A 15 year old girl sighed as she stared out the window of the plane as she listened to her music, watching the clouds go by. She looked beside her when she felt someone tap her shoulder and saw her mother. She took off her headphones and turned all the way to look at her mother. “Nicole, I know you don’t want to move and leave your friends.”

“What friends, mom? Everyone there were backstabbing, abusive jerks.”

“What about Andrew?” Your mother asked, making you scoff.

“Andrew? He was the worst one there. He pretends to be nice and caring to the new kids, I’m sorry, to the new girls, but when he doesn’t get what he wants he’ll kick your . Excuse my French.” You apologized for cussing.

“Then why did you want to stay?”

“I didn’t. I just didn’t want to move to a whole new country. That’s all.”

“I’m sorry, sweetie but my job…”

“I know, mom. You found a better job and this is where your family is. Plus after dad passed a lot of problems arose. I know. I’ll get used to it. Don’t worry, Omma.” You mother looked at you and you smiled. Your father passed away 3 months ago and since then your mother has been trying to keep you two afloat but with the bills pilling up it was hard. Then your aunt offered for you two to live with her until you two can get back on your feet. So here you are moving to your mother’s hometown, Seoul, South Korea.

************************************

A week later, you were walking around and saw a park which you decided to go check it out. When you got close you smiled at the little kids and their parents. Your smiled faltered when you saw a young girl sitting on a bench at the other side of the park and it looked like she was crying. Being the caring and sensitive girl who hates seeing people cry, you walked up to her. When you got close enough you could hear her cries and stopped in front of the girl. She looked up and you handed her a tissue you always had with you. “Thank you.” She said. And when she spoke you knew she had been crying for a long time.

“Why is young girl like you crying?”

“It’s nothing.”

“It might help if you talk about it?”

“It’s just that my parents were in car accident and my father passed away and my mother is in critical condition. And my brother ran off somewhere and I can’t find him.” She said as she started to cry again. You sat beside her and tried your best to comfort her.

“Shh. I know how that feels. I lost my father 3 months ago so I know what you feel right now. Only I had my mother and no one else but your mother is still alive and she needs you to be strong right now along with your brother and you need your brother as much as he needs you. He’s all you can turn to right now. So you need to find him but you cant if you’re like this. Come on. Stop crying so you can find him and when you do let him know how much you need him. Okay?” You softly spoke. You felt her lift her head up and looked at you.

“Really?”

“Yes. But I lied about one part.”

“What was that?”

“Your brother is not the only you have.” You softly smiled when she looked at you confused. “I’m here, as well.” You smile widened when she started to smile as well. You dried her eyes and smiled. “There, much better. You’re too pretty to be crying like that.”

“Thank you so much. I’m Kim Hyorin.”

“I’m Gong Hyemi but everyone calls me Nicole.”

“How old are you, Nicole?”

“I’m 15. You?”

“I’m 12.”

“Well, Hyorin, I’m sure your family is getting worried about you. Why don’t you go back to your mom or go home and wait for your brother. And if you ever need anything I’ll be here every day, at the same time. Okay?” Hyorin smiled and nodded before standing.

“Thank you, Unnie.”

“No problem. Go let your family know you’re okay, alright?” You saw Hyorin look around before looking back at you.

“Um, do you think you can walk me back home?” She asked shyly. You stood and nodded before following her to her house. “Thanks, again, Unnie. You were a really big help.”

“No problem. Just remember be strong for your mother and let your brother know your there for him if he needs it and make sure he’s there for you, too.” You then looked at the time. “I should get going my mom’s waiting for me.” You waved bye and left, leaving the house. Since then you two have been meeting every day and one day Hyorin came running up to you with a huge smile. She jumped and hugged you. When she pulled back, you both laughed. “What made you so happy?” You asked though you already had an idea what it was but you noticed she really wanted to tell you.

“My mom is getting discharged tomorrow and she really wants to meet you, and so does Oppa.”

“I would love to meet them but I think you guys need time to be a family again. But I will meet them soon.” With that Hyorin smiled and you two talked about the upcoming school year. You found out her brother went to your new school but that was about it. Soon it got late and you walked her home like you always did and then headed home yourself.

************************************

Today is the first day at a new school. As you stood in front of the gates to the school, you sighed and wished Hyorin were going to the school as well, so you would know at least one person. You sighed again. “You can do it, Nicole. Hwaiting.” You nodded and took a step forward but someone came running up behind and bumped into you, making you fall forward and dropped all your books.

