“Oppa seriously, let me help you to carry some of those boxes!” she uttered from behind the big teddy bear she was hugging along.

“Don’t bother yourself, babe. Just hug your doll tightly and tag along beside me,” he chuckled. His hand was completely busy as he had to carry a stack of boxes in his embrace. And somehow, his deep voice still gave a weird tingling effect in her stomach thus she tightened her embrace around the teddy bear he gave as his first after married present for her.

This newlywed couple had just moved to their new apartment. They had moved most of their belongings inside by the helps of moving helper and only left with some smaller boxes they took along in their car. This new apartment was so cozy and located in strategic area, also near his office and her atelier.

The elevator they ride was almost full as he carried the boxes and people were so crowded inside thus he had to pull Eunji being sandwiched slightly between him and the wall so that his petite wife would not be crashed by others. He was such that caring and protective husband for her.

But that was not the only charm he had as he made her admiring him even more when they reach fourth floor and an elderly couple seemed going to take the elevator as well but then it buzzed signaling that it was overweighed thus he whispered at her to take the stairs so that the elderly couple could get in to the elevator.

She could never stop admiring the righteous husband she had and kept smiling broadly at his glorious back.

Somehow he stopped his pace and turned around, waiting for her to shorten the gap between them thus they could walk side by side again. The stairs were on the other side of the floor thus they had to walk along the hallway.

“I still wish to ride on the elevator,” she fake a complain.

“Eish, don’t say that you don’t like to walk longer with me, babe,” he teased.

“Of course I like it,” she nudged his arms slightly. “The elderly must be so thankful toward you, oppa,” she smiled.

“Nah, I didn’t really do anything. It’s our duty to respect on them anyway.”

“Oppa.”

“Hm?”

“Oppayah….”

“What’s up, jagi?”

“When we reach our unit later, please remind me to give you hug and kiss,” she winked.

“Oh sure, baby. Of course I wouldn’t mind for your hugs and kisses,” he winked back more playfully, liking to more, causing her face to hued by red tint once more.

“Oh, stop teasing me, oppa.”

“I can’t. You look so cute when you’re blushing like that, Ji,” he leaned closer to plant a brief kiss on her cheek.

However, he felt something wrong when she just froze and didn’t respond him like usual. She seemed like staring at something or maybe someone thus he followed her gaze, and there he found another guy with small eyes that seemed like the tenant of that floor. He was about to entered his unit by the way he held the front door open but was distracted by the passing by lovey dovey couple.

“O-oppa…?” she murmured. She knew him—obviously, they knew each other quite well.

“Oh? Eunji… hi,” he greeted her awkwardly and sometimes took a glance at her spouse, looking at the couple alternately.

Yongguk nodded and he nodded back at him. Noticing the exchanges of silent greeting between the men, Eunji decided to introduce them formally.

“Oppa…, long time no see…. Anyway, this is my husband, Yongguk-oppa.” He nodded again at the older man. “And oppa, this is Sunggyu-oppa. He is my next door sunbae since… primary school. He is also an assistant professor in our college.”

“I have been an official professor now, Ji…,” Sunggyu smiled then extended his hand to handshake the other man across him but then halted as he noticed that Yongguk was still hassled by the boxes. It was his first time to meet Yongguk since he didn’t come to their wedding invitation because of an important seminar he had to attend in Japan. Besides, he didn’t feel like to attend their wedding as well. Though, he felt guilty somehow.

The younger man then put the boxes on the floor before reaching out for his hand then shook it friendly.

“Anyway, congrats for your wedding. I’m sorry I can’t attend it last time…,” he congratulated them sincerely gaining some understanding words from the man across. Sunggyu then glanced at the obvious boxes before asking, “Are you perhaps…?”

“Yes, we are moving here. Are you by any chance, living here?” Yongguk gestured to the half-opened door.

“Yes I live here. What a coincidence that we are being neighbor now,” he nodded. “We ended up to be in same neighborhood again, Ji.”

“Ah, yes oppa. We end up being neighbors once more….”

Yongguk was alternately looking at both of them then noticed something. He silently smiled before carrying back the boxes and gleamed at both of them.

“I’ll be upstairs first to deliver these boxes, ‘kay?” he was going to walk away.

“But, oppa—”

“Don’t worry, just have a comfortable conversation between old friends. I’ll be around when I’m done though. So—excuse me first,” he nudged her to keep staying with Sunggyu while he then walked away to their apartment unit above.

There was a pregnant silent between the old friends.

Eunji and Sunggyu used to live in same neighborhood since young, and had been so close since then. They attended same school though they didn’t meet at their secondary school nor high school since they were apart by four years. But still, he somehow was being her tutor to help her in school. And when Eunji was entering college, Sunggyu had started his bachelor degree and did part time job as an assistant professor in some classes she attended.

Literally, they grew up together and had known each other like forever. People supposed them as siblings because of their closeness. Some of them even assumed them as couple. Fact was, she apparently had a crush on him but she was just too shy to confess her feeling toward him. He was her first love. She had liked him for more than ten years but there was still no any development in their relationship.

And then Yongguk came to her life, eventually changing her heart and they got married even though they only knew each other for a short moment.

She somehow felt guilty over her feeling toward the next door oppa she had crush for so long. Though, there was nothing between them. And every times she remembered her old feeling, she felt like she was betraying her husband. Her feeling was so complicated as she couldn’t really manage how was her true feeling actually.

She was still wondering—how could she say ‘yes’ to Yongguk eventually when he proposed to her out of nowhere in their short time of knowing each other?

Why didn’t she confess her feeling to Sunggyu since long time ago? Did she wait for him? Did she become impatient of him?

Did she really love Yongguk or he was only her distraction on her unrequited feeling?

Did she still like Sunggyu then?

The old friends stared at each other for some moment before looked away to hide their awkwardness. They both looked down on their feet, still didn’t manage to say any word for the person across. They both were so shy for some reason, just the same as their past days though back then, they were not as nervous as now.

 “… how are you?” he finally broke the silent between them.

“I’m… good. How about oppa?”

“As you can see… I’m always this… grand?” he chuckled, trying to melt their awkwardness.

“I can see that, oppa,” she joined him.

“Anyway, you’re still the same… I still can picture you as the little girl hugging her favorite teddy bear around our neighborhood…,” he patted the head of her teddy bear doll in her embrace briefly. “Is it from your husband?”

She nodded and hugged the teddy bear tighter. She knew it very well that in front of him, she would always be a little girl, never more or less than that.

“I’m so happy knowing you married to a nice guy like him.”

“Hm, thanks oppa,” she hummed to the back of the doll in her embrace.

“You better go now, Ji. Your husband must need you.”

“But—oppa said that he will come here.”

“Tsk. Are you both gonna pestered me on my day off, huh? Are you gonna show off your after-marriage life in front of me, huh?” he pretended to be sulked. “Don’t argue, I saw you both kissing earlier.”

She blushed yet she chuckled as she noticed her ‘usual grumpy’ oppa was back. “Of course not, oppa. Come on, don’t be that jealous.”

“Wait until I get married later, I’ll show off my lovey dovey life with my future wife later in front of you, Ji.”

“Geez, how could you hold grudges over this kind of thing?” she squinted her eyes at the smiley him. “S