I Love You

Sometimes you have to live life one letter at a time…

1970

Kwon Yuri walks towards her classroom as soon as the captain of prefect, Choi Siwon, finished giving his speech that morning meeting. When she enters her classroom, she expected that her friends would circle around their usual spot, near her table, and talk about some random gossip before their homeroom teacher comes in. To her surprise, they were sitting too 'flawlessly' on their tables with their book covering their grins and meaningful smile. They ogle at each other as she closes the door behind her.

It was too weird. Too fishy indeed.

As she passes them, she heard a few giggles and as soon as she arrives at her seat, a few heads turn towards her and that includes Jessica, Tiffany, Taeyeon, Sunny, Hyoyeon, Sooyoung, Yoona and Seohyun, her best of friends.

They are staring meaningfully at her.

“What?” she puzzled.

“We had done some vigorous investigations.” Sooyoung began. “And we would like to report the findings to you.”

Suddenly, Yuri knew what this is all about. She sighed heavily.

“Guys, I don’t want to hear it.”

“Oh, come on.” Hyoyeon elbowed her, “It wasn’t too extensive. It’s just a few facts like –” she said as she stare at Yoona.

“His father was a football coach and that’s probably why he’s good at it. He has a big brother who is very dear to him. His mother died when he was eleven years old. He was depressed for several years but now move on with his life. He’s our senior but a year younger than us because he leaped two years before this, the reason is because he was transferred a few times and one of his schools had done a mistake thinking that he’s two years older since he was too tall. I couldn’t blame them. He’s indeed too tall.” Yoona shrugs her shoulder, “His dream is to become an engineer. He really likes to sleep and play StarCraft with Kyuhyun and also loves sport especially football, as we all know it. He likes blue and number ten. He’s not scared of anything but apparently a little bit grumpy when he doesn’t get enough food or sleep.”

“And the most important part is that his blood type B and currently not dating anyone.” Jessica added. “You probably need to jot down these facts, Yuri, in case…” she smiled with a lot of meaning behind it.

“In case of what?”

Yoona  grins, “In case that our theory is right.”

“My !” she mocked dryly. “There’s no way your theory is going to be right.”

“And why should that be? We had a lot of evidences.” Sunny chipped in.

“Your evidences are invalid. All of it was based on assumption.”

“But unnie, Minho oppa is totally doting on you. Yoona unnie had asked Donghae oppa about this.”

Seohyun’s soft voice gave away their real mission that morning. They had been talking about this for years. She wanted to believe them. Really. She does want to believe them. But there are some doubts and uncertainties that overtook other thoughts and one of them is why…

Why he would ever like her?

“Yeah unnie.” Yoona adds. “Donghae oppa also believed that he likes you. He said Minho is different when you are around.”

Yuri squint her questioning eyes.

“He said Minho would start behaving too serious and manly in front of you. He’s usually playful around them." Yoona said.

"The boys also said he’d become extremely restless these days, ever since the Prefect Week project is coming. They said they saw you spending a lot of time with Taecyeon in the library. They said you look quite happy with him, smiling and laughing, completely different than whenever we hanging out with them. ” Hyoyeon adds.

“We are discussing about the budget since both of us are in charge of it. And Taecyeon is our colleague. He’s close to everyone.” Yuri tries to explain. "Plus I only hang out with them once or twice and that's when you forced me to. That's why it was a little bit awkward compared to the time I'm with Taecyeon. He's my buddy."

“Yeah, we know.” Jessica remarks.

“But Minho doesn’t know about it.” Sunny adds.

Sooyoung grins, “And that’s why nowadays he likes to stay in the library after school.”

“And took an extra hour to practice for his next five month football competition.” Taeyeon said, “Yuri, isn’t it obvious?”

She snorted, “No. Why would that considered as obvious? He probably does need those practices and revision time. It has nothing to do with me.”

“Here she goes again.” Hyoyeon pats her neck dramatically. “Oh my neck is going to explode.”

“Okay I’m not going to nag about it again. But you guys have to stop doing this. He doesn’t like me. You are going to give him impression that I’m just another girl who is crazy over him. It’s so embarrassing. I know I’m not very popular but I do have an image to take care of. I don’t want to look like a fool in front of him or any other guys out there.”

Sooyoung dismisses her words, “There’s nothing embarrassing about this. You like him and he likes you.”

“I don’t like him.” Her voice croaked, “I just think he’s cute…and very kind.”

