Vigan, Ilocos Sur Philippines

May 05, 2013

"Salamat po"Sulli said to the bus driver after getting out with her rolling suitcase.Inhaling the morning fresh air of Vigan,she squeezed her dark brown eyes shut and pictured the ancestral house that she will be staying for four weeks.Jiyoung's Filipina friend Maria Salcedo owned the place and generously let her have it for the entire summer. As she walked up Plaza Burgos towards Heritage Lane, she stopped momentarily and admiringly looked at the Saint Paul Metropolitan Cathedral---built in 1574,the church is considered as major religious landmark not only of Vigan but the country as well.Walking down the cobbled stone of Calle Mena in Crisologo street, a horse drawn "calesa" caught her attention.She pulled out her canon digital camera from her bag and started taking pictures of the very first modes of transportation in the Philippines.

After taking several shots,Sulli continue to walk until she reached her destination---the ancestral house of Salcedo family located in Crisologo street.The two storey house was built in 1880 during the spanish colonial period.Known as "Bahay na Bato" (stone house) it featured Filipino, Spanish and Chinese influences.Windows were made of capiz shells and rustic roof design with attic ventilation almost took her breath away.

Stopping in front of the house,an old Filipina lady approached Sulli.

"Magandang umaga"the old lady said which means "Good Morning"

Bowing her head,she greeted the old lady back by saying:"Magandang Umaga din po"Maria taught her a few basic tagalog words.

The caretaker of the house introduced herself as Dalisay (pure),and gave her the key

"Salamat po"she said smiling and heaved her bag up the porch steps, inserted the key into the keyhole and opened it.She let herself in and looked at the abandoned house, furnitures still covered with white dust sheets.Immediately, she went around the first floor and opened every capiz shell window.Then, she removed all dust covers, smiling in satisfaction when the living room began to look more lived in.After wandering aimlessly into the living room and kitchen area,she went upstairs and found out that all the bedroom doors were all locked except the door on the attic.

Shrugging her shoulders,she walked into the small room with her suitcase.A medium size wooden bed dominated the room, which consist only an antique two door closet and an old nightstand.Opening the closet,Sulli pulled out linens of bright pink that looked expensive and made the lonely bed,feeling cheerful than she'd felt in months.Sitting on edge of the bed,she watched as the lace white curtain surrounding the capiz window that faced the street blew gently, bringing with it the wonderful scents of Vigan:green grass, sampaguita (national flower),fresh air and newly cooked Filipino dish.

"I could be happy here in Ilocos"she thought even as her heart crushed painfully in her chest.While laying her back against the soft matress and staring at the celing, she thought about Choi Minho---the iest man alive who broke her heart one year ago.

Reminiscing the day Minho went away,tears unknowingly fell down from her eyes.For the second time, he left her without bothering to bid farewell to her.After shutting Chanyeol out of her life forever, Sulli spent the whole night looking for him and found nothing.After that night,the iest man was never seen again .People start speculating over his sudden disappearance, some guessed that he turned himself into a buddhist monk, others assumed that he got married to a former Victoria's Secret model and living happily in Canada.She'd prefered believing the first one rather than the last because her heart cant accept the fact that Minho will get married to another woman.Later on, Jinki revealed to her that Minho was the tall,shy, timid nerdy fifteen year old boy she met at Jeju summer camp ten years ago.He was the boy she unmistakenly kissed in Taemin's room and humiliated in front of her classmates.Calling him ugly and telling everyone that she will never fall for him unless he became the iest man alive, which of course,she thought was impossible at that time.Minho took her words seriously and spent the next ten years grooming himself to become the hottest, hunkiest, iest man alive.She became his motivation and made a promise to himself that he'll show up to her again once he achieved his ultimate goal.Jinki also told her that throught out the years,Min