Never did she imagine that she would still be awake with the sun in its full glory, yet there were no regrets now.

Staying up all night and keeping yourself awake until the sun came out was never really Yoona’s thing to do, as that was Yoochun’s way of living, not hers.  She made it a habit to get at least ten hours of sleep each night, sleeping from nine thirty in the evening until seven in the morning.

Yoona was the youngest child of her parents Park Chilhyun and Park nee Im Yujin, with her older brother Yoochun two years older than her and now on the verge of completing his college degree at the city’s top university.  Ever since, Yoona never knew what was truly going on in her crazy brother’s head; she probably wouldn’t want to know anyway.

She was the average student when she was in school, her constant B’s and rare A’s paling in comparison to her brother’s Straight A’s and perfect attendance. Yoona did get sick of the constant comparison to her older brother, choosing to ignore and mute it every time her mother would come in ranting about her report cards. 

He did well in school, with grades that would have attracted companies from continents away, yet he had completely no idea what else to do in his life.  Currently working in Jaejoong’s coffee shop while he was in college, he still had doubts whether he even took the right degree.

On the other hand, she had just finished her two year course on writing and journalism the past few months and was now writing her dream manuscript that would change her life forever. Ha. It’s pretty clear who won on succeeding in life, not Yoochun – and this made Yoona feel that things would actually even out in the end. 

Who was she to judge; as neither did she understand the direction live wanted to drive her to.

Yoochun thought his sister was going crazy when she had finalized her rigorous sleep schedule, as he would get only at least four hours of sleep a day after staying up until three in the morning doing nothing yet procrastinating and listening to music.

Years ago, she swore proudly that she would never make that same silly mistake her brother made, ruining her life day by day by how wrecked her sleep cycle becomes, yet she willingly broke that promise yesterday.

Yoona opened her eyes from her deep slumber and had never felt so dead in her life that she couldn’t even feel her body senses tingling properly. Her eyesight blurred as she blinked repeatedly to even be able to see clearly, seeing nothing but a cloud blocking her own eyes.

Working on her résumé manuscript for nearly thirteen hours yesterday had really exhausted and tired her out; it really did feel different to be able to feel your own fingers and having clear eyesight after all that typing and editing.

She yawns as she sits up on her bed, throwing her thick woolen blanket over her body and standing up to start her day on a horrible start. Her fuzzy pink slippers are on her feet to keep her warm and comfortable, making her mood desirable enough for the rest of day.

            “Hey Yoona – If you think I can forgive you for what you did at that restaurant when I was with Jessica-“Her older brother Yoochun slammed her door open angrily, his temper fuming and his tone unpleasant.  He crossed his arms and stood by the doorway sternly, impatient for an answer.

It had been four days since Yoona had caught him and Jessica going out for dinner at this fancy restaurant recommended to them by Donghae and Eunhyuk, and had now spread the rumour that the two are official together and that they’re dating.

She had always been the better liar out of the two, making everyone believe every word she said at first thought. On the contrary, Yoochun’s rambling and reasoning never seemed trustworthy or believable enough, which may even make it seem as if the truth he actually talks about just seem like lies.

Yoona knew he was angry at her and wanted her to apologize, yet she couldn’t hold in her laughter as he was still in his nightwear clothes. Wearing his worn-out gray Batman shirt and a pair of blue and white checkered pajamas, it was too obvious that he just got out of bed and had been only able to brush his teeth right in the morning.

            “You just don’t want to admit that you are going out with Jessica-unnie, oppa. I’m sure mother wouldn’t mind.” She laughs, making her way past him and through the door.

            “Mother wouldn’t mind? Yoona, she would kill me if she finds out that I’ve been lying to her the whole time!” He whines, still finding it frustrating that she was unable to understand the point he was trying to tell.

Still unsatisfied with the empty reply she gave him, Yoochun tiredly followed her down the stairs and past the living room to the kitchen to join their parents for breakfast.

Their father had been busy making breakfast, and chopping up fruits and bread for his children to make, still humming cheerfully as his back was turned against them.

On the other hand, their mother was sitting comfortably on their orange plush couch, reading today’s newspaper with her circle framed glasses and wrapped up in several layers of fur blankets.

            “Good morning mother. Good morning father.” The two siblings greeted their parents in unison, causing their parents to look up to their children.

Their mother excitedly set aside her newspaper and approached her children warmly, placing a warm kiss on both of their cheeks, much to their disgust. Yoochun did not hesitate to wipe it off with the back of his hand.

