“Yah! Noona, hurry up! I’m going to be late for school!”

 

“Yea~, yea~”

 

 

It was a typical morning routine in the Bang household.

 

Chaos was running up and down the house while the family was getting ready for either work or school.

 

As for Bang Cheolyong, he couldn’t afford to be late, yet again.

 

He loudly knocked on the door to the bathroom once again, calling out to his older sister who had this unfortunate habit of always hogging the bathroom for too long. Even though they were two bathrooms in the house, the second one was always occupied by the parents, which left the other one to the three kids of the house: the two sisters and their younger brother.

 

And as unfortunate as it could get, Cheolyong was never lucky.

 

“Noona! Come on!” And as if his prayers have been finally answered, the door opened only to leave him with his mouth wide open when an unfamiliar female figure, wrapped only in a towel, was exiting the bathroom, steam escaping through the crack. Black hair, dark eyes, white skin; he felt his breath cut short by the way the woman was gazing at him, a little smirk appearing at the corner of her lips. “You must be Hyojin’s little brother~”

 

He was so caught up in what he was seeing, he completely forgot about everything else around him. The impatience he felt just seconds earlier flew away as he was left awestruck in front of the foreign lady. She, on the other hand, looked back at him as she waved her hand in front of his face, trying to catch his attention. “Hello~…” There was still no response, making her turn around to call out for her friend. “…Hmm, Hyojin-ah! I think your brother is broken!”

 

At the sound of her voice, Cheolyong’s sister popped her head out right behind her friend, taking a look at the stare of her younger sibling. She used her hand to push him by the shoulder making him stubble backwards, bringing his attention back to them. “Yah! Cheolyong-ah! Stop staring would you!”

 

“Y-yea” He quickly shook his head and got out of the way, letting the two girls go back to the bedroom, finally giving Mir the chance to get ready for school.

 

Once he closed the door behind him, he faced the mirror above the sink and slapped his cheeks a couple of times, a way for him to see if he dreamt what he just saw or if it actually happened. With one last look at the mirror, he took a deep breath and started his school preparation routine before leaving the house.

 

~

 

“Hey, what’s the deal with that brother of yours?”

 

Back inside Hyojin’s room, the two girls were getting ready for school and took their time, not really caring whether they make it on time or not. With the older sister standing in front of her long mirror while applying her make up, she turned around to her friend who was sitting at the edge of the bed, randomly tying her hair in a loose pony tail. “Why do you care so much? He’s just some nerdy kid.”

 

“He is cute though~” She got up and walked up to stand next to Hyojin, taking a red lipstick in her hand and smoothly applying it across her lips. “Yah Jia, what has gotten into you?” Hyojin chuckled and playfully pushed her friend with her body. “What~ He looks so innocent and that’s cute”

 

“Yea, too innocent if you ask me.”

 

Backing away from the mirror, Jia went back to bed and picked up her skirt and placed it above the edge of her shirt while buttoning it to the side. Once she was done, she turned back around and quickly fixed herself up before falling back onto bed, waiting for her friend to finish.

 

All the while, on the other side of the closed door, Cheolyong just came out of the bathroom and was fully dressed in his high school uniform. Hearing the feminine giggles, he stopped in his tracks towards his bedroom and faced his sister’s door, leaning his ear towards the entrance while trying to capture what the girls were saying.

 

“Mir? What are you doing?!” Quickly straitening his back at the mention of his name, he slowly turned around and saw his mother with her arms crossed over her chest while eyeing her son, waiting for an answer. “N-nothing. I-I was just about to go-”

 

“Not so fast mister!” The authority in her tone made him cringe as he looked at her, gulping down his own saliva. “Y-yes?”

 

“I need you to run some errands for me after school.”

 

“O-okay”

 

“Don’t forget, okay? I’m counting on you~”

 

“Yes mom”

 

“Now go to school before I tell your sister you’ve been spying on her”

 

“Y-yea.” He runs back to his room and picks up his stuff for school before he dashes down the stairs and straight to the kitchen, looking for breakfast before going straight to school.

 

As he was looking through the fridge, he heard his sister’s voice making him look up to see the two ladies walk inside the kitchen. When his eyes set on her friend, he instantly blushed remembering the earlier encounter he had with her and quickly turned his head back to the food that was laying in front of him. He randomly picked out an apple and closed the door of the fridge behind him as he walked to his backpack and picked it up from the ground as he was making his way out, all the while trying to divert his eyes somewhere far away from the stranger.

 

Once he was completely out of the house, he lets out a deep breath showing his relief and grabbed onto his bike. Before he was able to ride away, a voice startled him, almost making him fall from his bike. “Yah, Hyojin’s bro~”

 

He turned around and saw the girl from earlier, making him instantly freeze. A sudden heat crept up to his cheeks as he saw her staring straight at him as she slowly walked towards him. Step by step, he could feel the quicken pace of his heart beat as it was ready to pop out of his chest. “What’s your name kid?” All he could hear was her husky voice without even understanding the words that were coming out of since he was back to zoning out, not taking his eyes off of the girl. “Really? Again? Yah~” A sudden push on his shoulder snapped him out of his daze as he shook his head, regaining focus on her. “What your name?”

