What was that quote or saying about not falling in love with your best friend’s sister? I don’t know, and to be honest, I stopped caring. I know how much of a mess it will be if this ended badly, but I was willing to take my chance because I know she’s worth it – she’s worth having to face the wrath of the Ice Princess, and the Dragon (aka, her unnie and oppa).

            Do you remember about the second lead couples in those dramas who provide all the cute, fluff, and sweet moments whereas the main couple dons the emotional baggage? Well, that’s how I’d define our story.

            But just because ours doesn’t carry the angst, drama, and whatever issues, doesn’t mean our love is any less. Maybe we were just fated and lucky enough to get a shot at love without all the emotional hurdles that others faced.

            This is a story about a boy and girl who fell in love…and, well, that’s just it.

2006

At First Sight                                                                    

            I stood outside the door and my hands were shaking from nervousness as I debated whether to ring the doorbell or not.

            “Who are you?!”

            I turned around and saw a girl. Her hands were on her hips and she had this accusatory look directed towards me. This must be Yonghwa hyung’s youngest sister.

            “I, uh…Yonghwa hyung invited me over to practice some songs…my name is Kang Minhyuk, born on June 28, 1991, 15 years old, height 184cm, weight 60kg, blood type A, a freshman at Seoul International…”
 

            “Ok ok stop! I get it.  I was just asking for your name, not a full on introduction! You’re so funny! Come inside. Oppa and the rest must be waiting.”

            I nodded as I followed her inside.

            “Neil oppa! Your friend is here!”

            “YAH! I told you to stop calling me that! It’s Yonghwa oppa, not Neil! Aish. This stubborn girl.”

            Yonghwa hyung said as he walked over to us and playfully kept his sister in a headlock. The girl is not as timid as I expected her to be because one minute she was the one strangling hyung.

            “Arasso! Let me go, Baby Jung! I’m sorry! I won’t do it again!”

            I laughed so hard. These siblings are cute. I envy their close relationship. His sister let him go and marched towards her room. We spent the rest of the afternoon jamming some songs and practicing the piece we’d audition for in the battle of the bands. Everyone was tired and thirsty. I lost in the game so I had to go get the drinks in the kitchen.

            “Let me guess. You lost.”

            I sighed and nodded.

            “You’re Yonghwa hyung’s youngest sister, right?”
 

            “Yeah. Oh I’m sorry. I haven’t introduced myself to you yet! My name’s Krystal.”

            “Krystal..?” I was waiting for her to say her Korean name and I knew she got the hint. She pouted and told me,

            “Soojung. Jung Soojung.But I would really prefer if you call me by my English name.”

            “Ey. I think you’re Korean name is really pretty.”

            “It’s not!”

            “It is!”

            “The only thing cool about it is even if you say it backwards, it’s the still the same. Jung Soojung…jung soojung..see?! That’s it! But I still don’t like it!”

            “I do. I think it’s really pretty.”

            “It’s not!”

            “It is!”

            “It’s not!”

            “It is!”

            “It’s not!”

            “It is!”

            “OPPA!”

 I panicked and turned around to look for any signs of Yonghwa hyung. The last thing I need is for him to think that I’m picking on his baby sister.

            “I meant you.”

            “Me?”

            “Yes. I can call you oppa, right? Minhyuk oppa.”

            “Sure.”
 

            I smiled back at her.

            “Omo. You have the cutest eye smile!”

            Before I could say anything else, Yonghwa hyung came in and ordered me to carry the drinks back to his room. I had this grin on my face as I absentmindedly asked,

            “Hyung, do I really have the cutest eye smile?”

            “Yuck! What are you saying Minhyuk-ah? Who told you that?!” (Jungshin)

            “Soojung.”

            “Dude, she’s just 12!” (Jonghyun)

            “But she’s really cute.”
 

            “She’s my sister. My baby sister!”

            I just laughed it off and diverted hyung’s attention to the music. I didn’t fall for her at first sight but I knew she’s special. I just never really thought that she’d be that special person for me.

2009

Her First Heartbreak and My Last

            “Let’s break up, Minhyuk-ah. I don’t love you anymore and I don’t think you even loved me at all.”

            “What are you saying, Junhee? Why now? What did I do wrong?”

