"This is not the end."

After saying those five words, he ran back to the farmhouse and in less than ten minutes he was gone in the black car. I stood in front of the barn's front porch and watched the black car drive off until it turned the corner and the dust settled.

"Things will be alright, Oon." My Pa pat my shoulder and took my camping backpack from my hand.

For the next few weeks left of summer, I only heard from Miss Sue twice about him. My Pa said he had a missed call one night and I assumed it was maybe him trying to call me. Maybe. I waited the next night and stayed up as long as my eyes would let me but no call came again.

Miss Sue said Kong's Pa had surgery and his road to recovery would be a long grueling process because his left arm and face were paralyzed. He would require a lot of physical therapy and even then he may never be the same again. And while all this was going on, apparently his Pa's business was going through some financial troubles.

I really hope Kong is holding up alright. He must be so stressed. After everything he's been through already, he really didn't deserve this and I wonder if he'll end up going to college or not. Will he stay there permanently?

While I wanted to know more about Kong's situation, I didn't know how to ask Miss Sue about him beyond if he was doing okay. All I could do was listen at the dinner table whenever Miss Sue or my Pa talked about him.

So life went on at the farm and the rest of summer went by. There wasn't a day that I didn't think about him. And even though I had prepared myself for our inevitable separation, I just didn't think it would happen so abruptly. We were supposed to have the rest of summer, but life can be so unpredictable sometimes.

I really had no choice but to just go on with my life. I supposed it's what would have happened anyway.

~~~~~~

Carrying the last box inside my new dorm room, it almost feels like what happened between Kong and me was a lifetime ago instead of just this past summer.

"Oon, make sure you always close the balcony window and lock your door before you leave the room. This isn't like home. It's not safe to just leave doors unlocked. You hear me?" My Pa says to me while he threads the new curtains through the rod.

"I know, Pa. You've said it a million times already."

"And make sure you get up early enough to have breakfast, and you better not skip meals. You understand, young man?"

"Yes."

"The city is very different and people are complicated. So be careful who you meet."

"I know, Pa. Why are you so worried? You're the one that insisted I come here." I couldn't help rolling my eyes. I've heard all of this for weeks now like a broken record and don't even mention the long drive here.

"Because I want you to have a choice, Oon. I didn't have the same opportunity growing up. I don't want you to one day feel like a frog stuck in a well."

I put down the bag I was holding and walked up to my Pa who was holding back tears in his eyes, and I wrapped my arms around him tightly. My fingers scrunched up the back of his shirt and I sniffled into his shoulder, taking in my Pa's comforting scent. "I know and I'll miss you, Pa."

I've never been away from home. For over 18 years, I saw the same faces every day. Now, all of a sudden I'm in a new city with millions of people. My dorm building alone had more people than I've known in my whole life.

"We're very proud of you, Oon. Now, you come home every break and you can call home with your new phone. And we'll call to check on you too. Okay?" I heard my Pa's voice almost cracking.

"Okay."

"And stop looking so sad. He'll be back sooner or later when things are okay. He has a lot on his plate."

I pulled away from Pa and looked at him in shock. Does he know?

"Y- you know?"

Looking into my eyes, Pa pressed his lips into a thin line and I was suddenly feeling light-headed as I felt the blood drain from my face. Is this the face of disapproval, rejection, or the worst of all, disappointment?

"Oon, we all know but we also know it's very new for you two. You two still needed time to figure things out." Pa sighed before continuing, "It's unfortunate what happened but things will be okay. If it's meant to be, then it'll surely happen. I hate seeing you mope around like this. Now, smile for your old man, okay? Let me see my boy smile before I leave."

Pa hugged me again and I tried to smile through the tears that wouldn't stop falling.

Later on, Pa spilled the tea about Lizzy catching me and Kong kissing in the barn. He said Lizzy and Ma be talking about us while they're watching their drama series on TV every night. How did I never notice? I was so embarrassed that I had to hide in the bathroom for a while until he promised to stop talking about it.

My Pa stayed to help me unpack everything even though I told him to head back home earlier because I didn't want him to drive too late. The dark country roads are still scary to me. But he insisted and he even stayed to have dinner with me before leaving.

So this is it. The beginning of my college life. This is how it'll be for the next four years. Mike, one of my friends from back home, joined the same school as me but he's studying a different major so his classes aren't in the same building. But we'll see each other at the freshman assembly tomorrow and maybe grab dinner after. So I have at least one friend here.

Laying on my bed, I played with my new phone for a little bit, trying to familiarize myself with it. Clicking into the photo album, there's only one picture of my Pa and me from earlier. I wish I had a few more pictures to look at. I played a few games and I still didn't get the appeal of it. Maybe it'll grow on me later. Kong showed me a lot of his favorite apps from his phone before but they just didn't work back at the farm. I can only remember a few of them though. Maybe I'll try those out sometime.

And here I go again, wondering what he's doing right now and how he's doing. Tomorrow is my first day of college and I'm really nervous. I wish I could talk to him about it. I got his number from Miss Sue but I don't know if it'll work internationally, but I'll give it a try tomorrow because he should be sleeping right now. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about calling him. It feels like it's been so long since the last time we spoke. It'll be a little awkward now, wouldn't it? But I really do want to know how he's doing. I know we never made any promises but I can still call as a friend, right?

I put my phone down and rolled over to my side, I really need to sleep.

~~~~~~

"Class dismissed." The professor announced.

I quickly tried to copy down the rest of the material from the board before the professor erased all of it. I don't know how everyone else managed to take notes so quickly while I struggled to get even half of it all down. I kept on writing as everyone got up to leave.

"Hurry. We have to get to the assembly on time."

"Okay okay. I'm coming. I hate rushing."

Shit! I almost forgot about the freshman assembly. Thank God I overheard my classmates mention it. Otherwise, I would definitely be late. So I quickly stuffed everything in my backpack and left as well.

The campus is very big and I had only five minutes to get to the gymnasium on the other side, so I was running like a mad man, pushing through crowds and running into people left and right, uttering dozens of apologies along the way. Why did the campus have to be so big? Our schools back home were all small, nice, and cozy.

When I finally reached the gymnasium, I quickly flung the heavy door open. I was already a minute late and I still needed to find a seat. Luckily, I wasn't the last one to arrive as a lot of people were also scrambling to find a seat. Then I felt something vibrate in my pocket and for a second I was confused because I forgot I had a phone now.

I took my phone out and saw I had a message from Mike saying he saved me a seat at section 201, 4th row from the right. I repeatedly mumbled that to myself while I shoved the phone back into my pocket safely.

Ooph!

Idiot. I was so busy trying to put the phone away that I walked right into someone.

"Kid."

One word was all it took to set my heart racing and all the sleeping butterflies fluttering. Would you believe me if I told you that it felt like everything around me had disappeared except for the person who was holding me? The scent, the touch, the warmth, and this feeling all belonged to that one person that's been living in my head 24/7 is now holding me like his life depended on it.

I didn't even get to see his face clearly but I knew without a doubt it was him. So I raised my arms and wrapped them around him tightly. Tears started clouding my eyes and I tugged on him even tighter against me like we were the only ones here and not two of the thousands swarming this gymnasium. I simply didn't care. He was in my arms and I was in his. That was all that mattered.

"You found me."

"I found my home."

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓔𝓷𝓭.

~~~~~~
AN: Sweets, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this story. I hope suzanneca is happy with it. Should I do an epilogue?

Did you see the Sotus dorm picture above? 🤧

Again, thanks for reading, voting, and commenting. I do enjoy and appreciate them very much. So comment more. 😉

Curtsy,
Lana ❤️