Dear Hye Kyo,

I don’t really know why I’m writing this letter. Maybe I just miss you. Maybe I’m just too nervous as of the moment and I just want to blabber on and on and on. It’s just that as I opened my eyes to the bright sunshine, I thought of you. Your face, your voice, your laugh. It’s like when I woke up, everything was just all about you. The chirping of the birds, the calmness of the sea, the rustling of leaves. I saw you. I felt you. Like you were with me, when actually you’re not.

I remember that one fateful day we first met. I was so happy mom bought me my all-time favorite lollipop. The one that’s really big, goes in awesome swirls and was as colorful as the rainbow. I was playing at the park’s sandbox, happily making sand castles and buildings.

Someday, I’m going to be an architect and build real buildings and castles and houses, I thought to myself. I was so caught up with making my buildings as decent as possible when I got distracted by a swarm of laughter from boys and girls at the swing on the other side of the park.

In the middle of their teasing I heard a single cry. At first, I wasn’t so sure if it was really a cry so I got up and inched my way closer to the scenario, then I caught a glimpse of you. You were in the middle, sitting on the grass, hair tied in ponytail with red ribbons, and wearing a red polka dot dress. It was lacy and a bit oversized but not too much.

Your pink cheeks glistened with tears as the kids continued to taunt and grab your dress. At the moment, I understood what all the commotion was all about. They were making fun of you, of your dress. I didn’t know what exactly happened to me because the next thing I knew was that I was barreling towards you, shouting at the other kids to leave you alone and get lost. For a seven year old, I must’ve looked really scary and bully-like that they backed off right away.

“Are you okay?” I asked as I approached you. You nodded and I didn’t know what to say next.

 “They said I was ugly,” you sobbed and tears began falling down your face again as you looked up at me. I never thought I would meet an angel until that moment. Your cheeks were pink and so were your lips. You had beautiful lips. Your eyes were telling and the perfect shade of brown. I thought of those yummy chocolate balls my mom and I always made.

“No, you’re not. You’re pretty,” I said before I could even stop myself and I felt like I meant it. And I really did. Not because I wanted you to feel better, but because you really were.

Beautiful. You were beautiful.

After staring at you for what I felt like was an eternity, I helped you up and you smiled. Oh, that beautiful saccharine smile. The smile that said life’s beautiful, that everything’s going to be alright.

And it made me smile too. And it was in that moment, it was right then and there that I told myself that someday, I was going to marry you.

 “It’s my birthday, you know,” I remember you telling me. You told me you wanted to look pretty on your birthday that you decided to wear a pretty dress. Your mom sewed it for you, you said, at least a size bigger in case you grew and decided that you still wanted to wear it.

“Oh, then, happy birthday, ummm”

“Hye Kyo, my name’s Hye Kyo.”

“I’m Joong Ki,” I blurted out. You were taller and two years older than me. And though we just met, I wanted to give you something on your birthday.

A balloon, a cake. I wanted to give you nice things, but since I was also a kid, I still couldn’t afford any of those. So, instead, I searched my pockets and gave you what I only had, I handed you my favorite lollipop.

“Here, this is for you,” I said as I watched you eye it. I remember feeling nervous that moment. I wasn’t sure of how you’d react, but just when I was about to think that you might not want it, you smiled even more.

You looked at me with sparkling eyes, giving me the sweetest of smiles, a picture of genuine happiness and in my mind, I vowed to do everything I could to make you happy from then on.

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It’s amazing how one day could change everything. From that moment, we hung out almost every time. We played with your doll house, your Barbie dolls and my batman action figures. We made sand castles and helped my mom bake gingerbread men. You danced and performed on dance recitals and I begged my mom so we could watch.

We didn’t even realize that we went to the same school until our parents mentioned it. You were in the 3rd grade while I was in the 1st. But it was quite understandable, us not knowing that the other existed until that fateful moment at the playground, since kids not on the same grade didn’t usually hang out with each other.

In just a period of time, we became the best of friends, though my classmates used to tease me that my best friend was a girl and not a boy just like the rest of the boys in my class had. I didn’t mind, though. I had the best-est friend a kid could ever have and I thought they were no match for you.

You laughed at my jokes though they weren’t really that funny, you let me play with your toys though you seldom let others touch it and you were always up whenever I wanted to play rough.

You were always kind to me, you shared your snacks with me whenever I felt hungry, and even if I already finished my share, you would still offer yours to me. You never once judged me. I remember that one time when we were playing that my shoelaces got undone. I tried to play it cool and told you it was okay, to just let it be. But you kept insisting that I tie it, that I might trip and fall if I didn’t.

You waited for me to move and tie my shoelaces while I just stood there, not knowing what to do. In the end, I had no other choice but to tell you the truth, that even at seven, I still didn’t know how to.

I was so embarrassed, I was ready to burst into tears. I was ready to hear your taunting, your teasing laughter, but nothing came. And instead of mocking me, you even got down on your knees and tied my shoelaces for me.

You were the kindest, most beautiful soul I knew and not being a boy didn’t make you any less of a good person that you were. I just wished that the others would’ve seen that. That way, they would’ve stopped teasing you and you wouldn’t have had to cry so much.

Then one day, you got tired of being bullied by kids at your grade and tried to fight back when some girl tried to pull on your hair. We were walking together along the halls on lunch break when a girl with long hair made fun of your barrett.

“It doesn’t suit your hair, weirdo,” she said and pulled on your ponytail.

I saw tears starting to well in your eyes, and I immediately decided to take action. I didn’t want you to cry, let alone allow that bully to see you do so and feel good. So, I tried to talk to you about some random toy my dad bought me to distract you but you weren’t listening and right in the middle of me describing the lame green color of my new toy, you stopped walking and faced the girl who was singing “Hye Kyo is lousy” over and over again.

“What did you just say?” you asked her.

“What? That you’re lousy and a loser?” she answered back.

“Don’t you ever say that again,” you warned.

“Oh yeah? Then what? Loser!” she challenged.

At that comment, I was