“. I’m so sorry.” You heard them say as they helped you pick up your things.

“It’s fine.” You said before looking up, seeing a very handsome boy holding out his hand to you. You took it and he helped you stand before handing you your stuff. “Thanks.” You said as you stared at him. He smiled at you.

“It was the least I could do for making you drop them. By the way, I’m Kim Jonghyo, but everyone calls me J-Hyo.”

“Hi. I’m Gong Hyemi, but I go by Nicole.”

“Oh, you’re the new kid, right?”

“Yeah. How’d you…?”

“I’m the Kingka and the class president. So I know who the new kids are and I’m supposed to show them around.”

“Oh, well that explains all the glaring girls.” You said. J-Hyo looked around and you saw all the girls look away.

“Don’t worry about them. If they give you any problem, let me know, Okay?” You smiled and nodded. “Okay, first things first, let’s go get your schedule and other papers.” You nodded and followed J-Hyo to the office and then he showed you to your first class and then walked you to all your classes. The last class before lunch, you met a very pretty girl, named Hwang Jiyeon. She was a very sweet girl who was a few months younger then you. When lunch came, you saw J-Hyo waiting for you. He smiled when he saw you with Jiyeon.

“Go hang with the boys. I got her from here on since we have the same classes later.”

“Alright. See you later girls. Take care, Nicole.” J-Hyo smiled at you and your cheeks became red. And Jiyeon teased you about liking him though you denied it the whole time. At lunch you met Jiyeon’s friends. A senior, Kang Sohyun, and a junior, Lee Joohee. Both were very pretty girls who wore glasses. You even learned about the Kingka group, LC9. A six member group whose leader already graduated and the two youngest members were still in junior high. You learned a lot about everyone at that school. Who was mean and who was nice.

************************************

It has been a month since school started and you were very happy with your new friends. Your mother was so happy when you introduced them to her since you had a project and they were helping you so you took them to your house. You were still meeting Hyorin at the park and she finally convinced you to meet her family. So here you are standing in front of her house, really nervous. “It’s okay, Unnie. My family is very nice.” She took a step toward her house before turning around to face you. “Oh, and I forgot to tell you my brother’s friends and they’re girlfriends are here as well. They are very nice and Oppa promised they would leave if you ever felt uncomfortable.” She added quickly. You smiled and nodded before you entered the house. “Umma. Oppas. Unnies.” You heard footsteps come closer and a middle aged woman walked out from a room and smiled at you.

“Omo. You’re so pretty.”

“Nicole, this is my mother, Kim Hyoyoung.” You bowed to her and introduced yourself, before Hyorin and her mother took you to the living room. Mrs. Kim excuses herself and left for the kitchen where she was cooking dinner. You looked in the living room and saw 10 people watching TV. “Oppas. Unnies.” Hyorin called their attention and they turned around. Your eyes widened when you saw them.

“Nicole.” The girls yelled and hugged you. “So you’re Hyorin’s mysterious friend.”

“You know them already?”

“Yeah. I met them on the first day of school and we became friends since then.” You smiled at the girls and bowed toward the boys when they came up to you. You saw the actions between the girls and some of the boys. “You didn’t tell me you were dating the Kingkas.”

“Yeah well. You’ve seen the fangirls right?”

“Of course.”

“Well we decided to keep our relationships a secret from the school to protect the girls.” The oldest looking boy spoke as he wrapped his arm around Sohyun’s shoulder. You smiled at the light blush that crept up Sohyun’s cheeks.

“I get it. By the way, I’m Gong Hyemi , but I like to be called Nicole.”

“I’m Kim Jinkyung.”

“I’m Park Gunwoo, but call me Rasa.” Said the boy with his arm over Sohyun’s shoulder.

“Park Hyungjin, but I go by E.Den.”

“Dong Woosuk, but I prefer King.”

“Park Junyoung, you can call me Jun, though. And this is our maknae, Kang Hyunsoo, but he goes by AO.” Then Hyorin placed her arm around J-Hyo’s waist, he smiled and hugged his sister.

“And this knucklehead is my brother, Jonghyo.” J-Hyo then smiled at you.

“Yeah we already met. He showed me around on the first day before I met the girls.” You said. After that you hung out with them and found out the couples were, Rasa and Sohyun, E.Den and Joohee, King and Jiyeon, and Jun and Jinkyung. You even saw a new couple in the future, AO and Hyorin. You smiled every time you saw the cute little interactions between them.

