Kang Sora, at fifteen years, was slowly blossoming into a beautiful young lady. She was growing so tall, finally over 160 centimeters, and she had gotten a haircut she truly liked. The only thing upsetting her mirror was the fat that refused to leave her cheeks.

            That, and the fact that Jungsoo probably had no idea she looked like so nice now. She hadn’t seen him in nearly two years, and it was killing her. Even when he had been training, he still came home eventually. And back then, he often fought with his family—she could hear the shouting from her swing in the park. Often, Jungsoo would come running out of his house, only to stop when he saw her sitting there. He would simply sit down on the swing to her right, not saying anything. Somehow, she could just tell that he wanted to collect himself for a moment, so she didn’t look at him. She looked straight ahead, swinging slowly back and forth. Eventually, he joined her until they were swinging in unison.

            Moments like those had happened quite often, and Jungsoo slowly opened up more and more to her. Through the years, he told her about all the struggles he suffered at home, and at the company; he told her about how tough the competition was at the company, how much he liked his fellow trainees but how afraid he was to make friends with them in case of competition; he told her about his progress and his failures and he told her of his disappointment each time his debut was postponed; he told her about all the pretty girl trainees.

            Sora had been so happy. She had been so happy that finally, finally, finally, Park Jungsoo had become more than her oppa, that he was at last seeing her as his equal, someone he could trust, a friend he could talk to. But that’s all she was—a friend. She waited patiently, listening to him and comforting him, hoping and praying and believing that one day, Park Jungsoo would see Kang Sora as more than the little dongsaeng from his neighborhood.

            But her chance slipped away when his own chance to debut appeared. For nearly two years he was too busy preparing to come home, to even bother calling her and talking to her. She told herself he was tired. She told herself that he had to focus on work now. He was a grown man, after all, no time to play.

            She thought it would be impossible to ever see him again, after his debut. She wanted to give up, but each time she even thought about it in the slightest, her heart recalled memories of the boy who had patched up her knees, who opened his heart to her on their swings, and she couldn’t let go. She was near hopeless when his noona suddenly approached her one day, walking in the park across the street. She invited her to watch his debut stage with her, her smile a little too knowing. Of course, she accepted.

            Sitting in the audience, she couldn’t help but stare at him in awe. It was only two years, but he still looked so different. He was different from the boy who had sung for her one quiet summer evening. It wasn’t just his hair and makeup; something about the way he carried himself was different.

            She had never felt more in love, and at the same time, she had never felt further apart from him. She left his stage before he had finished, too lonely in the sea of people to remain there.

            She walked away, but when she was at the door, she turned around once to blow him a kiss. Goodbye and good luck, Jungsoo oppa.

                                                                                                       ~*~

            “Sora-so!”

            Kang Sora thought she was imagining things. No one had called her that, not since…she turned around, in complete disbelief that Park Jungsoo was in front of her, smiling that one-dimpled smile, the way he always did.

            “Leeteuk…?”

            “Jungsoo oppa,” he corrected. “I’m Leeteuk to my fans. To my friends, I’m still Park Jungsoo.”

            “Why are you here?” she blurted out. “I mean…”

            He laughed good-naturedly. “No, it’s fine. I know what you mean.” He stretched his arms up towards the sky and looked around, saying, “Waahhh, it’s been so long since I’ve been here.  What, three, four years? But since Super Junior’s been winning, the company let us have vacation.”

            She could only stare. Why had he come back, now of all times?

            “Sora-so! Didn’t you miss me?” He smiled even wider at her, finally taking a good look at her. How old must she be now? 17? 18? She looked so mature. She was almost as tall as him, much to his dismay, but her figure had filled out to become like a woman’s. And her face had become more lovely, and Jungsoo always had a soft spot for pretty faces—was she wearing makeup? She looked like a woman, but her cheeks still contained a trace of youth in their roundness. He absentmindedly wondered if her smile still looked the same.

            “Oppa!” she said, waving her hand in his face. “Are you okay?”

            “What? Oh, yeah! Great!”

            She smiled. “I was just saying that I did miss you, but it’s a little awkward now, between us.”           

            He frowned. Awkward? With his little Sora-so? He opened his mouth to protest, but was stopped when he saw her smiling shyly at him.

            Her smile was the same.

            But somehow…different.

            “W-well, how have you been, Sora-yah?”

            “Good!” she said happily. “I’ve been studying very hard for university entrances. I want to be an actress.”

            “Do you have a boyfriend?” he asked suddenly, completely ignoring what she had just said.

            “M-mwo? Yes, I do.”           

            He didn’t know why, but his heart fell.  “Oh, okay. So, um, an actress? Wow. What brought that about?”

            She looked away as she lied, “I don’t know. I’ve always been interested.” She didn’t tell him that she had hoped to work with him one day in the entertainment field. She didn’t tell him of all the fantasies of them going to award shows together, and she didn’t mention her hopes of his finally noticing her. So she lied.

            “That’s great, really.” He looked away too, then said slowly, “I guess I’ll see you later, then.”           

            “I guess so,” she said, her heart a whirlwind of emotions. “Oppa, wait.”

            He paused and she told him in a rush, “I just wanted you to know that I’ve been cheering you on this whole time. I believe in you, oppa. You’ll be the best one day, I know it.”

            Overcome with emotion, he impulsively grabbed her. He kissed her right on the cheek then stepped away quickly, blushing. 24 years old, and blushing like a 14 year old. “Thanks, Sora-so.” He walked away quickly, not giving her any time to respond.