They meet between a lunch table, opposite seats to one another. A boy sat there first. Tiffany is holding a tray with too much food, clouding her sight, and sat there until she found out that there is a person already sitting opposite to her seat. The boy looks up to her and continued eating his food after that. Tiffany's interest is piqued but she didn't talk, nonetheless.

 

-

 

"Who is he?", Tiffany asks the American-Korean exchange student, Jessica, one time on the lockers because she knows almost any one in their campus. Aren't Americans that way, usually? Tiffany wonders the first time she sees Jessica holding her hand out to everyone in the school who doesn't know her.

 

Jessica's eyebrows wiggles, teasing Tiffany, "You want to get to know him more?"

 

"Uhh.. no. It's not what you think really! But, well...If I would have the chance to meet him again, then I..."

 

The exchange student walks away and Tiffany thinks it's a little rude. Wanting to tail her, Jessica shouted, "Talk to him. then! It's not that hard." 

 

-

 

She meets him again. It has always been between some things and this time, they meet between a lab table. Everyone have found their partners and only the two of them are lost. 

 

"You two!", the teacher points out after the two of them, "Lab partners. Now move!"

 

The whole class went nuts instantly, transferring from one seat to another and grabbing their respective tubes and whatnot, except for the two.

 

Siwon moved a little and he seemed to flash a smile at his partner and Tiffany picked it up in a nanosecond. The teacher noticed the two, all immobile and cozy. Irritated, the teacher snapped at them. "Choi, Hwang. On the double!"

 

This is the first time Tiffany found out his name. 

 

Siwon, Choi Siwon. A transferee. Then, an absurd thing popped in her mind— Korean won. His name makes her remember many things.

 

-

 

After that, Tiffany decided to spend lunch every time with him. She did get his permission though, however hesitant.

 

-

Tiffany and Siwon grew close. Not very close because Tiffany realized that being too close ruins things. If Earth is closer to the Sun, then she concludes that she'll burn and so is he. And anyone doesn't want that to happen, right?

 

One time, she points out how quiet Siwon is. 

 

"Yah! Can't you talk? Do you have a speech impediment?", she jokes him, again, between a lunch table which the two of them met first.

 

Siwon flashes a grin and Tiffany feels weird. "You'll do the talking; I'll do the listening."

 

Tiffany pouts. "That's so unfair! Why don't I get to hear you ask something about me?"

 

"Do I have to?", four words that broke Tiffany's heart. 

 

-

 

Those words are an overture to much more.

 

-

 

She finds out one Monday morning that Siwon is leaving. Tiffany is mad because he has to tell her everything, even if it meant to break her heart. She finds him opposite to him, again. They are on the opposite sides — she's outside of the railing and Siwon is on the near entrance leading to the airplane dock — and Tiffany needs to tell him before its too late. This weird thing in her stomach keeps on reacting without a reason.

 

Maybe he's the reason?, her subconscious mocks her, a little to bad in timing.

 

Stepping on the platform, pace quick.

 

"Siwon!"

 

He turns, ever so slowly. Siwon raises his eyebrows in question.

 

And Tiffany remembers that he never asked. Never for her name, never for any thing, never for her.

 

"I— I— I'll miss you!", her cheeks flushed, a little pinkish. Siwon notices that.

 

He lets go of his luggage for a moment and asks her, "Do I have to?"

 

Again, those four words.

 

"W—what?", she's stuttering, Tiffany takes note of that. She shouldn't be stuttering around him.

 

"You want me to miss you?", Siwon asks her and Tiffany feels like she is challenging him.

 

"N—no, of course not."

 

"Then, I'll miss you."

 

Four words that nursed her heart back to perfect health...

 

...and one moment to break it, all over again.

 

"It's for real.", Tiffany hears herself talking, still hearing the now fading footsteps of Siwon. She saw him leave, his shadow always following him. Sometimes, she wants to feel what it feels like to be a shadow of someone you treasure. Everywhere they go, you'll be there. Both of you will be always there. No one will be left and no one will be hurt. 

 

Tiffany's hurting and her sobbing is as loud as the airplane's speakers.

 

"Departure from Seoul to America in less than an hour.", a muffled voice is heard. 

 

She heard him leave, but he didn't even heard her sob. Tiffany muses it's unfair.

 

Tiffany thinks Siwon is unfair for the first time. 

 

-

 

"Tiffany!"

 

She heard a pop-up on her laptop and a white box appears on the lower-left portion of the screen, revealing a person named Jung Jessica. 

 

Tiffany is delighted, "Hi! It's been long since we talked. How are you?"

 

"Drop the informal language and talk comfortably, sister!", she imagines Jessica rolling her eyes at her.

 

Tiffany considered that Jessica still hasn't changed after these years.

 

They talked about High School, classmates teachers, and this one guy.

 

"How's it going for the both of you? You're pretty close with him after heeding my advice and, then, he left just like that. Do you still keep in touch with him?"

 

Tiffany hopes so. "No. He's living the rich life in America and I think I'd be a bother to even make him place an international call to Korea. That's expensive, you know?"

 

To be honest, Tiffany really doesn't mind making him call her from a faraway place to Korea. It's not that much of an effort to do, right? Wanting to hear his voice, even though Siwon is real quiet the most of the times she spent with him, Tiffany still longs for his voice. 

 

-

 

It has been five years and she's still missing him. 

 

-

 

And it took that much of a time to realize that she's in love with him. 

 

-

 

High School reunion are one of the most memorable moment of our lives. Reliving the past with memories we shouldn't forget, mingling with the people who used to be our classmates, teachers, and whatnot. Tiffany doesn't want to go, nevertheless.

