When I met Lee Hyuk Jae, my life was filled with beautiful colors.

From those blurry memories, it all fell clear into my mind.

It all started when we were in high school. Hyuk Jae’s family moved on the house next to ours. They were a friendly family, and he had a younger sister named Hye Jin. He loved to paint and watch movies. He was inspired by those filmmakers who made it big, so he decided to become one. His dad was also a theater director in Seoul.

Though we were neighbors, we weren’t that close. We may have walked in the same direction to school, but we never talked or anything. He was a shy type of guy, but he wasn’t rude, like the attitude of most Korean drama heroes in the first few episodes of the series. He still remained distant and cold to me. Hye Jin was the one I befriended first before him.

And when their father passed away, Hyuk Jae’s world fell into darkness.

I stood by his side though he never needed me. He mourned for his father and I began talking to him. Eventually, he opened up everything about him. His father was a good man, I knew that. I sympathized with him even more.

And the next thing I knew, he meant the whole world to me.

After the burial, we started to become close friends. We walked everyday to school, and that made me love him more than just a buddy. His serious yet carefree attitude captivated me in one way or another. I always love to see him laugh. It completes every piece of my day, and every beat of my heart. Those funny jokes that he usually cracked made me happy every time I’m with him, the love of art that he fostered ever since he was young, and the sweet music that his voice created when he sang. It all seemed so perfect. I love him just the way he was. Though he might never know it, I would always love him more than enough.

We enrolled in the same university in college, and despite the fact that I majored in literature while he dealt in theater arts; we had the same classes together. He always motivated me to study harder, while partying was done at a seldom rate. Finally, we made it, and his decision to go abroad made my heart sink drastically. I had no choice but to let him go, even if it meant that we have to go at different roads.

My biggest regret was keeping the words that I would’ve said to him. And it’s tearing me up until at this moment.

Now, looking at the mirror, things have changed. I’m Lee Dong Hae, one of South Korea’s most handsome and bankable actors. I don’t know what has become of Hyuk Jae, and all I know is that I was dying to see him again.

See him again.

And as I shifted my gaze away from my reflection, my phone, which was lying comfortably on my bed, rang harmoniously in melodious sequence.