Define love.

Seohyun stared at the two words inked in pink written on a pastel-colored notepad. Seriously, what are her classmates thinking? She mentally shook her head and clicked her tongue. Instead of reviewing for their exams next week, this was the thing that they bothered the most to do. With a sigh, she reluctantly fished for her pen inside of her bag’s pocket.

“Can I just pass for now?” Seohyun asked as her last minute attempt to escape this nonsense mushiness.

However all that she got for a response was their shaking heads. They were all gathered around her desk, waiting for her to answer the slam book question.

“Besides, you already have your pen,” said her other classmate pointing at the pen that was in her hands.

“Peer pressure,” she thought. Why must she be included in these types of activities? She asked herself. Perhaps growing up with only a male as a friend made her indifferent to some of those “girl things”.

She positioned her pen on top of the paper and she began raking her head for some answers but she could not find any. If this would be a quiz, it would be the most difficult quiz that she had ever answered.  It felt like ages have already passed but all that she was able to scribble was a mere dot on the paper.

“Okay, Seohyun. Just write anything,” she told herself inwardly. She scribbled a sentence and quickly closed the pink spiral notebook and pushed it away from her. “It’s finished! Can I go now?” Seohyun said, instantly picking up her bag and shoving it to her shoulder. On the other hand, her classmates started flipping through the pages and started looking for her page, wondering what Seohyun answered.

Seohyun glimpsed at them and she could obviously see the dismay on their faces. She was ready to dash away from them when they called her name and immediately caught up with her. She was again surrounded by them.

“I already answered, didn’t I?” Seohyun said.

“But we are not satisfied with your answer,” they replied. “You sound like a textbook.”

“Love is simply the feeling that is given off by the body’s chemical reactions.” Her classmates read it in chorus. “Haven’t you ever liked someone?”

“Well, I- I don’t know,” she said innocently.

Her classmates looked at her in disbelief.

Seohyun scratched her head, looking like a lost and clueless kid. “I don’t even know how it feels like.”

“Joohyun might have already felt it but she still does not realize it yet,” the other whispered to the one next to her. “You are always engrossed with your studies that you did not take time to pay attention to what you might be feeling in your heart. He might just be in front of you but you did not take time to notice. Geez, in that case, you might lose him.”

“O-kay. So… how I am going to know?” Seohyun asked curiously.

“Let’s sit down and we’ll tell you,” they pulled her and pushed down the chair. “This is going to be long.”

----------------------

Classes ended and many students are already walking out o the campus and one of them was Seohyun. She stood in front of the gates with her hands inside her pocket while she was looking far away. She was pondering over what her classmates said about love.

Love is when you are always eager to see him in the day. The sight of him can turn a gray day to a bright sunny day. And you do not find it hard to spot him among the crowd because he always shines.

She recited those lines in her head as she took a look at the high school building right across the middle school building she was in. Without realizing it, it had become a habit to her.

Watching the high school students emerging out of their class hoping she will be able to catch a glimpse of him, will that qualify as eagerness to see him? She made a mistake on her piano recital last time but when she saw Kyuhyun coming to her with a smile and pat her head saying that he did it well nevertheless, it made all those feelings go away. An instant look at the crowd and she could easily recognize him because he simply stood out among the rest.

She was taking a mental note of the checklist that she had created when someone suddenly came from behind and covered her two eyes.

“Who do you want to see there, huh?” a familiar voice suddenly whispered to her ear.

“Oppa, is this you?” asked Seohyun as she felt the hands that covered her eyes. She felt the hands removed from her eyes. Kyuhyun walked from behind her and smiled at her widely.

“How do you know it’s me?” Kyuhyun asked.

“Well, you’re the only one who does that to me.” Seohyun answered. “Why are you here?”

“Can’t I visit my friend?” Kyuhyun said.

“It’s just surprising since lately you are so busy with your other friend.” Seohyun replied.

Kyuhyun flung his arms around her shoulders. “Well, today I wanna hang out with Seobaby.” Seohyun’s eyes traced from Kyuhyun’s arms that was hanging upon her shoulder to the boyish smile on his face.

