THIRTEEN YEARS AGO

-- 

“Waaaiiit!”

A sing-song voice called out.

Minho and Taemin turned around and saw Sulli running to catch up with them. As usual, her short hair was flying messily in the wind.

She finally reached her oppas and linked arms with them happily. They laughed as she struggled to catch her breath. Sulli had never been very athletic.  

“Why are you always running late? We will really leave you behind next time, gujil gujil”

Minho shook his head at Sulli. 

As usual, her shirt was too big on her and she didn't tuck it into her skirt. Why can’t she be like other girls and wear clothes that fit her?

Taemin simply smiled and reached over to help straighten her hair.

“You guys always scare me by pretending to leave for school without me! It’s not my fault. I have to make tea for halmeoni and feed Bap in the morning so I always forget to get ready myself”

Sulli pretended to cry so that her oppas would feel sorry for their poor dongsaeng. Aish, she always thinks of others before herself. Pabo...

“Why can’t you just wake up earlier?” Minho said mercilessly.

Sulli stuck her tongue out at meanie Minho. She turned to Taemin. He was always the one who defended her. As usual, he pinched her cheek gently to comfort her.

“We would never leave our Sulli behind”

“See? Taeminnie oppa likes me!”

Sulli let her arm slip from Minho’s arm and used both arms to cling on Taemin. Taemin laughed softly while Minho scowled. 

“Ya!” Minho grabbed her arm back.

The three of them laughed together like peas in a pod as they walked to class, the three most envied students at school. The charismatic soccer captain Minho, the pretty flower boy Taemin, and their cute dongsaeng Sulli.

--

Minho wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had spent the afternoon practicing for the upcoming soccer game. He had to work hard for his team to win the championships this year.

The sun was beginning to set. Dark clouds rolled across the sky. It looked like it was about to rain.

“Minho, let’s go home! It’s getting late!”

Sulli was sitting on the bench. She looked up at the darkening sky in concern.

On the days that Minho practiced soccer, she always sat in the sidelines to watch him.

Minho hated it when people watched him while he was drilling himself privately, but Sulli was the only one he allowed to watch his practices.

“You are always playing soccer here until sunset. Will you let me watch you?”

“Why?”

“Because I am not athletic and I can’t play sports, so I admire you…”

“What a simple reason”

“I don’t like complicated things so I just blurt out what I think”

“Then I have one condition”

“Ne”

“Be my dongsaeng”

Sulli waved her hand in front of Minho’s face to get his attention. He had spaced out, thinking of the past.

“Oppa! Why are you just standing there?”

He grabbed her hand and interlocked his fingers with hers to stop her from waving. He felt a fluttering in his heart as his fingers fit with her soft hands but he swallowed his feelings.

“I know, I know! Let’s go!” he said. 

He quickly let go of Sulli’s hand and turned his face away so that he wouldn’t have to see her face. These days, it was becoming harder and harder for him to deny his feelings for Sulli.

They had become close after living on the same floor. Overtime, they began to spend all their time together. 

Taemin lived a floor above them and saw Sulli in class so the three always played together, running around the apartment building and getting into trouble. Sulli's halmeoni spoiled them and Minho's parents were rarely around.

The three of them became their own family and they were rarely apart.   

Having Sulli as my dongsaeng is the only way to keep her by my side. To me, the girls who want to date me are all the same but Sulli’s place in my heart cannot be touched.

It is easy for a popular guy to become arrogant and insensitive, but I always become soft and childish when I am with Sulli. That is the kind of innocent love I have for her.

I can’t ruin Sulli’s purity by being greedy and wanting more.

--

They began to walk towards their apartment building.

“Oh, oppa, you tore your shirt when you were practicing again. I will mend it for you when we get home, ne?”

Sulli pointed out a small rip in Minho’s shirt.

Minho was always playing rough sports so his clothes often got ripped. Because their family did not have much money, Minho used to keep wearing the same clothes even if they became worn out.

Sulli began to learn how to sew so that she could help fix his clothes. She had gotten so skilled at sewing that she could even adjust hand-me-downs from Minho’s older brother (Minseok) so that they fit Minho handsomely.

“Sulli, what’s wrong with your hand?! There are bandages around your fingers!”

The three of them were sitting in the grass for lunch when Minho grabbed Sulli’s hand in concern.

“Ani… it’s nothing”

“Why do you always hurt yourself? Stop being so clumsy!”

Minho raised his voice and Sulli widened her eyes in fear. He didn’t mean to sound so harsh but it was because he was concerned. He hated it when Sulli was hiding something from him.

“Actually, it’s because Sulli has been learning to sew so that she could help mend your clothes. It was hard for her at first and she kept pricking her fingers”

Taemin whispered gently in Minho’s ear. Taemin was always the kind peacemaker. 

Minho's blood boiled and he instantly turned to Sulli.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you were learning to sew, Sulli? Stop it! I don’t want to wear anything that you hurt yourself to fix. I’m telling you to stop”

Minho took her hand and pressed her fingertips against his lips so that Sulli knew that he was serious. 

