"Hyunseung!" You called happily, waving your arms like crazy.

Hyunseung turned around, his face the same as always -- cold and emotionless. But when he saw you, his whole face lit up, and he relaxed into a warm smile.

Girls screamed and swooned and gasped.

"Hyunseung sshi, why are you smiling at HER?"

"Since when did Hyunseung smile?"

"Why is she so special to you?"

He ignored the jealous girls and walked over to you. He realized he looked to eager, and he was walking so fast he was practically running -- but he didn't care.

You giggled. "How are you, Hyunseung?"

He smiled softly at you, then frowned. His arm moved up and his fingers your cheek. You grimaced and tried to cover the new bruise.

"Appa.......er......appa had a bit too much to drink last night." You said quietly.

Hyunseung's eyes flashed, and for a moment he looked like he was going to go to your house and beat up your appa.

"No---No! Hyunseung....it's okay!" You said, as he stood up. Oh shoot, was he really going to?

"Hyunseung!" You frantically grabbed his hand in an effort to stop him. It worked better than you thought -- Hyunseung froze like a statue. He slowly turned his head to stare at your slim, pale fingers interlaced with his. "Just calm down, okay?" You pleaded, smiling sweetly at him. "I'm fine, see? It's just a little bruise, it's nothing big. Just--just stay with me, okay?"

Hyunseung continued to stare at your hand. "Oh, I'm sorry......was it bothering you?" You said, embarassed. You gently started to pull your hand out, but Hyunseung gripped your hand tighter, preventing you from doing so. You looked up at him questioningly, and he just looked away, embarassed.

You shrugged and smiled again. "Come on, we're going to be late for class!" You two walked to class together, his grip on your hand never loosening.

Finally, when you got to your seats, it took a while for Hyunseung to let go of your hand. You just smiled at him and started to work on the notes. Hyunseung watched you for a while, then started to write down the notes too.

Lunch time came. As usual, Hyunseung silently pointed out the food he wanted, and you ordered it for him. Except this time, he gave you money for his share. He smiled softly when you looked at him. "You can't treat me to lunch forever. I should be treating you." He wanted to say that, or say something like "As a man, I can't let you buy me my own lunch. Let me treat you for once." Something cool, something a guy would say, but of course he couldn't say anything.

You understood a bit of it, though. You smiled and said "Really, Hyunseung. I don't mind. School lunches are very cheap, anyways."

You're always so optimistic and happy about everything, ~~~~~. How do you do it? Hyunseunt thought. 

After school, you and Hyunseung decided to walk around. You walked down several streets.

Suddenly, Hyunseung stopped walking and froze, his face tightening.

You looked around, puzzled. It was a normal intersection near his orphanage. Nothing seemed wrong, yet it looked like Hyunseung had seen a ghost.

"Hyunseung?" You whispered.

Hyunseung pointed to a spot in the very middle of the street, his throat convulsing. Then he pointed to a lamp post near the spot.

You slowly walked over to it. Tied to the lamp post was a small bouquet of flowers, along with a teddy bear. A picture pasted above it showed a picture of an adorable little girl, laughing. She was sitting next to a boy who had soft waving hair and beautiful, doe-like eyes. The beauty of his face reminded you of-----

You gasped and turned to the frozen, emotionless Hyunseung. "Is this.........you?" You asked.

He nodded once, like a robot. You read the Korean words under the picture. JANG GEURIM, RESIDENT OF SEOUL ORPHANAGE WITH BROTHER: KILLED IN A FATAL ACCIDENT. You peered at the date at the very bottom. It was dated back seven years ago.

"Hyunseung......." You said quietly. "Could it be.........the reason why you can't talk.......was because of this? Because your dongseng died in this accident?"

You looked up at him. His face was twisted with pain, and although he turned his head away, you could see the tear drip down his cheek. It's all my fault. I was being such a brat, I destroyed everything I had.

He was surprised when he felt your cool hand wipe away the tear. "It's okay," you murmered soothingly. "It wasn't Hyunseung's fault, it isn't. I'm sure if Geurim was here, she would say the same thing." You smiled gently at him. "It isn't your fault, Hyunseung."

For some reason, when you told Hyunseung it wasn't his fault, he felt a strange lightness in his heart. It felt like the sun was finally coming out, thawing his broken heart.

He smiled shyly, and you beamed back and took his hand. "Let's go get ice cream!" You cheered.

Hyunseung smiled wider. This girl..................she means so much to me. I wonder why I feel this way....whenever I'm around her, I feel so happy............