Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Lee Yeon Mi sighed as she watched the minute hand change. Yeon Mi is at a quiet and serene park, sitting on a snow-covered bench. She was waiting for Choi Zelo, who called her out to hang. She had already been waiting for 45 minutes.

Where the heck is this kid?

With annoyance, she shook off the snow that almost completely covered her head.

Honestly, she dressed her best for this da- ahem I mean outing.

It’s been quite a while since it was just the two of them. They both had clubs after school and they were always hanging out with their friends.

There was never a time where the two were alone. Unless you count the times where they had to go buy snacks together because they lost some bets.

The minute hand changed again.

She sighed again, repeating what she did a minute ago.

Did I get stood up?

She shook her head, obviously knowing what the answer was.

Why even bother asking the question…

Yeon Mi stood up and brushed the snow off her coat, ready to head back to her nice and comfy home. She can already imagine the warmth inside it. But before she even took a step, she heard a distant voice crying out loud,

“Yeon Mi, wait!”

She turned around and finally saw him. All bundled up with a scarf wrapped around his neck and a cute black beanie covering his dyed gray hair, he ran to her as fast as he could.

“Yeon Mi! Sorry to keep you waiting!” said the boy who was in front of her, panting hard.

 

“Oh, it’s okay. You were only 46 minutes late anyways.” Yeon Mi said sarcastically.

He scratched the back of his head, “Sorry, my… my clock was an hour behind! Aish, my brother must have messed with it!” He said.

Yeon Mi noticed a taint of awkwardness in his voice, but she just dismissed the thought. She was too busy being angry at Zelo to even think about that.

She squinted her eyes and had a grim look on her face.

“W-what?” Zelo stuttered, taking a step back.

Then….

DAK!

 

“OW~!” Zelo screamed out loud in pain after being flicked in the forehead.

Yeon Mi puffed, “That’s for keeping a lady waiting.”

Zelo rubbed his red forehead, trying to ease up the pain. “Hey, I said I was sorry, alright?”

 “Hey, usually I let you pass, but come on you made me wait for 3/4ths of an hour in this freezing weather.” She emphasized.

Zelo whined, “Awh, come on~. Can you please just let me go~? This is my first time.”

He nudged at her and did some aegyo which he rarely did. But when he did, Yeon Mi couldn’t help but to just melt and this time she thought she was going to die of cuteness overload. A few more seconds of Zelo doing aegyo went by and she swore she was about to explode. But then she managed to recollect herself.

Yeon Mi scoffed, “You and your freaking aegyo… Fine, you’re off the hook! Just don’t let it happen again.”

Then, Zelo smiled like a little kid, “Deh~”

“So where are we going?” Yeon Mi asked while putting her hands into her coat’s pockets.

“A. E.” Zelo simply said.

Yeon Mi repeated, “A. E?”

“Try to guess~.” He told her in a teasing voice.

A.E…A.E… Those letters repeated in her mind.

A.E? What the heck was that supposed to mean?

Her mind went blank. She couldn’t process anything in her mind. A.E the fashion brand? The TV Show? She was having the biggest brain fart ever.

A.E sounded familiar to her… and the letters look familiar too.

“Another hint?” Yeon Mi pleaded.

 

Zelo gaped his mouth open, “I seriously can’t believe you right now.”

“What?”

He shook his head with disappointment, “And I gave you a big hint too…”

Yeon Mi frowned, “Yah, what are you talking about? I just asked you for another clue…”

“Ahjumma’s Eatery. Ahjumma’s Eatery!” He revealed with a slight tone of irritation.

Yeon Mi clapped her hands, “Ah~! Ahjumma’s Eatery!!”

 

 

Ahjumma’s Eatery is Yeon Mi’s and Zelo’s favorite place. It’s a hidden jewel in the streets of Seoul. You have to go through amazing and twisty alleyways to get there. Ahjumma’s Eatery is ran by an ahjumma. She greets the people entering, takes customer’s orders, and make the food all by herself. People there just simply call her “Ahjumma”.

The reason why it’s their favorite place, because one it wasn’t all fancy. There were traditional Korean paintings and beautiful clay pots set up all over the place. The floors were covered with tatami mats and each table is separated by a screening. It’s kind of like a booth, but a little bigger. The interior was simplistic yet beautiful. The food there tastes great of course and the ahjumma is the bomb. She is like the third person in their buddy-line.

