Dear, Yonghwa-oppa

It’s been quite some time, hasn’t it? I haven’t gotten the chance to talk to you in a while, things have been pretty busy over here in Korea. I didn’t know you had left, I just thought you were ignoring me. That made me sad, oppa~. Well, I heard from Jonghyun that you and Minhyuk are in America teaching. I’m so proud of you Yongie! You’ve achieved your dreams! I hope you don’t forget about us little people. Especially not your favorite goguma lover. That’s me in case you forgot. Well, I really miss you, and I hope you get this letter. I thought it would be nicer if I wrote down my feelings. You should come to Korea and visit sometimes. Everyone misses you, and Siwon wants to have a guys night out, with you there. But always remember that I miss you the most!

Annyeong, oppa~.

Yonghwa smiled.

Even at 26 years old, the young girl always had a way of seeming innocent.

He folded the letter and placed it back in his pocket after the third time of reading it.

There was one line that repeatedly kept implanting itself in his brain.

You should come to Korea and visit sometimes

He laid back in the couch in the lobby, the rain from the previous day leaving a slight humidity outside, as the sun shone through the windows and illuminated everything in the lobby.

He sighed contently, feeling her signature scent emanate from the envelope on his lap.

How was it that he could feel her warmth from thousands of miles away?

And how was it, that no matter how hard he tried convincing himself, he knew he could never be as happy for her as he wanted to be.

He wanted to be the good friend.

The one that stuck around forever.

The one that was always there, when everyone else wasn’t.

How was it supposed to be when he was pretty much telling her, Please. Be happy. Carry on without me and break my heart even after 3 years. Please do.

But, deep within him, he felt that spark.

The spark that told him that no matter how much it hurt, that he would always be there for her.

That no matter how often it hurt to think about how happy she was, while he was over here teaching hormonal college students about music and his best friend was an aging Korean woman and her cat, that he would always be there for her.

He would even hurt for her.

A rustle and a manly cough caused him to turn and see his landlady half awake and scurrying down the hall.
“Morning Ms. Yang!”

“Aish, shut up boy, it’s too early for conversation.” Ms. Yang grumbled, although Yonghwa merely chuckled.

Ms. Yang made her way over to him and handed him an apple, some coffee, and a plate of toast. He made space for her on the couch and she sat with a breakfast similar to his..

They sat next to each other and ate in silence, the occasional cars driving by and the pitter patter of Fluffy’s feet across the floor made up for conversation.

“You know, if someone were to walk in right now, they would think we were two homeless people hitching some shelter in an empty apartment building.”

Ms. Yang chuckled, ”Oh please. This apartment is far too small for anyone to give a damn about our presence. You’re lucky they’re only 3 other tenants.”

Yonghwa chuckled as she ruffled his messy chestnut hair; inadvertently making it messier.

“So, did you read the letter from that Ju Hyun girl?”

“Yes.”

“Care to tell me about her?” Ms. Yang asked in a way that told you that it wasn’t a question; it was a demand.

Yonghwa glanced down, ruffling his hair even more as he tried to think of the least complicated thing he could say.

“She’s a friend.”
Ha. What a load of bull.

It seems Ms. Yang had suddenly developed ESP for she seemed to call him out on his bluff.

“Honey. No one’s face looks THAT heartbroken when they’re talking about a simple “friend””

Yonghwa looked up, and saw a look he had never seen in Ms. Yang’s eyes before.

Yes, she was sarcastic (for a 60 year old woman)

Yes, she could be rude (again, for a 60 year old woman)

But he’d never seen her look as down and…..well, sad as she did now.

He then realized she wasn’t just speaking about him.

She seemed to realize what he was thinking, because she then said, ”I’ve seen a lot in my years, boy. Don’t even try and lie your way out of this one. You love her don’t you.”

Did he?

Yes.

Did he want to?

He didn’t know the answer to that.

 “You’ll never know, if you never speak to her sweetheart.”

Here she rested a wrinkled hand on his left one that clutched the apple’s core

The feeling he got from her was one completely different than a friend comforting a friend, or a mother pep-talking her son.

It was another one of those ineffable moments.

One of those moments that he was eternally grateful for.

“Noona.” It was one of the rare moments where he spoke in Korean, because his perfectionist attitude led to him typically working on his English 24/7,”Have you fallen in-“

“I had my chance and I blew it. Now, I own an apartment complex in New York and I’m best friends with a cat and a young man half my age. I may not have had the fairytale ending I wanted, but I’m content. I can honestly say that I’m happy. But the question is, are you?”

Yonghwa tapped his fingers in an uneven rhythm on the base of his left thigh, waving to one of the tenants that scurried along through the corridor and out into the Manhattan street; her art supplies slapping her body with every stride she took.

They sat in silence for a while, Ms. Yang not initiating any conversation, for she seemed to know what was going through his head.

After a few minutes of silence, he looked up at her.

He looked up at her with the same eyes of the 24 year old boy that appeared on her rainy doorstep almost three years ago asking if he could spend the night.

“I guess I’m going to Korea.”

A/N

Just saying that

Yonghwa's not going to like, suffer for long

I'm not a sadist lolz

KBai