 

“Ch-Cheolyong”

 

“That’s cute. I’m Jia”

 

“H-hi”

 

She lightly chuckled at his nervous state and bit the corner of her bottom lip as she playfully eyed him from head to toe. “Not bad looking for a kid, you’re kind of cute~” She lightly taps on his cheeks and winks making his cheeks blush a deeper shade of red while she was left smirking at his reaction as she walked away from him, returning back inside the house.

 

“What the hell just happened?” He was left completely stunned at what just happened and couldn’t shake off the feeling that was inside of him, still motioning the beating of his heart. He climbed back on his bike and rode away, still having her touch on his skin linger.

 

A feeling that left him breathless.

 

~

 

“Yah, Cheolyong-ah, what are you thinking about?”

 

A light push and the boy in question was suddenly brought back to reality. Looking to the side, he saw his desk mate looking at him with a questionable look on her face. “N-nothing”

 

“That didn’t seem like nothing to me~” Giving him an ‘I-don’t-believe-you’ look, she turned back to her book while waving her pencil up and down still sporting that gaze. He huffed out and turned his head to face the window, letting his eyes follow whatever was happening outside the classroom.

 

He was already in his first year of high school and the fifteen years old boy couldn’t feel the change it was supposed to bring. There was only more homework and more stress and it was already wearing him out.

 

As he was looking out the window, something caught his attention. Taking a careful look, he saw his sister’s friend sitting on a picnic table right under a tree with a boy that was sitting on the bench next to her. At a second glance, he felt his heart squeeze as he noticed the way the two of them seemed to be intimate with the boy’s hand on her thigh softly grazing her skin while she was lightly playing with his hair. He only kept staring, somehow longing for something like this.

 

“What are you looking at now?” The one sitting next to him lifted her head to up to where he was looking and huffed out when he saw the couple on the bench. “Like you got a chance~”

 

“What is that suppose to mean?” Cheolyong looked back at her, a little bit offended by her words and by the tone she spoke them out. “It means what it’s suppose to mean.” He looked back out and that’s when he saw her staring back at him. She nodded at him and gave him one of her winks making him blush once again as he looked back to the front of the class, his heart skipping a beat.

 

 

“What are you looking at?”

 

Back outside, Jia had her eyes set on the class window at the top of the building after she noticed that she was being watched. Finally seeing the familiar face, she smirked at herself and bit her bottom lip, somehow enjoying the way her friend’s brother was looking at her. “Jia?” She looked back down, remembering that she wasn’t alone, and smiled at her flirt. “Yea?”

 

“What were you looking at?”

 

“Nothing important”

 

She gets up from and walks away with the boy following her behind. “H-hey! My parents aren’t home tonight. How about we-“

 

“Maybe some other time?” She turned around giving an apologetic look as she turned down his proposal. They both went back inside heading towards the cafeteria joining the rest of their little hang out group.

 

 

And just like that, the rest of the day went by until the last bell finally rang, making the students rush for the exit of the school building. Who was left behind was none other then Cheolyong who was patiently waiting for his big sister by the entrance. More then fifteen minutes passed and he was still waiting, a little bit annoyed that he couldn’t get a hold of her on her phone.

 

“She’s not coming.”

 

Out of fear, he slightly jumped and turned around to find the strange girl standing behind him. The surprised look on his face made her giggle as she took her steps closer to him. “She’s in detention and won’t be out for a while. You should go home.”

 

“Th-thank you for telling me”

 

“No biggie.” She shrugged her shoulders and was set to leave when she suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned back to face him. “How about giving me a ride? I don’t have anything to do for the rest of the night.”

 

“Huh?” He shots his head up once he sat on his bike and looked back at Jia with his eyes wide open. He felt his heart beat quicken as it was drying his throat from the sudden nervous feeling that was suddenly appearing in the pit of his stomach.

 

“Interested?” She walks back to him only to stand really close in front of him with her head lightly tilted to the side, waiting for his approval. “S-su-re”

 

She hopped on the bike behind him and tightly held onto his shoulders. He gulped down whatever he had in his throat suddenly feeling his palm getting wet from the nervous sweat that was emanating from his entire body. He took a deep breath and left the spot, trying to solely focus on the road ahead of him.

 

 

A few minutes passed and he was approaching a little grocery store just a few blocks away from his house. Once he stopped, she got off of him and placed her hands in her leather jacket pockets while waiting for him to seal his bike with a chain against a small tree. “I have some errands to do before going home –“

 

“I’ll come with then”

 

She softly smiled at him making his mind go blank for a second until she moved towards the entrance of the store leaving him to stand alone. He tightly held onto his shirt over his heart and shook his head to shake off the weird feeling that was still lingering in his stomach. With a last breath, he took the list out of his pants pocket and walked inside the store.