Yeon Mi reminisced on the memories there for quite a while. It’s been forever since she went there. She missed the pretty decorations, the luxurious food, and most of all her favorite ahjumma.

 

 

 

“Hello, earth to Yeonnie!” Zelo waved his hands in front of the daydreaming girl.

She then came back to reality, “Oppa, what are we still doing here? Let’s go go!” she said excitedly.

Then, without warning, she grabbed Zelo’s hands and raced off into the streets, with him trying to keep balance behind her.

One would think that they were a loving couple roaming the streets if they set their eye upon them. Holding hands? Check! Smiling with each other? Check! Handsome guy and beautiful girl? Check, check, check, check, check!

Soon later, they have arrived at the restaurant.

Yeon Mi opened the door and entered brightly, “Ahjumma~~!”

The ahjumma turned back, happy to hear the familiar voices, “Omo, YEON MI AH, ZELO AH~”

She set down the tray she was carrying and ran over to her two favorite kids hastily.

Ahjumma gasped looking down at the boy who was sitting, legs crossed, “Aigoo, Zelo ah, what happened to you?”

 

Zelo who was breathing hard from running, answered breathlessly, “Aigoo, ahjumma… Yeon Mi here… made me run full speed to get here. She basically… worked me like a slave…”

Yeon Mi meronged, “Whatever, that means you need to work out more.”

“Yah, I’ve been dancing all my life. I’m in perfect shape!” he retaliated back.

Then she muttered quietly, Pshh, ‘dancing all my life’ my .”

Zelo heard that and glared at her, “I have!”

“Besides,” he started, “you’re on the track team! You’re used to running like that.”

The ahjumma laughed, “Aigoo, you two sure haven’t changed. Come, I’ll lead you young-ins to a table.

 

So they followed her to a table that was all the way in the back, but right next to the kitchen where they could see the awesome-smelling food being made. They were sitting next to each other when they received the menu.

Yeon Mi scanned through the pictures of the food on the menu. Then all of a sudden, she started to grin widely as an idea popped inside of her head, “Oppa, let’s order the usual.”

Zelo looked in surprise, as he never thought of ordering that in the first place, “Oh! Ok. Call!”

“Ahjumma!” the two yelled out, while waving their hands in the air.

“Coming, sweetheart~” the ahjumma said with an ever so sweet voice.

“So, what will you two be ordering today?” the old lady asked while holding out a notepad and a pen. “The usual, for good old times?”

Zelo clicked his tongue while winking, “Right on, ahjumma!”

She gave a hearty laugh, 15 minutes top!”

“Okay~”, they both sang in unison.

After she left, they both started talking and decided to actually “catch up” with each other. They talked about family, clubs, and the good times they had together in the past. Feeling a little bit too warm, Yeon Mi took off her coat, revealing a cozy Christmas-color patterned sweatshirt. It matched well with her black boots and black leggings. It was very chic yet warm at the same time.

She took a look at Zelo, who was still wearing his puffy coat.

“Oppa, take that coat off. It suffocates me just by looking at it.” She joked.

“Oh! I forgot about it.” he said while taking it off. He was wearing a black leopard print sweater with white being the background. There were pink, blue, and black streak marks going from top to bottom.

He wore black skinny jeans and white converse sneakers along with it.

 

 

“Wow, nice street fashion.” Yeon Mi complimented.

Zelo looked flushed at the comment, “Um, thanks. You’re not that bad of a fashionista either.”

Yeon Mi smiled brightly in response, “Thanks!”

Then all of a sudden, she felt a rumbling in her stomach.

“Umm… oppa.  I’m going to use the bathroom.”

Before he got to say anything, she got up and rushed towards the restroom.

Then he too, got up suddenly and rushed to the kitchen, where the ahjumma was preparing food.

“Oh! Zelo ah! What are you doing in here? Wondering about your order? Go sit, your food will be ready in a few.” The ahjumma rambled.

“Ahjumma, can you hide this in one of the foods we ordered?” he asked, while showing her a beautiful ring with two hearts connected together.

