Hanmi went through another few months of mourning. Her heart was being ripped deeper and deeper. Everday she grew depressed, so much that her sister sent the SM Entertainment a letter saying Hanmi will take a leave of absence for one week. It’s only thanks to the people she grew close with that she hasn’t killed herself. Gongchan and Changjo visited their place regularly, and sometimes Key or Onew would drop by. After slow months of mourning, she was ready to work again.

 

“It must be very difficult for you, Hanmi-yah,” said Mr. Lee one time on the day she got back to work.

 

“So much, sir,” said Hanmi wistfully.

 

“Our SM family will back you up, ok? Remember that. You are, after all, our youngest officemate to date.”

 

Hanmi smiled and bowed before vacating the office. She slipped into her office and doodled lyrics all over her journal like she always did. Yoonhee came to see her and offer her sympathies.

 

“Hey, I’m so sorry,” said Yoonhee. She came and sat on the chair in front of Hanmi’s desk.

 

“Oh, hey, yeah, thanks, unnie,” said Hanmi, mustering a smile. “I wasn’t alone; my boyfriends left people to take care of me once they were gone.”

 

“That’s cool. Well, I can’t stay long. What do you say we get lunch together later?” said Yoonhee.

 

“I’m free then. Thanks, unnie,” smiled Hanmi.

 

“Catch ya later, kiddo,” smiled Yoonhee as she left the little office.

 

Hanmi sat in silence and reflected on her recent events. The work in TOP Media was cancelled for now. They’ll call later if they still wished Hanmi to work on the album. Not that she expected she would. It felt like she was the cause of Niel being gone. If it weren’t for Changjo spouting up words he’s sure Niel would say, Hanmi would’ve never gotten over Niel’s death.

 

A few weeks later, a boy came into SM Ent. asking to see Hanmi. Hanmi went down to the lobby to see who it was. She didn’t immediately recognize him, unfortunately.

 

“Hanmi-yah! Your sister said you worked here. It’s been a while! I’ve flown in with my brother as quickly as we heard you were going great in Seoul,” the boy blabbered on.

 

The boy was taller than Hanmi, but he looked no older. His hair was dyed blonde, his cheeks were smooth, and his limbs were lanky. Still, Hanmi can’t recognize him.

 

“Uhm, I‘m really sorry, but I don’t know who you are,” said Hanmi carefully.

 

The boy was shocked; at least he looked shocked to Hanmi. “You don’t recognize me? Wah, Hanmi-yah, what kind of bestfriend are you?!”

 

--flashback—

 

Hanmi was 10 years old again. She was swinging on a swing in the school grounds, waiting for her sister to pick her up. There was only her and another boy on the playground. The boy approached her. They shared a smile and played the entire time until their guardians came to fetch them. But before they went on separate ways, the boy called her.

 

“Hey, wait! What’s your name? I wanna be your bestfriend,” he said.

 

“I’m Hanmi! That’s a good idea! Forever?”

 

The boy came close to her again. He looped his pinky around hers. “Forever,” he said.

 

Just as the boy was leaving, Hanmi looked back. “Wait! What’s your name?”

 

The boy looked back at her. “Y-“

 

--end of flashback—

 

“Youngmin-ah! Jo Youngmin!” exclaimed Hanmi all of a sudden.

 

“That’s right! Wow, I can’t believe you actually forgot…” said Youngmin.

 

Hanmi laughed. “I’m sorry! I’m really sorry! It’s been a while since I saw you. How many years was it? 7?”

 

“Aish, you’re so forgetful. Just 5 years,” scoffed Youngmin.

 

--flashback—

 

“What? You’re going to Korea? Why?” wailed a 12-year-old Youngmin. They had met up every day to play and hang out for two years, and evidently became closer.

 

“Appa said his work was based there and it’s umma’s homeland,” explained Hanmi, shaking her head at the difficulty to explain.

 

“Are you coming back here to the US?” asked Youngmin, his eyes tearing up.

 

Hanmi looked into his eyes and her eyes watered too. “Appa said we’re staying for good.”