            “I’m saying that we should put an end to this relationship. You’re in Seoul and I’m here. I can’t do this long distance thing anymore. You didn’t do anything wrong but to make me feel that you never really loved me at all. Whenever we’d meet, you only talked about one girl. You never paid that much attention to me. I feel like you only agreed to be my boyfriend because you were bored.”

             “I…”

            I’m a jerk. I couldn’t even deny her claims.

            “See? Let’s not fool ourselves and waste more time.”

            “I did care about you, Junhee-yah.”

            “But not as much as you cared about the youngest Jung.”

            “She’s like a sister to me. She’s just 15!”

            “Yeah right. From the way I see it, there’s nothing so ‘sisterly’ about the way you look at her. You’re just saying that because you’re afraid of her siblings. If I know, you’re just waiting around until she’s legal. Well, I’m sorry to break it to you, but I’m no longer willing to be someone else’s past time. I deserve to be happy, Minhyuk-ah, and to be frank, I don’t think you’d be able to make me feel that happiness I wanted. Goodbye.”

            She hung up before I could say anything else. Even if I never really fell in love with her, this breakup made me feel sad. She’s my childhood best friend and I really tried to make us work. I dragged my feet across the streets until I saw a girl crying. I walked closer and realized that my suspicion was right. It’s Soojung. I asked what’s the matter and she told me everything.

            I wanted to ‘avenge’ her from the boy who broke her heart and humiliated her when she decided to confess. What kind of jerk would do that to someone like her? I wanted to punch that guy’s face with the number of tear drops that fell from her eyes. However, violence does no good, and her unnie and oppa will most likely proceed on the ‘revenge’ part already (if they haven’t).

            “You know, I just got dumped too.”
 

            “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

            “I’m not! It’s true. I got dumped. Over the phone.”

            “NO WAY! Why would anyone do that to you?”

            “I’m wondering the same thing…except, it’s not me, but I meant you.”

            “Hmp. Way to remind me of that jerk oppa!”

            “Sssshh! You wouldn’t want your unnie and oppa to hear you say that right?”

            “Arasso. But really. Why did your ex break up with you?”

            “She said it’s because she thinks I’m in love with another girl…” I paused for effect and then I looked at her. “YOU.”

            I could see a blush creep in her cheeks and she tried so hard not to smile. That was so cute.

            “EY! You think I’m gonna buy that?! How many times have you strictly imposed the oppa-dongsaeng boundary between us!”

            “I only said that because your unnie won’t let go of my arm until I do so.”

            “Eyy. Still….waaah! I remembered it again. It’s so embarrassing! I thought he liked me too! All this time, it was his friends sending those fake love notes to me. I can’t believe I fell for their jokes and wasted half of my allowance to buy him that chocolate!”

            “You bought him chocolates?!”

            Ok, now I feel jealous. I am even more distraught over the idea that she bought another guy some sweets than the fact that I just got dumped over the phone twenty minutes ago.

            “Of course I bought him one! My friends suggested I should be the one to make it but I refused because I made a promise to myself that the only guy I’d make chocolates for would be my future husband.”

            “But you still gave him a box of it…”

            Why am I sulking?

            “BUYING and MAKING are two different things oppa. Does it matter right now? aish. I’m so angry. The least he could do is to return me that box so I’d have something to eat! But no, he had to take it from me as soon as he rejected my confession. Arghhhh!”

            At least she’s not crying anymore. I kept reminding myself that what she experienced wasn’t exactly ‘love’ but more like a crush. It’s so cute seeing her so mad like that. I ruffled her hair and laughed.

            “Why don’t we go get ourselves some ice cream? Please? Two broken hearted people sharing a meal…”

            “Stop being so dramatic, oppa. Fine.”

            As we ate, I realized that something good can come out of break ups. As she smiled and happily indulged herself in those sweets, I know for certain that today would be the last of our heartbreaks.

2010

Separation Anxiety?

            Graduation day was drawing near. With each passing day, I could feel that Soojung is distancing herself from me. Whenever I tried to walk over to her, she’d immediately run off to another direction. She’s purposely avoiding me and I don’t know why.

I tried asking her classmates and friends but they won’t tell me the reason. Instead, they’d just smile, pat my back, and tell me to just go after the girl. Right now, I’m chasing after her in our school’s hallways.

            “Soojung! Wait up!”

            “My name is Krystal!”

            “Ya! Wait for me! JUNG SOOJUNG!!!!”

            “SHIRO! Go away oppa!”

