Jong Kook tossed his body left and right. Glancing at the clock right above the television in his room, it showed that it was 3 AM already, which meant he had already spent 2 hours on his bed, doing nothing completely. Tomorrow was a big day as it would be the first day he would perform a song in front of everyone at the campus festival. Sleep was the only thing he needed now as he should ensure that his voice and look were in good condition, but that became the least thing Jong Kook could do right now.

Something that happened just a few hours ago bothered his mind. He sighed, then decided to get up from the bed and took a book out of the side table. Not to forget that he also took out a pen from the pencil case inside his bag, and with that, his hand started scribbling some words as he remembered what had happened earlier.

At 7 PM, he just finished having a simple dinner with just a Caesar salad. He was at the studio back then, practicing the performance he would do tomorrow evening, but the session got interrupted when his cell would not stop vibrating.

A name then popped up on the screen. A name that was highly familiar to Jong Kook ever since he was 10. A name that he could not get off his head for all these years.

Song Ji Hyo.

He excused himself from his friend, Dong Hoon, who was accompanying him in practicing so he could answer the call. At first, he took a wild guess that she was going to ask where he was since they had not met today, considering the fact that they met every single day. But the guess got broken right away when he heard a sob over there.

He grew anxious. That was so rare for someone as strong as Ji Hyo to cry this hard.

“Yeoboseyo? Ji Hyo? Are you okay?” He could not hide the worry in his voice since he had just heard a sob coming out from her for almost a minute without a single word being spoken.

“Oppa.” Her voice was hoarse and trembling as if she was shivering. Jong Kook checked the weather outside as he was clueless about what was happening outside since the studio was soundproof. It was actually raining hard.

“Is everything okay, Ji Hyo-yah? Where are you now?”

“Oppa, he... he cheated on me.” He felt his chest tighten, as well as his jaw and fists got clenched. His broad chest went up and down in an extreme way. He was just a second away from bursting his anger out when Ji Hyo continued. “I saw him kissing a freshman student just minutes ago, then we got into a fight, and I decided to break up with him.”

Without much thinking, as he heard another sob coming out from Ji Hyo, he grabbed an umbrella which was fortunately placed near the entrance door of the studio.

“Where are you now, Ji Hyo-yah? Stay there. I’m coming to you now, okay?”

“I-I’m in front of the dorm. Th-this is where I caught them together, oppa.”

He ran his way to the dorm building, which in fact was where some freshmen that came from outside of Seoul usually stayed in. He did not even realize that he did not wear his coat when the wind was quite strong today in the middle of October. His mind was too bugged with her.

It did not take long for him to recognize her, even from far. Her hair was drenched with rain, as well as her clothes. She was shivering badly. Her eyes were swollen from crying. Her lips were trembling both from crying and from enduring the cold.

Suddenly, it was no longer anger that made his chest tighten, but his heart also hurt. It hurt him to see her being hurt. It broke his heart to see her heart was broken. A tear escaped his eyes when he saw her crying in front of him.

He blinked his eyes a few times, holding some tears threatening to come out. Instead, he wiped hers away from her cheek. Only by staring at her teary eyes—there was no need for her to explain anything; he knew already how devastated she was. And much to her surprise, he brought her into his embrace while her head and back softly.

“I’m sorry I’m late, Ji Hyo-yah. I should’ve been there with you and punched that bastard in the face. I’m sorry I was too focused on practicing my performance tomorrow. Please don’t cry anymore. I’m here now.”

It hurts me to see you cry, Ji Hyo.

“No, oppa. I’m sorry, I just... I don’t know who else I should call. My heart hurts so bad, oppa. Why isn’t there anyone who truly loves me? Am I that ugly? Am I that bad? Why is everyone doing this to me?”

I love you, Ji Hyo. I am truly, madly, deeply in love with you. Why can’t you ever see it?

He shushed her in his embrace. Now the two of them were drenched with rain, but he did not care. “Stop saying things like that, Ji Hyo. You’re a beautiful woman and a wonderful person, and it’s their loss to leave you like this.”

After some attempts to calm her, it showed a positive progression when she finally freed herself from his hug, although he did not mind having her much longer. She wiped her tears away, and Jong Kook could finally then saw her smile.

Intertwining her hand with his, her gaze started to soften while staring at his eyes. “Thank you, oppa, for always being here, supporting me, and always holding my hand. I don’t know what I’ve done until I can have a really great friend like you.”

Friend.

That was what they had always been. For more than half of his age, he had been friends with her. Just friends. Not more, not less. Everything started when Jong Kook moved from Anyang to Seoul and met her for the first time when he went to school. He remembered she was just a chubby little girl with big eyes and a somehow unfriendly look.

