A/N - Finally, we're going back into the past! 3 years ago when Sanghyun and Ji-eun first met! It's first love all over again~
Read, comment and enjoy! You know what they say: a comment a day keeps the writer's block away~ Jk, but lots of love anyway~

@HanSang - Haha, you seemed to have summed up my entire story into two words. I like it! Hope this chapters meets your expectations~ I love sweet IUxThunder moments as well!!! And yeah, Baro must be in charge of 'sounds' for B1A4. That and the squirrel dance :D 

@ainnurdoongie - Hey sis~ You curious? Haha i'm curious about your lil fanfic as well!!!! So talk more~ Yes~~~ You update and i will too! Sounds fair ^^

@baboracoon - Yup, its a mix POV coz i somehow kept writing in first person and then i found i needed to express all the diff feelings. So it ended like this! Glad you approve tho~ And here's the update!!!

@wookielove - Ooo~ Theme park! Hope you had fun. Makes me want to go again before uni starts...hm... And yay for shawol mode! I always slip into it everytime someone says 'curious' haha, can't help it >< Thxs for the praise. Hope this chapter meets your expectations!

Finally thanks to jhoanitax for subscribing! Keep them coming~

Chapter 32 – Returning to the past, they recount their first meeting 

Cheondoong POV

I decided to tell them the truth.

But in reality, I was still a coward. I was afraid to tell them my past in person, scared to see their faces and hear what judgmental words they would have to say. In my mind, I could still see the faces of Ji-eun’s parents. Eyes that despised me, that declared it was my entire fault and that the world would be a better place if I never existed.

So I recorded it on my phone. In truth, I had recorded this a long time ago, feeling the need to spill my secrets even if all I was talking to was an electronic gadget. And now conveniently, I just added a few words to the end and then left my phone on the bed with a hastily scribbled note.

After all, I didn’t think I would need that phone any longer. Not after this was all over.

Seungho POV

I pressed play and Sanghyun’s voice filled the air immediately.

“Umm *cough* well…what should I say? This is a little awkward to be speaking to well…nobody…but I just feel like I need to spill everything. Even if I’m talking to an electronic gadget. Keeping it all bottled up inside myself gets heavy after a while; it’s like blowing a balloon so big it’s on the verge of exploding. Enough said. I’ll just pretend I’m speaking to you all.

So, my past huh? It’s quite a long tale, but I have time.

So let’s see…

It all started three years ago. That’s right, November 2007. The month I met Lee Ji-eun for the first time…”

3 years ago – November 2007…

Sanghyun was walking along the stony, concrete path, unsure of the strange buildings surrounding him. The concrete city was so different to the Philippines: fewer trees, colder skies and more people milling about the perfectly sculpted skyscrapers.

Hands dug deeply into his jean pockets, Sanghyun felt like a duck out of water. He had been back in South Korea for over a month now, but he still felt at odds with the shiny buildings and clean pavements that contrasted the Philippines’ natural state of messiness from the overgrown bushes to the warm, musty air. He missed his old friends and the lyrical language of Tagalog.

He missed everything about the Philippines and it was worse now that he had just failed his JYP auditions.

“I’m afraid your singing ability is lacking,” the man had said with a critical eye. “JYP is very selective. But perhaps another time?” he tried to appease the depression that crept over Sanghyun. In other words, go away and come back when you’re better.

The boy trudged through the streets, not really sure of what to do. Dara-noona was doing well as a trainee of YG. Of course she was doing well, he thought, since she had such explosive popularity in the Philippines backing her up. On the other hand, he was nothing.

Sanghyun kicked at the ground, his worn out sneakers scuffing against concrete and walked at a furious pace-

-only to bump into someone.

“Ouch!” the complaint came from a female. She rubbed her forehead and looked up. Sanghyun did the same, but looking down. They both staggered back and Sanghyun scraped his arm hard against the brick wall. He pulled away from the wall, one hand unconsciously going to his stinging wound.

“Sorry,” Sanghyun apologized, bowing profusely as his noona had taught him to do so. “I wasn’t looking where I was going?”

He pulled himself up from the deep bow to look at the girl. She was pretty with short, shiny hair and round cheeks. She looked young – perhaps only 13 or 14 – but had a mature air about her.