“They would make a really cute couple.”

“Yes, they would.” You said before looking next to you, finding J-Hyo really close to you that you can feel his breath on your neck. He smiled at you and opened his mouth to say something but you heard his mother call you guys to come eat. The 12 of you then went to the kitchen and ate dinner. Afterwards, you hung out a little more before the boys took you and the girls’ home.

************************************

It has now been four years since you met Hyorin’s family and you have been hanging out with the girls and LC9 since then. And it’s been four years since you started crushing on Hyorin’s brother. You thought you hid it well but the girls found out and you felt guilty for liking your best friend’s brother but she supported your crush on him and helped you hang out with him more. Today, is your 19^th birthday, which was a month from graduation. You smiled at yourself in the mirror as you heard a knock on your door. “Who is it?”

“It’s your mother, sweetie.” You heard your mother answer from the other side of the door.

“Come in.” You said, turning around as your mother entered your room. She closed the door before looking at you and stopped in her tracks. “Is it that bad?” You said looking at your outfit, worried. It was the first time you bought your own birthday outfit instead of your mother buying it as a present. You wore a cute white dress that ended right at your knees with a blue ribbon tied around the waist and silver high heels with matching earrings you got for your birthday last year. You had your hair down and curled with very light, natural make-up.

“Heavens, no. You look gorgeous, sweetie. Like a princess. Which reminds me, since you didn’t want me to buy your outfit, I bought you this instead.” Your mother said as she handed you a small box. You opened it and gasped. Inside was a very simple diamond and sapphire tiara.

“Mom.”

“Don’t worry. It’s not real. I know how you don’t like me buying real expensive things for you.”

“Thank you, mom. It’s perfect.” You smiled and took it out of the box. Your mother then took it and gently placed it on your head. You looked at yourself again and smiled.

“Come on. Can’t have your guest waiting forever for the birthday girl, now, can we?” Your mother smiled and the two of you headed downstairs and met your guests who were just the girls, the boys, and their parents who just hung out with your mom while you and the others hung out and had a blast. When it was time to open your presents, you were excited. Then afterwards, it was time for dinner and you happily ate the feast your mom made along with the other moms.

Then came the cake and ice cream, you smiled when everyone sang happy birthday to you and told you to make a wish. You happily looked at everyone and lastly J-Hyo before making your wish and blew out the candles. Everyone cheered as you cut your cake and handed everyone a slice. As you guys ate your cake, you guys talked about what you guys would do after graduation and knowing that you might not see everyone again kind of got you down and you went outside after you finished your cake. You sighed as the cold breeze hit you as you sat on the swinging bench on the porch.

“Hey.” You heard a voice say next to you. You looked up and smiled at J-Hyo.

“Hey, Oppa.”

“Something wrong?”

“It’s just that when I moved here I was afraid it would be like my last school and I’d be a loner again. But I met Hyorin, and then I met you and the others and my life changed for the better. And now that school is almost over, I realized I might not see everyone again. And that kind of scares me because you guys are like family and I have no idea what I’d do if I never see you guys again.” *especially you, J-Hyo Oppa.*

“Hey, we will always see each other again. Even if it takes years, we will see each other. And I know for a fact no one is leaving the country and we’ll be seeing each other every year on the weekends and holidays. Trust me. We will always stay together. I promise.” J-Hyo smiled and you stared at his eyes and something in them gave you the courage to confess your feelings.

“Oppa. I have something I need to tell you. And whether you accept or deny it, I hope we won’t let it affect our friendship and we can stay as comfortable in the future as we are now.”

“What is it, Nicole?” J-Hyo turned to look at you fully. You sighed and gathered as much courage as you could before speaking.

“Oppa, I really li-“ you were interrupted when you both heard a voice call out to you two.

“Oppa. Unnie. That’s where you’ve been. Everyone was wondering where you guys went and…Did I interrupt something?” She said when she noticed how you two were looking at her.

“No/Yes.” You and J-Hyo said at the same time. J-Hyo looked at you, confused. You stood and looked at the two siblings.

“Come on. The others are waiting.” You said. You saw J-Hyo look at you but you ignored him and the two of you went to join the others but J-Hyo stopped you.

“What were you going to tell me?”

