After a few moments of silence, Mrs Kimiko hugged each one of us one more time. I felt loved when she smiled at me while hugging.

"You guys are so strong. I can feel that!" Mrs Kimiko admired.

"Thank you so much." Seanyung smiled, making his dimples noticeable.

"Thank you. But, I don't know how to bring out that strength. I can't find the power in me that you see." Paikek cuddled his dolphin plushy as he expressed his feelings.

She gazed upon his eyes with her face smiling and spoke; "You will find it, like your friend Yonsan [연산] did in the past. Remember, he was the most hardworking boy among all of you."

When she said "Yonsan" I had mysterious dizziness in my head as it reminded me that I had a friend named Yonsan who were with us during our training years. He was a fantastic person, but I wondered why I never met him again.

"Right! Thank you. I will wait, and someday I will find it." Paikek effused, putting his plushie back into his backpack.

"I just wanna wish you all the success for your skills to rise to the top, like you did in your training years." Mrs Kimiko reminded us of the times we used to train for fifty days to cast a spell. In those times, I used to get too exhausted, but I was stronger back then.

"Thank you!" Bomyu and Paikek thanked simultaneously, while Seanyung was smiling back at Mrs Kimiko.

"We wouldn't have made it this far without you." I thanked her for being our teacher and guiding us from the beginning.

Mrs Kimiko added; "And, I just want you to remember one thing though. Like, I talk this in training, you remember from years ago?"

"Yeah." Seanyung concurred as he nodded, listening Mrs Kimiko closely.

She continued; "Keep your dream, that is always first. Because when you ask yourself 'why am I doing all this?', you should always remember why you started. Always. Because that's what's gonna capture the spell and help you to assemble it strong; is being very passionate about what you do. It's not always about magic, you know."

"We'll keep that in mind." I nodded and smiled as her words warmed my heart. It was a great feeling, knowing that someone you love believes in you and your talents.

"Thank you for your advice!" Seanyung slightly bowed in front of her as a representation of respect.

"Before I go, I need to warn you guys."

Four of us looked at Mrs Kimiko, wondering what she'll say. I got so concerned, so I kept my eyes on her. Mrs Kimiko stopped smiling and she seemed serious while we curiously waited for her to continue.

"If all stars disappear, it will be cold." the corners of Mrs Kimiko's mouth turned up while she left out the door unexpectedly. She shut the door right after she left.

"What does she mean?" Paikek looked in my eyes in a puzzled way.

"I don't know, but I really hope we can see her again." I kept my eyes on the shut door even though she recently left.

"Yeah, I wasn't expecting her to leave soon." Seanyung startled.

"Guys!" Bomyu put in, and he added "I'm hungry. Can we get some food?"

"You are always hungry. I wonder how are you the slimmest among us." Paikek joshed as he flashed his teeth.

"At least I'm not the shortest." Bomyu bantered.

"I can hear you." Seanyung narrowed his eyes. He was only two centimetres shorter than Bomyu, but he never liked being called the shortest.

"Can we stop making fun of each other." I interjected, putting my hands on Seanyung's and Paikek's shoulders.

"Alright, Karu. I'm sorry." Bomyu apologized, and he opened the exit door.

We stepped outside the Magic Academy building. The sunny weather brought peace to the streets surrounded by cherry trees.

The narrow road on the left side of the magic academy building was leading to our favourite sandwich shop. Four of us were on our way there as we were hungry.

"We always went to this place after we practised for lunch." Bomyu remembered while we crossed the road surrounded by cherry trees towards the sandwich shop.

"It's there!!" Paikek shouted in happiness when we reached the sandwich place, which was dyed in yellow and blue.

"It's a lot closer than I remember." Seanyung puzzled.

We entered the small sandwich store and found a table to sit around. Most of the places were full of people, and the tables were all blue, decorated with panda plushies.

"I'm gonna have a tomato sandwich." Bomyu decided, looking at the menu card.

"Me too." Seanyung didn't even look at the menu.

I knew what my favourite was, so I stated, "I want to get an egg and cheese sandwich."

"Paikek wants to order a tomato sandwich too." Paikek exulted, putting the menu card back to the blue table.

"I don't want to order again. Can someone else order for us?" I pleaded, and I hid my face with the menu card.

"Right. I can order for y'all." Paikek smiled, taking the menu away from me. He nervously raised his hand and waited for someone to come and take our order.

Eventually, a waitress saw him and came to our table.

"Hi, can I take your order?" The brown-haired tall waitress asked in a soft gentle way.

"Hi~" Paikek's voice cracked and trembled, as his cheeks turned red.

The waitress smiled, turning her face to Paikek as she waited for him to continue.

"Umm, we will order three tomaro- tomato sandwich and one egg and cheese san-sandwich." He stammered while requesting the orders.

"Is that all?"

"Yeah, that's everything." Paikek gulped as his adam's apple on his neck moved up and down.

"Thank you!" The waitress collected the menu booklets. And, Paikek sighed in relief after the waitress left.

"Didn't I do well?" Paikek smiled radiantly, lifting his eyebrows twice.

"Yeah, you did a great job." I congratulated.

When the waitress brought the sandwiches to our table, Seanyung and I clapped in happiness.

"Thank you!" Paikek expressed his gratitude.

We enjoyed the fantastic sandwiches together. It was another moment for friendship. When I gazed upon the blue sky from the yellow window of the sandwich place, I sensed the clouds coming in waves.

While we were eating, it started raining showers outside as the dark clouds covered the blue sky immediately.

"Why don't we go home?" Paikek lifted his eyebrows, looking concerned about the weather outside.

"Sure." Bomyu swallowed the last piece of his tomato sandwich.

"How about we go to the Komorebi cafe?" All of a sudden, Seanyung suggested.

"Yeah, we can. I like coffee." Paikek concurred directly.

"Sure." I hesitatingly agreed because I heard rumours about the Komorobi cafe that it was haunted by a ghost.

"Yay! I wanna get some hot chocolate with the panda cookies." Bomyu bubbled.

We got up and stepped toward the exit door. I opened the door, seeing stormy rainy weather outside.

We got outside of the Sandwich shop and began walking in the heavy rain. Even though it was showering on us, we continued to walk on the sidewalk to the Komorebi Cafe.

I put my hood on while it was raining heavily onto us. The leaves of the cherry trees were flying along the street as the wind carried them.

On our way to the Komorebi Cafe, someone we knew were following us.

She was wearing a red coat and black boots. She wasn't just following us, she was running to reach us. However, we didn't notice her as we got into a crowded area.

I was the only one to see her; she was the popstar Sonya Soundtrong. But I couldn't say a word or tell my friends. I couldn't know why.

"KARU! Stop! It knows where you are! KARU! STOP!!" Sonya started screaming from behind persistently.

Even though I heard it, I couldn't warn my friends. We kept on walking, and she left far behind when the crown got denser on our way to the Komorebi Cafe.