Eun Chae, your little chick here!

You must be very confused and flustered when you're reading this, right? I'm sorry for not telling you earlier that I was dealing with cancer. I know that's very mean and selfish, but please listen to my excuse. I just wanna have fun with you, as we have always been doing, for the rest of my life. I don't wanna see you weeping every single time we hang out together. If so, then there's no more fun going out with you, right? I can't ask you to forgive me, but I think I need you to know the reason why I made such a decision. I'm really sorry for not having the courage and strength to destroy the happy time I have with you.

Thanks for being my friend. When I had just come to Hansung High, I was really reserved as I felt bad about my background as an orphan. All Hansung students were rich and smart, and I was afraid that you guys would look down on me and bully me, like what I experienced in secondary school. But you came and dissipated all of my anxiety. You are open, communicative and always willing to lend me a listening ear. You're my first friend ever, and also my best friend ever. I love you, Kitty Kang! In the next life, please be reborn as a boy, I'll be your girlfriend then.

Finally, you need to live a happy life without me, can you promise me to do that? I want you to be the happiest girl ever. I'll be watching you from heaven, so don't be sad, understand? I'll be with you forever, even if you can neither see me nor feel me. Remember when I teased you and said that you were my sunshine? Then in return, I wanna be your starlight. If you miss me, just look up the sky, at the twinkling stars above. I'll be one of them. I'm in a better place now, where there will only be joy and laughter, without any grief or anxiety. So don't worry about me, just focus on living a good life. I wanna see you up here one day. Even if by then, I would still be the lively and adorable twenty-year-old girl that you are knowing now, while you would perhaps be an old lady with white hair and a curved back, we can still recognise one another, right? I'll be waiting for you here, so no bad behaviour allowed!

By the way, can you help me with one thing? I really hope that you and Yu Jin will get on well with one another after I'm gone. I know that you dislike him after the incident between him and Sung Bin at that football match, but your boyfriend and Yu Jin have already reconciled. They are friends now. So don't be too harsh on him. Trust me, he is a really nice guy."

Hae Rin dropped her face on the table as her sobs became even louder.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked with a raspy voice.

"She wanna ha..."

"You, not her," she yelled at him, "Why did you have to keep it from me? If you had told me, I would have spent more time with her. I would quit my CCA just to go out and have a happy time together with her. You fiend!"

"I'm sorry," Yu Jin held back his tears and lowered his head.

"Han Yu Jin, I will...never forgive you!" She angrily said and left, leaving the journal on the table.

She was a little more aggressive than Yu Jin predicted. But at least she accepted the fact that Eun Chae had been fighting against pancreatic cancer, so his objective was completed.

******

A few months had passed, and it was finally spring. Throughout the last months, Yu Jin's life had been going through various changes. He had finished his internship at Yulje with a stellar performance and a good remark from his supervisors. Dr. Jeon and Dr. Lee even agreed to write him two letters of recommendation to apply for SNU scholarship. He had also moved to a one-room to cut down on the renting fee. It was not as good as the two-room where he and Eun Chae  once lived, but he could say that it was decent. In addition, he finally moved on after Eun Chae's death. It seemed that time would heal all of his wounds, even the worst ones that were thought to never heal. 

It was a February morning when Yu Jin woke up and made his breakfast as usual. While eating some instant noodles, he turned on his phone to check the mailbox, and there was an announcement that made him over the moon. He was awarded the SNU full scholarship for pre-medicine students. Yu Jin was so happy that he was running around the house and screaming uncontrollably.

Entering his room, he proudly picked up the picture of Eun Chae which he took for her when they went to Hwadamsub to see the cherry blossoms together. It was her favourite photo, and he still kept it with him to remind him of the good time they had together.

"I made it, Eun Chae," he whispered, "I really made it!"

Upon that, he also informed his parents by texting them.

"Hi mom and dad, I just wanna tell you that I've finally received the full scholarship for SNU pre-meds. I know that you will be upset, but this is my choice, so I hope that you will understand it. If later on, my decision turns out to be a failure, I'll come back and apologise to you. But for now, please wish me luck!"