“It’s okay!” she spoke quickly, equally mortified at their collision. “I was at fault for not looking as well, ah-“ her eyes fell on Sanghyun’s scrape. “Oh! Are you okay?”

Sanghyun turned his head to look at his scrape. It was a tiny thingy – nothing worth the worry – but the girl seemed concerned all the same.

“Come with me!” she grabbed his hand and pulled him down the street and into a café. “I’ll bandage it!” Sanghyun, in shock at her bold actions, said nothing, and just let her drag him onto a small two-seater table.

Sitting down, a waiter immediately placed two cups of water at their table and the girl quickly dipped a tissue into the cup to wash his wound.

“It’s not that deep!” Sanghyun protested, but somehow didn’t want to tug his arm away from her cool touch. “It’s okay, you know!”

The girl looked up at him and pouted. “Still…” she complained, but moved the wet tissue away. Instead, she dug deep into her sling bag and scrabbled around for something. A triumphant expression appeared on her face as she pulled out a bright pink Band-Aid.

Sanghyun’s eyebrows flew up. “Hello Kitty?” he choked and started laughing as the girl pressed the bandage to his skin.

The girl smiled. “Finally, you smiled.”

And Sanghyun realized that was true. He hadn’t smiled for what felt like days. Not a real smile. Only fake, cracked smiles to appease others. And here he was, laughing for real. The girl seemed to have that effect on him.

“So what happened?” she then proceeded to ask after they had ordered some coffee.

“What?” Sanghyun spluttered, surprised at her question. “What makes you say that?”

She tilted her head, as in analyzing him. “It’s nothing much…just you don’t look very happy…” she leaned over the table to touch him on the cheek. “You look kinda blue. That’s why it was a relief to see that you actually smile.”

Sanghyun smiled at her caring nature. “It’s nothing, well okay it’s something, but it’s that important.”

The girl pouted. “Don’t say that! Your face says it isn’t that small of a problem! And if it’s that bad, you should always talk to someone!”

Sanghyun grinned. “Are you saying I can talk to you?”

“Sure.” She smiled simply. “We’re strangers right, so it’s easy to just talk to people like that. Go ahead and spill everything.”

So five minutes later, the two of them sat, cradling their coffees and Sanghyun telling her what seemed like his entire life story.

“It’s my dream to be a singer,” he confessed. “Just like my noona whose already a trainee. So I applied for JYP because I admire Rain,” then he let out a deep sigh. “But I failed. They said I wasn’t good enough.”

Sanghyun then looked up at her, expecting to see a tired look from listening to such petty reasons. Instead, he was surprised to see a look of empathy. “I know the feeling,” she admitted. “Because I auditioned for JYP and failed as well.”

“Chincha?” Sanghyun was shocked. She was so pretty and from just speaking to her, he could tell she had a lyrical voice. And yet JYP had rejected even her!

“Really.” His new companion confirmed with a small nod. “So I auditioned for LOEN instead and got in. I’ve been a trainee for just under a month now.”

She reached out with one small hand and touched Sanghyun’s. “So don’t give up,” she shrugged. “If you don’t succeed, try, try and try again. I think that’s what they say. So what if JYP rejected you, you can always try again. In fact,” her face brightened suddenly. “Why don’t you try out for LOEN?”

Her smile was so immediate and so bright that for a moment Sanghyun thought, why not?

“Think about it, okay?” she said and finished her coffee off. She stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder. Then just as she was about to leave, she stopped and pursed her lips.

Sanghyun tilted his head in curiosity as the girl dug out yet another Hello Kitty Band-Aid.

“Another one?” he chuckled, watching her curiously as she peeled off the paper and stuck the Band-Aid straight onto his orange knapsack.

The girl pouted. “Why not? I thought it would look good on your bag! It’s for encouragement. See I have one on my bag as well.” She pointed to her pale pink bag where Sanghyun saw, indeed, there was a rather worn out Hello Kitty Band-aid.

Sanghyun just couldn’t stop laughing. “You’re giving a guy a Hello Kitty sticker?” he raised one eyebrow.

The girl paused, fully realizing her actions now and gave a sheepish smile. “Well…” then her eyes lit up. “Just don’t call it Hello Kitty!” she smiled.

“What should I call it then?” Sanghyun chortled.

The girl tilted her head to one side and tapped her cheek, her eyes roaming about the small café for any inspiration of a name. Then it hit her.