            “Omo, my babies are growing up so quickly. Aren’t the two of you cold? Both of you are too underdressed for the weather.” Tears formed in her eyes as she emotionally looked at her children, feeling both proud and sentimental that her children have seemed to have grown up so fast.

Yoona did feel cold. A thin wool sweater, a plain red t-shirt, and a pair of pajamas were insufficient to be able to survive the freezing negative weather outside, yet she had no urge to confess that to her mother.

            “We’re not that cold, mother. The heater has been blasting on since last Monday anyway.” She replies, sneaking her hands into the pile of newly cut fruits in attempt to not having her father notice.

Fruits were off season since July, which was pretty early since prices had to rise dramatically as the weathers have been dropping like hot cakes in the streets. She could admit, hands down, that her father chopped up fruits in the most majestic and aesthetically attractive way possible, and did better than the entire family combined.

          “Get your hands off my fruits, young woman. I’m not having you ruining these fruits with your filthy hands.” Her father threatened her jokingly, not meaning anything hostile but still having great concern over his fruits.

Others would often say Yoona was a daddy’s girl, while Yoochun was a momma’s boy – it was somewhat true. Their mother would be the first person Yoochun would come up to if he was ever feeling down or simply out of it, and he would never hesitate to shed a tear in front of his own mother.

 Yoona took after her father more than her mother she could bluntly admit, inheriting the more boisterous and extrovert personality from him. She even smiled and laughed like her father, the same way her eyes crunched or the corners of her lips elevated were just like her father’s.

Yoochun definitely looked just like the male version of their mother, with the same eyes, the same high cheekbones, the same plump limps, the same nose structure, and possibly even the same body build. Except, he did give off the same handsome and charming aura their father had.

Both siblings however could agree that their bad humour did both come from their paternal grandmother. No discussions needed.

She scornfully washed her hands against the warm water of the sink, using at least three squirts of liquid soap from the bottle and graced her hands under the sink for the water to sprinkle out from her fingertips to her palms.

            “Fine – I washed my hands already dad. Would I please be able to have a slice of that delicious and juicy slice of fruits that you have so gorgeously chopped?” Yoona tried for the second time, hoping that she would be able to actually have some fruits this time.

Her father laughed gallantly, messing up both Yoochun and Yoona’s hair out of the delight he had for his children.

            “Of course you can, silly darling! All of you take a seat and eat your breakfast before they freeze like ice just like outside.”  He took a seat for himself next to his wife, and enthusiastically looked out into the window as he pulled the blinds open for them to see the forming frost on the glass.

It was at that exact moment that Yoona remembered that her dad did have this weird obsession and excitement for the overwhelming amount of snow that South Korea has been receiving recently.

He had been a tad bit too hysterical and passionate with the cold weather, starting to knit snowmen and reindeer patters on scarves the entire family never knew he could be ever close to knit so perfectly. Reindeers, snowmen, Santa Claus, Christmas Trees, snow globes – those so badly patterned yet intricately knitted scarves haunted her in her sleep.

The four sat down on their arranged seats and quietly gathered for a silent exchange of prayer and thanksgiving for the food that they have received for the meal.

            “So have you finished your manuscript already, my dear?” Their mother asked lightly as she leaned forward to claim a few side dishes to complement her main meal for the day.

Yoona shook her head as she was still busy chewing on her chilli covered kimchi, and gulped directly from her maroon “#1 World’s Biggest Bad-” mug that Yoochun got for her when he spent a couple of years in the States.

The pressure did suddenly rush up to her, the constant reminders of “How is your manuscript doing?” “Have you found an agent yet?” “Has the publishing company picked up any of your work yet?” did start to stress her out and annoy her to the point her head felt like exploding.

            “I’m nearly finished with the manuscript, mom! I’m six hundred thousand fifty four and two hundred twenty eight words in.” She energetically blurted out, proud of her own accomplishments as she started to clear up the food in the bowl.

Yoochun choked on the piece of seedless strawberries that he was currently munching on, needing their mother to violently pat him on the back and hand a glass of cold water at him.

            “Get to seven hundred thousand and the editor that edits that work will die of exhaustion. What’s made your story so long drawn in one book, Yoona? You could split it up into two books to make the flow a lot more natural- and you’ll make more money from it as well.” Their father suggested.

            “Money’s all we end up talking about in this household, anyway.” Yoochun retorted, ignoring an icy glare from his mother.

Yoona did think that may have possibly been a better idea, yet she just rubbed her eyes and yawned as she refilled her mug with hot chocolate and sprinkled marshmallows on top, as they melted nearly immediately.