 

The two friends wept on each other’s shoulders and spent the entire day together. It was the last day Hanmi ever heard from Youngmin, but Youngmin hasn’t forgotten her.

 

5 years later, Youngmin received a letter from Eunmi saying Hanmi’s going big in Seoul. It got in trouble finding its way, so it took so long to receive. But the moment Youngmin read it; he dragged his younger brother and twin Kwangmin all the way to Korea.

 

--end of flashback—

 

“It’s so cool to see you again, Youngmin-ah. I missed you sooo much,” said Hanmi, jumping up and hugging Youngmin. Youngmin froze and blushed for a while. Why?

 

--flashback—

 

“Hyung, dude, chill! So she’s going to Korea for a while-“ said Kwangmin, only to be cut off by his twin.

 

“Forever, Kwangmin-ah! She’s not coming back!” stressed Youngmin. He was practically tearing his hair off.

 

“Fine, forever. It’s not like you can’t communicate with her. Letters and emails do exist,” said Kwangmin, rolling his eyes.

 

Youngmin didn’t answer. ‘This kid doesn’t understand,’ he thought.

 

But, as if reading his twin’s mind, Kwangmin said, “I understand, hyung. You like Hanmi.”

 

Youngmin’s mouth dropped and his eyes rounded as he faced his twin. “How did you know that?”

 

Kwangmin shrugged. “I’m your twin, right? We share the same brain cells.”

 

Youngmin rolled his eyes. “Whatever. So you know I like her. Now my reason for freaking out is legit.”

 

“Hyung,” pressed Kwangmin. “She’s your bestfriend. She won’t forget you. You were the first she told about her leaving, right?”

 

“Yeah, because I’m her only friend around here. She has no one else to tell it to,” retorted Youngmin.

 

 

Kwangmin shook his head. “You really like her, don’t you, hyung?”

 

Youngmin leveled his eyes with Kwangmin. “Yes, Kwangmin-ah, I really do.”

 

--end of flashback—

 

Later on, Hanmi had shown Youngmin the entire building. She met the SHINee boys once, and found out Youngmin was a sort of fanboy. They ate lunch together, and then Hanmi had to go back to work.

 

“Youngmin-ah, I have to go back to the office now. I have some paperwork to do. Will you stay?” asked Hanmi.

 

“Maybe I’ll just go back to our apartment. Kwangmin will look for me. It’s Saturday tomorrow, we should all hang out, the three of us,” invited Youngmin.

 

“Sure! You can pick me up in our place, you know where it is, right?”

 

“Yeah! I’ll see you!” Youngmin flashed Hanmi one last smile before leaving her office. Hanmi sat on her swivel chair, memerized by the sudden arrival of her bestfriend/secret crush since childhood.

 

‘I can’t believe I actually forgot him,’ thought Hanmi, face-palming herself.

 

--flashback—

 

“Umma! Please! I can’t just leave!” Hanmi wailed as she watched her mother pack and strip her room of everything that belonged there.

 

“Honey, please, your appa needs this move. Why are you so against it anyway?” said her mother, obviously tired of the conversation.

 

“I…” trailed Hanmi.

 

‘I’ll leave Youngmin behind.’

 

Hanmi hung her head. “You won’t understand,” she whispered. Her mother only looked at her piteously and resumed packing.

 

--end of flashback—

 

Saturday came, and the twins promptyly arrived at Hanmi’s and Eunmi’s place.

 

“Hanmi-yah, the twins are here!” called Eunmi.

 

“Coming!”

 

Hanmi emerged to the living room in a really fun blouse, swishy skirt, and leggings underneath. Youngmin didn’t notice that he was staring until Kwangmin elbowed him.

 

“Hyung, stop it, she might melt,” he muttered.

 

Youngmin cleared his throat and looked away.

 

“Hey guys, I’m ready. Did you wait long?” said Hanmi.

 

“Not much, noona,” said Kwangmin.

 

“Kwangmin-ah~ It’s ok not to call me noona. Youngmin and you are the same age, anyway,” said Hanmi teasingly.