The ahjumma was blank for a second, wondering what the heck is wrong with this kid. But then she started to grin, grasping the situation, “Ah~, I see.”

She said in a hushed tone, “It’s for Yeon Mi, right?”

Zelo just nodded his head.

The smile on the ahjumma’s face got wider and wider. You could tell she was happy from a mile away, “Aiyoo, I knew this day would come!”

She grabbed the ring and pushed Zelo out of the kitchen, “Go, get out. I know what to do.”

Zelo smiled before going back to his seat, “Thanks, ahjumma!”

 

He couldn’t wait to see her reaction. He’s been waiting a while for this day. Now, you-the reader- might be confused as to what’s happening right now. Well, let’s take it back to April 14^th, four days behind today.

“Yah, what did you call us for?”

“Oh! Cheesecake!”

“Where’s Yeon Mi?”

“Is she staying after school?”

“No, she said she wasn’t.”

“Yah, why is it so dark in here?”

“Are we going to watch a movie?”

“Where’s the popcorn then?”

“What movie are we watching?”

“Yah, we’re not watching a movie and Yeon Mi is not here, because she is the target in our mission.” Zelo said, while rubbing his fingers against his forehead.

“Mission?”  His friends repeated.

Zelo, right now, is at his house. With him are his friends Yongguk, Himchan, Daehyun, Youngjae, Jongup, Jin Ae, and Ki Hyo.

“Objective: Help me confess to Lee Yeon Mi.”

….

….

….

“Oh my god…” Jongup whispered.

After a few moments of silence, they all started going crazy on him. They basically trampled him, while asking him questions.

“H-help me…” Zelo pleaded, with his friends being all over him.

Just then, Yeon Mi’s long time best friend, Jin Ae, said, “Fine, let’s do it.”

Zelo pushed the noisy Himchan and Youngjae off before jumping towards the two girls, “Really?”

Jin Ae nodded, “Uh. I approve of you anyways, so there aren’t really any problems.”

“Then, since that’s been settled, let’s get planning shall we?” Ki Hyo said brightly.

And so that was how everything started. During the hours of planning, there were of course some occasional threats thrown at Zelo. Most of them were from Jin Ae and Himchan.

“Yah, if I see Yeon Mi crying to me about you, expect me to be in your room with a knife in my hands, alright?” Jin Ae said sharply.

Zelo, quite taken aback by this new threat, nodded slowly, “O-okay…” That was her 16^th threat now.

Yongguk laughed, “Jin Ae-ah, go easy on him, will ya? You’re kind of scaring him a bit.”

Daehyun, with that smart mouth of his, chimed, “He might even give up trying to confess to Yeon Mi, because of you~.”

Jin Ae glared at the little noise-maker, “Daehyun-shi, I’ll be more than obliged to jump over this table with this perfectly-sharpened pencil in my hands.”

Then, he instantly fell silent and said, “Yes ma’am.” With a face similar to this emoticon; ;_;

 

Yeon Ra who was busy writing the plans down, said, “Okay, less talking and more planning, yes?”

So, indeed on that day they planned lots of stuff.

Yeon Mi then came back after being in the bathroom.

“I am back~” she announced loudly.

Zelo clapped for the dear lady in front him, “Oh~, welcome back!”

“Sorry for leaving like that. I don’t know what exactly happened there.” Yeon Mi said while moving her hair to one side.

Hahaha, Zelo thought.

“It’s okay. I wasn’t bothered much by it anyways.”

It seemed like the first step into the plan had taken affect.  But wow! That thing Jin Ae put earlier in her drink really worked! Well done, Jinnie!

He sent a telepathic message over to her full of thanks and then got back to Yeon Mi. They talked a bit more and soon the food arrived.

 

 

“Here you go, my little darlings~!” the ahjumma sang while placing the food on the table. They ordered Ddukbeokki (spicy rice cakes), kimchi jiggae (kimchi stew), acorn jelly salad, and hoddeok (sweet Korean pancakes). There were of course side dishes on the side too.

“Oh, kimchi~!” Zelo sang happily. His chopsticks were about to touch a beautiful scarlet red piece of cabbage when another pair blocked his way.

“Yah, don’t forget that, that’s supposed to serve two people!” Yeon Mi warned.

Zelo frowned, “I already know that! … Kind of...”