 

~

 

“Is it okay if I come in? Your sister should be home soon…”

 

“Oh, hmm, y-yea, it’s o-okay”

 

Standing in front of his house, he lead the way until they found themselves inside with the silence greeting them. “I guess my parents aren’t home yet… Do you w-want something to drink?”

 

“No, I’m good”

 

His breath was cut short with the sudden awkwardness that was surrounding both of them. “Yea, okay. Hmm, I’m going to go freshen up.” She let him be and went to the second floor, heading straight to the bathroom and softly closing the door behind. As for Cheolyong, he went to the kitchen and placed the grocery bag on the counter leaving it be and went up to his room.

 

Falling on his bed, he was quietly looking up at the ceiling and was about to close his eyes when a knock on his door lured him out of his nap. “C-come in!”

 

“What are you up too?” Jia was casually leaning her body against the frame of the door as she eyed his room from the bed to his desk to his library filled with manga.

 

“N-nothing… really…” He followed her stare and suddenly felt shy when he saw her walking towards his books. “When your sister told me that you were a nerdy kid, I didn’t think that it was that much of a nerd~”

 

She looked at the shelves one by one with Cheolyong standing next to her, that same queasy feeling in his stomach coming back to him. “Don’t be nervous, I’m not going to bite you… Not unless you want me too, of course.” At the last part of her sentence, she smirks at him satisfied with the stunned expression on his face and made her way to his bed, letting herself fall onto the mattress. He was still standing on the other side of his bedroom simply staring at her as he was left clueless on what to do next.

 

Truth be told, he wanted to know her. He couldn’t really understand how his sister came to meet her and he was intrigued on what kind of girl she really was. Attaching the last bit of courage he had onto him, he took a deep breath and marched to his bed, sitting next to her. She looked at him and pulled him by his shirt making him fall right by her side, leaving a light chuckle escaping her red lips. “Spill it. I know you have a question for me.”

 

Can she read my mind or something?

 

“And I no, I don’t read minds I just know from the way you’ve been staring at me.” She turn her head to face him and shows him a genuine smile making his heart skip a beat for the nth time today. “About my sister… H-how d-did you two meet?”

 

“First day of school. I transferred from my hometown back in China and when I introduced myself in front of the class, the teacher told me to go sit next to her since her spot was empty. We became friends ever since.”

 

“But it’s only been two weeks since school started…”

 

“I know, but it feels like it was longer than that… She’s a nice change from what I had back home.”

 

“Oh…” Another wave of silence paved through them as they both fell into their own thoughts.

 

“Aren’t you going to ask me about the boy from earlier?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“You know… the one you saw me with during lunch at school today~”

 

“Is h-he your b-boyfriend?”

 

“No~”

 

“Good…” He close his eyes and unconsciously muttered that last part, not realizing that she had heard him. She turned back to face him and looked at him with a gentle gaze suddenly feeling a little tingly sensation inside of her.

 

Their little moment was cut off short with the sudden noise coming from downstairs. They both sat up, curious and saw none other than Cheolyong’s sister coming through. “Jia? What are you doing here?”

 

“Waiting for you”

 

“Oh, okay. Let’s go then.”

 

Jia gave one last look to Cheolyong with a smile on her face before leaving him as she closed his bedroom door behind her. The moment he heard a click, he fell back on his bed and couldn’t seem to wipe off the big grin that was plastered across his face.

 

~

 

Ever since that day, the fifteen years old boy couldn’t stop thinking about his sister’s best friend. He stop denying that he had a crush on her and would use every opportunity that was presented in front of him just to catch a glimpse of her.

 

Luckily enough for him, she would always come by his place after school, giving him the chance to talk to her whenever he was out of his sister’s sight.

 

 

This weekend was coming and Cheolyong’s parents have decided to take a trip to celebrate their anniversary, leaving the two kids at home by themselves since their eldest was staying at the dorm of her university.

 

This was also the weekend where his sister brought her best friend along to spend the weekend between just them, girls, leaving the little brother to deal with his plans.

 

The problem was, he didn’t have anything to do for the next two days.

 

He was only going to be spending his time inside his room, enjoying the coziness of the place while either playing video games or read his so loved manga books.

 

 

“Yah! Cheolyong! Go get the door!”

 

“Why don’t you do it?!”

 

“If I could I would, you idiot!”

 

He was peacefully sitting on the couch in the living when the doorbell rang, signaling that someone was waiting on the other side. The boy reluctantly got up from his seat and walked to the entrance. Once he opened the door, he froze on the spot the moment he locked eyes with none other then his crush.

 

From head to toe, he stared at her, in complete awe at the state she was presented in front of him. High heels, jeans short along with a sleeveless jeans jacket and a black tank top. The black hair was down past her shoulder with the bangs covering her forehead along with some light brown strands at the edge of her cut. From her white skin came in contrast her flashy red lipstick perfectly sculpting her lips. “You can still stare at me once I’m inside, you know that right?”

