Incheon Airport (December 2014)

Kyungsoo dragged his suitcase lazily towards the exit door, scanning for his uncle that was supposed to fetch him in the airport. He was wearing his prescription glasses to help him avoid squinting at people and he was a bit sleepy from the taxing hours of travel. His uncle was nowhere to be found so he sat on one of the benches first to close his eyes and rest for a little bit, his head was spinning from dizziness due to the sudden change of timezone.

“Kyungsoo?” He heard a firm voice ask, his eyes fluttering open. There stood in front of him was his cousin, Chanyeol. “Hey.” He replied sleepily before standing up from his seat. “Where’s uncle?” He continued to ask as they made their way to the vehicle. “Oh, he’s the one in the driver’s seat. He thought it’ll be good for me to welcome you back to Korea.. but I got distracted by one of the stalls.” Chanyeol’s voice was deep which was the complete opposite of how he sounded when he was young, he was a lot taller than him as well. Monster genes, he thought.

“Haha, I’m surprised that you recognized me quite easily.” Kyungsoo hauled the suitcase in the car before sitting beside Chanyeol on the backseat. “Of course I would, you act like we lost contact in the last 13 years.” Chanyeol crossed his arms then looked at his father. “Dad, he’s going to stay with me, right?” His father looked at the mirror then nodded his head. Chanyeol’s father was a man of few words, unlike his mother who was so talkative. “Yeah, right. You’re not Seungwan who I lost contact with.” Kyungsoo said bitterly, still having that cheery girl from years ago in his memory. One day, he just woke up with no messages from her. When he turned nine years old, Seungwan didn’t greet him nor did she open her seungwanandonly messenger account. Poof. Gone in the next 13 years of his life but he was still in love with her. Have been and will always be in love with her.

“Seungwan? Your first love when you were.. five years old?!” Chanyeol’s eyes widened in surprise, not quite believing his cousin. “I never forgot her, Chanyeol. Sure there had been girls who had confessed their love for me in Georgia, but they weren’t Seungwan. I don’t know..” He sighed deeply then strained his eyes to look in front. “Wait.. Son Seungwan? As in Son Myungsoo’s son?” His uncle butted in while turning left towards the street. “Yes, uncle. Do you know them?” Kyungsoo looked out of the window then saw some pop-up tents on the side. “Of course! They’ve been my customer few years back, I recently heard that Seungwan is going to an internation school in Seoul.” Kyungsoo was on the edge of his seat while listening to his uncle talk. “You probably never heard from her again because their old house got into a fire and all their properties were burnt along with it. Seungwan worked her off to help her family rebuild their home.” Kyungsoo felt butterfly wings on his stomach. She was still the same girl he fell in love before, still that same caring and selfless girl.

“I see, uncle.. I wish she’ll be enrolled in the international school that I am in.” Kyungsoo murmured softly, drawing circles on the window pane. Chanyeol nudged him on the side then showed his phone to him. “I found her on instagram! Her username is todayiswendy.” Kyungsoo smiled at his cousin then fiddled with his own phone. He scrolled through her feed, the warm feeling in his heart not leaving anytime soon.

He was busy looking at her old photos that he didn’t notice Seungwan’s recent post, her post with the man courting her. When he saw the photo, he felt bitter and sad. Someone else was making her happy, but the bitter feeling was gone in just a blink. Seungwan and Kyungsoo shared a common trait, they were both selfless.