 

"Why?! You should come, Tiff! It's not like we're always seeing each other after we graduated!"

 

Tiffany thinks it has to stop, the memories that keeps on coming incessantly, "I already chatted with you in fb. Wasn't that enough?"

 

The other line speaks in perfect English, "I'll go there, then!"

 

The phone was shut before her and the next 30 minutes, Tiffany is surprised that the once forgetful Jessica found her house even after five years.

 

-

 

"Pst!" 

 

Tiffany looked behind her and saw Jessica marching up to her with an unknown man hand in hand, "Wow."

 

Jessica's high pitched voice activates, "Tiff! Meet my fiancé, Lee Donghae."

 

"Oh, a pleasure to meet you!", Tiffany eyesmiles him. Donghae looks pleased, too. She's actually surprised that some guy has sucessfully put up with Jessica's deportment since Heechul broke up with her, leaving her heart broken then and Tiffany comforting her at that time for almost a month.  

 

Parting their hands, Jessica adds, "I met him in America where I stayed after college. I met this cute guy—", this time, she lovingly looks at him and proceeds to pinch Donghae's left cheek. He playfully scowls at the American chick beside him, "—in a law firm. He's crazy rich, I tell you!"

 

Donghae gently nudges her girlfriend and motions her to behave, "Sorry, this girl is a little feisty sometimes."

 

"Thanks for reminding me about that.", Tiffany releases a sigh, eyeing Jessica. Jessica returns a childish slap on the arm, afterwards.

-

 

High School reunion is about to end and Siwon's absence made her a tad bit sad.

 

-

 

"Donghae and I have to go. You know how his mother goes crazy every time her baby is out in midnight.", at her blunt statement, Donghae looks a little embarrassed to hear her girlfriend say that but didn't budge. He just smiled in complete awkwardness and Tiffany acknowledged how kind Lee Donghae is. They perfectly complement each other. 

 

"Jess, you're really lucky to have him.", this time, it's Jessica's turn to blush. 

 

"I know right? Well, we have to go now. Go home safe!"

 

"Okay.", Tiffany replies just as Donghae and Jessica sped off their car away.

 

She's the only one left in the place and the only thing she's left to do is to go home. Just as she was about to turn her heels, she hears a familiar voice resonating behind her back. 

 

"Miss, excuse me!", she heard his footsteps coming forth to her.

 

Tiffany doesn't want to look back because the voice is eerily familiar to the point that she's fixed on her position. 

 

"Excuse me?", the guy taps her by the shoulders and Tiffany turns to him. No way.

 

No ing way.

 

"Siwon?!"

 

"Oh my god, am I too late?", he lets his eyes rest to the empty table inside the cafe the reunion was held and the lightings turned off.

 

Tiffany isn't surprised the very least, "You always don't ask me questions directly."

 

"Stupid car broke down before going here.", he taps his foot impatiently on the ground.

 

She's confused as hell, "What are you talking about?". Tiffany felt mad and she wanted to break everything to him right here, right now about what he did after he left her and how those years killed her, literally. Without even calling her or searching her profile in Facebook! That's too much.

 

"Tiffany, I—"

 

"Don't be always so vague about what you're always saying to me! This is so exhausting.", Tiffany stops for a second and continues to ramble after doing so, "Everything is always unclear between us. Everything! Aren't you going to explain why you left all so suddenly and—"

 

Siwon cupped her cheeks abruptly and caught Tiffany off-guard. Then, she felt his lips touched hers. Her cheeks rised in high temperature and her body warmed up, too. It lasted for almost a minute and Tiffany didn't deny that the love he felt for him is still there albeit she denied it numerous times. One minute it's buried, the next it's open. Her feelings confuse her way too much, but not as much as Siwon himself who really confused the out of her. 

 

"What is this....", Tiffany speaks up after they part from the kiss. She touched her cheeks and it is actually hot.

 

Siwon couldn't find his voice, "Tiffany... I—"

 

"You puzzle me...", Tiffany steps back, too wary of the conversation they're sharing, "Way too much than you could ever imagine, Choi Siwon.", he flinches at hearing his full name. It's been long since he heard her voice and, to be very honest, Siwon longed for hers, too.

 

"I wanted to leave you."

 

"You're hurting me, you jerk!"

 

"I was scared."

 

"Your reason is too petty!"

 

"Those weird feelings are eating me all up. I just wanted to run away. I had a scholarship granted for me at that time too that I didn't get the chance to do a proper farewell for y—"

 

"I'm out of here.", his words are purely detrimental and Tiffany reckoned that Siwon's sole purpose in Earth and his words, too, is to hurt her. 

 

She started walking away, tears b on her face until, "I love you, Tiffany!"

 

Tiffany frozes on the spot. The air she's trying to breath turns unbreathable and she finds it hard to intake oxygen all of a sudden. Tiffany hears him reiterate the last statement with such finality and it contributed all the more to the quickening pace of her heart. Siwon walks up to her and Tiffany heard his footsteps move in transition from slow to fast, sure that the words he said made the woman stop on her tracks. She wiped the warm liquid on her cheeks and straightened her posture, wanting to prove to him that she's not weak.

 

He turns her body to him and looks at her eyes intently. Tiffany refused to look at his eyes because it might trap her again.

 

"I love you.", it caught her off-guard again and Tiffany caught the subtle smile he flashed at her, just like the old days, "Do you get it?"

 

(slap)

 

"You !"

 

(slap)

 

"This is for you for leaving me!"

 

(slap)

 

"This is for you for not keeping in touch with me when you're in America."

 

She cups his face and pulls it close to her.

 

"And this is for all the things you've done to me. I love you, too, Choi Siwon."

 

And now it's her turn to kiss him.