The novel that she had been writing was of the romance drama genre, as she had hoped for it to be on a grand, epic scale in which the love story would stretch nearly a decade.  Set in the modern times in their own Seoul, South Korea, it elaborates on the complicated and intertwined romance of Yoon Kaerin and Lee Seungwoon.

A lot of thought and consideration was placed before Yoona even decided to stick to the field of freelance writing and writing novels yet eventually she realized that creating the perfect novel would change her life forever.

Every girl’s fantasy was to find the perfect man that she would spend her entire lifetime with, and Yoona couldn’t help but fall to that dream as well. Even as a little girl at six years of age, she couldn’t help but squeal every time she watched a children’s movie in which the prince and the princess kissed for a happily ever after.

She, however, wanted to make it real. Yoona believed that these jubilant and unrealistically stretched romances were too good to be true, and realism was the element that really kept readers interested. Realism was what she thought was crucial to be in a story, with average, everyday experiencing their own problems and challenges as they struggle to find romance in this world.

Finding romance in this world was truly difficult, especially with trying to find a stable career, finishing up her college degree and overcoming the pressures of outside influences in the way. Yoona wanted to incorporate that into her story; she wanted everyone who read the romance between the two to relate it to their own, busy lives.

It wasn’t all about the money, the fame, the black credit cards, the connections, the wealth, and the media attention that she was chasing for – yet for the art of writing itself. Why would she even stay up all night and weep in her sleep thinking about how to end the story and make it even better, if she just wanted to be an influential media figure? She would have chosen to been an actress if that was all that she was vouching for.

The epic, dwindling romance of Yoon Kaerin and Lee Seungwoon starts from their own parents. Yoon Kaerin’s mother, who goes by the name of Nami, had always grown up around Seungwoon’s father, Eunhae. It started from there.

Seungwoon’s father was an orphan who lived below poverty, while Kaerin’s mother was the wealthy Company Director’s daughter. The two should have never crossed each other’s paths, yet fate prevailed and ruled instead.

Eunhae secretly loved her- even when they were children- Even when he watched her fall in love with his own best friend, Sehun and be torn painfully from all of them. He still loved her even when they all thought that she was dead; He still did even when he rose to become a prosperous and affluent engineer.

She came back into their lives, not as Nami but as Catherine – a world renowned fashion designer who had a law degree under her belt and was a professional lawyer on the side. Gone were the traces of her happy-go-lucky ways and cheerful disposition; she was now a distant, aloof woman who kept her ground and professionalism on point.

He knew it was his chance, his time to prove that he actually loved her now that Sehun had been adopted by a doctor’s family, and that he was out of the picture. Just as he thought it would be a perfect opportunity for them to get together- Sehun returned out of nowhere.

As he expected, the two got together, and married one another ever after thousands of struggles and conflicts. They had a son, the optimistic and cheerful little Chanyeol who was Eunhae’s own godson. Things went well – until a tragic shipwreck tore the two apart.

With the knowledge that her husband and son were dead, Nami raised their daughter Kaerin all by herself in America. Never did they know that Kaerin and Eunhae’s own son Seungwoon would cross paths and meet one another like their parents. Would their romance end tragically like their parents? Or would they end up happily with each other instead?

That was the romance Yoona had written; her majestic and greatest masterpiece she called it. Tears of joy formed in her eyes as she wrote down the last sentence. “She waited for him in heaven, until he came and they loved one another in a loving yet eternal embrace.”

            “I’m finished –Oppa – I’m finished! “ Yoona’s loud shrieking and screaming alarmed the entire household from their quiet and peaceful naps. Her excitement could not clearly be held down as she felt too excited at the moment.

Yoochun got up, the ringing of her voice still in his ears as he sat up from his bed and took out his eye mask from his face.

            “What is it now, Yoona?” He replied nonchalantly, obviously displeased with the way his nap has been disrupted. Ever since the month had started, sleep had run short for him as work had started to elongate to longer hours and the bitterness of the cold had taken the better of him.

She slammed her finger on to the save button of her Microsoft Word document, clearly proud and accomplished of herself that she had been able to finish her most-awaited novel – in all of its 779,213 words in full glory.

            “The novel is finished and I’m about to become South Korea’s top selling author in no time!” She climbed up her bed and jumped up and down on it like when she jumped on it as a five year old child.

Her parents couldn't help but smile in joy to see their daughter celebrating such joyful bliss. They watched by the doorway as she had started to print her most valued manuscript. 

Great things were coming up for her, and she knew. She clearly knew. Would the luck and great things she has in life be the same way in romance? 

....