Three Years Ago   After school hours, I would occasionally ask Myungsoo to hang out with me. I had no other friends, so he was the only person I could ask. Correction. Even if I had other friends, he was still the only person I would ask.   Myungsoo always agreed, never saying no. I didn’t know whether he accompanied me because he wanted to or felt I was his community service project. Either way, I enjoyed being in his presence. When it was just the two of us after school hours, I felt he was mine.   There was a festival in town that day and many street vendors lined up along the street selling handmade ornaments. San Francisco had a lot of festivals as well, but not quite like this. One time, people dressed up as short sleeved Santa Clauses and marched around the city. It wasn’t even Christmas.   “So what are people celebrating?” I asked, walking next to Myungsoo. His steps were small for a guy his height. As I continued watching, I had unconsciously matched the pace of our steps, left, right, left, right. Would people think we were a couple if they looked at us?   “It’s a festival called Chilseok,” he answered, smiling as I lifted my eyebrows in confusion. “It’s based on the tale of a seamstress who fell in love with a herder across the galaxy. The king of heaven allowed them to marry, but they were too deeply in love and neglected their duties.”   “That’s stupid and irresponsible,” I commented, making him laugh. My cynical frown soon turned into a bashful smile. I love being the reason of his laughters.   “Stupid, indeed. The king decided to separate them, allowing them to meet once a year on July 7th.”   My eyes sprung up in realization. “That’s today!”   He nodded, amused at my sudden child-like antics. Sometimes, when I had my moment of epiphany, I was no longer the cold ice princess people knew me as.   “They say if you see crows and magpies soaring through the sky, they’re actually building a bridge across the Milky Way for the star crossed lovers to meet up. And if it rains, the lovers are crying.”   I was silenced, not knowing what to say. My tongue wanted to make a snarky remark, but the story itself was too tragic to be ruined. In a way, it reminded me of my story with Myungsoo. I had flown all the way from San Francisco to meet him here, and yet, heavens hadn’t allowed us to be together yet.   “Would you have gone through so much trouble if you ever liked someone?” I unconsciously questioned what was supposed to be kept in my mind.   He stared at me wide eyed as his cheeks flushed a faint red glow. He was embarrassed, and I resisted the urge to pinch his cheeks.   “How could you ask me such a private question?” He whined a little. No one at school would expect the number one ranked student, Kim Myungsoo, to coo his face in such a child-like manner. It prompted me to dig deeper.   “Now I’m wondering what type of girl you’d like,” I started teasing him, hoping he would describe me.   “That’s too embarrassing.” He looked away, hiding his mouth behind the sleeve of his uniform.   “Tell me yours, and I’ll tell you mine,” I coolly said.   He quieted down, biting his lips together as he pondered deeply about it. The question was harder than solving than a math equation to him. Then he confessed, “I like girls with long hair.”   I took a strand of my hair, measuring its length. It was long.   “I like…” He trailed off, facing the ground in an attempt to hide his face from me. He rubbed the back of his head with frustration. “This is really embarrassing to say. Promise you won’t laugh at me?”   “You could have a crush on Sailormoon and I still wouldn’t judge you.” I paused, reconsidering my words. “Okay, maybe just a little.”   He looked at me dumbfounded and started to laugh, a pleasant sound that set my heart at peace and caused it to thud louder at the same time.   “Some people have the aura to draw others in with their kindness and purity. They just never know when to give up and sees the world as a half full glass. If I met someone like that, I’d fall for her.”   I stared at him and allowed his words to sink in my mind. I drew people in with my exceptional beauty, but didn’t bother to show any kindness to people who son’t deserve it. As for innocence? Hah! Try living in San Francisco for a week and come talk to me about innocence.    “Okay, I’ve been completely honest with you. Now tell me your ideal type,” he said, holding me by my shoulder to prevent me from running away. I considered elongating my silence to keep his hands on me, but to my disappointment, he withdrew it.   “I like guys who are completely honest with me,” I said bluntly, an indirect confession hinting towards himself. But being a male homo sapien, he was too stupid to understand that.   I turned around from him and started walking ahead as he chased me, demanding more elaboration.   Right then and there, I made up my mind to change. For Myungsoo, I was willing to become his ideal type.   ***   Present   I sat at my desk, staring out the window. The Summer in South Korea was always extremely hot, especially in July. I saw a small breeze blowing against the leaves of the tree and physically felt the warmth of a hairdry