His first kiss was when he was eleven years old and was with his very best friend at the time: Baek Yoomi. They had been friends since they were born – their mothers were both in the choir together at the church – so it was only a matter of time before his feelings for her developed. The summer was almost over which meant they were going to begin their first year of middle school in a matter of weeks and, quite frankly, both of them were nervous. Yoomi’s family was going on vacation soon so, in order to spend the most time with her best friend as possible, she invited him to go with her to the park to hang out one more time.

He casually strolled under the sheltering canopy of the trees and headed for the swings where he knew she’d be. To them, the swings were an escape from the hardships of life. Sure they were still young but they weren’t dumb. They knew life wasn’t perfect all the time.

When he reached the end of the covered pathway, his eyes adjusted to the intense summer sun and that’s when he saw Yoomi gracefully sitting on the swing, her long black hair swishing gently behind her in a single braid as she closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of nature, completely unaware of his presence.

“Hi Yoomi,” he said sweetly, his angelic voice almost carried away by the wind.

Her eyes opened at the sound of his voice and she dragged her feet along the ground to stop the swing. She looked at him and flashed a toothy grin, her yellow dress making her skin appear lighter than it really was. “Hi Kevin,” she cheered, motioning with her head for him to sit down on the swing next to her.

They didn’t talk about anything of importance – just whatever came to their minds as they swung back and forth – and they were okay with that. It wasn’t until it was dark that they ran out of things to talk about and Yoomi looked at Kevin with a heavy heart.

“So you’re leaving tomorrow, huh?” Kevin asked, slowing his swing to a stop. Yoomi nodded. He got up and helped Yoomi stop her swing. “You have to promise me that you won’t forget me, okay?”

Yoomi laughed and covered with her hand. “I’m only going away for a week,” she chuckled, standing up and holding Kevin’s hand like she had always done, “I doubt I’d forget my best friend.”

Kevin blushed and cleared his throat in embarrassment. “I know, but still!”

Covering once again, she chuckled innocently. When she was finished, she looked back at Kevin who was staring at the ground, his face a light shade of red. She moved her head so he was no longer looking at the floor but instead at her large, round eyes. He averted his gaze because he was still embarrassed and Yoomi quickly pecked his lips.

It only took him a few moments to realize what had happened and when he did, he backed away from her a little bit. She grinned at him and then stuck her tongue out at him and before he could do anything else, she giggled and turned around and began to run. He chased her all the way home.

The second time he was kissed was when he was thirteen and when he and Yoomi were finally old enough to join the teen choir at their church. Yoomi wasn’t a very good singer but Kevin was amazing and had always loved to sing and, whatever Kevin liked, Yoomi liked too.

After their first kiss, things had returned to the way they were before and they both acted as if nothing had happened. It was almost as if Yoomi had kissed a pet rather than someone she wanted to spend eternity with and Kevin somehow knew it. But after his second kiss, Kevin began to question his original thoughts.

The date was December 24^th – Christmas Eve – and the teen choir was going to perform a show for the rest of the church and Kevin played the main role: the angel. It was the perfect role for him.

“Hey Yoomi, can you help me with this box?” Kevin asked as he tried to lift a box of set decorations in preparation for the final performance.

“I’m sorry,” she said semi-happily, “I can’t, remember?” She pointed to her heart.

“Oh yeah,” he replied with a smile, “Sorry. I forgot about your heart condition.”

She smiled tiredly and leaned back in the pew, closing her eyes for a little bit. A year ago, Yoomi was diagnosed with a terminal heart condition that made life difficult to experience like normal kids her age could. Unfortunately, no one knew for sure when she’d go but Kevin prayed it wouldn’t be soon. Since her diagnosis, she had problems three times – two of which landed her in the hospital with Kevin by her side, holding her hand the entire time.

Kevin gave up trying to lift the box and walked over to Yoomi and sat down next to her with an exasperated sigh. “Are you feeling okay?” he asked her, “Would you like me to get you some water?” Yoomi shook her head. “Okay,” he replied, “Just don’t overdo it.” Yoomi nodded and flashed one of her famous toothy grins. Kevin smiled back in return and went back to finishing the decorations while Yoomi found herself slowly falling into a deep sleep.

