July 2005

“Minho!” a familiar voice called me as I was looking down at my leather shoes while walking towards the bus stop in a hot, sunny day. I turned my head. It was Sulli, grinning.

Sulli. Her dazzling eyes, pink thick lips, long, black and wavy hair, and her overall beauty are that things that you will notice at first, but, she’s more than that. She has high spirits and her passion for singing is undeniable. That’s why I fell head over heels for her.

As she ran towards me, my heart started beating faster. I smiled and waved my hand as she gets nearer and nearer.

“Aigoo,” she said. She stopped and breathed heavily. It seemed like she was tired from that run.

“You’re already tired running from that short distance? You need to exercise!” I .

“Yah! How could I exercise if we always have homework and study hall sessions everyday?” she said. “I’m barely updated to BoA nowadays,” she mumbled.

“I heard she’s going to have a comeback on August,” I shared. Her pupils dilated and she got closer to me.

“I know,” she said in excitement.

“Can we go watch live for her comeback? Please?” she pleaded me and held my hands. I gulped and felt tensed as my heart pounded rapidly.

“Are you serious? We live in Busan and obviously, her comeback will be in Seoul,” I said as I let go of my hands.

“If you don’t want to, I’ll go by myself, and tell my umma and appa that you don’t want to accompany me,” she said.

I sighed deeply and said, “Okay.”

She jumped in excitement and hugged me. “Saranghae!” she exclaimed. “Her comeback would be in weeks. I’m so excited to wave my yellow balloon again and recite the fan chant!”

She is a die-hard fan of BoA and would do anything to buy her albums, singles, and posters. I remember in 2003, when she heard that BoA is going to Busan, she quickly prepared a green sign board with the words “Saranghae, BoA-unni!” in it, and went to the hotel BoA is staying in. What’s funny is the security guards stopped her in front of the entrance. She was crying in her room after and kept saying that the guards will never be her friends. I was laughing in my mind when those happened.

We continued walking towards the bus stop as she sings “My Name” while slightly dancing. Her voice is angelic and cute. I think any executive who would hear her sing would definitely sign a contract with her.

She grabbed her pink Motorola Razr from her pocket and flipped it to answer a call. “Ne, umma, ne. Ne.”

She hanged up and said, “I need to go back to the house immediately. Umma is looking for me.” She grabbed my hand and dragged me towards the waiting shed.

The bus arrived just in time and we both entered.

We arrived at the neighborhood after a few minutes. “I’ll go ahead. Say my birthday greetings to your umma, okay? Bye, chingu!” She ran home, while I stayed on my spot for a while.

That’s the problem. It’s an unrequited love. I’m the only one who loves her, while she only considers me as her childhood friend.

I walked slowly towards our home, which is not that far from theirs. While I was walking, I saw Krystal walking on the opposite direction on the other side of the street. I don’t hate her, but I don’t like her either. She sometimes gets too near me and calls me ‘oppa,’ even though we are barely close with each other. I covered my face with my hands and peeked once in a while to see if she’s gone.

I looked around and saw that she’s not around anymore. I removed my hands from my face and took a deep sigh. When I faced front, my eyes widened and my body moved back in surprise to see her. She was smiling with the ends nearing her ears. She’s in her usual graphic t-shirt and turquoise Bermuda shorts, with her hair pigtailed.

She squealed and shouted in a high-pitched voice, “Oppa!” She hugged me in a swift, leaving me startled. I pushed her slowly to let go of her hug.

“Oppa,” she said in a cute manner. “Where did you go?” She stared at me while her two index fingers are bumping each other in front of her chin.

“Ah, I went to the department store to buy some things,” I said. I looked down, avoiding her stare.

“Good to hear! I’ll be going now, oppa!” she said. Thank goodness, I thought. She hugged me once again and waved her hand. I faked a smile as she walked on the opposite direction.

I sighed afterwards and continued strolling until I reached home.

I walked towards our white bungalow house and grabbed my keys from my beige cross body bag. I unlocked the front door and saw that my umma and appa is still not around. I switched on the main lights, took off my shoes and went directly to my room.

I placed my bag on my bed and grabbed the black notebook from my bag that I bought a while ago. I grabbed my guitar and pen, and I sat on my bed. I started writing a new song on my new notebook.

Lately, I’ve been into writing songs. It has become my hobby since last year. My inspiration in writing songs has been and always will be Sulli. To cut it short, she’s my muse.

I tuned my guitar first and afterwards, I wrote a few verses.

In the middle of writing the song, the doorknob twisted and the door opened quickly. I was shocked to see Sulli. I didn’t know what to do, so I closed my notebook, threw it with my pen and placed my guitar on the side.

“What are you doing?” Sulli asked me.

“I should be the one to ask that question. What are you doing?” I raised my voice. I gulped.

“May I use your PC? Our internet connection’s been cut off a while ago,” she asked me as she entered the room and switched the PC on.

“You’re already using it,” I said.

As the Windows XP start screen appeared on the white LCD monitor, she looked down and said, “What’s this?” She grabbed the black notebook. I quickly stood from my bed and tried to grab it from her, but I can’t.

She pushed me on the bed and read it. “Hm,” she mouthed. “To whom is this for?” She raised her right eyebrow and smiled.

“T-to the girl I love,” I mumbled as I was looking down.

“Oh, and who is it?” she asked.

It’s you, Sulli. It’s you.