August 2012 

Sunny walked outside her dressing room and sighed from remembering the exciting night she'd just had.  Nothing made her happier than performing with her members in front of the fans that had poured out so much of their love for her.  

She loved it all - the excitement, the laughter, the dancing, the singing, everything. 

SMTOWN 2012 Seoul had come to an end, but the memories of the event were still fresh on her mind.  

She looked into the mirror in the hallway.  She looked so different from what she was like during SNSD's debut days, back in 2007.  She had long brown hair, and didn't wear as much makeup.

She looked at her reflection, having already removed her makeup.  She looked plainer, her eyes were smaller, and she didn't look like "Sunny of SNSD" anymore.  She saw the glimpse of the "Lee Soon Kyu" she had originally been.

She didn't know whether to embrace it or push it away anymore.

Early 2007

She entered the practice room silently and took off her shoes as she entered.  

She was still pretty new to the entertainment and no one really took notice of her.  They were all caught up in their own conversations on new songs, celebrities, trainees from other companies, etc. 

Trainees would often come and go, and she was no different.  She was not exceptionally good at singing, nor the best at dancing, nor the prettiest.  She was just Lee Soon Kyu, and she had faded into the background.

She silently stretched out her muscles and waited for the instructor to come in. 

She tried to block out all the sounds of the people around her, and she was only interrupted once someone tapped her shoulders. 

"You know, I know a better stretch for stretching that part of your leg." 

She looked up to see a boy with a round face and slightly long hair.  He sat next to her and showed her a different stretch.  She was a bit surprised that he had talked to her, but she smiled at him, appreciating the advice and imitated his stretch. 

He smiled back. 

They then went on to talk about their favorite dancing styles and songs, which led to conversations on celebrities and movies and so forth.  She found out his name was Sungmin. 

She suddenly started to come to practices earlier and earlier.  

Early 2008

It was her first time entering the broadcast station as a permanent host for Chunji.  They already told her who her partner is, and she was dreading seeing him. She almost considered quitting the position before realizing how important it would be for SNSD and her success. 

SNSD was still a new group, and this was a perfect opportunity.  

That didn't make the nervous butterflies in her stomach feel any better.

She entered the radio booth after talking to one of the producers.  Sungmin was already there.  

She expected an awkward silence, a long pause, or maybe an explanation for what happened a few months prior.  She stared at her feet, wondering what would happen.  

She didn't like tension. 

Instead, she was welcomed with a warm greeting and a smile.  It was just like before.  He and ruffled her hair.  He laughed and made a few jokes.  

He pretended like nothing had happened just a few months before, like everything was back to normal.  

They went through the basic outline of the show together, playing along with each other.  

Deep inside, she kind of wanted him to mention what had happened during that incident. She wanted to ask questions and demand answers.  She wanted to stop being so confused.

But she knew that it was better if it was forgotten, buried deep within their memories.

November 2011

She walked out of the recording room.  It was the only day her schedule ended this early.  After the release of 'The Boys', she had schedules after schedules, and it was sometimes too much to handle. 

She was walking down the hallway until she bumped into someone and fell backwards.  

She looked up and recognized Sungmin.  He smiled a gentle smile at her and offered his hand to help her up.  

She ignored it and brought herself up.  

"Always so independent," he said teasing her.  

She laughed.  He had always joked about how she was the only girl never to give into his manners.  

"Long time no see, Soon Kyu." 

She felt his hand ruffle her hair like he had in the old days.

He was the only one who was allowed to do that.  He was also the only one to call her Soon Kyu all the time, except when he was in tv or radio programs, of course.  She was always Soon Kyu to him.  

His hand stopped at the ends of her hair.  

She suddenly felt self-conscious, knowing that she had cut her hair just recently.  It was short, really short.  Her fans had asked for it, and she had complied.  

"Your hair..." He whispered. 

Suddenly, the mood had changed from light-hearted and happy to serious.  She just nodded and looked down, not knowing what he felt about it.  

"The fans asked for it," she explained.  

Her fans were important, and their opinions' mattered to her.   

Now, she really wanted to know his opinion because they mattered to her maybe even more than anyone else's

He nodded, and he never really replied.  He just gave her a small smile and walked away. 

She wanted to know what he was thinking, just this once.  

March 1995

It was her first day of elementary school.  She was wearing a ribbon in her hair and a brand new dress.  Her small backpack was held by her shoulders and she felt her heart thump with nervousness.  

She walked into the room, and she was met with curious stares from other classmates, who all seemed equally scared.  One child was already crying. 

A few mothers were in the classroom, worrying over their children.  Sunny stepped inside the classroom and looked around with curiosity.  She was a little scared and wished she had told her mom to stay. She suddenly wanted to see her older sister.  

Finally, when everything settled down, the teacher smiled at them and told them each to introduce themselves.

They went around the classroom, and Sunny noted that many of the kids had such nice, normal names such as Min Ji, Seo Yeon, Yeon Woo, Eun Hye, etc.  When it was her turn, she said her name proudly. 

"Lee Soon Kyu." 

She suddenly heard a few giggles from her classmates and she was confused.

That was the first time she became ashamed for something that was a part of her identity. 

Author's Note: 
I wanted to try a new set-up for this story.  It's kind of little snapshots of her moments with Sungmin.  It's kind of going to skip around a lot, so pay attention to the dates/years!  I'm not going to do this in order, so it can get a little confusing... just warning you. 
Well, for the Early 2008 memory, people might be confused as to what "incident" she's talking about.. don't worry, it will all be revealed!  I decided I'll probably make this a three-shot, so you'll see what happens eventually.
Also, I just want to say that I'm not that good at updating quickly.  I'm really busy nowadays, so please understand.
Please give me feedback in the comments and subscribe if you like the story!