He was just about to catch the bus when he saw her being cornered by some older guys, probably the same his age. He saw her stare at the guys angrily as if she had nothing to fear, but from the tight grips on her skirt, he knew she was terrified. Luckily, since Jong Kook was skillful in wrestling, he saved her by fighting with the guys. Although it left him with some scars and bruises, he was glad that the guys then decided to leave them away and promised Jong Kook not to attempt to do anything to her anymore. In other words, he saved her.

He remembered her with also a trembling voice thanking him and asking for his name. That was when he finally knew that her name was Song Ji Hyo; surprisingly, they were actually neighbors.

Ever since that time, they have been inseparable. Whenever and wherever there was Jong Kook, there was Ji Hyo. The odd that Jong Kook was always shy among girls and could only act freely around Ji Hyo by holding her hand in public or hugging her when they succeeded in achieving something, making no one actually believe that they were just friends. 

Everyone suspected them as a couple. They had lost count already of how many questions they got regarding their status. Even for all these years, neither Jong Kook nor Ji Hyo initiated any idea of being together.

“Oppa promise to always look out for you, support you, and be there for you, Ji Hyo-yah.” The promise that he gave her at that time was what they always held dearly. The trust that they shared was indescribably strong. They had always been walking hand-in-hand for all these years, secretly growing a pure love for each other that children usually shared with each other.

Unfortunately, cupid was having fun with them by making Jong Kook fall in love with her as they grew up. Jong Kook never even realized when was the first time he started liking her more than friends, but all he knew was his heart hurt the most whenever he saw her being mistreated by some jerks.

It was ironic. For all those years, Ji Hyo constantly whined about never being loved by someone unconditionally, while there was actually a man right next to her who loved her wholeheartedly.

Out of his consciousness, the page on the book Jong Kook filled earlier was almost full of words. He glanced at those words. To say that it was just the ordinary lyrics that Jong Kook wrote was an understatement. It was actually a love letter, a confession. It was the pour of his actual feeling, the one that he had been holding for years toward her. It was the voice of his heart, the one he could never let out since he was too afraid of getting rejected, of losing her as a friend, and of breaking his own heart.

While humming the melody he had had in his mind for days, he synched it with the lyrics he just wrote now by playing the notes on the keyboard inside his room. He recorded his own voice singing the lyrics while playing the keyboard, finally establishing it as his other original song.

Of course, every song must have a title to complete it perfectly. He was contemplating at first, but then when his eyes locked on the photo of him and her leaning on each other with their hands intertwined at his phone screen, that was when he found the right title for his newest song that just took less than 2 hours to be finished.

He was the one man that had been loving her for years. He had lost count already of how many times he considered telling her his feeling, but in the end, he never knew how to tell her that he loved her properly.

One Man. Jong Kook said in his mind while he finally wrote those two simple words as the title of the song.

Jong Kook could not stop his legs from moving anxiously. He had tried some ways to lessen his nervousness, starting from eating gum, gulping some water, and stretching his body with some sets of push-ups. Not to mention that he also had been humming and making some weird noise with his mouth, which he defensively said it was the way he warmed up his mouth and voice.

Those actually succeeded in making Ji Hyo laugh. She had never seen Jong Kook this nervous since this man always seemed to maintain his nervousness most of the time successfully. A wide smile was drawn on her face. She then touched his shoulder to get his attention and, once again, held his hand, stopping him from moving here and there.

“Calm down, oppa.” She could see Jong Kook chuckle embarrassedly, which made her also laugh. “I know everything will be okay, and you’ll do your best. How many times have I told you you have such a great voice? Right, it’s countless times, so don’t be nervous because I can guarantee everyone will love your performance.”

Somehow, with just her simple words like that, Jong Kook had been strangely calmer than before. His breath was now more controlled.

“I know. It’s just my first time singing in public, and I’m not sure if my voice is actually as good as what you told me because... you know, you’re tone deaf.”

He knew she was getting annoyed because then he felt a strike of pain attacking his scalp as she pulled his hair.

“Aish! Yah, Kim Jong Kook! You know I can easily make you bald this instant, right?”

He then groaned in pain, trying to free himself from her grip. “Ah! Song Ji Hyo! I’ve styled my hair goodly, and now you ruined it!”

“That’s what you get for mocking my judgment! We’ve been friends for more than a decade. How could you still doubt my judgment, huh?”

Just then, the event committee cued Jong Kook to prepare himself to get up on the stage. They smiled at each other as if they had nothing to bicker about.

“Wish me luck, Ji Hyo-yah.”

She nodded, then squeezed his hand. “Of course, oppa. I’ll be in the front seat, okay? Dong Hoon oppa saves the seats for us already. You can do this, oppa. Hwaiting!”

