It had always been Kyuhyun.

The very first time I saw him, I was already enamored, he lured me with a sweet melody and his face blissfully basking in tranquility. I was walking my dog in a park near my house when I stumbled upon him. He was sitting under the shade given by a tree. His eyes were focused in concentration to produce a sequence of vibrations from his harmonica, giving my ears one of the most memorable symphony of notes. I fell in love with his sound.

The next time I saw him, it was at his own house. My mother brought me along with her to greet the new neighbours that had recently moved just four houses from mine. His mother was welcoming and jovial, invited us in the moment my mother handed her homemade pastries. They shared stories over tea and sticky rice cakes and were instantly best friends the moment I finished half my portion. I didn’t pay much attention to their conversation; half of it was composed of them giggling together.

When my mother and her new best friend started bidding each other goodbye, promising to meet again, the boy I saw from the park arrived along with a slightly taller girl.

“Oh! These are my children: Ahra, the elder one, and Kyuhyun.” Kyuhyun gave us a curt bow before leaving. His sister smiled at us in greeting and gave a bow, but unlike her brother, she stayed beside their mother and kept her friendly smile. “Sorry about Kyuhyun, he’s a bit shy.”

“Oh, don’t worry, my Ryeowook is shy too!” My mother laughed.

“They’re actually going to start in Ryeowook’s school tomorrow; maybe they can get along well, then.”

When I got back home, I couldn’t help be excited for school. I decided to try to be friends with the boy that could give off such wonderful sounds.

The next day though, I unfortunately didn’t get to talk to him. By lunch time, a flock of girls were already crowding after him and when I did try to approach, he gave of looks that say he didn’t want to be bothered. It wasn’t until three days later that I actually do manage to get to talk to him. I was on my way to the library, making my way through the courtyard when I saw him standing still, staring at something. ‘Finally,’ I thought back then, ‘a chance to befriend him.’ When I got closer to him, however, I saw three boys throwing a small turtle at each other, in the middle, Yesung desperately trying to get it. Feeling for sorry for the turtle, I didn’t think twice to drop my belongings and ran to the turtle to catch it when one of the boys threw it too far than he intended.

The three boys left, laughing teasingly at Yesung as I handed him back his pet. He was thanking me profusely, his eyes still tearing but with a smile of relief present as well. Over his excessive words of gratitude, neither Yesung nor I hear the footsteps approaching us; his presence only acknowledged after he cleared his throat with a loud cough. With our attention finally directed at Kyuhyun, he handed me my books; I could only give him a timid smile and a ‘thank you.’

 “Oh! You’re the new student!” I suddenly heard from beside me, when I turned to Yesung, he had an accusatory finger pointed at Kyuhyun. I wish I could’ve prepared myself from the sight of his flustered face and Kyuhyun practically running away from us. ’How cute,’ I thought to myself.

A week after that, I had the chance to see Kyuhyun walking to school. I had happened to wake up before my alarm clock would set off. Not being able to return to sleep, I decided to just go to school early and practice some piano pieces. As I stepped out my house, I saw Kyuhyun making his way to school.

Kyuhyun not really being inviting and friendly, added to the fact that I was shy, I couldn’t call out to him, instead, I just quietly walked behind him, watching his back.

“G-g-good morning, Ryeowook-ssi,” I heard him say and for a brief moment, I was a bit taken back; how could’ve he had known I was behind him? I didn’t see him turn to me nor have I said anything. “Wait, that’s too formal. Ryeowook-ah? That’s too casual…” I didn’t want to embarrass him or waste his efforts so I decided I would wait for him to greet me at school instead. I watched him as he practiced his greeting. Halfway to school though, he abruptly stopped walking, “I don’t know the name of the other one!” I left out a soundless chuckle as he scratched his head in mild frustration, probably trying to search his memory for Yesung’s name.  I couldn’t help find that side of him cute as well.

That day, I waited for him to approach me but he never did so I did it myself when I saw him shyly peeking at Yesung and me. After giving him a greeting, I asked if he wanted to join us for lunch. He didn’t answer but he did follow me back to Yesung. Lunch together was quiet in the beginning, but the three of us did become friends by the end of it. Even though the day we became friends was awkward, I still and will forever hold that memory precious.

That night, I purposefully set my alarm clock early to catch him; maybe we could walk to school together. The next day, however, I still didn’t approach him. He was busy practicing not only his greetings but also a conversation, index cards on his hand. I never attempted to approach him again, pleased with just watching him practice over conversation topics.

Kyuhyun loosened up to us months after and became chatty. We were waiting for Yesung in the courtyard and Kyuhyun was happily talking about a video game I’ve never heard of –probably never will, had we not been friends, his eyes were twinkling and a wide smile plastered on his face; before realizing what was going on, I blurted a clumsy ‘Kyukyu, I love you’. My random confession took us both by surprise but I didn’t take it back. I may not have planned to confess that very moment, but my feelings were genuine and I wasn’t about to make its significance any lighter by taking it back. He didn’t accept my confession but he didn’t reject me either and I was thankful at how he never acted any different; he never made me feel that he was uncomfortable being in my presence.

I should’ve been happy when one day, after rushing out the music room, I see Yesung and Kyuhyun no longer awkward with each other and talking animatedly amongst themselves; and I was, but not as much as I should’ve been; I was slightly jealous at Yesung.  Kyuhyun looked so much happier than usual when I saw him; so happy that his smile didn’t deter when he saw me. I should be happy about that too, but he never smiled that wide for me before. Not wanting them to notice my slightly upset mood, I ran towards their direction.

“Oh! I’m glad you’re both still here,” I panted, bent over, my hands on my knees,