“Chae Rin! Don’t run!” a short little boy slumped on the sandbox of the park as his eyes followed a girl slowly getting further and further away from him. “Eomma!! Chae Rin took my toy truck! And she won’t give it back!” the boy wailed, half expecting Chae Rin to come back to him for fear that she’d get in trouble but the little girl disregarded the boy on the ground. She was too immersed with the beauty of the flowers.

“Bae! Bae! Palli! We should collect flowers. Come!” The toddler turned around and waved her hand that clutched the truck. She smiled brightly at the kid who was near tears on the ground. Sighing, the girl put down the toy before running back.

“I told you to come!” she said before bending down and dragging the boy back to the field.

“But I told you! I am a bwoay.”

“Boy. And so what?”

“Bwoays don’t like no flowers!”

The girl rolled her eyes at the boy. “It doesn’t matter!” she said cheekily. “You’re not even a boy yet! You can’t even say the word properly!”

“But my mom told me that I am a bwoay and I should be maaaanry.”

“Manly.” The bright little girl sighed exasperatedly and scratched her head. Her pigtails had long been gone, the hair ties lost somewhere in the park. Two ladies sat on a bench across from them, watching their kids. “Eomma!” Yongbae called out to his mother. “Am I not a bwoay?”

“What? I can’t hear you, baby. Come here!” the mother said as she laughed at the two kids. Chae Rin was the smarter one. At the age of four, she understood far more than most kids. But being the only child made her lonely. She wanted a sibling but both of her parents were contented with one child and so, her neighbor, little crybaby Yongbae, became her playmate.

“Look what you did! I can’t go anywhere without you and instead of picking flowers, we have to go back to our eommas.” The girl pouted, her forehead frowning into a cute little crease as she held the boy’s hand, leading the march back to their waiting mothers. She absolutely loathed going back to her mother. Not that she didn’t like her mother. Her dislike stemmed from the fact that her mother would always pull on her hair hard and tie it up into a neat bun. If she had her way, she would never tie her hair.

“Eomma~” the boy quickly ran to his mother with open arms, hugging her tightly. “I’m a good bwoay, right? I’m maaaanry. And in the future, I’ll be a gwood hwasbund to Baby Rin.” The little kid smiled happily at his mother, his eyes crinkling into half moons as he shrugged cutely. The little girl, on the other hand, sent a glare to his direction as she tugged on her own mother’s clothes. “My eomma would never let me marry someone who can barely speak properly. Most of all, someone who’s shorter than me.”






“Get out!!” Chae Rin screamed out in frustration as she threw her pillow at her best friend’s face. Yongbae stood rooted to the spot and sighed. Ignoring her protests, he closed the door behind him and walked over.

“What did he do now?” he said as he sat beside her, her sniffling pained his heart.

She looked up to meet his eyes. Here he was again. For the third time this month, she had cried her eyes over the man she’s had a crush on. Why? Because this time, Jiyong had humiliated her in front of everyone. The first two reasons were: kissing his girlfriend, Yeonha in front of her and for making fun of her because of her glasses.

As far back as Chae Rin could remember, she had always been the mature one. When they were kids, she was taller than Yongbae and had defended off bullies who picked on him for his height and quiet demeanor. She had always been strong. Always been smart, rational…

 At least until Jiyong came to her life. Ever since she joined highschool and got caught up with their school’s kingka, her life had been a mess.

She wiped her eyes then grabbed a tissue from the box on beside her

“Chae. Tell me. Come on.” Bae said as he reached out to tilt her face. He looked at her face closely. Her eyes were red once again, puffy cheeks and pink lips, sore from biting. He held back the rage he felt inside. He had loved her ever since he could remember. Promised to protect her yet he couldn’t. He hated himself for always being so weak. Then and again, she had always stood up for him, but now, when his turn finally came, he couldn’t. If only they had went to the same high school.

She looked at him and wondered why he cared so much. He had always looked at her so tenderly, as if she was so precious. Something that was never meant to be broken. “N-nothing. Nothing happened.” she managed to croak out, her voice sounded horrible from all of the crying she had been doing.

“You know you can’t lie to me, Baby Rin.” He gave her one of his signature eye-smiles and poked her forehead – something he knew she hated. He chuckled before hugging her tightly. “Hit me all you want later. I know you must be raging inside. But for now, just let it out. Cry.  I’m here for you, always.”





