You felt a flash of happiness wash over you as you noticed the little ‘1’ right above the inbox icon on your dash. Would it be him? You were pretty sure it was. Though the fear of being disappointed, together with the shocking realization that you cared this much, was present. And it made you hesitate before you opened it… But ofcourse, you did it anyway and what greeted you was yet another lovely message to end your day.

~ Hey beautiful, how was your day? Mine , but I’m sure your response will brighten it up – Y. ~

It wasn’t only what he said, it was how he said it and mostly… That it was him, your lovely anon. It made a warm feeling rise from your chest throughout every limb…every part of your body the warmth could reach; including your red cheeks as you thought of him. Y…  It had all started with some simple, innocent messages. Just some nice anon who was sending you messages; asking you how your day was, saying how you looked lovely on the recent pictures you posted, asking you how you enjoyed living in Seoul. It had been fun, knowing there was always a message whenever you logged in. But it grew into something more, something you actually waited for. And despite not actually knowing who he was or how he looked, he was like a constant presence in your life. And you enjoyed it a lot. Of course, there did come a time he had disappeared for more than a week. And to your own surprise that was the moment you had realized you indeed missed this lovely anon. Or rather, how you cared for this person without a face. And oh how thrilled he had been when he returned and you told him that fact. There was a true friendship growing between the both of you, one in which you both depended on the other. So in between saying sorry for dissapearing and not sending messages, he decided to make a tumblr especially for you. Just so you could send him messages too in case you felt like it. In the end, it wasn’t much. Basically just an empty page with occasional reblogs of songs, pictures of Seoul or food. Not even the slightest hint at how he looked or who he truly was. But you didn’t mind, for it was his personality you cared about.

In fact, there was something oddly peaceful to a friendship like the one you had with Y. A friendship solemnly based on the exchanges you two had through the internet. A friendship that made the both of you feel comfortable and like your true self. A friendship in which no one else would interfere or even slightly matter. You felt okay with telling Y. anything. More than often the two of you would spend hours messaging each other about the most random things. You were able to rant, to cry, to cheer, to fangirl, to comfort him with words, to joke around, to …. Anything really. Because Y would always be there, answering you.

Your friend, MinHee, let out a giggle as she read it over your shoulder and pulled you out of your thoughts. “Oh! It’s him again! What are you going to answer?” she blurted out excitedly, making a grimace spread across your face in response. “Well, uhm, I don’t know…” you said quietly, unsure of what you could say to this and if you even wanted to while she was around. “Aish, girl! Look at you blushing over a man you don’t even know!” she smirked. You knew she didn’t mean it in a bad way, yet it struck a nerve. “I do know him, okay!” you snapped back in frustration at her words. However, you immediately backed down again, once you saw her shocked expression. “I just… It feels like I do okay?” you added more quietly, avoiding her eyes in guilt at your outburst. She sighed loudly. “Fine, what do you actually know about him? And I don’t care about his favorite color, or whatever the two of you spend hours talking about. I mean what do you actually know of the real Y? His name for starters?” she brought out. Why did this woman always managed to find the touchy subjects? His name… crap.

“Well, he said it was good enough for me to just call him Y.” you replied weakly, feeling a bit like a naive girl. Currently Minhee made you feel weird about the whole situation. “What else?” she shot back at you. You hesitantly bit your lip while thinking of it. “He lives in Seoul, he’s from 1990 and used to live in Busan. I think he said he had a brother. He’s been to Japan to study there too and he plays the guitar.” You said proudly. That wasn’t too bad, right? You knew things about him! He wasn’t a complete stranger. “Okay not bad.” Minhee smiled, “And given the fact you’ve been talking for months now, I assume he’s a nice guy so far, Well, as far as the internet goes…” she trailed off at the end. Yet another thing that made you groan. “MinHee-yah, I told you a thousand times he really feels honest to me. And like you said; we’ve been talking for months. If he actually was a ert or anything, he wouldn’t be satisfied with talking for so long without even making the slightest hint at meeting up one day. In fact, sometimes it feels like he doesn’t plan on meeting me ever.” You returned. The last words came out with a sigh. You always wondered why he didn’t want to meet. Or was it simply because you never brought it up? Or was he afraid you’d be repulsed by his appearance or something? Was he truly not who he said he was? The possibilities were endless. Of course you weren’t shallow enough to reject someone for their looks; but what if he actually was some creep? A nervous feeling struck you again, only stopping when Minhee spoke again. “How about you ask him to meet? I can come with you so it’s safe. And for all I care he brings a friend too!” she spoke. And to your own realization, that wasn’t such a bad idea.

~ My day is okay so far.  Too bad yours , I wish I could hug you and make it all better! Ha (;  ~

~ Ahh, a hug does sound great! Can I get one? Kekekeke. Y. ~

~ How about we meet up and I actually give you one? ~

Silence. There wasn’t a message for over 10minutes. And when you finally saw the little sign pop up, you felt like you were about to faint.

