Like A Star

Prologue

Like A Star

Prologue

"What is love?"

A simple question. Harmless but potent enough to make me pause and forget the speech I labored on until daybreak; especially for the first day of the semester. Twenty five pairs of eyes; some curious, most looking utterly bored, looked at my direction, obviously waiting for an answer. I stayed silent, contemplating whether I should give them another cliché answer or something straight from my own experience.

I looked to my right and through the glass window. The sun was shining brightly today. A rueful smile played at the corner of my lips. It was a happy day; spring was just around the corner. Spring, it was her favorite season. I sighed as an onslaught of vivid memories replayed on my mind. I must admit that I constantly relive those moments in my mind. And every time I do, I always feel a strange combination of sorrow and bliss. But I was careful to do this when I was alone or in the presence of my trusted friends, I was not used to being emotional in front of strangers. Maybe that was the reason why I mastered controlling my thoughts and emotions in front of other people. It was not hard to temporarily push them aside when I am ambushed by several individuals. I say individuals and not just mere students.

I am now a professor in Seoul University, teaching painting to fine arts majors.

Painting was something I enjoyed since I was a little boy with two missing front teeth. A hobby that turned into something closer to passion when I met a girl.

And fell in love.

Slowly, I turned my attention back to my artists and had to fight a smile. Gone was the boredom etched in some of their faces. Their curiosity burned with greater intensity. They are now looking at me with a strange yet familiar glint in their eyes. I knew that behind their calculating looks they were wondering why their cold looking professor was silent for a long time while obviously thinking deeply about a question thrown many times.

I smiled.

They smiled back, a little too eagerly that made me laugh out loud. They can feel it coming, a story good enough to pass on during their lunch breaks. I rolled my eyes making some of them gasp in surprise. Trust fine arts majors to be overly melodramatic.

"What is love?" I began, gaining every body's attention at once. "Love has been defined many ways by different people. People who I assume have gone through some experience that has shaped their perception of love." Then I paused to smile at my unusually quiet audience. "Good morning class, I hope that you are prepared to lend me your ears and a small part of your hearts for I am about to tell you my definition of love."

The silence in the room stretched on. Curiosity was instantly replaced with anticipation. I met their gaze. "My definition will be meaningless without a story." I smiled, amused by the eagerness displayed on their faces. "But it cannot be summed up in a sentence. A few minutes of our time together will never be enough, even our whole period will not be able to cover everything but it would do, for now. This is my love story and I promise to leave nothing out."