 

“Oh, y-yea… Sorry.” He puts himself aside and lets her in, closing the door behind. “You look g-gre-at”

 

“Thanks”

 

She playfully ruffled his hair and went to take a seat on the couch as he was following her right behind taking a seat next to her. “What are you up too?”

 

“N-nothing… just watching TV… Are you going out with Hyojin Noona?”

 

“Mhmm… Wanna join?”

 

“No he won’t, he’s busy with whatever he’s doing. I’m done, let’s go~” Cheolyong’s sister came all dolled up and ready to go. Jia got up from the couch and gave a last look at the boy before tagging along with her friend and closing the front door behind them.

 

“Why are you being so mean to your little brother again?”

 

“I’m not being mean I’m just being an older sister.”

 

“Yea… I don’t see it. You’re being mean.”

 

“Why does it even bother you?”

 

“Because he was hurt; he seemed hurt by the way you brushed him off so easily. Maybe he wanted to come and get out of the house”

 

“Honey, with the things we’re going to do tonight, it’s better if he stays home.”

 

“Whatever~”

 

She was a little bit annoyed by the way her friend was treating her little brother. And why did she care that much? She took a liking to the boy despites the age difference separating them.

 

Yes, he was innocent and completely different from the usual guys she would set her eyes on, but something about him just stirred up some strange feelings in her whenever she would lay eyes on him.

 

Seeing him being treated that way, she couldn’t help but come to his defense, not really caring about what her friend could think about her reaction to the matter.

 

 

With this going on, on the other side of the house, Cheolyong was comfortably sitting on the couch while eating his take out food with some good comedies on TV. He spent his night at that same spot until his door bell rang loudly and continuously. “I’m coming!”

 

Even with that, the bell was still ringing which started to make him mad. He violently opened the door and was ready to burst out his anger when he saw Jia standing in front of him with a cheeky smile on her face. “Hello you~”

 

“J-Jia? What are you doing here? Where’s Hyojin?”

 

“Hmm, probably at her boyfriend’s house and since I don’t have a b-boyfriend, I came back here.” Finishing her sentence with a hiccup, she started giggling which made her stumble on her own two feet landing right in the boy’s arms as he caught her before her fall. “Drunk?”

 

“Yes! Can I come in?”

 

“Y-yea, sure”

 

He helped her walk inside the house and closed the door behind while she had her arm placed around his shoulders, trying to stand up straight. She kicked off her shoes and placed her head against his shoulders while closing her eyes. She was putting her weight onto him and so to make things easier, he lifted her up and walked to the stairs, making his way up to his sister’s bedroom.

 

All he could think right now was if she could feel the fast beating of his heart; if she could hear the way she was making him feel. With every step up, his grip got tighter until he finally reached the last step and quietly walked to the bedroom, carefully laying her across the bed. He pulled the covers over her sleeping body and gently grazed her cheek while pushing some strands of her hair out of her face.

 

He didn’t know where the sudden boldness was coming from, but he knew that he wanted to do it; to take a chance to kiss her goodnight. It was going to be his first kiss and he wanted it to be special, but right now, he could barely think straight.

 

But the more he thought about it, the more he was starting to doubt.

 

He was starting to think about what could happened after and was afraid that she might push him off, making him lose his chance to be with her.

 

“I’ll win your heart first...”

 

He pulls away and walks back to the door and softly closed it behind, letting her sleep.

 

With the soft click, Jia opened her eyes and smiled hearing his words. She could feel his breath close to her and knew that he wanted to kiss her. If he would have done, she wouldn’t have pushed him back but the fact that he pulled himself out and wanted to win her over made her heart thump loudly, somehow amazed by the way he was treating her. It was a first and she was glad to see that he wasn’t like the other guys she’s been with so far, always taking the advantage whenever it was there.

 

“Don’t take to long to do it, kid… I won’t be here forever”

 

~

 

The next morning, Cheolyong was in the kitchen preparing breakfast for him and the only guest of the house. Once he was about to finish preparing the food, he heard a soft knock by the frame of the kitchen entrance and turned around to see Jia greeting him good morning with her husky voice.

 

“H-hi… How are you feeling?”

 

“Like I got hit by a train~”

 

She took a seat at the table and let her head fall on the surface while the boy was bringing in her plate. “Here… I hope you’re hungry, I prepared you breakfast”

 

She looked up and smiled for his thoughtful gesture. Straightening her back, she reached out for a fork and took her first bite out of the waffle on the plate. “This is really good, thank you~”

 

He smiled at her and took his seat right by her side, digging in his plate. “I didn’t know you could cook.”

 

“Actually I can’t… I bought them frozen and just placed them in the toaster to heat them up.”

 

She started laughing which took him by surprise but made him smile. Watching her, he could feel his heart pumping strongly and couldn’t help but to feel more attached to her. He was finally able to have some ‘quality’ time with her, thanks to his sister’s absence, and he didn’t want it to end, but he knew that it had to either way.

