Soonyoung was my best friend. He's always been, and will be forever. For the record, I met him at an adult party when I was, like what? Four years old?

I had somehow lost my parents in a sea of formal-looking men and elegant women. I was crying in a corner until Soonyoung came and found me. For some reason, I can't remember that memory too well. I only remembered that he had told me to stop crying and gave me his lollipop.

Well, I'm much older now. The wintry wind seemed to push me forward as I walked to school.

"Hi _____!" my friend bounced up to from behind.

"Hey!"

"Still have a lollipop in your mouth?" she teased me. She pointed to the stick in my mouth. That's right. Ever since I met Soonyoung, I've loved lollipops. They remind me that I wasn't alone, and that my Hero would come and save me soon. He was the one who saved me from that lonely dark side.

"What's today's flavor?" she asked.

"Candy Apple."

"That was the flavor you had when Soonyoung left right?"

"...Why would you bring that up?" It's true. Soonyoung had departed to another city, far away from mine. He left about three years ago. It was only then when I realized I had taken all of his clever humor, his hard-working, caring self for granted. I never saw him again. I never got the chance to confess my true feelings to my best friend. My kind of innocent "love."

"Will you come back and visit?" I asked.

He laughed. "Of course I will! Why wouldn't I?" Then his expression became serious. "Is there something wrong? What makes you think I won't come back?"

I bit my lower lip, "I mean, I'm just, scared. That this will be the last time I ever see you. We've been best friends forever. And, Soonyoung, truthfully, I--"

The announcement came on, blaring that it was time for final boarding on the plane.

I stopped. "N-nevermind..."

"Look, I don't want to say goodbye so...I'll say 'See you later.' " He smiled at me.

"Yeah." I tried my hardest not to begin a straight-up crying bawl.

"Here," Soonyoung handed me a lollipop from his pocket. "Candy Apple! And when I come back, I'll have another animal dance I can show you!" He put up his hands into what seemed to be like an octopus.

He grinned and waved goodbye.

I shrugged, even though that memory rang clear in my mind.

"Do you ever dream about lollipops?" my friend kept staring at the lollipop stick. I popped it out of my mouth.

"Sometimes. I dreamt of lollipops last night," I replied.

She smiled. "That's cute, you're still so attatched to him!" she saw my unpleasant face and quickly followed up. "Ooh! Maybe something good will happen soon! That's what lollipop dreams usually mean. Dreams come true, right?"

I shrugged again. Maybe...

-x-

After school, I walk to the park where Soonyoung and I had played as children. I gently swayed myself on the swings, another Candy Apple lollipop. The cold winter wind blew from behind me again, signaling for snow.

"Excuse me?"

I turned my head around. A boy stood behind me with a memo note in his hand. His eyes seemed to resemble that of a tiger's. His expression was as readable as a print book, saying "Help?"

"I can't seem to find this address. Mind giving me some directions?" The boy pleaded.

"Sure, no problem," I stood up from the swing and walked over next to the boy. I peered at the white memo.

"The paper...why do you have my address?" I slowly backed away from him. What, was he some kind of stalker?

"W-what? This is yours?" his eyes widened.

"Um, yes?" I answered warily.

"Then...are you _______?" I felt my heartbeat drop. He even knows my name? I moved the lollipop around in my mouth. The sky began to snow, covering the swings, seesaw, and landscape with a soft blanket of white.

"Don't you remember me?" he clutched the paper tightly. "Are you a lollipop without even remembering who I am?"

"W-what?" What is this guy's problem!?

His hands formed a shape of an octupus. He made it swim along in the air. Animal dance? Only Soonyoung would...

"S-Soonyoung!" I cried. He huffed and begins to walk away.

"Wait you weirdo!" I thought I could see him shiver as being called that name again.

"Am I supposed to wait for someone who can't even recognize me?" he didn't look back at my face. I stopped in my footsteps, staring at his back. His back seemed so much bigger now, but right now, the back was telling me that Soonyoung was angry.

"I thought even after all this time, we would still be the same." It was true, our letters and phone-calls slowly dissipated without reason. Sometimes I would even find an excuse to not talk to him. Things like 'I don't have time' or 'I'm busy'...that's not what I really meant.

"I'm so...disappointed, I guess," he mumbled. "It's like I didn't even really mean anything to you at all."

"No!" The winter wind pushed me into embracing Soonyoung from behind. The lollipop stick lodged itself further into my mouth and a lump formed in my throat.

"I could never forget you. You were the one who saved me from loneliness, remember? You were the one who gave me hope, when there was no hope at all. You were the one who gave me the lollipop. How... how am I supposed to forget you?" I couldn't stop the sudden tearing up and tumbling of words out of my mouth. And at this point, Soonyoung turned around and returns the embrace.

"How am I supposed to say this? You mean everything to me, Soonyoung. And yet I..." I grasped the back of his coat with all my strength. I shuddered from the welling up of my feelings. "I finally get to see you. You finally came back."

He slowly moved his comforting hand up and down my back. For awihle, none of us said a word. We just stood there as the snow gradually piled up on top of our heads and shoulders. My lollipop dissolves in my mouth; the empty stick dropped to the ground as Soonyoung backs away.

He gave me a sly look, "You want to know what kind of lollipop dream I've been having?"

I blinked a few times, Soonyoung dreamt of lollipops too?

"Um, okay." His eyes smiled.

He leaned in and kissed me.

Do lollipop dreams become true too?