“It was nothing. Really. Don’t worry about it.” You said before following Hyorin again. *It’s not like you’ll ever like me the way I like you. I’m just wasting my time on hoping and wishing you’d ever feel the same way about me.* you thought. You quickly wiped the single tear that fell from your eye and acted like everything was fine but you kept your distance from J-Hyo, which everyone noticed. When it got late, the boys and parents left, the girls stayed behind because you were having a sleepover. When you six were in your room, the girls asked what happened between you and J-Hyo.

“Nothing happened.” You replied.

“Then why were you avoiding Oppa.” Hyorin asked.

“I need to stop thinking he’ll ever like me and start moving on.” You said looking away. The girls looked at each other.

“Did you confess and he turned you down or something?” Jiyeon asked.

“No. I didn’t even get the chance to confess.” You answered.

“What do you mean?” Joohee wondered.

“I was about to confess when Hyorin came out and stopped me.” You said.

“I’m so sorry, Unnie. I didn’t mean to interrupt your confession.” Hyorin said feeling very guilty.

“Don’t feel sorry. You saved me from embarrassing myself.” You said as you held Hyorin’s hand.

“What do you mean, embarrass yourself?” Jinkyung questioned.

“There is no way J-Hyo will like me the way I like him. So Hyorin saved me from being rejected and embarrassing myself.” You replied.

“Why wouldn’t J-Hyo like you, Nicole?” Sohyun asked.

“I’m an average girl with average abilities. And there are so many girls way better than me.” The girls were about to protest but you stopped them. “Let’s please talk about something else.” The others reluctantly agreed and you guys talked about anything but boys. And soon you six went to sleep.

************************************

A month has passed since your birthday party and you have unknowingly been avoiding J-Hyo the whole time. Right now you were getting ready for graduation and the dance afterwards. You wore light make-up again and this time you had your hair up in a fancy bun with the tips hanging down your neck in curls.

You wore a light pink strapless dress that ended halfway down your thighs with lace wrapped around all the way to the floor with the front open showing off your legs with silver heels and matching jewelry. You sighed as you looked at yourself before putting on your hat and gown before leaving your room and headed downstairs. Your mother smiled as you walked down the stairs and she hugged you, tightly. “Mom, I’ll be back after the dance. I’m not moving right now.”

“Oh, I know. It’s just I’m so proud of you. I just wish your father was here to see this.”

“But he is, mom. In our hearts, he will always be with us.”

“When did you get so wise?” Your mother asked. You just smiled and shrugged before the two of you laughed and soon left your house and headed to the school for the graduation ceremony. You and your mother got out of the car and headed to the auditorium. You looked at your mother and smiled.

“Remember, mom. The dance is right after the ceremony so I’ll just have one of the girls drop me off afterwards.”

“Alright. If I don’t see you after the ceremony, be careful and tell Jonghyo how you feel.” You were about to protest but your mother stopped you. “If you don’t tell him, you’ll spend the rest of your life wondering how your life would have been if you just told him whether he felt the same or not. Take my advice and tell him.”

“I’ll see. I should get going.” You said before kissing your mother’s cheek and heading to the stage where the other graduates were seated. You smiled and waved at Jiyeon and King who showed you where the others were in the audience. You smiled and waved at them too and your eyes stayed on J-Hyo who was staring at you with a blank expression which confused you.

He was usually always smiling and laughing with the others but this time he wasn’t paying attention to what they were saying and just stared at you. You finally looked away when the principle came up and started talking and soon he started calling out names and you clapped for everyone who walked up but when the principle called Jiyeon and King’s names you cheered really loud along with the others making them chuckle and fist bump the air making everyone giggle. Finally it was your turn and you could hear everyone cheer for you especially your mother. You smiled before going back to your seat. When the ceremony ended, you looked for your mother and when you found her, you ran and hugged her before wiping her tears.

“Congrats, baby girl.”

“Thank you, mom.”

“Oh, let’s take a picture together.” You nodded and hugged your mother as she took a picture of you and her. “Here, let me take those and go find your friends. I’ll meet you back at the house.” Your mother said as she took your diploma, hat and gown.

“Okay. Love you, mom.”

“Love you, too, baby girl.” You hugged your mother before she left and you headed to find the girls. You smiled when you saw Hyorin and she squealed.

“Congrats, Unnie. And you look so pretty.”

“Thank you, Hyorin.”