 

 

They had their breakfast moment for at least another two hours before Jia had to leave. Helping him cleaning up, she got to know more about the boy as he also got to know more about her. Everything went smoothly between them with a light atmosphere until she had to leave, breaking his heart.

 

Standing in front of the main entrance, she put back her shoes on and properly stood up in front of him, thanking him once again. “Your sister must be home soon, so don’t worry about her, okay?”

 

“Mhmm, thanks”

 

She takes a step closer to him and leans closer to his face until her lips reached his cheek, giving him a sweet kiss. “A thank you for last night and this morning.”

 

Without giving him the time to react, she opened the door and walked out, leaving a stunned boy, with a red lipstick stain on his flushed cheeks.

 

I think I’ve fallen in love…

 

~

 

“Yah! Mir! Don’t walk away from me! Let me explain!”

 

The winter season was hitting the city hard this year.

 

The snow was everywhere, complicating the travels from street to street as well as the cold temperature that kept going down every week.

 

Since that night at Cheolyong’s house, three months have past to which they were now in the beginning of February, Valentines Day just a few days away.  

 

Since that night, they have gotten closer to each other to the point where they would secretly hang out whenever they had the time and sneak out to see each other.

 

By the Christmas holidays, Cheolyong took his chance and confessed his feelings to her.

 

His response? He had finally gotten his first kiss which sent fireworks all over the pit of his stomach. Through that kiss, she made sure to respond to his feelings, knowing that she was feeling the same.

 

The only problem in all of this was that nobody knew.

 

Not even the person that brought them together.

 

A part of him didn’t like the secrecy of their new relationship since all he wanted to do was flaunt his girlfriend in front of the whole world and show them that she was his but again, he knew that if the secret ever came out, there was a chance that he might lose her and he didn’t want this, especially since they were both afraid of Hyojin’s reaction if she ever did find out.

 

 

Besides that, all seem to be going well for them until a little misfortunate accident that sent Cheolyong away from his love.

 

After walking in a private conversation between her small group of friends inside a local coffee shop, he never thought that words could hurt so badly. Feeling like he’s been used, the tears were starting to show in his eyes and one glance up from the table, she saw his broken state which left her speechless. . The moment he ran out of the shop, she quickly got up from her seat, forgetting everything else and ran after him, in the hopes that he will let her explain herself.

 

“Wait! Please!”

 

The more they ran, they found themselves at an empty park where the snow was casually covering the space, leaving a breathtaking scenery in front of their eyes.

 

The boy stopped in his steps as he was catching his breath, letting Jia catch up to him. “Mir…”

 

“Stay away from me!” He turned around, angrily looking at her as he took his step backwards, trying to pull himself away from Jia. “Just let me explain, okay? I didn’t mean what I said earlier, I promise-“

 

“Why should I believe you? You lied to me! You used me!”

 

“I didn’t! Please-”

 

“No.” She grabbed a hold of his arm only to have him push her away. “I don’t want to see you anymore.”

 

“Please, just let me explain what happened. Nothing of what I said to them was true! I didn’t want them to find out-“

 

“Are you that ashamed of me?! Is that why?”

 

“I’m not-“

 

“Then why should we hide? I’m tired of hiding!”

 

“I hate it too but you know that we have too”

 

“Why? Because of my sister? Because of your friends? Your reputation? Is this all more important than me?”

 

“No, of course not.”

 

“Then stop being unreasonable and just let us tell everyone that we’re together… I don’t want to keep this a secret anymore”

 

“What tells you that we could make this work once we go public? Nobody is going to leave us alone. We won’t even be able to spend time with each other and if your sister finds out, she’s going to think that I used her and I can’t have her think this way.”

 

“Like you used me?”

 

“I’m not using you! In what way am I using you? Mir, I love you!”

 

It was the first time she had spoken those three words.

 

At that moment, pure silence reigned over them, letting her confession sink in. Every time he would say ‘I love you’, she would always kiss him and would simply reply ‘me too’ but she had never actually said those powerful words to him and it made his heart skip a beat.

 

“You love me?”

 

“Yes. I do. I-I was afraid of telling you-“

 

“Why?”

 

“Because I’m leaving…”

 

“W-what?” He walked closer to her and looked at her with a scared gaze across his eyes. She took a deep breath and look back at him, gently grabbing onto his hand. “I’m a transfer, remember? I’m only here for the senior year and once school is over, I have to go back home… My dad… he got relocated once again and we’re going back”

 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” There wasn’t any anger in his voice, just sadness. He placed his palm on her cheek, making her look up at him. He saw the early tears in her eyes and it broke his heart. “I was afraid… You’re the first boy I’ve ever said ‘I love you’ to and admitting my feelings while knowing that I had to leave-“

 

“Shush… it’s okay” He grazed her cheek with his thumb and intertwined his fingers with her other hand, bringing her closer to him. Leaning in closer, he placed a small kiss on her red lipstick lips and hugged her close to him, warming up from the cold they were surrounded by.