~ I’m free tomorrow afternoon, what a coincidence! ^_^. Y. ~

~ I planned to go shopping with my friend in Myeong-dong, how about I meet you there? ~

~ Okay! At the entrance of Lotte department store at 2pm. I’ll be wearing sunglasses and a grey hoodie. But I’ll recognize you, so no worries. Y. ~

“Keep on walking silly.” Minhee insisted everytime you stopped in doubt. The two of you were on your way to the Lotte department store and with every step you took; another wave of doubt and fear came over you. What if everything would be crushed now? What if your friendship would be ruined because of this meeting? What if the two of you didn’t actually get along in real life? What if he was different? Minhee sighed and pushed you forward quite roughly. “Listen. You can’t just go on talking to a guy online and gradually falling in love with him without actually meeting him! If it works out now, then great! If not, then at least you can move on.” She blurted out. Her point was indeed correct, but also rather confronting. Still, it made you move forward again.

So there you were; standing silently at the entrance with an excited Minhee next to you. To bystanders it would look like she was more excited about this than you were. But inside you were practically exploding with enthusiasm for this meeting. Well, that and a whole bunch of fear of course. Suddenly, your eyes caught sight of a handsome young man walking closer to you. He was wearing sunglasses and a dark, sweater with a hood. Could it be… No. The stranger walked calmly past you and you let your shoulder drop, looking down in defeat until… “_______-ah?” a warm, gentle voice asked.

You looked up instantly, only to be met with the most heartwarming smile ever. It was him. Within seconds your eyes went over his face; his flawless pale skin, his rosy lips that were pulled into that beautiful smile, his dark brown bangs; hanging over the sunglasses that were hiding his eyes. “Y.?” you brought out curiously. Of course it was him, he knew your name! But you couldn’t help but ask anyway. He chuckled in response, moving his hands up to take off the sunglasses. As he did so, his voice sounded. “You can call me Yonghwa from now on.” He grinned, your eyes meeting his, right when your hand covered you mouth in shock. Jung Yonghwa from CNBlue.

“You.. I.. Okay, what?!” you blurted out in shock. You weren’t usually the starstrucked type of person, but you really didn’t see this one coming. He laughed again, a laugh that sounded very lovely as you immediately registered, and pulled you in for a hug immediately after. “There we go, the hug you owed me!” he grinned happily. Luckily, it was Minhee’s kick against your leg that pulled you out of your frozen state and back into reality right after his words. “Oh! Uh, well technically I owe you one, not the other way around. So…” you returned as naturally as possible while slowly recovering from the surprise. You moved forward and encircled his waist with your hands before moving closer to him. This time, you actually were aware of the hug; feeling the warmth of his body and how he slightly pulled you closer against him. His lovely fragrance filled up your nose, imprinting almost instantly in your mind. And you found your mind almost go blank again in a state of fangirling, before you quickly recovered while reminded yourself he was just your Y, no one else.  “There we go.” You grinned the moment the both of you released each other. “Uhm, this is MinHee, my friend. I hope you don’t mind her joining in?” you asked sweetly. “Not at all.” He responded so naturally you almost regretted her joining the two of you. But then again, she might be the one to pull you out of daydreams again, if needed.

Soon the three off you were casually making your way through all the shops. Yonghwa was back into his regular sunglasses disguise, and it made you relax a bit more. It wasn’t like you didn’t like him being a famous person, but it took some time to get used to. Still, the two of you talked and laughed nonstop and to your own satisfaction it felt exactly like it did online. You couldn’t be happier about the decision to meet him. And when you stepped out of a changing room while wearing a lovely black dress; you noticed by the look in his eyes that he agreed. “What do you think?” you asked openly to both spectators. “Twirl around.” MinHee asked mischievously, she knew all too well the person next to her was watching with wide eyes. You did as she asked with a bright smile on your face. “I love it.” he then brought out before your friend did. You chuckled and smiled while a blush crept up your cheeks. “Thanks.” You replied, before changing into another outfit.

Unfortunately, there was such a thing as money you had to be careful with. So in the end, the black dress didn’t make the cut as you reluctantly handed it to Yonghwa, who offered to put it back while you paid for some other stuff. After that, you two waited at the checkout counter for him to return. “That’ll be 73000 won please.” The cashier asked to the man standing in front of him. It attracted your attention, since it was the exact same price as the black dress. With a shock, you realized that man was indeed buying the exact same dress you wanted so badly… Wait…that man? Yonghwa!

He walked to your side with a bright smile and his purchase. “Here you go.” He grinned, handing you the bag. “But…. No, I can’t accept that.” You blurted out, feeling both embarrassed and nervous. Why would he do that? It wasn’t like you were broke or anything, you just had to make a choice and the dress wasn’t included in it. “Just take it, it’s a present.” He added calmly, taking your hand and pushing the bag into it. “But… Why?” you asked in confusion. Why would he suddenly give you a dress? You noticed how a blush slightly crept up his cheeks as he spoke. “Because you looked really beautiful in it ______-ah.” He started, you wanted to interrupt him, but he put a finger to your lips. “And also because I was hoping you would want to wear it to our date tomorrow night…” he then added, making your mouth fall open behind his soft finger. Blinking a few times, you didn’t know what to say. “A date?” you asked again, wanting to make sure you heard it right. “Yes, a date. You and me, no MinHee. Just like the online times, only a little bit more real.” He answered, taking your hand in his as he spoke the last words. You suddenly felt all tingly and smiled. “Okay, it’s a date.”