(Three years ago)

“I look like a freak.” Yun Mi mumbled, pouting at her reflection as she fidgeted in the blindingly bright pink hanbok her mother had forced down her neck.

“We’re going to be late!” her mother called out impatiently from outside the bathroom. Grumbling to make her displeasure as obvious as possible, Yun Mi stepped outside and followed the older woman out to the church where the wedding was going to take place. As expected, the only people dressed in traditional clothes were from her grandmother’s generation. “You look unique!” Her mother waved her hand as if she was swatting a fly away when Yun Mi shot her a scornful look.

“Right” she muttered under her breath, reading right through the fake tinkling laughter her mother was throwing at the man who had approached them.

“Sini-ssi!” the man crooned, “you look positively vibrant in traditional clothes. Your daughter too!” he added, giving her an appreciative glance Yun Mi really thought she would rather do without. “I was right after all!”

Of course. It had all been this man’s idea. Why wasn’t she surprised her mother had gone out of her way to please a strange man Yun Mi only vaguely recognized as a colleague?

“Aren’t you always?” her mother laughed, throwing her arm around Yun Mi’s shoulders. As far as Yun Mi knew, the man had barely ever laid eyes on her and had no way of knowing what did or did not look good on her. But what really left a bitter taste in was watching her mother blatantly reciprocate this man’s vile flirtations. She could not stand it anymore and found herself shrug off her mother’s arm with more force than necessary before walking away. She knew her mother would reprimand her later for being disrespectful, but as she entered through the gates of the church, her mind was much too occupied with the thoughts of finding one man only.

She spotted Onew standing with his friends and felt her heart skip a beat when she noticed that he had indeed kept his promise to her – much to his friends’ amusement. As if she had physically called his name out, Onew’s head spun towards her, meeting her gaze from across the church causing her insides to twist and turn into knots. She saw him excuse himself and walk away without paying heed to their protests, a 1000 watt smile gracing his angel like face.

“Hey” he greeted her, eyes crinkling. Oh curse that smile! Every time she saw it she could feel herself falling for him harder.

“Hi” she greeted him back, trying to pull herself together, “Ahjussi you don’t look too bad in this.”

“Why thank you” he bowed in exaggerated formality making her giggle. Yun Mi did not giggle often, but around him, it seemed to be the most natural thing to do. “You don’t look all that bad either.” He told her.

Yun Mi pouted in response. “If by not bad you mean just short of a clown then I agree.” She grumbled, ignoring the feeling that she was being watched. She had a good idea of who it was and she decided she had come to a point where she was beyond caring.

“Ahni…” Yun Mi jolted when she felt Onew’s whisper brush against the tip of her ear, all thoughts of her mother and the man vanishing instantly. The proximity of his lips against her skin sent shivers down her spine and she leaned in instinctively. “You look so tempting that it’s getting difficult for me to only be happy with looking at you…” Yun Mi felt his full lips graze the outer shell of her ear causing the knots in her stomach to tighten.

“Yah!” she suddenly pushed him away, blushing furiously, heart jumping to as her senses came back to her.

Onew tut-tutted mockingly, very obviously supressing a laugh. “Shouldn’t you be more respectful to Ahjussi?”

“Not when said Ahjussi is being a complete byuntae.” Yun Mi scoffed, giving Onew a well-deserved punch to the arm. He grinned at her shamelessly as if she had just complemented him instead of calling him an old ert. Just then there were calls of Onew’s name around and he excused himself.

Yun Mi took her seat next to her mother, ignoring the disapprovingly puckered lips. Thankfully the ceremony started immediately and she was saved from having to have a conversation with the woman who hadn’t done much after giving birth to her. Yun Mi wondered where her father was before she shut the thought out and watched as the band started the music and the beautiful glowing bride walked down the aisle, her beaming father at her side. Pretty little flower girls followed behind her and Yun Mi smiled back at the excited look one of them shot her as she passed by. It melted her heart to see how closely knit Jonghyun Oppa’s family was and how they had easily accepted his sister’s decision to marry a younger man. She had met Kibum only once when they had been called for a family dinner after the engagement and she had met Jonghyun Oppa’s other friends as well. She remembered them talk about a certain ‘Onew’ who couldn’t make it and had found herself being intrigued. She had often heard Jonghyun Oppa talk about his friends and how they were practically inseparable and the missing ‘hyung’ of the pack had managed peeked her interest. Who knew things would turn out the way they had? Yun Mi giggled at the thought as her mother spared her an irritable glance. Who knew he was this perfect? Yun Mi thought to herself as she gave in and looked at the man from her thoughts, bending her head when he turned to look at her at the same moment, grinning.

***

The bride and groom were on the dance floor and Yun Mi stood at the side, clapping for them, pleased to see how happy her Unni looked with her husband. It was as she watched on that she felt someone tap her shoulder.

“May I have this dance?” Turning around to look at the stranger who had asked her the question, a frown formed on her face, a refusal set to leave . Before she really could though, she saw the man her mother had been speaking to join the stranger, followed by two foreigners.