“Come, the others are already in the cafeteria and are waiting for you.” She said as she pulled you to the cafeteria. You smiled when you saw the others and hugged them except J-Hyo who seemed really distant now. You felt a tap on your shoulder and turned to see a boy who graduated last year.

“Zico-ah.”

“Hey, can I talk to you privately?” He asked. You looked at the others and J-Hyo and then back to Zico and nodded with a smile.

“Sure.” You followed Zico outside and turned to him. “So what did you want to talk about? “

“Um. Well, I wanted to tell you that I like you, ever since you came to this school.”

“Really?” You asked surprised and he nodded. You then felt really guilty because you weren’t going to lie to him. “I accept your feelings but I cannot return them. I like someone else. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s okay. You can’t control who you like.”

“I think you are very brave in telling me your feelings and I’m really sorry I can’t return them. I wish I was as brave as you were. But I’m sure he doesn’t like me back so why ask.”

“Anybody would be insane to not like you, Nicole. Do you mind if I ask who?”

“J-Hyo.” You whispered but he heard you.

“He definitely likes you. I never saw him warm up to a girl as fast as he did with you. Anyway you’ll never know whether he likes you or not if you don’t ask. Now, would you?”

“I guess you’re right. Thanks, Zico-ah.” You hugged him and kissed his cheeks.

“You know J-Hyo’s getting jealous now.” You backed up and looked at him confused before looking where Zico was looking at and noticed J-Hyo standing at the door. Zico leaned down and whispered in your ear. “Tell him and good luck.” He smiled before saluting and headed inside but stopped next to J-Hyo and whispered something to him before leaving you two alone. You two just stood there for a bit before you decided to break the silence.

“Want to go to the garden with me?” You asked. Without answering, J-Hyo headed towards the garden with you following. You sighed at his cold shoulder. You two soon entered the garden and you sat on the bench in the middle of the garden while J-Hyo stood a good distance away. You sighed again, disappointed he was avoiding you. “I’m sorry.” J-Hyo looked at you but you were looking at your feet. “I’m sorry I was avoiding you and not telling you why.” You said as your eyes started to water. “I didn’t realize I was avoiding you until a few days ago and when I was trying to talk to you. To apologize you started avoiding me. I’m so sorry. I was afraid.” You said, looking up at J-Hyo, who started to waver at the sight of your tears falling down your face.

“Afraid? Why were you afraid?” J-Hyo asked in almost a whisper. You looked down again and gathered your courage one final time.

“I was afraid to be rejected.”

“Rejected?” you nodded still looking at your feet.

“I was afraid of being rejected when I told you that I like you. And not as a friend or a brother like the other boys but as something more. I have ever since I first met you and I know you don’t like me the same way so I thought I should just keep it to myself but now you know. And I hope we can at least go back to being friends like before.”

“I already knew you liked me. Hyorin told me yesterday. And I don’t think we can go back to being friends.” J-Hyo said.

“Oh. Okay.” Was all you could say as tears fell down your eyes and you choked back sobs so he wouldn’t know how badly this affected you. You saw J-Hyo walk closer and kneel before you as you turned your head away. J-Hyo gently placed a finger under your chin and made you face him. You saw his gentle smile and your eyes widened when you felt his lips connect to yours and you could hear fireworks and felt like you two were the only people on the planet. J-Hyo pulled back and smiled.

“We can’t be friends like before because I like you too. I wanted to confess less then a year after we met but you were my little sister’s best friend and I felt weird liking you. Plus I was sure you didn’t like me back so I kept it to myself. And when you started avoiding me I thought I had done something wrong and then decided to try to move on. At least tried to until Hyorin came to me a little mad and told me she knew I liked you and that you like me and that she was tired of us avoiding each other and lying.

“And when I saw you with Zico I really wanted to punch him and admire him at the same time. He did the one thing I was too afraid of doing. I’m truly sorry for waiting so long and making you think I didn’t feel the same way.” At the last sentence, you came out of your trance and kissed J-Hyo who happily kissed you back. You pulled back when you heard cheering and saw all your friends cheering and smiling even Zico and his friends were there cheering for you. You blushed and hid your face in J-Hyo’s chest feeling him chuckle before he made you look at him.

“Call me Jonghyo Oppa from now on. Okay?” He said softly. You nodded and he kissed you again and you happily kissed him back just as deeply forgetting about the audience you two had. You were zooming on cloud nine right now and you didn’t care who saw you and J-Hyo.

THE END