Seobaby. The pet name that Kyuhyun christened her with.  She remembered how much she disliked it at first but Kyuhyun just wouldn’t budge. Thinking that she had no chances of winning against him, she gave up and she just let him be. Since that day, the name grew on her just like how she was attached to her nickname, Seohyun, which was also given to her by Kyuhyun. Whether it’s Seohyun or Seobaby, it was like they have their own code for each other. Calling her in such a way sounded like the soft tinkle of the wind chime in her ears. Then it struck her again.

Love is when you like the way the person calls your name. There is something different in the way that he does it and you really can’t pinpoint what it is. There is just that charm and it is like melody to your ears.

“Seohyun-ah,” Kyuhyun waved his free hand in front of Seohyun. Seohyun, on the other hand, didn’t notice it because there was something going on in her head.

Seohyun-ah. She just loved how he was calling her name. It was like hearing your favorite song and you could not help but want it to be played again.

“Seohyun-ah,” Kyuhyun called again, shaking Seohyun a bit.

“Eh…” Seohyun replied.

“You are spacing out. You know, this isn’t the right place for you to daydream about me,” Kyuhyun told her. Seohyun shoved him away. “Excuse me!”

“Who tells you I am daydreaming about you!” Seohyun said with her arms across her chest and with her back on him, hiding the pink tinge on her cheeks. Such a liar, Seohyun, she thought inwardly.

“Hey,” Kyuhyun placed his hands on her shoulder which made the younger girl jump.

“Oppa, please don’t startle me like that.” Seohyun whined.

“I’m sorry but come on, I’ll take you somewhere.” The older male said.

“But I have an exam next week,” Seohyun replied.

“Seohyun, tomorrow is weekend. I’ll promise to join you in your study tomorrow. Just go with me, please…” He begged with his pleading eyes.

“Let’s go then,” Seohyun agreed and a huge smile immediately plastered across Kyuhyun’s face. He held her hand and then set off to the place Seohyun did not know where.

---------------

Seohyun, who was used to the serenity of parks and her own room suddenly found herself in the middle of the busy and noisy arcade. Youngsters, mostly high school students, filled the arcade and were busy with the coin-operated machines while some were gathered around the different booths, tossing balls and shooting targets for a prize.

“Why did you bring me here?” Seohyun asked, wondering why Kyuhyun brought her to a place that she wasn’t very comfortable with.

“There are times when you should indulge yourself in different environment. You need some adventure in your life, Seohyun, or else it will be pretty boring.” Kyuhyun told her.

“Are you telling me I’m boring?” Seohyun said, eyeing him sharply.

“That’s not what I meant, okay.” Kyuhun stated. “I’m telling you, you’re going to enjoy this. Trust me.” He said then started caressing her cheek. The young girl felt the slowly rising temperature on her cheeks. Their eyes met and it seemed like the time had stopped and she entered herself into another trance only to be awaken by a teasing pinch on her cheek. What an anticlimactic ending.

“Kyu-oppa!!! Can you please stop doing that?!!!” Seohyun cried while Kyuhyun already scampered away to the nearest arcade machine.

-------------------

First, they tried their hands and their luck on “fishing” for stuffed toys. Seohyun jumped up and down out of excitement as she watched Kyuhyun in controls and was able to pick a stuffed toy. However, the toy slipped out of the mechanical hand just before it approached the basket. Seohyun and Kyuhyun both groaned in disappointment.

“We’ve wasted tokens for nothing,” Seohyun muttered.

“Right,” Kyuhyun said.

They both collapsed in the nearby bench and sighed heavily. A loud announcement suddenly broke the silence and the booming voice of an ahjussi echoed through the microphone.

“Come one! Come all! We have a special promo for everyone in the hall! Play in our booth and you’ll get the chance to win children’s most beloved frog! Our supplies are limited so you better hurry!”

Kyuhyun looked at Seohyun and she knew that Kyuhyun also knew what she was thinking about. Most beloved frog, can it possibly be her most beloved cartoon character? Kyuhyun’s eyes signaled her to come with him and play the game and she agreed of course. It’s all for Keroro.

