Happy Valentine’s Day.

He didn’t think much of today, even if it was Valentine’ Day. To him, it was just like any ordinary day in school. Perhaps it was more annoying than the usual, since the girls wouldn’t leave him alone until he accepts the chocolate. But none of that held any interest to him.

Nothing seemed interesting to him any longer since that last spring. Now, everything he did seemed like a necessary routine to pass the long hours in a day – School, dancing, homework...

He no longer worked at that part-time job either.

There was no reason for him to work there anymore…

“Taemin oppa!” A certain girl screeched at him from behind. He placed on his earplugs to pretend he didn’t hear her and walked hurriedly down the stairs. At times like these, he was glad to have long legs. Within a minute, he was already out of school gates and into the streets. Yet the persistent callings by the girls didn’t seem to fade. He slipped himself into a crowd and followed the flow. A quick turn of his head around informed him that the group of girls was still right behind though they were being deterred by the influx of people.

He turned his walk into a light jog, maneuvering his leaned figure easily through the crowd and finally spotted a potential escape at a turn. A relieved smile lit up his face as he made an abrupt change in direction and took that route, expecting his action to throw the stalkers off his back.

But what threw Taemin off too was a soft object bumping his body and a flying paper bag spilling out packets of chocolate. The next thing he knew – there was a young girl in his embrace and packets of chocolates all over the floor.

The young girl grunted upon the impact and pulled away from him.

“You…!” Her voice trailed off as she looked up to him. Taemin gazed at the young girl, probably around fourteen or fifteen years old, clad in a school uniform that he didn’t recognize. Probably not from this region, he thought as she continued staring at him.

“Well…” she finally spoke out in annoyance. “Are you going to help me pick up all these or continue staring at me in the middle of nowhere?”

“Oh sorry!” He bent down hurriedly and took up handfuls of chocolate packets and shoved them into her brown paper bag. “I’m sorry. I was in a rush…I didn’t look where I was walking.”

“That’s fine…” The girl answered as she bent over and picked up the chocolates as well. He couldn’t help but notice how small her hands were against his. Wait, he caught himself, why was he observing a young girl’s hands now?

“So…wow, that’s a lot of chocolate you have. Quite popular among the guys I suppose?” He opened to his mouth to speak out anything in order to drive the earlier thought out of his brain. Now he was regretting the rashness of his words.

She didn’t answer him till the last packet of chocolate was thrown back to the paper bag and they were both standing upright again. “I study in an all-girls school. These are all friendship chocolates by my female classmates.”

“Oh.” Was all Taemin could say at her response. At this moment in time, he simply wished a hole would appear to bury his head in. At the same time, he was also wondering why he was acting so stupidly in front of this person. He usually had no qualms about being quiet in front of others, nor did he ever make attempts to fill up silence in between interactions. So why was he so different today? Why did she affect him so?

“I’m Yu-Hee.” She disrupted his troubling mental debate and plopped down to a nearby bench. “Sit.” She looked up to him.

He had no reason to comply with her demands. She was just a stranger he had bumped into. But there was something about her…he couldn’t quite figure out what, that was pulling him to her.

Taemin sat beside her, feeling strangely nervous and pressurized. He cast a quick side glance at her face once, then twice, observing the fair tone of her complexion, her boyish yet cute short bob, her large pair of bright eyes…

The silence dragged on. Realizing she wasn’t going to break the ice, he decided to ask the bubbling question that he had been holding in all this while.

“I’m sorry…” he turned to face her. “Have we met before? You looked familiar.” He bit his lips and mentally rolled his eyes at the sentence falling out from his lips. This definitely sounded like one of those extremely corny pickups lines. He couldn’t believe he had just said that out, and to such a young girl as well!

He watched as she raised an eyebrow at his words. He clenched his jaw, preparing for the mocking laugh that would escape from her ruby lips anytime soon…

But that laugh never came. Instead, he was taken aback from the looks in her eyes as she studied his face carefully.

“So I have met you before?” He took her silence as the answer. She shook her head slowly. “No.” She smiled slightly as if she was recalling a secret in her mind. “This is the first time I met you.”

“Really?” He couldn’t believe her words. There was definitely something about her that reminded him about someone…a certain lady…

 His mind suddenly raced back to last spring. He shut his eyes for a moment to calm a sudden agitation in his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Her concerned voice called out.

“It’s nothing.” His eyes opened and reconfirmed his thoughts as he gazed intently at her. “You just looked similar to someone I used to know. That’s all.”