 

Now that he knew that his relationship wasn’t going to last, he didn’t think that his heart could be more broken than it already was. He didn’t want to let her go but it’s not like he had a say in it, anyways.

 

His first and only love and it wasn’t even going to last.

 

“Let me bring you home…” He tightly took a hold of her hand and they both silently walked back to her place.

 

Once they were in front of her door, she turned to face him and hugged him tightly. Pulling back, she cupped his cheeks and placed her lips against his, giving him the sweetest kiss. Taken aback at first, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her back, pouring his emotions into that one gesture. “My parents aren’t home… do you want to come in?”

 

Looking her straight in the eyes, he nods at her request and lets her lead as they both walked inside her home. “Do you want me to spend the night with you?”

 

“Yes”

 

Asking him to come in, he knew that tonight was going to be a special night. He was nervous but it didn’t stop him from wanting to show her just how much she means to him, he wanted to shower her with every ounce of love he has for her and if tonight was the night, then so be it.

 

She kissed him once again letting the little butterflies in the pit of her stomach fly all around and as she pulled back, she tightly held onto his hand making their way inside her bedroom and closing the door behind, ready to spend their first night together.

 

~

 

The next morning and Cheolyong found himself with his arm wrapped around his girlfriend sleeping body, tightly holding onto her while she had her face resting on his chest.

 

He couldn’t be more happier or even more in love.

 

To him, last night was the best night of his life. The sweetness of their moment, the endless kisses and touches as they were pouring out their love for each other; he couldn’t ask for more.

 

It was simply perfect.

 

What surprised him the most was that last night was also her first. Behind the tough exterior and the ‘rebel’ attitude she’s been sporting with his sister, was someone that was as love struck as  him; someone who turned out to be as innocent as him. Being the only one to see her true self he felt special. He knew that it was hard for her and he was thankful that she was able to open up to him.

 

While peacefully looking at her, he saw her move as she was slowly waking up with a smile on her face. “Good morning~”

 

She looked up at him with that smile and placed a quick kiss on his chest, making him grin even wider. “Good morning”

 

“How about some breakfast?”

 

She giggled at his request and could only nod. She sat up, covering herself with her bed sheets and got out of bed. She turned back around to face her boyfriend and grabbed onto his hand, pulling him out. “What’s wrong?”

 

“Before we go and eat, I want to try something with you~”

 

She ran out of her bedroom, dragging him along and stood in front of her bathroom door. “Noona?”

 

“Yah~ I told you not to call me Noona… it makes me feel old… even though I’m just two years older than you”

 

He chuckles and playfully ruffles her hair. Walking inside the bathroom, she drops her covers and wink at him making him fluster at his sight, knowing exactly what she had in mind. “How about joining me for a morning shower, cutie?”

 

He played her game and stuck his body against hers, taking her by surprise at his sudden boldness. “Sounds tempting~”

 

~

 

Walking out of their little paradise, they stepped back into reality.

 

There was another change of season and now spring was coming their way, warming up the streets of Seoul.

 

As for the couple, they spent every free time they had with each other, making the best out of the moments they had together. The end of the school year was fast approaching making them more anxious by the day, knowing that they’ll have to break apart.

 

As for today, they both prepared a small trip out of town, taking this chance to escape from their surroundings. Lies were said to there friends and families so they could get away without being questioned and took the next bus out of town.

 

“What did you have in mind for the weekend?”

 

“Hmm, maybe a little trip to the beach and a little tour of the small town we’ll be staying at?”

 

“What’s the occasion?”

 

“There’s only one week left before you leave… I wanted to make the best of it”

 

She looks back at him with an apologetic look across her face. He was staring at the window bus next to him and tried to hide the tears that were threatening to fall. She held onto his jaw and made his head turn into her direction. “Babe… No matter what happens, I’m always going to love you”

 

“I know… Let’s just say that I’m being selfish and I want you to myself”

 

She chuckled at his words, placed a soft kiss on his cheek and rested her head against his shoulder while he placed his arms around hers, hugging her close to him. The rest of the ride went by quietly as they simply enjoyed each other’s company until they finally arrived at their destination just a few hours later.

 

From there, they went to their little motel for a reservation and went straight to enjoy the little festival the town was throwing in celebration of the new season all the while creating new memories to hold onto in the future.

 

For those two days, nothing else seemed to matter but only them.

 

Nobody knew who they were or where they came from.

 

They took this chance to become the couple they couldn’t be; holding hands, stealing kisses her and there. Just simply showing their love to the strangers that were celebrating as well and without any worries.

 

Their secret love was reaching the end of the road and it seemed as if it was only yesterday, when it just started; when he gathered all the courage to simply tell her that he was falling in love with her; when she gifted him with his first kiss, showered her with his endless love, and when she was finally able to say it back, making him fall more in love by the day.

