I was at the top of the world. I was the most handsome guy in school and was the guy all the teachers loved. Everyone let me get away with anything because I was me. Guys wanted to be me and girls just flat out wanted me. I had money too thanks to my father owning car repair shops and car dealerships. 

Everything was perfect until a new girl showed up. Her name was Kim Ri-ah. She was from America and came to live with her grandparents while the american schools were on break for the summer. I don't understand what could possess someone to come to school while on vacation but it's up to her what she does. 

The first time I saw her, I knew she was the one that I wanted to be with forever. I loved everything about her at first sight. She had long, brown hair that was naturally in loose curls. Her eyes were brown but lighter than the other girls, and her body was killer. All the guys dropped at the sight of her because no matter what she did, it looked like it was meant to be on T.V. or in a photo shoot. After her first week here, I made my move. 

"So, you are the infamous Kim Ri-ah? Nice to meet you, my name is Dong YoungBae, but you can call me Taeyang" I said, sitting down at her lunch table.

"Taeyang?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.

"It's a nickname I got when I was in elementary school. You moved here from America, right? How about I show you around a little? I could take you to get some of the best Korean food you will ever have" I said, hoping and praying I don't sound desperate.

"Are you asking me on a date Dong YoungBae?" questioned Ri-ah, laughing a little.

"Would you say yes if I say that I am?" 

"Hmmm, let me think about it. I will meet you in front of the school with my answer after classes are over with. See you around Taeyang" replied Ri-ah, getting up and leaving me at the table watching her walk away from the table and out the door. 

It was the end of the day, so I rushed to the front of the building to see her waiting for me on the steps. Before she saw me, I did a quick check on everything before calmly walking towards her. 

"So, what's your answer?" I asked, coming up behind her.

She turned around, startled, but then smiled and nodded her head yes. I smiled as I grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the school yard. 

That was our first date. We continued dating for the next three weeks before everything turned sour. Some of the girls at school were jealous that a so-called "mix-blood" could date me. When I was waiting to meet Ri-ah for our date, one of the girls from school came up to me.

"Taeyang Oppa, what are you doing out here all alone? Do you want some company?" asked Ji-hye, putting her arms around my neck. 

"I'm waiting on someone. Now if you don't mind, I need to go and get them. If you'll excuse me" I replied, pulling her arms from around me. 

That was when she decided to kiss me. I heard a gasp as it happened. I pulled away to see Ri-ah looking at us with tears in her eyes. I tried to run to her, tried to explain, but she wouldn't have it. I was the first person she trusted with her heart and I had stomped all over it. 

The next day at school I didn't see her. I waited for the next couple days thinking that she just needed some time, but those days turned into a week and that week turned into weeks and those weeks turned into a month. It was after asking our homeroom teacher that I knew she had returned to America without any warning. 

It's been years since that happened, and since then, I've become a person who will play with girls for a day and then move on to the next. Tonight was just like any other night. I went out with my friends and just let go. We went to clubs to pick up girls and drink and dance till it was only a few hours till work the next day. 

I had been in the club for a few hours when I noticed a person out of the corner of my eye. Looking at her directly, I couldn't help thinking the name of my lost love. It was her, grown-up of course, but it was still her. Wearing a black halter dress that showed a good amount of back and heels that I swear would look like stripper heels on anyone else. Showing off her curves and legs that go on for miles, I couldn't take my eyes off her. 

I followed her to the bar and took the stool beside her, hoping for a chance to talk to her or to find out her name. The bartender came straight to her without a second though. He smiled at her and asked her what she wanted. 

"A water, please. Bottle."

"Nothing to spice up the night? It's on the house" replied the man, leaning in closer to her. 

"I don't drink, and I don't think my night needs to be spiced up by you" retorted the girl, defending herself from the creepy bartender. 

"Well, maybe I can get a chance at it" I said, turning and looking at her. 

"Hmmm, let me think about it" replied the girl, grabbing her bottle of water and taking a gulp. 

"It's been awhile Kim Ri-ah. How have you been?" I asked, knowing that this was the girl I have been waiting for. 