“Here you go!” Yongbae stretched his hand and handed out her ice cream to her. “You seem especially happy today.” He said as he his own ice cream. He heard her sigh and mumble a thanks.

“Can you believe it? I’ve finally graduated from highschool! And coming Spring, I’ll be going to your college. We’ll finally be in the same school again!” she turned to him and smiled at him happily. “Remember elementary days? When you would cry on the corner and I would have to drag you home because you didn’t want to move?” giggling happily, she leaned her head on his shoulders. “I miss being a kid. Less stress, more fun.”

“Hmm.” He said, unable to add anything more for his heart started to beat rapidly at the simple touch. He could smell her scent – cherry blossoms with a hint of vanilla. He breathed in deeply and tried his best to relax. “You know, you never answered my question.” He told her before leaning his own head on hers. “You’re avoiding something, aren’t you?” If only this moment could last forever, he thought. He would never wish for anything else. He loved every second he spent with her.


“Chae!” a man’s voice called from afar.

She stood up quickly, accidentally hitting their heads together. “Sorry, Bae! But I have to go. As for your question?” she tilted her head back to look at the sky before stretching her hands to the side. “Me and Ji.. we’ll both be going to your school. We’ll all be going to the same college together. Isn’t that wonderful? The two guys that I care for, both by my side. That’s why I’m so happy. Thanks for the ice cream!” she said, before running towards Jiyong.

Yongbae watched her run to him – the man who used to make her cry; the man who became the very reason her smile shined so brightly.  He closed his eyes tightly, fighting the feeling of his clenching heart torn into pieces. He quietly wished he could be that man…




Yongbae walked over to the park, his thoughts filled of the last time he saw Chae Rin and Jiyong together. Their faces were so close to each other… and when their lips touched. Damn it. He thought as he punched the air. He hid his face on the palm of his hands before kicking the random rock on the ground. Should I keep waiting?




Chae Rin sat on her a table inside the restaurant she was supposed to meet Jiyong with. Her mind had been full of late. She couldn’t seem to put her finger on it but she felt that the distance between her and her best friend appeared to be growing. With each day she spent with her boyfriend, Yongbae seemed more aloof. Lately, she also found herself wishing for him to come up to her room randomly and have a chat – she wanted things to be the same again, but it seemed impossible. She didn’t know if she had done something wrong…






Months passed and she felt her heart empty. She looked at the man in front of her and wondered where was the feeling she felt for him years ago? Where was the fluttering of her heart? The warmth that enveloped it? She shook her head softly. No, there was never the feeling of warmth when she was with Jiyong. It was Yongbae who brought it – his gentle smile, the way he laughed at her as he ruffled her hair, his random text messages filled with cheesy quotes, his hugs… Those were, to the extent of her knowledge, all the heart-warming moments she had. And none of them were with the one she was holding hands with, watching a movie. It must have been true that she felt something for Jiyong, but somehow, it had faded. But how come instead of feeling like her love faded, her heart felt empty instead? As if it was missing a huge chunk that made her barely able to breathe?


Yongbae sighed exasperatedly, his eyes focused on the television as his fingers rushed to hit the right buttons on his Playstation 3. It was the summer vacation before his third year of college, and frankly, he had absolutely nothing to do – well, besides shoot down as many zombies he could and avoid a crazy axe-wielding boss and run for his life.

“.” He swore when the boss finally caught him and the message, “GAME OVER” flashed across the screen. Glaring at the television, as if blaming its very existence for making him lose, he laid on his bed and stared at the ceiling. What now? He couldn’t exactly just come over next door and drag Chae Rin to the park like when they were kids, could he? It wasn’t that he had no other friends, but he just didn’t think that drinking or partying every day was the definition of a “fun summer”. It was all about spending time with the people you care for, turning normal events into special moments or exploring the town. But doing that alone wasn’t appealing to him either. Might as well sleep, he thought before closing his eyes.

He was on the brink of falling asleep when the sound of rolling wheels entered through his agape door and a thud on his bed made him stand up, startled. He looked down and saw his old toy truck, and attached to it, was a note.

Come outside. Chill for a while? Look for a folded me.

He frowned, perplexed at the message. He recognized the writing right away though the message confused him. What game did she want to play now?

He got up and heard giggling. Looking around, he found his own mother and hers.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Go outside! And check the mail box!”

He gave them a look that clearly said what the hell before lazily going down. Were they really so bored as to disturb his sleep? Though he had to admit that deep inside, his heart started to anticipate what was happening. 