With much-growing nervousness inside him, he then got up on the stage when he heard his name being called by the MC. The stage was just simple for his performance. He told the committee already that he just needed a piano and a mic.

Just like what she told him earlier, and his anxiousness finally got washed away, people actually enjoyed his performance. As the first and second songs were done, all he could hear was the claps and cheers from the audience. He sighed in relief and thanked them a few times before then reaching the third and also the last song, which would be the newest song that he had written last night. One Man.

Before continuing with the song, his eyes scanned the crowd, finally finding her sitting in the front seat with Dong Hoon next to her. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat.

Stop being a coward, Jong Kook. It’s now or never.

“The song that I’m going to sing next is written originally by me so it might be unfamiliar. The lyrics actually contain my true feelings for someone, but I never have a chance and know how to tell her properly.”

He could hear the audience swooning at his explanation. He smiled before continuing. “I met her when I was just 10. She was actually a very stubborn girl back then—well, she always is, even now. I remember the time when I taught her how to ride a bike and she hit my head because I let my grip off to make her realize that she could actually ride it by herself, but I can never imagine how my life would be without her. By this song, I just want her to know, I want her to realize that there’s actually a man right next to her who loves her deeply and unconditionally, that she’s actually loved all this time. So, for this woman that has been in my life and holding my hand for more than a decade, here’s my confession for you. The song is titled One Man.”

It must’ve been a long time.
Long enough for these words to become colorless.
Even if I just see your eyes, I know everything,
Like your friend, like your shadow.

We must’ve been together always
When you’re having a hard time and you are sad, even when you’re lonely.
Holding onto separation a bit longer,
Even when I’m hurting to wipe away your tears.

There’s a man who loved you so much.
There’s a man who can’t even say “I love you.”
By your side, within the reach of your hand,
I have you who I cherish more than I do.

To make you laugh, I think of only that and
When and where ever you are
I’m always watching you, missing you, and worrying about you

There’s a man who loved you so much.
There’s a man who can’t even say “I love you.”
By your side, within the reach of your hand,
I have you who I cherish more than I do.

I swallow it about 1000 times
And try to calm it down about 10000 times,
But I’m going crazy because I want to say it.
I want to hug you.

There’s a woman who doesn’t know me like this.
She’s loved but doesn’t even know it’s love.
Leaving you sad as stupid as me,
I’m crying at this moment, but I’m happy
Because I’m with you.

During him singing the song and his hands touched the tunes softly, he took some peeks at her. He could see that it was now her that grew nervous. He knew she got the hint already that it was her that he was referring to. As the song reached its end, everyone cheered for him once again, but he only got his eyes on her seat, only to find that she was nowhere to be found.

.

Now that he was off the stage after bowing to the audience and thanking them, he rushed his way to find her. His mind was filled with some terrifying possibilities, like she probably hated the idea of him loving her more than friends, or worse, she did not want them to be friends any longer because he just crossed their boundaries.

After searching here and there, and asking almost everyone who knew her, he lost his way to find her.

That was it; until then, he found her under the infamous yellow ginkgo tree looking at him. He was just about to smile at her, relieved that he finally found her, but stopped when he saw her teary eyes.

“Ji Hyo-yah, I—”

“Oppa.” He got cut before he could even finish his sentence. “Are those true? The words in your lyrics, are those truly your feelings toward me?”

He just nodded without saying anything.

“Do you... do you really love me, oppa? More than friends?”

“I love you, Ji Hyo-yah.” There, he finally said it. “I love you. I truly do. More than friends.”

This was the first time he could not read her expression, unlike her usual blank face. A drop of tear then came down, wetting her cheek, triggering Jong Kook to wipe it away as he hated when she cried.

But what if she cried because of him now? Well, he could easily hate himself, too, for being her reason to shed a tear.

“Look, I’m sorry if I cross our boundaries here. I can’t pretend any longer, Ji Hyo-yah. I can’t lie to myself and you that I really do love you. It hurts me to see you crying and being hurt by those jerks. I don’t need you to share the same feeling as mine, but I just want you to know that there’s a man who truly loves you. And the man is me, Ji Hyo-yah. I really am so—”

Once again, he could not finish his sentence. But now, it was not her word that cut his sentence off, but it was a kiss.

He could not control his heartbeat when he found her lips on his, kissing him tenderly. Of course, he responded to the kiss, although it almost felt like a dream that he should pinch his own thigh to ensure that everything was real, that she was really kissing him right now.

They looked into each other’s eyes deeply after parting the kiss. Much to his surprise, she smiled at him.

“I’m sorry that I cross our boundaries too, oppa. I also want you to know there’s a woman who actually loves you too.”

She then hugged him while positioning right in front of his ears as she whispered to him.

“And the woman is me. I love you too, my man.”