She hung her head and remained silent for the rest of lunchtime.

Minho opened his gym locker and noticed that his soccer uniform was folded neatly. He never folded his uniform so he instantly knew something was unusual.

He took the shirt out and gasped.

The shirt was mended and fitted flawlessly. In a corner of the front, Sulli had even stitched the initials for his team. Minho held it against his face and felt tears form in his eyes.

“Wow. Seonbae, who fixed your shirt so well?!”

His teammates began to gather around him in awe.

“S-sulli-yah” 

“But she’s two years younger than us, isn’t she?! You are so lucky to have such a talented and caring dongsaeng”

“Yeah, I know I am so lucky”

Minho couldn’t help himself. He ran outside and started to cry.

--

Sulli nudged Minho gently so that he would walk faster. He didn’t realize that he had slowed down so much.

Because the seasons were changing from summer to autumn, the weather was unpredictable.

In just an instant, the sky became gray and the humid weather became cold. Rain and lightning erupted from the clouds.

Minho instantly grabbed Sulli’s hand to keep her close to him. He took off his jacket and raised it above Sulli’s head so that she wouldn’t get too wet.

They began to run across a bridge.

Suddenly, Minho felt Sulli’s arm slip from his hand.

“Aaaah!”

She wailed as she slipped off the bridge. Minho instantly reached over to grab her hand but he barely touched her fingers before she fell into the flood of water.

The stream was shallow, but the current was strong. Sulli flailed weakly but she didn’t know how to swim and she was too short for her feet to touch the bottom. Minho could see her beginning to choke on the water.

He dove into the stream and frantically looked for Sulli’s floating body. Dirty rainwater stung his eyes but he continued swimming.

Finally, he found her  a few feet away. He sunk his head underwater and swam over with his heart beating hard against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and dragged her limp body to land.

He panted heavily with exhaustion now that he ran out of adrenaline. Sulli’s body wasn’t moving and he was afraid she wasn’t breathing. He didn’t know what to do so he desperately pressed on her chest. Tears flowed down his face. He felt more scared than he had ever felt in his life.

Sulli, please don’t leave me before I’ve told you that I love you.

Finally, he pressed his mouth against her cold lips.

She gasped for air and opened her eyes slowly.

“O-oppa?”

Minho was too tired and breathless to say anything so he just hugged her to him.

“Stay here while I go look for help!”

Minho was about to stand up but Sulli instantly reached out and grabbed his arm.

“Wait! Minho, please don’t leave. I hate the cold” Sulli cried out.

This was the first time she had called Minho’s name instead of “oppa”

Sulli’s small body shivered against Minho’s arms. He saw that her ankle was swollen.

Tears flowed from his eyes as he hugged her tighter against him to try and keep her warm. His body was soaked but he took Sulli’s hands and rubbed them between his hands so that her body tempature would go up.

“Whatever you do, don’t ever let me go…”

Sulli cried softly as she curled up in Minho’s embrace.

“I won’t go anywhere, I promise! I won’t ever leave you. All of this is my fault for walking so slowly. We could have beat the rain. Why am I such a fool? Sulli-yah…”

Minho pressed his lips against Sulli’s temple as her eyes closed weakly.  

“Saranghae”

Finally, after he finished crying, he regained his strength. He stood up with Sulli on his back, and began to walk slowly towards their building.

The rain beat against him, and his foot often slipped. He refused to pause until he reached the door to Sulli’s home.

He knocked, and Sulli’s halmeoni opened the door instantly with worried tears in her eyes.

“Minho, I was so worried. What happened? What’s wrong with Sulli?!”

Minho walked in and instantly brought Sulli into her room. He laid her gently on the bed and then sat on the edge with his face in his hands.

Her halmeoni came in and started to take the wet clothes off of Sulli. 

Minho looked away shyly as halmeoni wrapped little Sulli in a big towel. 

“Did Sulli slip in the rain? She’s always been a clumsy one. Thank you, Minho.  And you’re only eight years old…You carried her all the way here?”

Minho nodded weakly. He felt completely exhausted.

His eyes slowly closed and his head gently touched the pillow as he fell asleep facing Sulli.

“Now I know why Sulli always says that you are her first love” halmeoni whispered to Minho.

She gently pulled off Minho’s wet shirt and covered him and Sulli with a dry blanket.

She left the room, leaving the two children to sleep with their foreheads touching. 

--

hello my lovely readers! don't worry, of course there will be future chapters that reveal their complete past. I wanted to fill you up with sweet moments first so I hope you guys are satisfied. if not, i'll always give you guys s'more s'more s'more.

tell me how you like their childhood so farrrrr <3 

fun facts:

1. sulli is really afraid of water in real life because of a traumatic event in her childhood I think. 

2. the line "i don't like complicated things so I just blurt out what I think" is a real quote from one of sulli's interviews

3. sulli has a cute dog named Bap hehehe

PLEASE PLEASE VOTE AND COMMENT! I LOVE YOUR COMMENTS AND THEY ALWAYS MOTIVATE ME SO MUCH! <3