He put on his shoes then left the house, jogging to the mailbox. He opened it and saw a boat and on its side, the message: “You’re cute when you smile. Always smile for me,” was written on it, along with a little Rilakkumma drawing on the end.

He couldn’t help himself but laugh as he shook his head in disbelief. It was as if all the distance that he tried to put between himself and her had been crossed with such a simple note. He really couldn’t stay away from her.

Turning the boat around, he saw another message on the other side. Go to the park. The bench and pull me.

“Okay, Chae Rin. You got me. Come out now!” he said loudly before looking around. She must be near, close by but when he saw no one except for his mother and auntie, he decided she truly wasn’t. He looked up at the two women laughing by the window and shook his head before heading to the park where he used to play so often with her.

To his surprise, no one was in the park except for a blue tissue box set in the middle of the bench. Walking up to it, he pulled a sheet off and read a message.

“Do you know how wonderful you are? Always picking me up when I’m down… taking punches from a little girl. You always cared. Please don’t ever stop caring.

Untie me from a tree”

He looked around to see a ribbon fluttering on the wind, an envelope tied to it. Biting his lips from anticipation at her little game, he ran as fast as he could to the tree before jumping up to pull the ribbon down. He missed her. Missed her randomness, her smile, her laughter. He missed his DokChae.

He opened the envelope and took out the paper. He read it softly to himself.

“You’re always so nice. Never selfish. You’ve never said no to me, haven’t you? Well I hope you won’t this time too. Will you promise me that?

Take me from my own hand, read the words inside, and answer out loud.

Ready? Now turn around.”

He took a moment to take it in before slowly turning around. And there she was. Her usual self – messy blonde hair, square and dorky glasses, tights and a baggy shirt. She was smiling at him, her hands carrying two ice creams.

“I got your favorite, Chocolate peanut butter ice cream with chunked almonds. Careful on the napkin.” She said before her lips curved slightly to form his favorite smile. He breathed in deeply before walking towards her and taking the cone. “Thanks.”

She raised an eyebrow and flicked my forehead suddenly. ‘Ouch! What was that for?”   he asked, annoyed.

“You. You’re not allowed to talk, remember? Now read.”

He took a of the ice cream before bringing it to his eye-level and examining the napkin that held the cone. Carefully, he took it out before taking a bite at his food and shivering from brain freeze.

“So?” she asked impatiently. She was panicking. Would it have worked? Or was she too late? Maybe she was wrong?

“Bwain fruize. Wait.” He managed to cough out before shaking his head to desperately try to get rid of the feeling.

She giggled at the sight. She remembered it exactly, the way he couldn’t talk properly. Cute little Yongbae and his words. He was still the same as before. It was her that changed. He didn’t. He was always there by his side whether she knew it or not. And for it, she was thankful.

He pouted at her before unfolding the napkin and reading her message.

“I’ve hurt you. Countless of times. I’ve hit you for no reason, been unreasonably y,  crazy. And yet, here you are. You’re still here. Heck, you’re even willing to put up with this little charade I came up with. No matter what, you’ve never left my side. So… will you stay beside me? Forever?”

He felt something caught on his throat. For a few seconds, he felt his heart stop. Was it really the way he was thinking or wishing? Could it be true? That she actually…

“I love you. Don’t you dare doubt that, Pabo Bae.”

And with it, he threw away his ice cream and knocked hers over. Cupping her face with both hands, he looked into her eyes deeply. “You’re not lying, are you? Please tell me you’re not.” He whispered. He needed this to be real.

“I’m not. Really, you’re still the same old kid. You won’t believe it until it hit you, right?” She smiled before leaning up and kissing him.

“I love you. Perhaps since we were ten when you brought me flowers when I broke my wrist from punching the little snottyhead who made fun of you. Or from when we were seven and you helped me learn how to ride a bike. Or even when we were five and you claimed that you would marry me. Point is, I wasted all this time pining for someone else when it was you who I needed. Bestfriends forever?” she said, as she took one of his hands and stuck her pinky up.

“Pinky promise?” she asked him again.

He hooked his pinky on hers before hugging her tightly to his chest. It was too unreal and more than anything he could have ever dreamed of.

“Promise. I love you, Lee Chae Rin.”

Started: July 27^소, 2012

Finished: 11:27pm July 29^, 2012
Words: 2857