Kevin's POV- November 25, 2009

I woke up to my phone ringing and answered."Yeobosaeyo?" as I looked at my clock. 6 am

"Saengil chukha hamnida, saengil chuhka hamnida, Saengil chukha hamnida Kevin, saengil chukha hamnida. Happy birthday little bro or happy early birthday I should say!" said my sister Deanna. She was in california for college.

"Thanks De, but why did you call so early?" 

"So I didn't forget......" she replied.

"Yah! De I was sleeping...." I grumbled

"Just kidding Mr. Grumpy! I also wanted to tell you I just got back from visiting Jae Lee out east and getting fitted for my bridesmaid dress........."

I stayed silent as she rambled on thinking 'Oh bother, she's gone into girl talk mode on me', but a question snapped me back into her conversation.

"Have you see any recent pictures of Hana?"

"No...." I replied

"Then I'll have to email you one then. She's gotten really pretty, since you last saw her and I think you'll really like her. "

"Okay, thanks..... " I replied a little reluctantly thinking 'Hana already has a boyfriend, so it won't do me much good if I do like her. I almost would rather not see her, so I wouldn't have to hide my feelings for a friend again.'

"How are your letters going?"

"Really good, Hana's been telling me about her friends and life in college in New York. We've been exchanging letters about every other week and this last time I sent her a signed CD for her birthday."

"Cool. Did she like it?" De asked.

"I don't know yet, but I think she will."

"Hold on a minute, you've been writing back and forth, but you don't have her email address or phone number yet?"

'"No....?"

'"Wow, you move slow bro....if you want I can give you her email address and phone number. Jae gave them to me when I visited for the fitting...." She tried to chat on & I interrupted her "That's okay De, I'll just ask her in my next letter. Are you coming to vist korea over winter break?" I asked changing the subject thinking to myself 'De sure has trouble reading people's moods sometimes or just chooses to ignore them.'

"Yeah, dad will be coming too for a few days. Are you worried about not getting your birthday present?" she teased

"No, I was just wondering De, it's been a while since I've actually seen you." I said.

"Well, I need to leave for work now, but I'll call you again soon okay?!" Deanna said.

"Okay, Saranghae De. Bye, bye."  I said hanging up my Haendeupon.

The rest of my birthday was pretty normal -practice like normal, dinner with they guys, a crazy cake, and some little presents from each of them. There were plenty of fan gifts that came too -hats, pajamas, drawings people did of me, and a whole bunch of other random stuff. De also had emailed me a picture of Hana, but I decided not to open it.

The next week I got a small package from Hana and opened it on my bed. On top there was a letter, but I was so curious I set it aside and unwrapped one of the gifts inside. It was a photo album full of pictures from when we were kids and a note 'Hope you had a great birthday! Sorry I didn't get it to you for your birthday, but I hope you like it. -Hana'.

The front pictures was me and Hana swinging on a tire swing smiling and laughing our heads off. 'That was so much fun! It felt like we were flying when our dads would push us.' I looked through the rest of the pictures slowly and re-living the moments briefly in my mind -the 4th of July picnic watermellon eating and seed spitting contests, the trips to the zoo, watching baseball games, swiming competitions (Hana swam competively back then too), bon fires, camping trips, and so many more than I could list.

The last picture in the album was one that I was hoping not to see then, or until I met her -a recent photo of her, namely her senior picture. She stood with her back  resting against a tree and her head turned gazing softly at the camera with sparkling brown eyes. Her long black hair was half pulled back from her smirking face and soft curls cascaded down around her shoulders. She was dressed is a simple, but feminine blue dress with a short sleeved black sweater. "She gorgeous," I murmured to myself and thought 'I really have rotten luck for liking girls that are friends, but already have boyfriends. Why can't things ever be simple?' I sighed and turned my attention to the note scribbled on the back cover of the album. 'Hopefully you enjoyed reliving some of our childhood memories looking through this album. Sorry for including the dorky picture of me at the end, but Mary made me include it. I hope we can be friends for a long, long time or forever if you want to put it that way. Love, Hana."

Kibum snuck up on me looking at her picture and note, and scared the jeepers out of me when he asked "Noogoo that? She's hot!"

"A chingu....." I said as I snapped the album shut from his prying eyes.

"Jeongmal? Just a chingu?" he asked looking at me quizically.

"Ye!" I snapped back.

"Okay, okay she's just a chingu, but we need to leave for a fan meeting in 5 minutes."

"Five minutes?!" I asked surprised at how long I had been looking at the album for and scrambled off to take a really quick shower. 'I guess the rest of Hana's present will just have to wait until later.' I though longingly while driving in the car.

Chapter Glossary:

Yeobosaeyo- 여보세요- Hello when answering the phone.

Saengil Chukha Hamnida-생일축하합니다 Happy birthday

Haendeupon -핸드폰- hand phone/cell phone

Noogoo (really romanizes as nogo, but pronounced that way)-누구 -Who

Jeongmal-정말 -really

Ye- 예 Yes

*Thank you so much for your patience! I've had school pretty much coming out of my ears the past couple weeks, but here's a long awaited new chapter and sorry it's pretty short! Will be working on chapter 9 when I can this week, but I've got two pending piano performances for next weekend and I need to practice. -AA