The person in the booth handed them a dozen darts and told them that all they have to do is to at least 10 of the colored balloons mixed with the white ones on the board. Kyuhyun had no problem targeting the designated balloons. He spent all of his darts perfectly shooting the colored balloons. On the other hand, Seohyun was having difficulty with the game. She did not know that it could be this hard. She already spent 2 darts and both of them missed the target. Now she must really be careful because she could not anymore afford to miss the target. Noticing this, Kyuhyun came to her rescue. He walked behind her and guided her hands on the proper way to throw the dart and hitting the target. Feeling him so near to her and his face almost touching next to hers, Seohyun suddenly found trouble breathing and she just stood frozen on the spot, not completely comprehending the tips that Kyuhyun gave to her. She just let him direct her hands and fingers.

When you are near him, there is this unique sensation that you feel, it varies from a tingling one to just the complete blackout, you know the one where you just stood there when almost absolutely nothing goes to your head.

Is this another item that gets ticked off in her mental checklist?

“Now you throw!” Kyuhyun signaled. Seohyun threw the dart and it finally hit the colored balloon.

“Now try it one more time,” Kyuhyun told her. Seohyun threw the remaining darts successively and they all hit the target bull’s eye. Seohyun laughed triumphantly only for her victories to be dampened by the fact that the prize was not actually a Keroro doll. The most beloved frog that the ahjussi was referring to was the frog mascot of the arcade. Each of them got one. Seohyun smiled but she could not hide the disappointment in her face.

“Do you know? I think these froggy creatures are much better than Keroro?” Kyuhyun said.

“What makes you say that?” Seohyun said and she got more disappointed because of all the people, she expected that Kyuhyun would be the one who could understand for her eccentric fondness of the alien-frog and most of all, he should be the one to know what to say and what not to say about her beloved frog especially in front of her.

“Well, because…,” Kyuhyun raised the frog stuffed toy, “this one is KyuRoro, and this one,” he raised the other stuff toy which is a female version of the other, “this is SeoRoro. They are our souvenirs of our fun times here. That is why they are better than any other Keroro dolls. Our memories with these dolls are the ones that made it unique. So don’t you be disappointed anymore.”

He sure knew how to turn her low moments upside down. Seohyun did not know if she would laugh at it  or not but she could not stop herself from smiling from ear-to-ear.

“See… I made you smile again.” Kyuhyun teased. “I am really so great.”

“I get Kyuroro and you’ll have Seororo,” Seohyun said snatching the other half of the paired stuff toys. She cuddled it in her arms and Kyuhyun watched her interestingly.

In the middle of the silence, Seohyun’s stomach grumbled all of the sudden. The embarrassed Seohyun covered her face with her palm.

 “Poor little Seobaby is hungry already,” Kyuhyun said in a sing-song voice.

Not so far away, the scent of freshly-made croquettes filtered the air.

“What a good timing!” Kyuhyun clapped his hands and glanced at Seohyun.  “You want some?” he asked her. Seohyun nodded shyly.

“Let’s go!” He grasped her hand and together they followed the gastronomic scent. At the other side of the arcade, there stood a small stand with “Sweet Potato Croquette Sold Here!” written on their nameboard.

“Just what you wanted the most,” Kyuhyun chirped in. He greeted the two vendors who looked like an old couple. “Ahjussi, can we have two please?” He said as he gestured his two fingers at them.

“Okay then, one for a handsome young man like you and to the sweet young lady with you,” The old man said as he scooped their croquettes from the frying pan and placed it inside the small paper bags. Kyuhyun handed him the payment in exchange for their food.

“You know what?” the ahjussi said, looking at the two youngsters. “You two match each other.” The ahjussi commented. Seohyun began blushing again but she immediately lowered her face and busied herself eating the croquette. His wife nudged him and whispered, “They’re still young for that.”

The ahjumma laughed and turned to them, “Pardon my husband for saying that, children.”

“It’s okay,” Kyuhyun answered. “Many people said the same also.”

-----------------

They went outside the arcade and walked. Silence ensued as they began eating. Seohyun kept stealing glances at Kyuhyun, wondering if the comment of the ahjussi was stuck in his mind in the same way that it was stillrunning circles in her mind. Will he be thinking the same thing that I was thinking about? Wait, why was she thinking like this? Why does she worry that he might not be thinking the same? Does this mean that she really likes him? Is he already more than a friend to her? She went back to her checklist. It seems like all the items have been ticked off. He completely matched the descriptions.

She just earned a crush or more correctly, she just realized that she had a crush on this guy to whom she grew up with, the son of her mother’s best friend, her only oppa. What is she gonna do now?