            The rest of the students looked at us with an amused expression. Are they finding this scene cute? Because there’s nothing cute at all trying to catch your breath as you chase after the girl who is also a track and field superstar. I kept chasing her all the way outside. She ran off to a dead end. There’s no way out but to get past me, and until she tells me why she’s been treating me like that for the past few weeks, there is no way I’m going to let her leave without an explanation. I smiled as I walked closer to her. She immediately covered her eyes and turned her back from me. I find that scene so cute.

            “What are you doing, Soojung-ah?”
 

            “I’m shielding myself from your attack!”

            “Attack? Who says I’m going to attack you?”

            She’s facing me now but her hands are still covering her eyes.

            “Don’t play innocent oppa. Just because you have the best, cutest, and most charming eye smile in the world doesn’t mean you can use that on me!”

            “Come here.”

            “NO!”

            “Jung Soojung….soojungie…”

            “Ha! Don’t come closer oppa! You think that eye smile of yours would work on me? It won’t!”

            “So stop covering your eyes and look at me.”

            “No! I’m just…uh…I….I’m doing this for my own sanity!”

            I laughed and tried to pry away her hands so that she can look at me. The simple brushing of our fingers (even if she did pinch or rather, PUNCH me every now and then) sent my heart on another race and let all the butterflies fly freely in my stomach. Aish. I can’t just stand here and admire her cuteness because the minute I let my guard down, she’s going to run away again. After several attempts, I succeeded. She still refused to establish an eye contact.

            “Aigoo. Why are you acting so cute, Soojungie?”
 

            “Hmp.”

            “I know you’ve been avoiding me recently. Why are you doing that?”

            “I hate you oppa! I hate you!”

            She pouted and then angrily hit me with her fists. No matter how cute and pretty and feminine she looks, I now know for certain that her unnie and oppa didn’t waste a second teaching her how to “fight” like a pro.

            “Ouch! Ow! Hey! Stop it! Yah! What did I do?!”

            “NOTHING!”

            “Ah! Yah! Ouch! Then why are you punching me?!”

            “Because you’re leaving me oppa! You’re going away!”

            “Huh? I’m not!”

            “Yes you are! You’re graduating this June right?! You’re leaving me here all alone!”

            So that’s what this cold shoulder treatment is all about. Me graduating high school. I looked at her and saw that she’s now crying. I walked closer to her and kept her in an embrace as I her hair.

            “Aigoo. Is that it? Do you want me to drop my subjects and fail my exams then so we could graduate together?”

            She perked up and looked at me like a lost little girl.

            “Will you do that for me, oppa?”

            “I would…”

            “Really?!”

            “But your unnie, oppa and my parents are going to kill me if I did.”

            She cried harder and this time, she hugged me back. I kept smiling as I comforted her.

            “Waaah! See! You’re still leaving me!”

            “If I could, I’d stay here with you and purposely delay my graduation. But like I said, there are a lot of people who’d kill me if I do that. Now, you wouldn’t want me to die so soon right? I have to live longer so I can take care of you. I need to graduate earlier so I can earn money and save for our future.”

            “Oppa!”

            “What? It’s true. I do intend to save for our future.”

            “How can you talk about our future when you haven’t even asked me out yet? Hmp!”

            “Aigoo. Kyeopta. I’ll ask you out but now isn’t the right time. Your Yonghwa oppa will hunt me down if he finds out I’m going out with his baby sister, that is, if Sica noona doesn’t get to me first. They kept reminding me to wait until you turn legal.”

            “But I’m not a baby anymore.”

            “I know…but you’re still young. You have a lot of things in store for the future. I don’t want to hold you back from achieving your dreams.”

            “How is that possible oppa? We share the same passion for music and acting. I don’t understand how you could prevent me from achieving my goals.”

            “I’m not talking about holding you back. What I meant was, I don’t want to be a distraction.”

            “Huh. And how will you be a distraction?”

            “You said so yourself I’ve got the best eye smile right? What if during the middle of your perfomances on music shows, I’d show up to play the part of a supportive boyfriend? You might stumble on your choreography and forget the lyrics of your song. Hahaha!”

            “Tsk3. You’re becoming a lot like my brother.”

            “But you like me more right? Especially when I say these lines?”

            I thought she was going to kick me or something but she after looking around for possible ‘suspicious’ people, she turned to me with that sparkle in her eyes as she whispered,

            “Don’t tell Yonghwa oppa.”