Yeon Mi sighed, “Aiyoo, what am I ever going to do with you?

Zelo just laughed for a short while before starting his food rampage.

During their meal, they talked quite a lot and a bit loudly as they were both excited to be back in A.E, and being alone together.

They ate peacefully and happily for the next 5 minutes. Then Zelo started to notice something.

Where is the ring? He thought. He was nervous since Yeon Mi hadn’t found the ring yet.

It should show up by now… Why is it taking so long?

 

So, like a madman, he started looking through all the food on the table. He put all the food he touched with his chopsticks onto his plate, so Yeon Mi won’t get suspicious.

Yeon Mi was wide-eyed when she saw Zelo’s tower of food on his plate. “Yah, you’re going to eat all of that?”

Zelo simply grunted, “Mm.”

She slightly raised one of her eyebrows, “You’re going to get fat, you know…”

He faked a smile, “Ayy, it’s been awhile since I’ve been here. Is it wrong for me to eat to my heart’s content in my favorite place, with my favorite person?”

Yeon Mi blushed at his last couple words, but that only lasted for a few seconds.

Zelo with his sharp eyes captured her reddening cheeks, “Oh! You’re blushing!”

“N-no, I’m not!” Yeon Mi exclaimed while looking away.

Zelo smirked. “So, you do have your girly side.” He said while resting his chin on his hands.

“Are you asking for a beating?” Yeon Mi quickly responded, glaring at the boy.

“Ani. I just want to eat.” He said ever so innocently.

Yeon Mi looked as if she was going to shoot lasers out of her eyes, “Aish, jeongmal…”

“Aigoo~, you look so cute when you’re frustrated.” Zelo said as he pinched her cheeks lovingly. Yeon Mi was pouting

“Ahhhhhh~” Yeon Mi screamed softly, not realizing she used an aegyo-filled voice.

Zelo’s eyes widened. Not once has he ever seen Yeon Mi do aegyo the whole 16 years he knew her. “You used aegyo?!”

She massaged her hurting cheeks while still pouting at Zelo, not even bothering with his question, “Yah, why did you have to pinch so hard?”

He popped a rice cake into to stop her from complaining so much, “Oh, hush. You’re ruining your own cuteness.”

Before Yeon Mi could retaliate, there was a high pitched scream coming from a girl two tables in front of them.

“OMO, jagiya! Is this for me?!” said the girl who screamed. Her eyes were sparkling brightly as she looked upon this wondrous thing.

The boy, who was across from her, responded, flustered at what to say, “U-uh-uh-uh yeah! I- I wanted to surprise you! Yeobo, saranghae!”

When Zelo saw what the girl was holding in her hand, he was mentally banging his head against an imaginary wall.

 

Oh.

 

My.

 

Cherry Tomatoes.

 

The ring.

She has it.

She freakin has it.

Yeon Mi, who ate the rice cake Zelo had put into , said with amazement, “Wah~, isn’t that romantic?”

Zelo had a straight face on, still looking at the ‘romantic couple’, “Yeah, romantic.” He said sarcastically.

He was officially angry.

Nobody messes with Zelo when he’s angry.

Repeat, nobody.

He is ready to jump out of his seat and pounce onto the couple. Literally; like a lion attacking its prey. He does not care who sees nor does he care about the gender of the couple. He is ready to grab a chair and smack it onto them. The days he spent, saving up his money….. went all down the drain.

“Jagi, gomawo~!” the girl said with a sickeningly sweet voice, “Oh, oppa I found this really cute shirt at the mall and I was wondering if you could buy it for me.”

The guy scratched the back of his head, not sure of what he should say, “I don’t know… how much is it?”

“Um... 70,000 won?” she squeaked.

“70,000 won?!” the man screamed outrageously.

“Oh, oppa, jebal~” she begged ‘cutely’, knowing that this tactic will change his mind.

As if he was put under a spell, he happily said with no problem, “Ok. We’ll go after eating!”

“Yay~!” she clapped joyously. The two continued back to their eating as the girl kept on feeding him and filling him up.

“Gold digger.” Both Yeon Mi and Zelo quietly murmured. Realizing that they both said the same thing, the two exchanged glances and laughed before returning to their meal.