"I've been fine. Getting over having my heartbroken but working to become a fashion designer. I'm here to actually start a new line. How have you been Dong YoungBae? Or are you still going by Taeyang?" questioned Ri-ah, laughing at the end.

"I'm fine with whatever you want to call me. I've been working in my dad's company. Learning for when I have to take it over. You know, I didn't mean for that to happen back then. It was a set up by Ji-Hye and some of the other girls at school. Why did you go back to America without saying goodbye?" I asked, grabbing the beer in front of me and taking a swig.

"You were the first guy I fell in love with. I knew that if I saw you before leaving, I would stay here and I didn't want to risk you leaving me for one of the other girls. I know it sounds silly, but I never stopped thinking about you" she replied, looking down at the counter. 

"I never stopped thinking about you either. To tell the truth, I've been forcing myself to try to move on because I thought I would never see you again, but I can't. You are the girl I fell in love with in high school and are the one I'm still in love with" I said, looking at her the entire time. 

"Can we go somewhere more private to talk about this? I don't want to talk about this in public" asked Ri-ah, looking up at me. 

I nodded and led her out of the club and to my car. We drove for a good ten minutes in silence before I pulled up in front of the house I lived in. I got out and went around and opened her door for her. As we went inside, I went and sat on the couch in the main room while she sat beside me. 

"Do you mean it? That you never stopped loving me?" 

"I mean every word. Tell me so I can figure out what to do. Do you love me?" I asked, putting my head in my hands. 

I felt her grab my head and move it so I was facing her. She kissed me while I was in shock at the sudden action. She backed off and looked at me. 

"I never stopped."

Our night was spent learning everything about each other's lives since we separated and making love inbetween the conversation. It was morning when I finally realized that I can't live out my dream. I woke up to see her still sleeping, so I went and got in the shower to get ready for my departure into reality. When I got out of the bathroom and went to check on her, I saw that she was awake and was looking at the ceiling. 

"Do you think I could stay here for a little while? I can see you have to go to work, but I don't really have anywhere else to go since I haven't found an apartment yet" she asked, looking over at me with a smile. 

"I don't mind, but I'm not going to work. I've been called to serve my time in the military, Ri-ah. I have to report for duty today" I replied, motioning to the bag I had packed and sitting beside my dresser. 

"You mean that you are going to leave me again. After we just got back together, you are leaving me again. I've lived my life without you for years and my heart has been in pain ever since I left. Now, I'm finally happy and then you have to leave" she started shouting and crying. 

"You said that you don't have a place to live, right? You can live here while I'm in the military. Everything is paid for automatically every month and I will tell my parents that you are here. I will work everything out for you to live here and be comfortable if you do me one favor in return" I said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"What is it?"

"You wait for me. While I'm in the military, you live your life and do your work, but you do it as my fiance and wait for me to return. To tell you the truth, I've had this since high school. I was going to give it to you on the date we were supposed to go on as a promise ring, but if you accept it, I know that you will wait for me" I said, pulling out a diamond ring that was held in place by two rubies in the shapes of hearts. 

She started crying when she saw it. She said yes and clung to me while she cried. I put the ring on her finger and kissed her tears away. 

"I would say let's go for another round, but I have to report for training in a couple hours. Can you come with me? I want your face to be the last thing I see before I'm sent in" I asked, pulling her into my lap. 

She agreed and got dressed. I obviously didn't want anyone to see her in the dress she had on last night, so she grabbed one of my button-up white shirts and put it under the dress to make it more modest. We left the house and while we were on the road heading to the drop off location, I was on the phone with my parents telling them what was happening. My mother was excited that I was settling down and my father was excited that he will be getting the daughter he always wanted. Ri-ah was sleeping while I settled everything and woke up not long after I was off the phone. 

"Did I ever tell you what I named my clothing line in Korea?" asked Ri-ah before we pulled up to the drop-off location. 

"No, what did you name it?" I asked, laughing at her random question. 

"Sarang and Taeyang."

I was surprised that she named her clothing line after me, but I was happy that it wasn't another guy. We parked the car and got out. She walked me to the place where we had to separate and hugged me. I dropped my bag and held her as close to me as possible. She was crying and I knew that I would miss her while in training. 