Her lips parted to speak back to him, but a sudden call stopped her actions.

“Roses! Buy fresh red roses for your girlfriend for Valentine’s Day! Roses! Buy…~” A little girl carrying a large basket of red roses walked around the area.

“Hey.” Yu-Hee looked at him and pointed at the little girl. “Buy me a rose.”

The corners of his lips twitched into an amused smile. “Why should I?”

“Just buy me one.” She continued pointing at the little girl’s direction and the action caught her eyes. The little girl skipped over to them in dainty steps. “Would you like to buy a rose for your girlfriend sir?”

“Yes please.” Yu-Hee spoke before he could decline; her hands shoved into the basket and took out a stalk of red rose. “Thanks!” She turned to the disbelief-looking Taemin with an innocent grin.

“That would be 3,500 won.” The little girl reached out her opened palm towards the opened-mouth man. Taemin snapped out of his confusion, hastily reached into his pocket for his wallet and paid her.

“Do you always act like that to everyone?” He turned back to Yu-Hee as the little girl left.

“I picked out a good rose…” She mumbled to no one in particular; simply examining the red rose in her hands. “This one bloomed beautifully. Thanks for the Valentine’s Day gift!” Her eyes flickered over to him and she threw him a big smile.

His coal orbs widened slightly at Yu-Hee’s surprising actions before breaking off to a grin as well. “Really…” he shook his head, tossing his smooth mob of hazel brown hair slightly. “I can’t understand girls at all.”

“There’s always a reason why we remain so mysterious.” She confessed, looking up to his perplexed expression. “Sometimes, it’s better for everyone if some things are left unsaid.” She looked down at the red flower in her hand before staring up to the orange colored sky. “That’s what my unnie told me.”

“I don’t get it.” Taemin mumbled.

Yu-Hee laughed slightly at his response. “I don’t get it at first either.” Her eyes trailed back to his frowning face. “I only understood her meaning…recently.”

Her finger raised closer to his face and flicked at his furrowed brow. He yelped in surprise.

“What you do that for?”

She laughed again. “It’s no good to frown. You looked more handsome when you smile. That’s what my unnie said as well.”

His anger quickly turned to flustered pink cheeks as he looked away from her and coughed slightly.

“You…should be…more respectful…to your seniors.” Was all he commented in between the coughs.

Yu-Hee dive her hand into the brown paper bag and took out a bag of chocolate cookies, complete with carefully wrapped transparent wrappings, a card and a pretty ribbon as decoration.

“Here.” She threw the gift into his lap. “Take that as my apologies.”

“I don’t accept gifts that are meant for others.” Taemin smiled slightly at the young girl’s casual actions.

She stood up, picking up her paper bag. “I made it myself.” She started walking into the crowd.

“Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Without looking back, Yu-Hee waved him a good-bye…

Taemin smiled in disbelief at this mysterious young girl who had came in and out of his life so randomly and suddenly. When his eyes could no longer find her presence in the crowd, he revert the attention back to the gift in his hand.

Chocolate cookies, he couldn’t help but smile wider, his favorite.

With great delicacy, he peeled the ribbon off the wrappers and retrieved the simple white card from within. He flipped open the card and was greeted by a simple sentence penned in black.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Taemin.

He looked up in surprise and searched for the girl in the crowd again. But she was long gone. He pursed his lips tightly as he examined the words again with numerous thoughts rushing through his mind. How did she know his name when he never told her about it?

And more importantly, the next question tugged strongly at his heart – Who is she, really?

******

The sky was turning into a faint navy blue by the time Yu-Hee reached the quiet destination.

“It took me a while to find him…but I manage to do what you told me to, unnie.” She sat lightly on the soft carpet of grass and stare at the gray picture of a beautiful lady’s smiling face. “You’re right. He really looks like the sun when he smiles. No wonder you fall in love with him…” She placed her hand across a smooth stone patch and traced her slender fingers along its engraved words.

BELOVED DAUGHTER & SISTER

HAN YU-JIN

1993 – 2010

Warm tears trickled down her cheeks.

“I hope you’re happy, where-ever you are, unnie.”

With delicate movements, she set the red rose down.

"Happy Valentine’s Day.”

#Author’s Note – For those who are confused about who is Han Yu-Jin, please read one-shot Unrequited Love to understand the entire story. [It doesn't matter whether you read this or that first though…]

Click here:

http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/22365/unrequited-love-one-shot-lovestory-romance-taemin-you

Hope you enjoy both one-shots! Many thanks and Happy Valentine’s Day again :)