            “You’re so cute!”

            “I know! But oppa is cuter!”

            No matter how lonely my day would be, just one look at this girl, and everything else will turn upside down. I tried to shift the mood to a serious and rather sentimental one as I said,

            “I promise to wait for you, Jung Soojung. This promise will remain just as how your name is still Jung Soojung even if spelled backwards.”

            She laughed.

            “But you must promise you’d come visit me here when you have time?”

“I promise.”

            “Really?”

            “Yes.”

            “Thank you oppa. I’ll wait for you too.”

            We both smiled as I hugged her again.

            SNAP! CLICK!

            The two of us were startled with the sudden camera flashes until we spotted the culprit.

            “I’m going to show this picture to Yonghwa hyung and Sica noona! Kang Minhyuk flashing his eye smile and hugging their baby jung! Hahaha!”

            “YAH! LEE JUNGSHIN!”

2012

Status Reverse

            “Congratulations on your successful comeback! f(x) fighting!!!!”

            Soojung came running towards me as soon as I opened the door.

            “Oppa! You came!”

            “Of course. Oh, annyeonghasaeyo, Kang Minhyuk imnida. I brought some snacks and drinks for the members and staff.”

            f(x) debuted early this year. Their debut wasn’t as successful as SM hoped but this comeback turned tables and gained them the recognition they were aiming for. Soojung led me to sit on the couch far from her members.

            “You’ve really hit daebak this time. Congratulations, Soojungie! You’ve finally achieved your dreams!”

            “Awww, thank you oppa. This is just the start. I’m really really happy that our group made it this time. I thought SM was going to disband us should we fail. This is like our make or break moment. All 5 of us were so nervous and stressed especially when we found out that we were going up against Wonder Girls and Big Bang sunbaenims. I was prepared to leave the idol life.”

            “Hey, don’t be sad. You did it, right? The timing couldn’t have been any more perfect for this comeback. f(x) winning number 1 despite the competition makes those awards even more meaningful.”

            I wiped the tears that fell down her face. She must’ve been really stressed these days. She even fainted during one of their live performances overseas. I was worried sick and I wanted to catch the first flight to go where she was but circumstances didn’t allow me to. Those were the days I felt thankful that we have Skype.

            “Can you cheer me up, oppa? I’ve been really tired these past few months since our comeback was finalized.”

            “Sure. Anything for you. What can I do?”

            I should’ve known better than to agree the minute she flashed me that look that spells nothing but trouble for me.

            “Really?! Yey! Then dance Nu ABO for me! Please?”

            She squealed so loudly and now even the staff as well as her fellow members were egging me to grant her request. I just dug my own grave. Why?! I leaned closer to her and tried to plead my way out of this.

            “Eh…Soojung-ah…uh…can I just sing another song from that album?”

            “Then do Mr. Boogie!”

            “JUNG SOOJUNG!!!”

            I didn’t really mean to yell at her or scare her. She was taken aback by my reaction and I needed to do damage control. FAST.

            “Uh…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get mad at you. I was just…surprised? Hehe..Look…I…uh…I’ll just sing Sorry (Dear Daddy)…ok?”

            “How do you expect me to cheer up with that kind of song, oppa? Waaahh!”

            Oh no. No tears. Not now. Aish. Forget your manly pride, Kang Minhyuk, even for just a few minutes! I closed my eyes for a second and prepared myself to dance to my humiliation.

            “Mystery, mystery molla molla, ajik naneun molla

Gibon gibon sarang gongshik saram deure ibyeol gongshik

Hysteric, hysteric, dalla dalla, naneun neomu dalla

Nae mamdaero nae tteutaero joha joha NU ABO

Nananana nana nananana nanananana nananana

Nananana nana nananana nanananana NU ABO!!!”

“Kyaaaaa! That was soooo cute!” (Victoria)

“I want Minhyuk oppa as a fanboy too!” (Sulli)

“Yah! He’s MY oppa. Find your own!”

“Omoo! That was so cute!” (Luna)

“Soojung-ah you’re so lucky to have someone like Minhyuk to dance like that for you. hahaha!” (Amber)

            I closed my eyes and collapsed to the floor. I don’t care if everyone else present gave me a standing ovation. That was just…aish…Jung Soojung! I tried to calm and convince myself that the important thing is I made her happy.