 

“Arasso~” said Kwangmin.

 

“Hey! Let’s get going so we have the whole day,” suggested Youngmin.

 

“Ok,” said Hanmi. The little group trouped toward the door.

 

“Be safe, Hanmi-yah! And mind your curfew!” reminded Eunmi.

 

“Neh, unnie!” called Hanmi.

 

Once outside, Youngmin said, “You have a curfew?”

 

“Yeah. Eunmi unnie’s like umma once umma left,” explained Hanmi.

“Yah, hyung, where are we going today?” asked Kwangmin.

 

“I don’t feel like going to Lotte World just yet. It seems too ordinary already,” said Youngmin.

 

“We could always just hang out in the mall or the parks,” suggested Hanmi.

 

“I wanna check out the malls. It’s been a while since we’ve been here in Seoul,” said Kwangmin.

 

“The mall it is,” said Youngmin.

 

The spent the whole day together, hitting the mall during the morning and checking the parks out when afternoon came. Hanmi had to apologize repeatedly when she said her curfew was at 6 pm.

 

“It’s ok, Hanmi-yah, we’ll visit again tomorrow,” said Youngmin. The boys had accompanied Hanmi all the way home.

 

“I’m really sorry, guys. You really had to bring me all the way home. Do you live close by?” said Hanmi.

 

“Yeah, just around the block, actually,” said Kwangmin. He excellently covered up for his hyung.

 

“Thanks again, guys. You be careful in going home,” said Hanmi as she went inside. The boys smiled at her and went on their way.

 

Halfway there, Kwangmin broke the silence.

 

“Hyung, you do know that we only have 3 weeks here. Umma said so. Will you go ahead with your plan?” he asked.

 

Youngmin took a while before answering. “I don’t know, actually. What’s going to happen if she says yes? Will I leave anyway? Or won’t I try at all? What do you think, Kwangmin-ah?” answered Youngmin.

 

Kwangmin fell silent this time. He wracked his brain. Is there a way of fulfilling love’s calling without disobeying umma? Kwangmin’s head started to hurt.

 

“Yah, hyung, you’re passing you problem onto me!” he cried.

 

“I didn’t really say you had to answer, did I?” smirked Youngmin.

 

Kwangmin scowled and stuck his tongue out at his twin. Youngmin returned a similar look. If you were a stranger, you would think only one of them was real and the other is a mirror image.

 

The Jo twins spent every time they could with Hanmi. Sometimes, Lee Soo Man even let them stay in her office while she worked, in the condition that they don’t bother her. Not so much, anyway. Soon, it was only Youngmin coming. The twins’ umma called Kwangmin back. Kwangmin was happy to leave his hyung alone with Hanmi.

 

Three weeks flew by in a breeze. The time for Youngmin to leave was nearing, but he didn’t sal one owrd to Hanmi about it.

 

On his supposedly last day in Seoul, he called up their home on the US. Kwangmin took the call.

 

“Yoboseyo?”

 

“Kwangmin-ah?” said Youngmin.

 

“Hyung! What’s up?” Kwangmin said. His voice was happy, Youngmin could tell, but long-distance calls are expensive and he didn’t want to waste time asking why.

 

“Is umma home?”

 

“Yeah. Wait, I’ll call her.”

 

The other line crackled a bit as Kwangmin put the phone down. Minutes later, an older female’s voice came through.

 

“Youngmin-ah? Is everthing ok there?”

 

“Umma! Listen, I…I can’t go back there,” began Youngmin. What a lame beginning.

 

“Why, honey?” asked their mother.

 

“I…I just found Hanmi here, and I don’t…you know, wanna lose her,” said Youngmin, his voice faltering and his face reddening.

 

There was silence in the other line. The tension was building up. Then Youngmin heard a weird sound over the phone.

 

“Umma? Umma, hello? What’s wrong?” said Youngmin in a panicky voice, which only made the sound go on.

 

It was Kwangmin laughing hard and covering the receiver of the phone. “OMG, hyung, you sounded so funny!”