“Soonja!” she exclaimed happily, feeling somehow attached to the name already.

“What?” Sanghyun was lost. “Soowha-?”

“Soonja! S-O-O-N-J-A!” the girl told him firmly. “It’s a promise. In English they say ‘we’ll meet again soon’ and in Japanese they say ‘Ja ne’ for casual goodbyes with promises to meet again. So together it’s ‘soonja’ meaning we’ll meet again, so goodbye for now.” She smiled sweetly. “It’s not in Korean so no one will know!”

Sanghyun couldn’t help but smile at her thoughtfulness. “Okay, okay, soonja.” He took out a thick black marker and wrote the words boldly on the front of his knapsack.

“Eh!” The girl was shocked at his actions. “Is that okay?” 

“It’s just cementing our promise.” Sanghyun grinned and capped the pen. “To meet again, in the entertainment world.” He held out one hand which the girl took.

“To meet in the entertainment world.” She repeated with a sunny smile. And with that she was gone, leaving Sanghyun with a lonesome feeling and the sudden thought that, damn, he hadn’t asked her for her name.

***

It was the end of November now and Sanghyun was finally a trainee. LOEN had accepted him almost immediately, telling him that he had talent but like any other trainee just needed to be polished. Still, Sanghyun wondered if he had been too hasty in giving up on JYP. Scratch that, he knew exactly why he had auditioned for LOEN – it was for her. That girl with a smile brighter than the sun.

And despite that, he still didn’t know her name.

After all, what was he supposed to do? Go up to the closest staff member and say: um, sorry but do you know this girl. She should be a trainee here; has shiny black hair, is about this tall has this stunning smile that brightens your day no matter what. Do you know what I’m talking about?

Gods, he was going crazy. Sanghyun leaned against the wall and banged his head repeatedly, trying to drive the thoughts out of his mind. His hands unconsciously sought out his orange bag, slung over one arm where the ink was fading slightly and the Band-aid tattered, but the promise recognizable all the same.

“Are you okay?” came a sweet voice, making Sanghyun back away from the wall in a flash and hope that this girl didn’t think he was crazy.

“Uh, um yes-“ he turned to look at the girl. And his mouth dropped open. It was her.

“You!” he couldn’t help gasping as the girl blinked and opened in a perfect ‘o’ shape. True enough, it was the same girl he had bumped into nearly a month ago.

“You!” she exclaimed with the same tone of surprise. “You got into LOEN, then?” she sounded pleased.

“I did.” Sanghyun scratched the back of his head. “I took your advice and auditioned.”

“That’s brilliant.” She smiled her wide, bright smile. “I’m so glad.”

Her eyes noted the orange backpack Sanghyun wore and she grinned widely. “I see our little promise worked.” She smiled.

Sanghyun just laughed. “That our soonja did, right-“ Then he paused as he realized both of them still hadn’t introduced themselves to each other.

“AH!” she yelped as she realized the same problem. “I just realized I don’t even know your name. I’m Lee Ji-eun.” She bowed.

Sanghyun returned the bow. “And I’m Park Sanghyun,” he said with amusement coloring his tone. “Nice to meet you again.”

Ji-eun returned his smile. “Are you heading to the practice room then?”

“Yeah, if I can find it first.”

“I’ll take you to my favorite room then,” Ji-eun declared and took his hand. “It’s really spacious and airy. You’ll love it!”

She then proceeded to drag him down the hallway and Sanghyun let her do so, his orange backpack bumping comfortingly against his back to the rhythm of their footsteps and the soonja sticker faded and worn, but now selo-taped firmly for preservation. To Sanghyun, that Band-aid was more than a whimsical gift. It was a bond between the two of them that they would remember for years to come. 

Present time…

“And that is how we first met. Plain and simple.

 Ji-eun was the saving grace that opened my path forwards; it was her who encouraged me to continue. Because of her, I felt like being a singer was no longer a dream. Because of her I could smile. And because of her, I guess soonja became more than Hello Kitty for me.

It became a symbol of a brighter future. A future with her. A future where I could smile.

Of course like everything else, it didn’t last.”

A/N - Haha, the soonja explanation was kind of a heat-of-the-moment inspiration idea. Don't know if it was good or not, but i wanted soonja to symbolize the love between the two of them. Tell me what you think and all~~~