 

 

The sun was long gone and now they were simply standing by the beach and watching the waves come and go while enjoying the fireworks that were coloring the night sky. “Jia?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“I know why I fell in love with you but… why did you? I mean… why me?”

 

“Because I just did…” He looks at her, a little bit confused at her answer, while she was looking up at the sky. “… There was something about you that intrigued me. I don’t know what it was and even today I still don’t know but all I knew is that it made me feel good. You’re the first boy that ever treated me like I was his queen. I mean… I’ve been in a lot of relationships but this is the first one where I know that it’s more than just some kind of hook up, that there’s actually someone who loves me for who I am. You’re still an intriguing kid and I like that about you but I also know that there is more to you and I guess that’s why I fell for you…”

 

“And after all this time, I’m still a kid?”

 

“Hey~ that’s all you got from what I just said?” She playfully pushes him by his shoulder and starts running when she noticed the smirk across his face. He quickly runs after her and catches her from behind and starts tickling her. The rushed movement and unbalanced bodies made them both fall on the sand with Cheolyong’s back falling first followed by Jia who turned around to face him while lying on him. He made a quick turn making her rest her back on the ground while he hovered above her, placing small kisses across her face, earning light giggles from her.

 

“I’m not a kid~” The tip of his nose close to hers, he snuggled closer and placed another kiss on her lips. “Oh yes you are; a sweet and innocent kid”

 

With every word she lightly tapped his nose with her finger as she kept teasing him. “No-oh~” He trailed his hand to her waist until he got a hold of the edge of her shirt and trailed his hand under the item, letting his palm come in contact with her heated skin

 

“Mhmm~” He leans in closer to shut her off with a kiss as she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, letting herself enjoy the tingly feeling in the pit of her stomach. She pulled away and had her forehead stick against his as she looked straight in his eyes with a lovely gaze while softly caressing his cheek. “I love you.”

 

“I love you too”

 

 

~

 

 

The graduation ceremony was over and now the Bang family was out to celebrate.

 

With the rest of the family enjoying their time, Cheolyong was the only one who was sulking in his corner. Tomorrow was the day where his girlfriend had to leave and even with the happy smiles plastered on everyone’s faces, he couldn’t bring himself to have the corners of his lips go up.

 

 He had the time of his life during this year and now that everything was coming to an end, he didn’t even know where they’ll be standing once she flies back to her home country.

 

Looking through the window form where he was seated, he spotted one of those make up stores for women. He excused himself from the table and discretely headed outside of the restaurant, running straight from across the street and entered the store.

 

“How may I help you?”

 

“I need a red lipstick. The best one you have… please”

 

He followed the lady until he was standing in front of a display where hundreds of colorful lipsticks were standing. He was left stunned while the staff was picking out the specification he wanted. “This one is the best we have here.”

 

“Perfect! I’ll take it”

 

He followed her back to the cash register and as he was waiting, he noticed a little display of small jewelries right next to him. Looking through it, he found a small hello kitty pink rhinestone chain earring and instantly knew that she would love it. He took it out and handed it to the lady so she could include it in his bill. “Can you also wrap both of them up, please? It’s going to be a gif”

 

“Sure, no problem.”

 

“Thank you”

 

Done with the quick shopping he went back to the restaurant while placing the little box inside his pocket. “What took you so long?” His mother looked at him with a worried expression as he simply apologized for being late. “It doesn’t matter anymore, we’re going back home”

 

“Is it okay if I stay out for a while?”

 

“Oh, sure, no problem. Just don’t come back home too late, okay?”

 

“Y-yea”

 

He left them be and quickly made his way to the nearest bus stop. Just a few seconds passed and he climbed inside the vehicle, letting the driver take him to his next destination.

 

Along the way, he felt himself getting more nervous. He tried to distract himself with some random thoughts but it always came back to that single question: what will happen to us?

 

He had so many crazy ideas and this include making him a transfer student to one of the high school back in her hometown. He knew to well that it couldn’t work out for many reasons but it didn’t stop him from thinking more what the ways to keep her close to him.

 

The others may look at him like a simple teenager in love but to him it was more than that. She may about being just a kid but he knew that he could be a man by her side, someone she needed. That’s all he ever wanted.

 

 

“Cheolyong-ah?”

 

It wasn’t until he heard his voice that he realized that he was standing in front of her house, still looking nervous. “H-hi… I hope I’m not bothering you…”

 

“Not at all, come in”

 

She lets him in and closed the door behind. He turned around and gave her a quick kiss which startled her at first but made her chuckle. “You seem nervous, what’s wrong?”

 

“Hmm… I have something for you actually”

 

“Oh, okay. Come with me”

 

She takes him by the hand and leads him up to her room and quietly shuts it close, letting them fall back into their own little bubble. “What about your parents?”

 

“Eh, don’t mind them.”

 

She takes a seat on her bed while he followed her and took his spot next to her, taking out to box from his pocket. “A gift?”

 

“Mhmm…” He hands it over and patiently waits to see her reaction.