She awoke to Kevin gently shaking her awake. She was still tired and slightly dazed when she saw Kevin’s angelic face staring back at her – literally for Kevin was now in full angel costume. “What? What’s going on?” Yoomi asked, rubbing her tired eyes.

“The show’s about to start,” he said, helping Yoomi up. Luckily for Yoomi, she was just in the ensemble and had no costume to change into so all she had to do was go behind the makeshift curtain and waited for curtain-call alongside her best friend.

Yoomi knew she wasn’t an actress or a singer but she was feeling rather anxious about this performance quite a bit. In fact, in a matter of moments she found herself almost numb with anxiety and she was soon gasping for breath. “Yoomi? Yoomi? Are you okay?” Kevin asked anxiously, grabbing Yoomi’s arm.

She grabbed her chest and gasped for air and knelt to the ground. Kevin sat down next to her and carefully placed his hands on her back. She then began coughing and Kevin breathed a sigh of relief. Coughing meant she was taking in oxygen and she was breathing again. He sighed. “Don’t scare me like that,” he said, putting his hand on his forehead. “That’s it,” he decided, “I won’t let you perform tonight.”

Yoomi nodded and Kevin helped her to stand up. He brought her out into the hallway and carefully sat her against the wall. He quickly ran back to the stage and grabbed a water bottle and when he returned back to the hall, Yoomi was leaned back against the wall, eyes closed, and taking slow, deep, breaths. He scurried over to her side and handed her the water bottle. Yoomi slowly opened her eyes and smiled as she took the water from his hands, taking a small sip of it. In the distance, she heard the audience begin to cheer and they both looked towards the door to the stage. “I should get going,” Kevin said and stood up.

“Wait,” Yoomi said, grabbing Kevin’s arm. Kevin looked back at her worriedly. She let go of his arm and beckoned him to come over to her. He turned around and walked back over to her. However, to her, he wasn’t close enough. “Closer,” she said and waved him closer with her hand. He moved his face so it was right in front of hers and listened to what he had she had to say. However, she didn’t say anything. She grabbed the front of his robe and yanked him closer and then kissed him on the lips. Before Kevin could even respond, she let go of him and tossed him back slightly. She smirked and said, “Now go and sing your heart out.”

Finally comprehending what had just happened, Kevin smiled and nodded once. “I’ll come back and check on you during intermission okay?” he said.

“Just go already,” Yoomi laughed and shooed him away.

Exactly two years after that on Christmas Eve, Kevin had his third kiss. He was so happy the day that his mom told him that they were moving to South Korea in order for him to pursue his singing career that Kevin couldn’t wait to share the news with Yoomi. He wanted her to be the first person to know that he was on his way to being famous because she had always supported him in his dream of singing and she cheered him on every step of the way.

It was snowing that day so he grabbed his coat and ran all the way to the hospital to see her. For the past two weeks, Yoomi’s heart condition had grown worse and it was difficult for him to see her at all and he breathed a sigh of relief when the nurse let him see her today.

As he entered the room with a grin plastered on his face, he looked over at the pale girl resting comfortably on the bed. She turned towards him as soon as she heard him and smiled weakly. “Hey Yoomi,” he said, walking over to the bed and sitting in the chair next to it, “I have something that I want to tell you.”

Yoomi looked over to the window in a daze. “It’s a nice day out,” she said quietly, “Will you take me for a walk?” She looked back at Kevin who looked at the nurse. When the nurse agreed, they helped Yoomi get into a wheelchair and wrapped her up in a thick blanket. As soon as they stepped out of the door, Yoomi breathed in a lungful of cool winter air and smiled peacefully. She then pointed to a nearby bench. “Let’s sit over there for a while, okay?” she said. Kevin nodded and rolled her over to the bench, lifting her effortlessly out of the wheelchair and placing her on the hard wooden seat. “So what did you want to tell me?” she asked, taking Kevin’s hand.