Her musings were suddenly interrupted by the sudden gathering of the crowd. She almost got squished by the people if not for Kyuhyun who immediately pulled her out of the crowd into a more spacious area. Apparently a wedding had just finished in a nearby chapel and people started rushing out to greet the newlyweds. The girl was in her white flowing gown and she was holding her veil trying her best for it not to be tossed by the wind. She was arm in arm with her husband who looked dashing in his tuxedo. They were both exchanging laughs and smiles at each other as they passed by the cheering crowd. Soft white petals showered on them and dotted the red carpet they’re treading on. It was a magical spectacle, the way the white rose petals fall gently to the ground and the romantic gazes of the couple to each other. It was every girl’s dream to experience that same magic.

“It’s wonderful, isn’t it?” Kyuhyun said. Seohyun was surprised that he too was mesmerized by the scene.  Then out of the blue, Kyuhyun asked “If I were to ask you, will you marry me?”

Seohyun was startled and looked at him. “Huh? W-why are you asking me that?”

Kyuhyun became flustered and started stammering. “I-I mean, th-there are s-some girls or-or p-persons w-who swear th-that are not going to marry their childhood friend something like that. I wanna know if you’re someone like that too. It’s-it’s a –a purely hypothetical. Argh… never mind.” Kyuhyun cursed himself inwardly for saying such things out of his control. What was he talking about?

“You’re kidding again, right?” Seohyun asked. If he dismissed it as a joke then it would be much easier for her. She would not be thinking of other things. She would not be raising her hopes up and be creating fleeting fantasies. But he did not answer it.

“Let’s go home already.” He simply said. Seohyun watched him walking farther. She frowned at him. “You just left a big puzzle in me, oppa.”

-------------------

That night, Seohyun opened the slambook again and turned to her page. Her classmates weren’t convinced so they let her take it home. She scratched her previous answer and below it she wrote:

Love is when a person continuously does some annoying things to you but you can’t get completely mad at him because secretly you love it and you’ll miss it if he doesn’t do it.

She thought about how Kyuhyun always ruffles her hair or pinches her cheeks.

Love is when you always treasure the gifts that he gives to you whether it’s something that he picked out from the garden or something that he worked hard for or something really cheesy.

She looked at the gifts that Kyuhyun gave to her; the flowervine ring that she preserved in a small frame, the pink portable player, and the latest, the blue frog stuffed toy: Kyuroro.

Love is

She paused for a while before jotting down the last words in her mind.

…

a big puzzle.

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*Bonus

“Hey Kyuhyun! Where have you been? I went to your school. You know what? I’m transferring there this term. We will become classmates! It’ll be exciting!” Changmin said over the phone.

“You talk too much. You’re like a girl,” Kyuhyun answered.

“You’re really a jerk. Hey! You did not answer my question. Where have you been?”

“I’m with Seohyun.”

“Ooooh… a date.” Changmin teased followed by a laugh.

“It’s not a date.” Kyuhyun corrected him.

“Then what do you call it?”

“A stroll.”

“A stroll, your face! Are you trolling me?”

If Changmin were just infront of Kyuhyun at the moment, he swore he would have hit him.

“Just shut up!”

“Ok fine! Why don’t you introduce her to me?”

“No way!” Kyuhyun said firmly.

“See, you’re being overprotective.”

‘I’m not. It’s just that you’re so notorious to gi-“

“Stop rationalizing. Kyuhyun, there are just 2 things why boys are overprotective of girls. First, they like them and they do not want anyone else go near them. Second, there is something called “sister complex” so which of the two?”

There was silence in the line.

“See? You don’t know the answer. Or perhaps you know but you don’t want to say it.”

“I think I’m having sister-“

“Answer that to yourself. Don’t explain it to me because I know you’re smart enough to create explanations and beat me around the bush with all your reasoning which I think are all lies. To put it short, I don’t believe you have a sister complex.”

“I don’t care if you believe in me or not, anyway.” Then Kyuhyun hang up.

“Perhaps, I really have a sister complex. But if I only see her as a dongsaeng then why did I propose to her? What the heck went inside my head?” He said hitting his head softly with his knuckles.

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A/N: Gone so long... Anyway as you can see there is the bonus ChangKyu convo. Anyway, what do you think of this chapter?