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Two and a Half Years Later
The afternoon sun filtered through the window of the small apartment the couple had shared for the past two years, lighting up the floating dust particles and bathing the living room in a warm, golden glow.
Two and a half years had flown by, taking with them the darkest shadows and leaving behind a peaceful calm, the promise of a future Sooho and Hyeori were building day by day—with patience and a whole lot of love.
Hyeori sat on the couch with a thick anatomy book open on her lap, brows furrowed in concentration. Medical school was intense, and her part-time job at a small weekend clinic barely gave her time to breathe—but her passion for what she was doing gave her strength. Beside her, Choco—as Sooho had named him because, according to him, he looked like a big chunk of chocolate—an impressive dark brown cat who was now fully grown (as Sooho liked to say), napped peacefully. One paw rested on Hyeori’s leg, as if making sure she was still there.
He reminded her of Jaxx in his unwavering loyalty—always following her around the apartment, silently offering comfort with his deep purring whenever her study sessions dragged on too long.
Across the room, at the small desk they shared, Sooho was typing away on his laptop, focused. He was close to finishing his final exams—the ones that would finally earn him his high school diploma, after making up the two years the coma had taken from him. His physical recovery was complete now. Physical therapy sessions were just a memory, and he could run, jump, and move with the agility he once had, though always with a deeper awareness of his body and its limits. He also worked part-time at a music store—a much calmer place than the jobs he used to seek out.
At Sooho’s feet, curled into a neat, fluffy ball, slept Bomi—their bright orange kitten, now grown into a gorgeous cat with piercing green eyes and a personality that reminded them so much of Nala: independent, but completely attached to Sooho. She always looked for him to curl up with, tangled around his legs while he cooked, and at night, it was common to find her tucked against his back while he slept.
“How’s your nervous system essay going?” Hyeori suddenly asked without looking up from her book, though her tone hinted she needed a break.
Sooho stretched his arms over his head, his back cracking slightly. Bomi yawned and looked at him in annoyance before curling back up.
“Almost done. Just need the conclusion. You? Have you figured out exactly where the sciatic nerve is? Because after everything I’ve been through, I think I could beat you on an exam right now.”
Hyeori laughed and closed her book with a sigh. “Yeah, I think I’ve got it. Hey… I was thinking…” She stood, Choco instantly following her, and walked over to the desk, sitting on the edge next to Sooho. “The other day, I saw a listing for a small house on the outskirts of Yeondungpyo. Small, but with a little garden…”
Sooho’s eyes lit up. They’d been talking about it for months. With their combined savings and the hope of more stable jobs once he graduated and she moved forward in her studies, the idea of having their own place—a real home for them and their two cats—felt less and less like a dream.
“Really? And how was it? Super expensive?”
“A little, but not impossible if we keep saving like we are now,” Hyeori said, twirling a strand of her hair. “We’d have to tighten things up for a bit, but… picture it. Choco and Bomi running around the yard. And we could grow a tiny garden.”
“That sounds amazing,” Sooho admitted, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer. “A garden, huh… We could hang a swing. And grill on Sundays.”
“With Sieun and Juntae, and Baku and Gotak when they visit,” Hyeori added with a smile at the image.
Their friends were still a fundamental part of their lives. Sieun, true to his calling and his roots, was studying medicine at the same university as Hyeori. They saw each other every day, their conversations a safe haven of mutual understanding. Juntae, with his natural empathy, had found his path in psychology and was fascinated by how the human mind worked. And Baku and Gotak—still inseparable—were studying sports science, dreaming of one day opening their own gym or training center.
“Definitely. Though I’m pretty sure Baku would try to turn the garden into a mini golf course,” Sooho joked.
“Probably,” Hyeori said with a laugh. “Hey, what do you think about going to see that house this weekend after your last exam? Just out of curiosity. We could stop by and visit your grandma, too.”
“Sounds like a perfect plan,” Sooho said, planting a soft kiss on her. “But before that… I have a little surprise for you.”
Hyeori looked at him, curious. “A surprise? What kind of surprise?”
“If I tell you, it’s not a surprise anymore,” he replied with a playful grin. “Just pack a small bag for two days. We’re leaving Saturday morning.”
And so they did. Early that Saturday morning, with Choco and Bomi left in the care of a sleepy Sieun, Sooho drove—yes, he’d gotten his license—down roads Hyeori didn’t recognize. She tried to guess the destination, but Sooho only smiled and told her to be patient. After a couple of hours, the smell of salt and wet sand drifted in through the car windows.
“No way…” Hyeori murmured, recognizing the coastline in the distance.
Sooho smiled. “Yes way.”
Soon they parked in front of a charming little hotel just steps from the beach. The beach. The one where, early in their relationship, a wave had knocked them over—scaring them both but leaving them laughing breathlessly afterward. The place where, in many ways, their bond had deepened.
“Sooho… What are we doing here?” Hyeori asked, her voice a mix of surprise and emotion as they stepped out of the car.
“I wanted to come back to the moment I realized we’d share so many things together,” he said, taking her hand. “And because I wanted to remember that day—minus the part where we got soaked.”
They dropped their bags in the room and headed to the beach. The sun shone brightly overhead, the sea was calm, and the golden sand stretched out before them, inviting.
For a moment, they simply stood there, breathing in the salty air, listening to the steady rhythm of the waves.
Then Sooho looked at her with a mischievous smile. “Remember how we ran that day trying to dodge the wave?”
Hyeori laughed. “Of course. You fell on your butt.”
“Yah, that was because I was caught off guard!” he protested, laughing too. “But now… now I’m fully recovered. Race you to that big rock—the one that looks like a turtle.”