After eating, Zelo of course payed up          and headed out onto the streets of Seoul, looking for a fun place to go to.

“Oppa, where do you want to go? Karaoke? Arcade? PC Bang?” Yeon Mi asked curiously.

Zelo stopped in his tracks, causing Yeon Mi to stop too, “Actually, let’s go to the ice-skating rink.”

“EH?!” Yeon Mi said loudly, gaining weird looks from people around her. Realizing she was being stared at, she bowed slightly as a sign of apology.

Zelo meronged, “Come on, it’ll be fun~!”

She crossed her arms and stood still, determined not to move an inch from her spot, “No.”

“Please?”

No.”

Pretty Please?”

No.”

“I’ll tell your parents about that report card you hid from them.”

“Shut your trap and let’s go.” Yeon Mi immediately said.

Zelo laughed with victory in his voice. He stopped when he received one of Yeon Mi’s death glares.

With one skipping happily and one walking regretfully,

they made it to the only ice rink in Seoul.

Upon their arrival, there was a huge pink box that had the words “Yeon Mi’s and Zelo’s Ice Skates” in white marker.

 

Yeon Mi smacked Zelo’s chest as soon as she saw them.

“Ah!” Zelo hissed in pain.

“Yah, you planned this?” she asked.

He looked at her in pain as he responded, “Haish, the ice skates; yes.”

Zelo grabbed the box and sat Yeon Mi down on a bench. He then took out a pair of pink ice skates with white laces, “Here, try your pair on.”

She scowled as she reluctantly took off her shoes. It’s not that she hates skating…. Well…

Yeah, it’s exactly like that. When she was little, her mom and dad would take her here every winter and every time she went, she just looked like a hot mess. She was always on her and could barely keep her balance on the ice. She just sat there and cried.

She was putting the ice skates on when she realized that they surprisingly fitted her well, “Wow, it’s amazing how you got the size right.”

Zelo smiled as he finished tying up his left skate, “Well, I did just ask your mom for your shoe size.”

She raised one of her eyebrows out of weirdness, “Creepy much?”

“Nope.” He answered immediately. Then he took a few quick steps over to Yeon Mi and bent down, grabbing the laces of her right skate. “You’re so slow…” He murmured as he tied the laces together.

“Y-yah…” Yeon Mi mumbled as her face was starting to get hot, “I could do it myself.”

“Aniya~” Zelo responded, almost making it sound like he was whining, “You don’t even know how to tie the laces correctly.”

“I just do it. Why go through all the trouble of doing it the right way?” Yeon Mi said in a monotonous tone.

“You’re so lazy.” He said shortly.

So she waited for Zelo to tie her skates up, but as she stared at him, she couldn’t help but to just think of Zelo… as another person. She thought back to the very first time she met him. Back then, he was freakishly tall for a kindergartener.  She was at recess, crying her heart out by a tree, because she somehow got her shoe stuck on a branch. Being the tall person he was, Zelo tip-toed on his feet and grabbed the branch down, taking the shoe off and putting it onto her foot; almost like Cinderella.

She let out a laugh as she thought of how Zelo looked back then.

“What?” Zelo asked, surprised at Yeon Mi’s sudden eruption.

She dismissed the subject with a simple wave of the hand, “Ani, ani.  It’s nothing.” She said while trying to stop herself from laughing.

“Ayy, stop trying to hold in your laugh will ya? You look constipated.” Zelo bluntly told her.

“Tch. I feel bad for whoever’s going to be your wife. Are you going to treat her like this?” Yeon Mi retorted.

……..

……..

……..

There was a long silence. “Oppa?” Yeon Mi said, wondering if Zelo was off in another world.

“Ani.” Zelo responded, answering the question, “When I get my girl, I’ll treat her like a princess. I’ll bring her to movies, to restaurants, and to any other places.  I’ll buy her the prettiest things and comfort her when she’s sad. Heck, I’d love her for the rest of my life, if she only loved me for just one second. Even like that, I’ll still be happy, because I will have a shining jewel by my side...”

There was another silence between the two.

His little speech had ended, yet Yeon Mi wanted to hear more.

While listening to his words, Yeon Mi was blushing. She was imagining herself as the girl, who was receiving all of his sweet love. The light skinship, the jokes they tell, and being in his embrace made her melt on the inside. Yes, what you’re thinking is right, dear reader.