“So I see you’ve met my brother Yun Mi-yah.” The man chortled in a manner that for some reason made her sick. She wondered how her mother tolerated the man.

“Call me KD” the man’s supposed brother smirked down at her.

“Anish” One of the foreigners stepped in front and took her hand in his by force. Yun Mi snatched her hand back instinctively repulsed by the way his skin made contact with hers.

“GG” the second foreigner jutted his chin out at her, reaching out for her hand himself when he was stopped midway by the sweetest voice Yun Mi had heard in her life.

“Excuse me” Onew was standing behind her and Yun Mi spun around in relief. He had an unreadable expression on his face and without another word he stretched his hand out for her and she took it gratefully, mouthing her thanks to him as he led her to the dance floor.

“Who were they?” he asked her as he pulled her closer once they were at a considerable distance from the strangers with the strange names.

“Friends of my mother” she told him dismissively, “I have bigger problems though. A byuntae ahjussi is forcing me to dance with him” she added, sticking her tongue out at him. She didn’t want him to worry about those men. She didn’t want him to worry, period.

However her words had another effect entirely and Onew’s face immediately broke into a rueful smile. “It is kind of like that isn’t it?”

Yun Mi instantly reached out to cup his round face lovingly, completely uncaring about what the people around might or might not think. “Then I guess that makes me a freak for thinking that the byuntae ahjussi is much too cute for his own good.”

Onew laughed, his eyes crinkling. “You sound like an eomma” he teased. Yun Mi shook her head in disappointment.

“Ruin the moment won’t you. Aish! What is a poor romance-craving teen supposed to do?”

“Kiss me?” He grinned widely.

“Byuntae.” She scoffed.

“You mean byuntae ahjussi.” He corrected her causing her to burst out laughing and lean into his arms, feeling warmth spread through her as she did. She never wanted this to change. If she could help it, she would pause time right there and never let it move. She might be merely sixteen but she wasn’t foolish enough to believe that the kind of filmy romance that seemed to be hers even made sense in the real world. People did not fall in love in a day and last for the rest of eternity. People did not simply overcome difficult obstacles just for the sake of being with another person.

But she knew this was different. She knew that with Onew by her side, she would find her happy ending. And she knew that he would never leave her… she wasn’t going too ahead of herself was she?

***

Onew threw his neatly folded clothes into his suitcase, humming to himself. He stopped short, realizing what he was doing. When was the last time he had hummed? Back in university? School?

Did she make him that happy?

Onew shook his head at himself. He wondered if he could request for a transfer to Seoul. He was exceptional at what he did and the only reason they hadn’t already shifted him to a bigger hospital in the city was because he had chosen to stay back, preferring to live the quiet life compared to the noisy existence that went hand in hand with city life. But he didn’t want to live like that anymore, he decided. What would the quiet life be worth without his Yun Mi in it? He felt his heart squeeze at the thought. Yun Mi… his Yun Mi…

A loud knock on the door interrupted his thoughts and he scurried to unlock it, making sure to clear the embarrassed blush on his face. He should really not allow his mind to wander off in that direction where Yun Mi was concerned. To his utter surprise it was Yun Mi’s mother standing outside.

A foreboding sensation crept through his heart as he asked the displeased looking woman in. she strutted into the room, her high heels hitting the floor with loud clanks, almost as if she was attempting to stab the very ground she walked on in her fury.

“Can I help you?” Onew asked her, closing the door behind him and then settling himself down in front of the sofa the woman had plopped onto with a huff.

“You know why I’m here.” She shot at him. Eyes aflame with such hatred Onew felt himself at the verge of cringing.

Using the most soothing tone of voice he could summon, Onew tried consoling the seething lady. “Ma’am I can understand how you must feel –”

“Leave my daughter alone!” she cut him short, finality laced in every syllable of her words. When she saw Onew press his lips together, ready to argue his point, she snapped. “She is SIXTEEN! She doesn’t have a clue of what she’s doing! Her biggest problem right now is that she doesn’t want to wear traditional clothes! She has friends her age that talk about idols and she still can’t decide what she wants to do in the future… To her, you’re just someone new and exotic; someone all grown up and showering her with attention. I’m her mother. Do you think I don’t know my own daughter? I raised her! Later when she gives up her entire life for the sake of a man and she realizes what she’s missed, she will hate you for it. Right now, whether you accept this or not, you are nothing more than a distraction to her, an escape from her studies, her petty teenage problems… how long do you think it will last?” Onew stared at the almost hysterical woman, too stunned for words.

“I have known that child for all her life” she spoke again, lowering her voice now. “Really, how long do you expect one day’s experience to last Jinki-ssi? Please. I beg of you to end things while you still can. If I could ask her to stop this herself, I would. But doing that will only push her to defy me. I hope you can understand…”

And with a last beseeching look, Kim Sini stood up and left the room swiftly, leaving behind a gaping hole in Onew’s life, the decision clicking into place; a decision that would haunt him every single sleepless night to follow.