Hyeori looked at him, eyes sparkling. Seeing him like this—full of energy, free of the weakness that had followed him for so long—was pure healing.
“You’re on,” she said. “But heads up, I climb four flights of stairs every day.”
They took off running. Sooho quickly took the lead, his legs strong and steady against the sand, his laughter mixing with the sound of the wind and waves. Hyeori ran behind him, not really trying to win, just soaking in the sight of him—running, free, happy. She caught up beside the rock, both of them breathless and laughing, collapsing into the warm sand.
They spent the rest of the morning walking along the shore, collecting shells, splashing each other with seawater. Sooho no longer had to watch his every move. There was no fear of falling, no sudden pain to brace for. He moved with the freedom of someone who had reclaimed something precious. They played like kids, built a sandcastle that the ocean eventually swallowed, and laid under the sun in comfortable silence, just enjoying each other’s presence.
At sunset, as the sky turned brilliant shades of orange, pink, and violet, they found a smooth log brought in by the tide and sat on it, gazing at the horizon. The mood shifted—quieter, softer.
“It’s amazing to be back here, isn’t it?” Sooho said quietly as she rested her head on his shoulder. “Feels like a lifetime ago.”
“And somehow, also like it was just yesterday,” she replied, letting him wrap an arm around her. “So much has happened… we’ve changed so much.”
“Yeah, we have. We’ve grown. Together,” he said. “Sometimes when I look back at everything—the accident, the coma, the recovery—I still can’t believe we made it.”
He held her tighter.
“We made it because we were together.”
“Because you never gave up on me, baby. I don’t know where I’d be without you.”
“And you were the reason I kept going,” she whispered, voice full of emotion. “Watching you fight every day… seeing how hard you worked to get better… that gave me the hope I needed. We saved each other.”
They fell into a quiet pause. The waves kept their gentle rhythm.
“This trip… this beach,” Sooho continued, his voice lower, “I wanted it to feel like… like closing a circle. That first day, we got scared by a little wave—but we laughed through it. Then came the real storm, the darker one. And we made it through that too. Stronger. Closer.”
Hyeori lifted her head to meet his gaze. In his eyes, she saw deep love, immense gratitude, and a peace that matched her own.
“I feel like this is the end of a very long chapter in our lives. A chapter full of challenges, but also full of growth. And now… now we start a new one,” he said with a soft smile. “A new chapter. One where we build our home, where I watch you become the world’s best doctor, where I find my own path after graduation… One where we raise Choco and Bomi until they’re two grumpy little furballs.”
They both laughed at the image.
“Sounds like a wonderful chapter,” Hyeori whispered.
Sooho reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a slightly wrinkled white envelope. He handed it to her.
“I wanted to give you this. Here. In this place.”
Hyeori took it, surprised. “What is it?”
“It’s a letter,” he replied, a bit shy. “Not to end anything—on the contrary. It’s something to carry with you into everything that’s coming. Into our next chapter.”
Her eyes filled with tears—this time, tears of pure joy. She hugged him tightly, burying her face in his neck.
“I love you, Sooho-yah. I love you more than I could ever put into words.”
“And I love you, my beautiful sun. I love you—and I always will,” he whispered, kissing her hair, feeling her heartbeat against his.
They stayed like that, wrapped up in each other, as the last rays of sunlight sank into the sea and the first stars began to twinkle in the darkening sky.
Later that night, in the quiet of their hotel room, with the sound of waves in the background, Hyeori opened the envelope. Sooho’s handwriting—slightly messy—filled several pages. As she read, a soft smile spread across her face, her heart beating wildly in a way only he could make happen.
“My sweet sun,
If you’re reading this, it means we’re here—at our beach—ready to begin writing all the blank pages still ahead of us. Looking back, I see a path full of bumps, some so deep they felt like cliffs. But I also see your hand always holding mine, your beautiful eyes filled with a strength that inspired me to keep going—even when I couldn’t find it in myself.
I remember the fear, the darkness… and then your voice, your touch, like the first ray of sunlight after a storm. You taught me that love isn’t just smiles and good days—it’s staying through the ugly parts too. It’s being each other’s life jacket, expecting nothing in return.
I don’t know what the future holds, exactly.
There’ll be good days and bad ones, I’m sure—just like in any story. But there’s one thing I do know, something I believe with all my heart: as long as we’re together, everything will be okay.
I want to see every one of your dreams come true. I want to cheer you on at every win, hold you through every fall. I want us to build that little house with the garden. I want Choco and Bomi to wake us up in the mornings meowing for food. I want silly fights about who’s taking out the trash, and even sillier makeups with toothpaste-flavored kisses. I want a whole life of small things with you—because those small things are what make up the biggest happiness.
This isn’t the end, my love. It’s just the beginning. The beginning of everything else. And I can’t picture that ‘everything else’ without you in it. Thank you for being my miracle, my partner, my best friend, the love of my life.
I said I’d be with you through every dream—and I’ve never even considered breaking that promise.
With all my love, today and always,
Your moon.”
T H E E N D
FINAL NOTE:
And just like that, Sun&Moon comes to an end. This story fills me with so much joy—it was the first one I ever wrote, the one that brought me to all of you, and the one my heart will cherish for a long, long time.
I’m so happy I finally gave these two babies the ending they deserve, after everything they went through.
I hope this story made you cry, laugh, and smile—just like it did to me while writing it. Thank you so much for walking this journey with Hyeori and Sooho, and with me. Thank you for staying until the very end.
With all my love, I say goodbye to Sun&Moon. I hope that anytime you want to escape reality for a bit, this story will be a place you can return to.
—Vale.
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