 

“Kwangmin-ah?!”

 

“Yeah!”

 

“Where’s umma?!” Youngmin demanded. “Don’t tell me that who I was talking to was you!”

 

“It was me,” laughed Kwangmin. “Umma’s not home. She and appa are at the embassy picking up our Korean visas.”

 

“You rascal, Kwangmin-ah! I wanted to speak to umma, not y--wait, what? Why are our parents at the embassy?”

 

Kwangmin rolled his eyes. “Oh, I dunno, maybe they’re getting health check-ups,” he said sarcastically. “Duh! They’re getting our Korean visas.”

 

“Why?!”

 

“Here’s the best news you could hear. Appa decided to work in Korea since his company needs someone who speaks English and Korean to work there,” explained Kwangmin.

 

“WHAT?!?!?”

 

“Don’t yell, I’m a phone call away!”

 

“Sorry! Is this for long? Forever, perhaps?” said Youngmin hopefully.

 

“Appa will be a permanent representative in Korea for their company,” said Kwangmin calmly.

 

Youngmin yelled in sheer delight again. Kwangmin put the phone an arm’s length from his ear and could still hear his hyung’s yells. Then a beep came, and then the other line became silent.

 

“Well, what do you know, he hung up on me. Not even a ‘thank you.’ Really, hyung,” said Kwangmin out loud as he put the phone down.

 

Youngmin, meanwhile, was celebrating in the apartment he rented. The next thing he did was call Hanmi. In the middle of the ringing, Youngmin came back to sense.

 

‘Why am I calling her again? It’s not like I’m pressed for time in confessing to her anymore,’ thought Youngmin as he canceled the call.

 

A month passed of constant hanging-out with Hanmi. Kwangmin and their parents had flown in and Youngmin moved in with them in the new house they bought. Kwangmin hung out with them for a few days, and then it’s just Youngmin and Hanmi again.

 

“Why won’t your twin come to our outings anymore?” asked Hanmi one time. They were sitting in the park with ice creams in their hands.

 

“He, uh, he wants to rediscover Seoul on his own. He’s been single since forever,” said Youngmin with a scoff.

 

Hanmi laughed. “He’s growing up, huh? I still remember when we were kids.”

 

“We’re the same age!” protested Youngmin.

 

Hanmi smiled and pinched his cheek. “But my bestfriend is older.”

 

Youngmin blushed as he looked away.

 

A couple of months passed again. Youngmin gathered up all the courage he needed to confess, and now he was ready. He called Hanmi to eat dinner with him and permed his hair for it. Kwangmin kept rolling his eyes, sighing in impatience, and laughing at his hyung as he got ready. Youngmin ignored him.

 

The hour came and Hanmi met Youngmin in a posh restaurant. He was in a crisp new baby blue polo and black slacks. Hanmi’s dress actually matched with his polo. She was in a blue dress and white platforms. Her hair was plaited undoubtedly by Eunmi.

 

“Hanmi-yah, you look… very pretty,” said Youngmin, regaining the breath he lost upon seeing his crush.

 

“You too! Is that a perm?!” laughed Hanmi.

 

They conversed easily over dinner. When the desert dishes were put away, Youngmin touched Hanmi’s hand.

 

“Hanmi-yah, I have three words to say to you, three words that would decide how my tomorrow will go. Three words that when said, would either end up in glee or sorrow. These words are ‘I love you’. Will you accept me?” said Youngmin carefully and sweetly, choosing his words.

 

Hanmi blushed so hard. This scenario had been rotating since Youngmin came to Korea for her. And in her mind, she always said:

 

“Yes! I’m yours, and your mine!”

 

Suddenly, applause rained on them from all over the place. Kwangmin was among them, and there were Youngmin’s old friends: Donghyun, Hyunseong, Jeongmin, and Minwoo. They congratulated the new couple.

 

That night, Youngmin walked Hanmi home. And what Hanmi didn’t realize was that that day was the cursed deathday , and she was about to kill her bestfriend-turned-boyfriend.