Kevin smiled as he remembered the news. “I’m moving to South Korea next month,” he admitted with a smile, “I passed a singing audition with a big entertainment company when I was visiting family there last month. I finally get to live my dream!”

She looked at him and grinned, bringing more life to her face than Kevin had seen in the past few weeks. “That’s amazing!” she cheered then wrapped him in a light hug, however, she didn’t let go. “You’re so warm,” she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, followed by a hoarse cough.

“Let’s get you back in,” Kevin started as Yoomi coughed more, “You’ll catch a cold.”

Yoomi shook her head. “Just five more minutes,” she whispered, “Please? Just five more minutes.” She coughed again and Kevin sat back down, content with only five more minutes. He heard her take a shaky breath and he wrapped the blanket tighter around her body in an attempt to keep her warm. “Kevin?” she said after a moment, “Will you sing me a lullaby?”

“A lullaby?” he asked. She nodded and Kevin cleared his throat. “Hush little baby, don’t say a word,” he sang slowly, “Mama’s gonna buy you a mockingbird. If that mocking bird won’t sing, Mama’s gonna buy you a diamond ring.” As he continued on with the song, Yoomi coughed more violently than before and when he looked at her, a single tear was streaming down her cheek.

He knew it was her time but he couldn’t bring himself to move. Something was telling him to finish singing for her; to give her one last wish. “If that horse and cart fall down, you’ll still be the sweetest little baby in town.”

Her coughing had stopped. Everything had stopped. He then let his tears run freely down his face but he couldn’t stop singing. “So hush little baby…don’t you cry,” he sniffled and wiped his tears away with his free hand and when he placed his hand back down on his lap, Yoomi’s hand fell limply from his shoulder and landed on top of his. It was cold and pale. Kevin could no longer concentrate on anything going on around him. He held her hand tightly as he belted out the final line, “’Cause Daddy loves you and…so…do…I.”

He brought her limp hand up to his face and kissed her fingers sweetly and hugged her lifeless body. “Yoomi,” he sobbed, holding her head in a futile attempt to bring her back. “Please,” he begged, “Please come back to me.”

He brought his feet up to his body and began to gently rock back and forth, repeating the words “Please come back” over and over again. “Yoomi,” he cried, this time, more loudly than before.

Nurses and other medical specialists ran over to the weeping boy and tried to pry him off of her but to no avail. “Yoomi!” he continued to yell. He moved some fallen hair away from her face and lifted her head up to face him. He cupped her cheek and gently pressed his lips against hers as the tears now salted both of their faces.

Ten minutes later, the nurses finally pried him off of her and when a doctor checked her pulse, his expression became solemn. “I’m sorry,” he said, “There’s nothing we can do.”

At that moment, Kevin lost it completely. As the nurses took Yoomi away, Kevin tried to keep up but a male nurse kept him from following any further once they got to the mortuary and he fell to his knees. He sniffled and wiped his nose with the back of his sleeve. “Goodbye, Yoomi,” he then said.

She grabbed the front of his robe and yanked him closer and then kissed him on the lips. Before Kevin could even respond, she let go of him and tossed him back slightly. She smirked and said, “Now go and sing your heart out.”

His first kiss was when he was eleven years old and was with his very best friend at the time: Baek Yoomi. They had been friends since they were born – their mothers were both in the choir together at the church – so it was only a matter of time before his feelings for her developed.

The second time he was kissed was when he was thirteen and when he and Yoomi were finally old enough to join the teen choir at their church. Yoomi wasn’t a very good singer but Kevin was amazing and had always loved to sing and, whatever Kevin liked, Yoomi liked too.

Exactly two years after that on Christmas Eve, Kevin had his third kiss. He was so happy the day that his mom told him that they were moving to South Korea in order for him to pursue his singing career that Kevin couldn’t wait to share the news with Yoomi. He wanted her to be the first person to know that he was on his way to being famous because she had always supported him in his dream of singing and she cheered him on every step of the way and now he was more determined than ever to become a star; for her – for his best friend – and for his first love: Yoomi.