She has a crush on him.

She always had. From the moment they met,

 To this scene right here, she loves him.

“Sounds like you’ve found your girl.” Yeon Mi said quietly, due to the super serious response from him. The way he was talking and the words he was using sounded so different from how he usually is. His tone was so gentle and it seemed like he was happy just by thinking about it.

Has he found his first love?

 

“Mm. I did.” Zelo responded with a warm smile on his face.

Yeon Mi’s heart shattered just then.

“She’s pretty, smart, funny, and just perfect. She’s all I could ever want in a girl.” He continued.

“Oh.” was all she could say at the moment.

Whoever the girl was,

He fell hard for her.

And Yeon Mi, she fell hard too, but onto an imaginary ground; because on the inside, the picture of Zelo she etched inside her heart deeply, is slowly fading away. Very slowly.

She saw this day coming.  She really did. But why does her heart ache so much? Why does she want to let her tears out? Why does she just want to run away and disappear to an isolated place? It’s simple.

It’s because she loves Choi Zelo, oh so much and she just couldn’t bear the thoughts of him with another girl.

“Ok!” Zelo said while jumping up. He grabbed Yeon Mi’s hand and pulled her toward the ice.

“Y-yah, Choi Zelo!” Yeon Mi shouted, while trying to stay still on the ice.

He grabbed Yeon Mi’s other hand to help her balance well.

Even with light skinship, she was already reddening in the face.

“Here: I’ll teach you how to skate!” Zelo said brightly.

And so he did. He started off with balancing on ice, slowly skating on ice, skating at a fast pace, and taught her a few beginner tricks. Yeon Mi is a fast learner.

In between all of this though, she kept on falling and her was sore. But Zelo was there to help her up. They laughed at and with each other and went through the same amount of pain, because she kept on pulling Zelo down whenever she fell.

They’d look like a good couple. Yeon Mi thought.

But she knew it wouldn’t work.

Because Zelo doesn’t look at her like that. She thought.

He was already attracted to someone else. She thought.

She’ll be her usual self for just tonight; because today will be the last day she will ever love Zelo. She thought.

 

So tonight, she enjoyed herself and she loved Zelo’s company. After hours of skating, Zelo finally ended the night with Yeon Mi. He gave her his scarf and wrapped it around her neck for her, before walking her to the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Mulberry Street.

“Thanks for the night.” Yeon Mi said, while smiling under the scarf. “It was fun.”

He smiled in return, “No problem.” He stretched out his arms and yawned, “All that ice skating makes me feel tired.”

“All that skating, makes my tushie sore.” She muttered under her breath. But somehow, Zelo was able to hear that.

He chuckled, before patting the top of Yeon Mi’s head, “Ahaha, mianhe.”

She took a glance at the night sky and it was full of brilliant stars. The moon was full and the sky was getting more beautiful by the second.

“Well, I’ll be going now.” She started saying. She was about to bid her farewell, when Zelo all of a sudden smirked.

He started getting closer to her until they were a few inches apart. The scarf he had put on her 10 minutes ago, now had her scent; Sea breeze. He unraveled the scarf around her neck and held the ends of it with the right one being in his right hand and left one being in his left hand; even then Yeon Mi stayed frozen still. He wrapped the ends around his wrists before pulling her towards him…

 

 

 

And boldly landing a kiss onto her lips.

 

 

 

My

first

kiss…

 

 

The kiss lasted for a few seconds until Zelo slowly backed his head. He gently smiled and said, “Annyeong.” Before patting her on the shoulder and leaving her behind, all by herself.

 

Yeon Mi didn’t know what she was feeling. Happy? Shocked? Sad? No.

It was a new feeling she’s never experienced before. Yes, it was:

Bittersweet.

 

By the time she turned around, the dancing Matoki was gone; not a trace to be seen.

She walked a few houses down until she found hers. She heavily stomped on the porch steps and took out the key in the mailbox to unlock the door. She entered, went up the stairs to her room, and threw herself onto the bed.

Zelo ah…. my emotions are not for you to play with…” Yeon Mi muttered quietly to herself.

Her eyes were getting watery, but she held the tears back as she slowly drifted off into dreamland…