"Come on, just a bit further!"  No Minwoo shouted, stopping in the middle of the woods to wait for his friend.

"Wait, Minwoo! I'm getting tired. Where are you taking me?"  replied Lee Yoomi, struggling to keep up with him.

"You'll see. I found it yesterday. You'll like it, I know you will," he vowed as he gave her a small smile.

Running towards Minwoo, Yoomi heard the crunch of autumn leaves resonate throughout the forest. The horizon was painted a rosy pink as dusk began to fall. Looking around at her surroundings in wonder, the woods seemed enormous to Yoomi. It was a time when the scariest thing in the world was the monster under your bed, when the thing that hurt the most was getting a scrape on your knee and when love was only something that existed in fairytales. Back then, the world was the city in which you lived in and anything past that seemed foreign. Minwoo took Yoomi's hand and tugged it lightly. "Over here."

Sure enough, when he led her to his newfound spot, Minwoo heard her gasp in surprsise. "Minwoo...how did you find this? It's so cool!"

A large tree house, nestled between two trees, loomed over the two children. Tree branches poked through the windows as dead leaves decorated the floor. Leading up to the entrance was a wooden ladder. Although faded, the words 'Secret Hideout' in red marker could be made out on the outside wall of the tree house. Yoomi approached the ladder and began to climb it, followed by Minwoo. Sitting near the entrance of the treehouse, the pair dangled their feet off the side, kicking back and forth as they looked around the tranquil forest. "Do you love it?"

Yoomi nodded. "It's awesome." Minwoo grinned to himself as he glanced at her face. It was filled with genuine happiness. Feeling elated, he not-so-subtly puffed out his chest. The sun was going down now and the last rays of sunshine were peeking through the trees. Summing up all of his courage, Minwoo took a deep breath. Quietly, he asked, "Do you know what else I love?"

Yoomi looked at him with innocent eyes. "What?"

"You." He broke eye contact and becan to scan the forest floor. Suddenly, the woods seemed a little too quiet. Why did he tell her that? She probably thought he was the biggest loser in the world. Minwoo felt his face begin to turn pink and slightly turned away to prevent her from seeing his embarrassment. Her response, however, caused all trace of worry to disappear. "I love you too."

Minwoo's heart beat faster. "Do you really? Promise you won't leave me?"

"Promise."

-

TEN YEARS LATER

-

Raking the last of the leaves into a giant pile, Minwoo wiped the sweat from his brow and plopped on the ground. He had forgotten that the earth was wet, due to the sprinklers malfunctioning a few minutes ago, and jumped back up as quickly as he sat down. Great, now there was a huge wet stain on the back of his jeans. It looked like he had an accident or something. Without thinking, he kicked the pile of leaves that he had just raked, causing them to scatter everywhere again. What was wrong with him today?

All of his thoughts were put aside, however, when he saw Yoomi exiting her house. She had been his next-door-neighbor since they were children. Her parents had decided to let her study abroad in New Zealand for her first year of high school, so this year, he was extremely excited to go to the same school with her once again. Yoomi looked as beautiful as ever. Her silky hair shone in the Seoul sunlight and her sweaterdress hugged her body gently. Tan boots covered her feet and she clutched a tiny purse. Was this what she wore to meet up with friends nowadays? She waved slightly to him. "Hey, Minwoo."

Crossing the street to join her, he smiled at her slightly. "Yoomi, you look nice today."

She smiled and rolled her eyes. Tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear, she replied, "Ehh, not really. This dress makes me look fat, but it was the only nice thing I had that still fit me." 

Minwoo chuckled slightly. How could she say that about herself? She was perfect. From her head all the way down to her toes, there wasn't a single aspect about her that was flawed. He caught himself staring at her lovely eyelashes before coming up with a response. "You're not fat! If you're fat, I'm a planet. Your belly's cute," Minwoo told her, poking her stomach.

Yoomi let out a squeal. "Stop! You know I'm ticklish, meanie. And, hey, what happened to your jeans? Did Minwoo have an accident?"

Crap, she saw that. Sitting down on her porch steps, he told her the truth. "I was raking leaves and sat down, okay? Stupid ground. How was I supposed to know it would be wet?"

Her tinkling laughter resounded as she cooed, "Aw, how cute." Then, she proceeded to fix her hair and check her makeup in the compact mirror that she carried. Strange, she usually wasn't this fussy about her looks. "What's up with you today? It's not like you have a date or anything, right?"

Yoomi looked at him, genuinely surprised. "Actually, I do! How'd you know?"

"I...didn't."

Minwoo's heart stopped cold. Yoomi...had...a date? With who? How come it was his first time knowing about this? Weren't they best friends? Wasn't she supposed to tell him every aspect of her life? A million feelings were rushing through him right now, but the one that stood out the most was betrayal. Keep yourself together, Minwoo, he told himself. "With who?"

"Shim Hyunseong, from third year. He...he's something else, Minwoo. He's cute and smart, too. Did you know that he tutored me in math because I had trouble with it? That's how we met and-- are you okay?" Yoomi looked at him with a worried face. "You look kind of sick."

Minwoo didn't even notice that his face began to pale. But Shim Hyunseong? Sure, he was one of the smartest guys in school and a very talented sunbae at that, but did he have to steal his girl? Yoomi was Minwoo's. He's had her for ten years now. How could she let him go for Hyunseong just like that? His heart was tearing itself to pieces.

"But...don't you remember? You promised you wouldn't leave me!" Minwoo couldn't stop himself from blurting out the words. It was like word vomit. An uncomfortable silence settled between the two of them. Yoomi stood there in her realization, Minwoo in his hurt and confusion. Finally, Yoomi spoke up. "Minwoo...we were kids back then. I didn't know you held onto those words, even until today..."

"Well, I did. How was I supposed to know you were going to lie to me?" he mumbled, trying to fight tears.

Both of their thoughts were interrupted when a horn sounded. Hyunseong had pulled up to her driveway in his sleek, silver Mazda Miata. He was wearing those douchebag sunglasses and had the top down. It took all of Minwoo's self control not to glare at him. Yoomi looked at Minwoo one more time. "I'm sorry, Minwoo. I really am."

But she wasn't sorry, he thought. She walked away from him and into Hyunseong's car. In a matter of seconds, they drove away, leaving Minwoo to wallow in misery on her front steps. "Don't leave me...don't leave me..." he kept mumbling to himself as he stared at the place where she once stood. Traitor tears began to trickle down his face. Maybe...maybe this was a joke. She was just joking with him, right? There's no way she would leave him. She was going to come back any second now and explain that it was all a joke. He wasn't going to let her go just like that. As he continued to stare at the spot, he kept whispering the same thing again and again.

"Tell me it was all a joke...please..."

---

It's finally finished! I'm sorry for making a super lame ending; I just wanted it to fit with the song, y'know? Happy New Years and I really hope you guys had a good 2011! 2012 is going to bring more happiness and stories, I hope. So, please leave some love (: I hope you enjoyed!