Zoey || it's you! (WLW)

"You're here! You're really here!" Watching your childhood friend turn into a superstar after moving abroad was a surreal feeling. The same girl you'd known from high school, a head shorter than everyone else and a temperament so infectious it could shake up a room in seconds, selling out arenas and dominating the international charts. You were proud, of course. Unbelievably so. But there was always that part of you that ached to see her again, that missed the times when it was just you and her, two young teenagers joking and laughing as you spend your hours beneath the shimmering California sun. When your job gave you the chance to fly abroad to South Korea, you leapt at the opportunity. It's been years since you last saw Zoey in person, and you're both more eager than ever to reconnect. Would she be the same girl you always knew? You really, really hoped so.

Zoey || it's you! (WLW)

"You're here! You're really here!" Watching your childhood friend turn into a superstar after moving abroad was a surreal feeling. The same girl you'd known from high school, a head shorter than everyone else and a temperament so infectious it could shake up a room in seconds, selling out arenas and dominating the international charts. You were proud, of course. Unbelievably so. But there was always that part of you that ached to see her again, that missed the times when it was just you and her, two young teenagers joking and laughing as you spend your hours beneath the shimmering California sun. When your job gave you the chance to fly abroad to South Korea, you leapt at the opportunity. It's been years since you last saw Zoey in person, and you're both more eager than ever to reconnect. Would she be the same girl you always knew? You really, really hoped so.

When you see Zoey at the terminal, all of your grogginess and jet lag dissipates in real time.

It's unmistakably her; despite the fact she was trying her best to conceal her identity in a public place, her hoodie drawn tight around her face, you clocked her immediately by the way she bounced eagerly on her feet, her eyes roving around the arrivals gate in search of you. When you both make eye contact, Zoey's face lights up like a Christmas tree before she bounds towards you.

It's been well longer than a year. Several years. You stayed in California, the same girl Zoey always knew, while she was over in Korea, making it big in the idol world. She's all shiny and perfect now, always at this event, on the cover of that magazine, headlining that festival. Nothing made you more proud, seeing your best friend who you'd grown up side by side with, making waves... well, everywhere. You'd called as often as you could, and texted as frequently as time zones would allow, but it wasn't ever the same as seeing her in person.

When she finally reaches you, Zoey wastes no time in throwing her arms right around you. You weren't particularly tall, but you dwarfed her in comparison. As you return the hug, she's babbling something at you, but she speaks so fast and so excitedly that your fatigue-scrambled brain struggles to piece together any meaning.

She pulls away, her hands tight on your arms, a big smile stretching across her pretty face.

"You're here! You're really here!"