Key loves the country side. Green meadows, big trees, cool breeze and fresh air… Aaaah life… However that wasn’t exactly the case one year ago. In fact he hates every inch of it. It reminds him of dirt, mud,smelly animals and filthy farm.

He came to this town by accident. His car broke down and he needed a place to stay. A kind family offered him shelter and that was the start of his love story.

“What’s your name?” They asked him that rainy night when he knocked on their door asking for help. He was in his worst state. No, he wasn’t dying or anything like that. His shoes that used to be white were now filled with mud. He loved those shoes and he felt really bad seeing them in their current state. His blonde hair is a mess and he was soaking wet after walking for hours under the rain. That was the exact thing he hated the most… having to look his worst. Not to mention he was shivering from the cold and he had nothing besides a car key and a few money in his pockets.He knew the money will be useful somehow. But the car keys proved to be useless without his car which he left on the road a few kilometers away. Yes, he had to walk a long distance before he saw a town. He had never been as exhausted in his life as he was that night.

“I’m Kim Kibum,” he said introducing himself. “Although most people call me by a different name,” he added belatedly realizing it wasn’t necessary.

The man let him in, thankfully. The first thing he noticed was the fireplace that was burning with heat as if telling him, come here and I’ll make you feel warm. The man introduced himself but he wasn’t paying attention because he was feeling nauseous and the world seems to be spinning right before his eyes. The man let him sit on a chair and a woman, probably his wife, offered him a towel and some clean set of clothes that he could change into. The clothes didn’t meet his taste but that was the only thing he had at the moment.

After washing himself up and changing, the woman led himto an empty room. “You could rest here for tonight.” She said to him with a kind smile.

“Thank you.” He settled himself on the bed, closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep. He didn’t know what he should be doing next but he decided to set the thoughts aside. Sleep first, plan later. However, sleeping proved to be difficult.The hard wood where he lay seemed to be adding more stress to his already exhausted back. But fatigue finally ruled over and in a few hours he was asleep.

He woke up early the next day. Well, at least early in Key’s own definition. It was 11 in the morning and the town’s people were already having their lunch. If it was a normal day he would still be on his bed until about 2 in the afternoon. But he wasn’t on his bed and he wasn’t even in his own house. The moment he opened his eyes and saw the unfamiliar surroundings, he groaned in frustration.

He forced himself to rise up. It wasn’t so hard because even his back,which seemed to be complaining after being forced to sleep on a hard wood,was grateful that he finally decided to get out of bed.

His stomach growled after being deprived of food for a long time. So the first thing he did is to look for something to eat. His feet brought him to the kitchen where he found a girl cooking something which appearedto be so appetizing just from the smell of it.

The girl whirled around probably to get more ingredients but when she saw him she screamed.

“Yah! Don’t scream. You’ll wake the dead.” He was starting to hate the girl. He doesn’t look that scary for her to scream like that, now does he? He’s not wearing his usual type of clothes and he’s probably in his worst state not to mention starving but he was sure as hell didn’t look that bad.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Call me Kibum.” He said introducing himself. The man and the woman who helped him the other night came barging in the room after hearing her ear-piercing scream.

“Sorry Mina. We forgot to tell you that we have a guest.” The woman explained to the girl.“By the way, this is Kibum.His car broke down and he needed a place to stay.”

Then she turned to him and said, “Kibum-ah, this is our daughter, Mina.”

He offered his hand for a handshake which she took with a bit of hesitation. And that was the start of Mina and Key’s love-hate relationship.

Key had to stay for a couple of days because the phone lines weren’t working and he still didn’t know how to contact anybody from Seoul and the only way to the city is through a bus which only leaves the town every other week.

“How did you end up here anyway?” Mina asked Key once.

“End up where? In this god-forsaken town of yours?” She pretended she didn’t hear that insult and just continued to feed the chickens. Key, who was supposed to be helping, was just standing stupidly without doing anything. “I went to visit my grandma but my car broke down on my way back to Seoul,” he explained. He covered his nose with the palm of his hand because he just couldn’t handle the smell of chickens, and all the animals in their farm on that matter.

She gave him a look of disgust. She hates having to deal with someone who is basically not fit to be in a farm. Kim Kibum exactly fits that description. God, he was so annoying that she wished the day will finally come when he would finally leave and go back to his beloved city where chickens and pigs doesn’t wander around and could only be seen on someone’s dinner table.

And because he annoys her so much she just had to do something really mean. She grabbed some mud, formed it into a ball and threw it straight into Key who wasn't fast enough to move his head out of the way. Themud hit the left side of his face.

“How dare you ruin Kim Kibum's pretty face? You're gonna pay for it!” he exclaimed. She ran as fast as she could while Key who wasn't used to running around a muddy farm tripped and fell face first on the ground. That day just became one of the worst days of his life.