            “Thank you oppa! You’re the best oppa/fanboy in the world!”

            She hugged me and even if I tried to keep myself from smiling, I failed. At least one of the Jung siblings doesn’t give a qualm about ‘skinship.’

            “Even better than your Yonghwa oppa?”

            “As long as you don’t tell him, then YES!”

            I waited until they finished recording their performance. As soon as they were done, we headed over to a small café where we waited for her sister (Sica noona insisted that she’s the one to pick up Soojung and bring her home even after I volunteered countless times).

            “Why didn’t you join the GA? You could’ve debuted right away. With your talent and looks, I know you have what it takes to reach the finals.”

            “and have daily trips to the hospital because of stress? Nah. I’m ok oppa. I actually preferred to train over the years so I could prepare for this life even more. The GA is a hundred times more unnerving than the traditional idol training and debut system. What about  you, oppa? It’s been years since Seohyun unnie left. You guys could rejoin, you know?”

            “I’ve been caught up with college and somehow, I don’t know. It didn’t feel right to go ahead with it so soon after what happened. But…don’t tell this to anyone, ok?”

            She nodded and I signaled that she come closer as if the information I’m about to share is top secret.

            “I actually plan on trying my luck for the 2014 version. I heard that one’s going to happen back here in Korea.”

            “OMO Chincha?! I’m so happy for you oppa! Kyaaaa!”

            “SSSHHH! You can’t tell anyone, ok? I’m not 100% sure yet but so far I’d like to try.”

            “I promise!”

            I realized that if things would go as planned and I’d get to have a chance to debut 2 years later, I’ll be a hoobae and she’s my sunbae. It’s weird and funny at the same time and I couldn’t help but laugh.

            “What’s so funny oppa?”

            “Nothing.”

            “Then why do you keep on laughing as if I look like a clown or something?!”

            “I just think it’s weird…”

            “Huh?”

            “I never really thought we’d find ourselves in a status reverse.”

            “What are you talking about oppa?”

            “If I do well on the GA 2014 and I’d get to debut, I’ll be a rookie by then. I’ve become the hoobae and you’re my sunbae.”

            Before she could react, her phone rang.

            “You’ll be here in 5-10 minutes? Ok. I’ll wait for you at the parking lot, unnie.”

            We reached the parking lot. I could spot Sica noona’s car from a distance and I knew it was time to say goodbye. Before that, Soojung gave me that look again.

            “You mentioned I’m going to be a sunbae, right?”

            “Uh, yeah? Yah. Whatever it is you’re thinking save it for 2 years when I actually become your hoobae.”

            “But you said so yourself you’re joining GA 2014. You do know that dancing is one of the main categories of the competition right? I think now is the best time to practice your skills!”

            Didn’t I just dance for her a while ago? And what practice is she talking about? No. N.O. NO!

            “Oppa…palli. Unnie is coming any minute now. Can you dance for me again? Please?”

            How can she ask me to do it again? Noooo! Jung Soojung, you will not win this round!

            “But I already did NU ABO!”

            “You didn’t do my part oppa. I want you to sing the first verse of the song. The one with the “Hey, yo, na eotteokhaeyo eonni nae mareul deureobwa” Please oppa? pretty please? Bbuing bbuing….”

            Since when did she learn how to aegyo? Right. When f(x) debuted and she was asked to show her ‘cuteness’ on variety shows along with Sulli. I glanced over and I instantly realized that’s a bad idea. I can never resist that look on her face.

            I sighed once again and proceeded to grant her request. My only consolation this time is that there are only two of us present.

            “Hey, yo, na eotteokhaeyo eonni nae mareul deureobwa

Naegeu sarameul eonni moreu gesseoyo….”

I haven’t finished that part when someone came from the background and was laughing hysterically.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAA! Kang Minhyuk, dangsin-eun mwohaneungeoya (what are you doing)? HAHAHAHAHAHA!”

            I’d rather have the audience I had earlier than this particular noona. It won’t be long before the rest of the gang hears of this.

            “It’s a good thing I brought my camera to capture this epic moment. Kang Minhyuk dancing to f(x)’s NU ABO! Hahahahah! I can’t wait to show this to Jung Yong, Jonghyun, and Jungshin chingu. Hahahhaa!”

            Sica noona kept laughing while Soojung took this opportunity to walk closer to