Yu Jin was so jubilant that he had been smiling the whole day, which he rarely did. Even in the night time, he could not sleep because of the adrenaline rush. Instead, he was lying on the bed and keeping turning around.

The next morning, being woken up because of the doorbell sound, he sluggishly opened the door and was taken aback when he saw his parents in front of him.

"Mom? Dad? How do you know that I live here," he asked in confusion.

"We asked Mi Jin and she told us," his father softly said,

"Yu Jin, we have a really...important thing to say..." His mother affectionately looked at him

"Huh?"

"We're sorry!" His father said and suddenly gave him a hug, "We...we're sorry. We've been too harsh on you. From now on...you can do anything you want, OK? Just follow your dream, we'll forever be with you."

"Hey dad...are you...are you crying?" He chuckled, but some tears also began to trickle down his cheeks. "Mom, come here with us!" He said when he saw his mother standing aside, smiling at him with the feeling of pride evident in her eyes.

"Sure," his mother also approached and embraced him.

"Mom, dad, I am...I am sorry," Yu Jin suddenly burst out into tears, "I'm sorry because I've been a troublesome and rebellious child. I will...I will try to make you all proud, so please...forgive me..."

"Of course, let's forget all the past things, and focus on the present, OK? We believe you," his mother said and patted his back.

So Eun Chae's prediction was right. His parents finally approved of him. From now on, he would no longer have to bother with anything. All his problems were solved. It would be better if Eun Chae was here to share this joyful moment with him. But he knew that she had always been watching him, so it did not really matter.

------ Six years later ------

It was a brisk day of March when Yu Jin, Hae Rin and Han Bin decided to go on a picnic trip at Eun Chae's grave. Not only an ordinary visit, this day marked a crucial turning point in life for all the three of them. 

"Hi Eun Chae," Hae Rin rushed over Eun Chae's resting place and put a bottle of liquor beside it, "Guess what? Your so-called boyfriend is here!"

"Hi Eun Chae, how've you been?" Yu Jin laid a pink bouquet in front of her portrait, "I've been doing well, and I hope things go the same for you. I've graduated med school, you know? Now congrat me, I've just successfully escaped from hell."

"Both me and Hae Rin also graduated our grad schools," Han Bin brought to her grave a funny-looking stuffed chicken which she would definitely love if she was still alive, "You know what, you best friend Kang Hae Rin, she's very very mean."

"Hey, stop it," Hae Rin playfully scolded Han Bin and hit his back.

"What's the problem here, I'm just telling the truth," he looked at his girlfriend and chuckled. "She broke up with me because she wanted to focus on her study. And now when she's finished her grad school, she says she wants us to date again. I feel like she's playing with my emptions like a toy, you know? Remember to scold her when you two meet up in heaven."

Three of them had been talking, laughing and having light dinner with each other. Hae Rin and Han Bin then left first, while Yu Jin said that he wanted to stay back to spend some more time with Eun Chae.

"You know what, Eun Chae? I've finally graduated from med school, I'm liberated now. I know you won't want me to start with a complaint but...med school's been tough. It was like an endless nightmare. However, I nailed it somehow, maybe because I was hardworking and diligent just like what you said. And I'm even selected to go on an exchange programme in the US. It's a research programme on oncology, interesting right?" He took a gulp of soju, smiled at her portrait and then looked up at the star-filled sky, "I won't be visiting you very often in the three upcoming years. But don't be sad, alright? I'll try my best to fulfil your wish. Probably, one day, there won't be anyone who has to die because of cancer anymore. If it really comes true thanks to me, then you should be prepared to treat me to a big meal when we meet up in heaven, deal?"

Thank you very much for making it to this episode, which is also the last one of my story. I truly appreciate your support throughout the time during which I updated this work. If you have been enjoying reading my story, please recommend it to your other friends as well as go on to support me in my next stories. This is the first time I write a story in English and I know it is not perfect, but you guys are the motivation for me to try my best to improve further^^

In addition, do you want me to write an epilogue for this story? Let me know in the comment section!