Kibum pretty much knew he was useless. “I don’t know how to chop wood,” he complained when she asked him to chop some wood.

“You don’t know how to chop wood and you don’t know how to feed chickens. Isthere anything you know how to do?” she asked.

“Dancing and singing,” he replied. She rolled her eyes which earned another bellow from Key. “What?!I’m telling the truth. I’m pretty good at those.”

“Yeah whatever. Itwouldn’t be much of a help around here.”

“I do know how to cook,” he explained.

"Now, really?"She gave him a look that says, I’m not buying it.

"I’m not that good but I pretty much know how to do it," he explained.

And so Key decided to help with the cooking. But apparently cooking in a city is totally different from cooking in the countryside. He wasn’t even sure if they know what a rice cooker much more heard of it. Nevertheless he still managed to cook something worthy to be called food and Mina somehow changed her impression of him. He wasn’t completely useless after all.

For Key, being in a place where people don’t know who he is, feels amazing. It’s like having a short break from his celebrity life. Mina didn’tknow who he really is so he decided to give her some idea. “I’m part of a group called SHINee,” he explained.

She wasn't able to hide the snort that came out of .

“Yah! Whyare you laughing?" he demanded.

“The name sounds stupid.” Key realized she was disappointingly honest.

“No, it doesn’t. It’s cool,” he said determined to change her impression of their group.

“What does it even mean?”

“Well it means someone receiving bitnari/shine. You know how the words employee and employer works right? It’s basically the same thing.”

“That's deep.”

“See? It's cool right? Admit it.” She just laughed and to his dismay she didn’t say anything.

The parting ways and saying goodbye happened sooner than they both expected.A few days ago, that moment couldn’t seem to come soon enough but now that it did, he no longer wanted to leave. But he knew he doesn’t belong there. He belongs somewhere else and so he had to go back.

He said his final goodbye and thank you to the family who gave him kindness. He couldn’t promise anything and so she didn’t expect one. But the sadness was apparent in both of their faces. The friendship already grew too much within those few days that they spent together. No, it was even more than friendship. They both knew it was deeper than that.

He couldn’t stay and she couldn’t leave. Both of them are meant to be in two different places. And so the parting ways happened eventually. No one could have done anything to stop it.

However exactly a year later he went back. He wanted to say the words he didn’t get to say a year ago.

He found her at the backyard looking pretty as usual. "Hello. Mycar broke down and I needed a place to stay. Doyou know a place where I can stay for the night?” he asked.

She whirled around after hearing the sound of his voice. She was gaping at him and without a word she just stared. One, because he was just too gorgeous that he left her speechless and two, she just have no idea what to say.

"Have you gone mute after missing me for a year?" he . Oh how she missed those kinds of talks they had. His teases that always infuriate her but she loves nevertheless, that cheekbone explosion that happens every time he smiles… she just missed all of it.

She was happy to know that he hadn’t changed a bit. And because she was tongue-tied from the shock and she knew she will be incapable of speaking for the next few seconds, she decided instead to do something she’s very good at: being mean. She grabbedsome mud and formed it into a ball. This time he expected it. Shethrew the mud ball at him but key was fast enough to dodge it.

"Yah! Kim Kibum! Don’t ever make me go through that again," she yelled. Hot tears were threatening to fall from her eyes.She may have looked furious but Key knew better.

A smile crept up his face. She really do have a bad temper but that’s exactly why he was attracted to her in the first place. She has a very cute personality which matches his own. Although her eyes shines with rage, Key could see something else in them. He understood because he also feels the same way.

He was suddenly reminded of the sad times and how silly he might have looked back then. Those times when he would stare into space while thinking about her and wondering how she’s doing… the nights when he would dream about spending time with her and just to wake up disappointed after realizing it was all just a dream.But now it feels as if it happened a really long time ago and that they no longer matter anymore.

Mina still has a lot of things she wanted to say but she couldn’t because she already started crying. The tears went pouring down like rain and she knew that Key will probably for being so silly and crying over something so petty. But she just couldn’t stop. She missed him so much and so he might as well know it."I missed you. Don’t leave again," she told him in between sobs.

Hecrossed the distance between them and pulled her into a tight hug. She cried on his chest without realizing the mess her muddy hands are making on his clothes. He didn’t mind though.

"I’m not going anywhere without you again,” he said.“But only if you promise not to hit me with mud balls again." He felt her nod her head and he smiled. "And oh, I missed you too by the way."

“I love you,” she said. Her voice was muffled by the sound of her own heartbeat but Key heard it clearly.

“I love you too,” he said before claiming his lips for a kiss.

For Key, the countryside no longer reminds him of dirt, mud, smelly animals and filthy farm. The countryside now reminds him of his first love which he will definitely treasure for the rest of his life.