"Doesn't this look like a heart? If only there were two, then we could have kept one each." The girl said, pointing at the seashells lining the bed of the Sokcho Beach. He smiled.

She had always told him that the beach was magical. And everytime they came here, they would pick seashells. As she walked around, she could see the crystal clear blue water sparkle like stars and the sand as fine as goldust in fairytales. She sighed heavily as she recalled that day three years ago.

"Come on now. It's all right, I won't hurt you."

She tried to convince a terrified puppy to inch out of the the drain but the puppy were scared enough to move. It was raining that time and Jinah could feel herself shivering and coughing in the cold weather.

At that moment, she could feel someone stand beside her and startled when she saw a hand pulled out the puppy from the drain.

"Need a hand?" A deep and husky voice asked her.

"N–no thanks. I'm fine."

"You sure you're all right? You look like you just took a bath in the rain. Here, use this for a while." He took off his black jacket and placed it on her shoulders.

"I've told you already, I'm fine. But first, we need to bring this poor little puppy to a vet. It's in a worse shape than I am." She replied, and before she could take off the jacket, the man grabbed her hands and shook his head lightly.

"What's your name, by the way?" he asked while patting the puppy's head that were on his arms.

"I don't tell my name to a stranger." She responded.

"Oh come on, I thought I was a hero who save this puppy from the drain." he chuckled. "I'm Yongguk. What's yours?

She rolled her eyes before answering his question, "Jinah."

They took the puppy to a vet only to find out that the it was closed.

Yongguk cursed in his mind and turned his head to face Jinah, "So.. What are you going to do now? The vet is close. Are you going to keep it?" He asked, frowning.

"I know what you're thinking," Jinah replied. "But I see more to this puppy than just its disfigurement. To me, it's perfect. It has nothing less in my eyes."

Yongguk fell silent after that. He seemed lost in thoughts. It took a while later before he spoke again.

"What will you call it then?"

Jinah thought for a moment..

"I'll call him.. Tigger." {See what I did there.}

Yongguk rolled his eyes at her, "Tigger.. Really? Tigger from Winnie the Pooh?" He asked, unconsciously raised his eyebrow towards the female.

"Shut up, Yongguk."

As the days passed, they got to know each other more. Jinah soon got used to his scent, his dark purple-grey hair that ruffled in the wind and his eyes that were as black as night. Yongguk was the one who first brought her to the Sokcho Beach and at that moment, Yongguk confessed his love to her. At the day, Jinah thought that her life was perfect — but not for long.

She soon discovered that she had a chronic heart disease – Cardiomyopathy, and only a heart transplant could resolve it.

"Do you still love me?" Jinah asked Yongguk.

"Jinah.. I know what you're thinking. No matter what happen, I'll always love you. I see more to you than just your illness. To me, you're as perfect as before, you are nothing less in my eyes." He smiled, leaned closer to peck on her cheek.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly.

Weeks passed with suffering and endurance. "We'll find a donor someday," Yongguk would assure the young female.

"Guk-ah, will I die?" She asked him.

"Only when you give up hope," he would say. It was difficult for her but she knew that it was harder for him.

Until one evening, Yongguk had to leave for basketball practice. "I'll be back soon," he smiled and kissed her lips before walked away from the room. Jinah, somehow, felt uneasy as she watched Yongguk leave the hospital.

An hour later, Dr. Jiyong burst into my room. "We've found you a donor!" he exclaimed. "We'll perform your operation now!"

As they wheeled her into the operation room, she glanced around to find a familiar face that she knew so well but he was nowhere in sight. "Where are you, Yongguk? I need you to be here with me." she whispered.

The operation was a long one and even though she was put under anesthesia, she could still hear that faint voices of the doctors and nurses.

"Where did you get a donor for this patient?" She heard one voice said.

"There's a car accident somewhere around Seoul." the other voice replied. "The donor told me to give his heart to a girl in this ward. I checked the waiting list and his heart fits perfectly for her. It's a strange thing that he seems to know that too."

"A guy?"

"Yeah. The name's Yongguk if I'm not mistaken."

Du-dump. I heard wrong, right. She thought.

She couldn't believe what she heard. Did.. Yongguk die? Du-dump..

"We're losing her. She's rejecting the heart.. Check... pressure..."

The voices become fainter and fainter until they disappeared. She opened her eyes to find Yongguk standing right in front of her.

"Where are we?" She muttered.

"Jinah, you have to go back there. I–I can't be with you anymore," was his reply. Then everything seemed to connect in her mind. Yongguk had died in a car accident and she was.. dead. 

She saw herself lying in the operating room, while the doctors were trying to resuscitate her. Why must it be like this?

"I want to stay with you.."

"Jinah, listen. Don't ever give up, okay? Sometimes, there are things we can't control but promise me that no matter what happens, you will live on!" He sighed heavily.

She promised him and with a heavy heart, she hugged him for one last time. "Bye.. love." He smile and waved his hand at her direction, trying his best not to cry in front of her.

"Jinah.. Wake up." She opened her eyes slowly. Familiar faces filled the room — her mom, her dad, friends. She looked around, hoping to see Yongguk's face. She burried her face in the pillow and cried silently. She just can't believe that Yongguk was really.. gone.

I already miss you, Yongguk. She whispered.

"Don't ever give up, okay?" A voice whispered on her ears.

Jinah wiped her tears quickly. Yongguk. I miss you. Please come back. I love you.

Years past, as she revisited that place which once help so many unforgettable memories from her past visits, she felt a sense of calmness spread over her as she sat again at the place where he confessed his love for her and shared their dreams.

The very day he came into her life and the very day he left it had changed her life forever. He taught her what real love was and more importantly, he showed her how unconditional love could be. He gave her hope to live on and courage to hold on to life when all seemed dark and uncertain. The times they shared was priceless because he left her with memories that she would forever remember.

Just as Jinah let her thoughts drift away, she caught a sight of something next to her. Jinah smiled as she picked it up. For a seashell it was — in a shape of a heart. 

Keep smiling, Jinah. You look.. so beautiful. A voice said.

She smiled and placed her hands on her chest.

"Thank you, Yongguk. I love you."

First one shot! Wootwoot~

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