 

Once she had the red  lipstick in her hand he could see a smile forming on her face and it instantly eased his heart. “I only asked for the best… I hope you like it”

 

“I love it; thank you”

 

She leans closer and sweet kisses his cheek. “There’s also something else”

 

Intrigued, she looked back in the small package and picked up the chain earring making her breathe out a chuckle. “It’s too much”

 

“It’s never too much when it’s for you”

 

She looked back at him and couldn’t help herself from jumping on him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, making them fall on her mattress. She moves over to sit on his lap while showering him with countless kisses all over his faces, earning the biggest grin yet on his face.

 

She pulled herself away and grabbed onto the collar of his shirt to make him sit up. She picked up the brand new lipstick and smoothly applied it across her lips. As she held him by his chin and turned his face to the side, placing a big fat stained kiss on his cheek.

 

“And now you’re marked as mine~”

 

Satisfied with that, she was about to get off from his lap when he caught her hand and pulled her back in, making her fall back on his chest. “Mir? What’s wrong?”

 

Going back to their sit up position, he holds onto her waist and looks down, taking a deep breath before looking back up at her dark eyes.

 

“Where does it leave us?”

 

“Let me know when you graduate and we’ll go from there”

 

~

 

4 years later

July 2010

 

 

“And now we’re back on air with the hit girl group of the year! Please welcome miss A!”

 

The girls in question were now in the middle of a radio interview, letting the audience know more about themselves. One by one, they introduced themselves along with answering the MC’s questions.

 

After the first part was over, the arrived at the part that would most likely catch the audience attention. “So girls, how about telling us your ideal type? Or better! Have any of you ever experienced a first love? Jia? How about you?”

 

The pink haired girl took a moment to herself before answering as the memories of her last year of high school flooded back in her mind. With a satisfied smile, she looked up to the MC and started to tell her story.

 

“I had my first love during my last year of high school when I was a transfer here just four years ago... It was probably one of the best thing that ever happened to me.”

 

“One of the best thing?”

 

“The other one being part of miss A, of course~”

 

 

After they were done with their schedules, the girls all went back to their dorms, ready to go to sleep. As they were making their way to their respective bedrooms, a sudden knock on the main door caught everybody’s attention. “I’ll get it!”

 

The pink member quickly walked up to the door and opened it only to have herself freeze on the spot. She wasn’t able to mutter any words out of as she was left speechless and breathless at the sight in front of her.

 

“And after all this time, I’m still a kid?”

 

The big smile on his face made her heart skip a beat. She hasn’t seen him for the past four years and all the emotions she had for him were all rushing back to her. She jumped right in his arms and hugged him tight not able to contain her joy anymore. “It’s nice to see you too, Jia”

 

“I missed you”

 

“I know… I heard~” Ever since he found out that his secret first love was going to debut, he kept a close eye on here despite the distance.

 

After he had graduated from high school, he didn’t have a chance to keep in touch with her since he was already about to debut in a new boy group from a brand new entertainment company of his brother-in-law after being a trainee for at least three years.

 

In all those years, he had never stopped loving her; not once has he ever stopped thinking about her or about the memories he safely kept to himself and still to this day, nobody knew about their little secret.

 

Pulling away from the hug, he dug his hand in his pocket and pulled out a brand new lipstick wrapped with a little pink bow around it. “For you…”

 

He hands it over to her. Taking the little bow away and opening it, she applied the red across her lips and once she was done, she grabbed onto the collar of his shirt and gave him a kiss on his cheek, just like four years ago.

 

“This time, I’m not letting you go.”

 

“I wasn’t planning on going anywhere”

 

Gently cupping her cheeks, he crashes his lips against hers taking her breath away and instantly fell back into the rush of emotion that was creeping up their systems.

 

Feeling their lungs running out of breath, they pulled away from each other and let a set of small laughter escape their lips from the sudden excitement that was surrounding them. Once they had calm down, Cheolyong took a few strands of her hair and gently placed them behind her ear while softly her cheek. “There’s this secret I want to tell you”

 

“Oh, really?”

 

“Mhmm…”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Four years ago, I met this beautiful and wonderful girl. We shared a secret that we only knew about.”

 

“What’s the secret?”

 

“Love. We fell in love.”

 

“What happened next?” She tilted her head to the side, starting to be curious even though she already knew the end of the story.

 

“Well, four years later and I’m wondering if we still share that same secret…”

 

“Why don’t you ask her?”

 

“I should, shouldn’t I”

 

“Mhmm”

 

He took a step closer, standing close enough to have the tip of their noses touching each other. A warm smile appeared across his lips as he leaned closer to kiss her sweetly before looking back at the sparkle in her eyes.

 

“So… love, where were we?”

 

 

E  N  D

 

 

---

 

A/N: Yay! Finally finished it!

 

I know it's looooong and I'm really sorry for this >.<

But I hope you guys enjoyed it! ^^

 

Lots of love <3