"I promise. I will come pick you up. Right here at this spot. Watch for me, okay?" she said, wiping the tears away. 

"I promise. When I get back, we are getting married. I'm not living without you after this" I said, kissing her one last time. 

I went to join the rest of the men called for duty. We all turned around and waved goodbye. I looked straight at Ri-ah and saw her crying. She smiled at me and waved. For the next 21 months, I wrote and received letters from Ri-ah and my parents. She sent me pictures of herself after the first little while and also pictures of everything she did to our home and things she did at work. It was nice seeing her smiling face. But it was finally time to leave this place and return to her loving arms. 

All of us were heading back to the drop off location that we all began at. My friend, Jiyong, was beside me along with the two Seunghyuns and Daesung. All of us were pumped to go back to the people we love. Jiyong had a girlfriend waiting on him while the oldest Seunghyun had a wife and kid back home. The little Seunghyun and Daesung were single at the moment but were excited to get back to their families. When we got back, I searched for Ri-ah in the crowd. I looked at the exact spot she said she would wait for me at, but all I saw was a woman with her back turned to me. She was holding a diaper bag on her shoulder and cradling a little baby. I went over to her and decided to ask if anyone else had been in the spot earlier. As I was getting closer to her, I heard her talking. 

"Any moment now we are going to surprise Daddy and then we can finally be a big happy family. Isn't that exciting?" asked the woman. 

I recognized that voice from anywhere. It was the voice I left 21 months ago and the one I never want to live a day without hearing again. I walked up to her and tapped her shoulder. She turned around and smiled at me. 

"You're back. Welcome home, Appa" she said, showing me the little boy she was holding. 

I put my bag down and took him from her. I looked at the little baby in front of me and couldn't believe it. He had his mother's eyes, but my black hair. His features looked more like me but had the definition of his mother's. 

"Your mother wanted to keep it a secret that you have a son and surprise you when you got out. I went along with the idea because I didn't want to upset her. I'm sorry for keeping it from you" said Ri-ah, looking at me. 

"I'm not mad. I'm more surprised that my mother didn't tell me. She is the worst at keeping secrets. Normally, she would have told me the day after she said to keep it a secret, but I guess she's gotten better. What's his name?"

"Dong HaRang. When his hair gets long enough, I'm planning on getting it to look like your's did when we were in high school. You remember that mohawk-ish hairstyle you had" she asked, coming closer to me and HaRang. 

"Hey HaRang. It's nice to finally meet you. I'm your Appa" I said, putting my finger in his hand. 

He started giggling and making noises when he heard my voice and started clapping and laughing. I was in amazement at him.

"He recognizes your voice. I had your mom bring me some of your song recordings and home videos over when I found out I was pregnant. I didn't want him to be born without hearing his Appa's voice" she said, taking something out of diaper bag. 

"Your mom made this while I was pregnant. It has everything in it. The ultrasound pictures, sonograms, a little button that has a recording of his heartbeat while he was in the womb, and even while I was giving birth. Let's just say that I'm not the best looking in those pictures" she said, handing me the book while she took HaRang from me. 

I looked through the album in complete awe of it. Every picture was like a masterpiece, and it was amazing to see the progress. I saw Ri-ah's stomach get bigger and the random foods she craved. I saw the sonogram pictures and listened to my son's heartbeat for the first time. I saw the gender announcement picture and Ri-ah while in labor. My father cut the cord and wrote under it that he was happy to stand in my place while I was gone.

"Hey, YoungBae. Where's your girl? We wanna meet this angel of your's" said Jiyong, coming over with the other guys. 

"I have a son. I HAVE A SON" I shouted, showing them the album. 

All of them started freaking out and asking to see him and the pictures. Older Seunghyun's wife was relaying stories of her own pregnancy and causing the others to laugh while Jiyong's girlfriend was saying that she was wanting to get married and have children soon. I watched as Ri-ah feed our son. 

"When is his birthday?" I asked, coming over and hugging her from behind. 

"It's today. What's a better present than getting your Appa back, right HaRang?" she said, feeding him.

"I can think of one" I said, kissing her while I finally got to be with my new and happy family.