“Pfft…you don’t like him? Yeah right. That’s probably why your smile line is getting deeper whenever he was around. It looks like a dessert now.” Taeyeon remarked.

“Did not.”

“Yes you did.”

“Did not!”

“Girls, shh…he’s coming!” Tiffany squealed.

In a split second, everyone is back at their table, pretending to read the next lecture.

Yuri was not an exception.

She hold the edge of her English notes tightly and her eyes fully concentrated on the sentences but her mind reeling on the boy who was about to walk on the corridor, next to her. It was fortunate that her seat placed at the end of the class, beside the door. She could watch perfectly what is happening outside.

A group of seniors was walking towards her classroom. She recognized each of them from far. She should be able to do that. They had been related to that group for years now ever since Yoona and Donghae dated. They have gone out for several times as friends. There’s Donghae, Yoona’s boyfriend since they were junior, Siwon, everyone’s hunk especially Tiffany’s and Sooyoung’s, Changmin who apparently had conquered all the teacher’s heart including Miss Victoria, Kyuhyun, the StarCraft player who currently too preoccupied with his game to date and then there is this boy…Choi Minho, tall lad with tousled black hair, with his huge eyes and dandy smile, he definitely fit in that group of handsome boys.

They had this rituals of walking through this corridor every morning to make sure that they get their daily dose of woo’s and aah’s from the girls. She could not blame them. If she had a pretty face like them she’s going to flash her face everywhere too. But she’s not. Within her circle of friends, she is the ugly duckling; with the darkest skin, deep dry smile line, a balloon type of body which can jump from fat to anorexic in just few seconds and a pair of small boring eyes. She wished she could be like Yoona; perfect in every sense or have legs like Sooyoung and Tiffany or fair like Taeyeon or intelligent like Seohyun or having a unshakable voluptuous body that Sunny and Hyoyeon had or charming personalities like Jessica. But she’s not.

She’s just the plain Yuri.

The invisible Yuri.

“Look Yuri!” Taeyeon whispered to her.

It took her a herculean effort to stay focus on her book. She pointed her finger at the English word in front of her.

What is this? Tea? But it doesn’t look like tea.

It was when she heard somebody clearing his throat, which she recognized as Donghae’s, that forces her to look into the window beside her. They are passing her class and Minho was the closest to the window – it was always that way anyway. She could see his other colleagues grinning and laughing at him but he remains cool. He displays his usual boring expression as he walks. Carefully, she let her gaze fall on him…but he was already watching at her through the side of his eyes.

1

2

3

Three seconds.

That is how short and simple they took to look into each other eyes before they look else where.

She smiles and she manages to saw his grin before he heads to the next class. And she swear could hear her heartbeat stops before it goes faster, out of its proportion. Her cheeks were flushed. She could hear his friends cooing him.

Yuri suppresses a chuckle at his situation. But well…she got a few things to handle too.

“I saw that smile.” Sooyound squealed.

Sunny grins, “And I saw the grin.”

The others burst out laughing.

“It’s not like what you think guys.”

Taeyeon rolls her eyes, “Yeah right!”

They laugh hysterically at her but it wasn’t until Tiffany’s comment that made her blushed out of embarrassment, feeling like a total idiot.

“By the way, your book is upside down. And it’s ‘eat’, not tea.”

*****

It is raining.

A soft sigh comes out from her lips. She was forced to stay at school again that evening. Taecyeon won’t let her go until the budget for the upcoming project is finalized. He said Siwon had been a tyrant on him, claiming that they took ages to make things done. She wonders what made Siwon act like that since it is not his nature to put pressure on people to meet the due date. But she guesses it is for a good reason. At least her job is done now. No more late meetings. No more skipping classes. She can rest all of it aside and take a good long break. But first she needs to endure the rain. And that includes having to wait for a few hours to let the shower eases a little bit since she forgot to bring her umbrella today out of all days.

She sighs again.

Yuri brings out a blue water bottle in her bag. She was feeling a little bit thirsty despite the cold wet weather. As she blankly stares ahead with a water bottle in , she saw a dark figure running towards the shed she is at. She almost choked on the water when she could see him clearly.

She froze cold at her feet.

She wasn’t able move from where she stands. Her cheeks are already bloated with water when he stands beside her. Minho flips his hair to get rid of the water beads whilst she continues to gape at him. It can’t be helped. He was too gorgeous to not stare. And when he looks back at her, she was stoned.

She suddenly had an impulse to offer him some water. It was the only thing she had in mind. It was stupid but she did it anyway.

Surprisingly, he took the bottle and drinks from it.

For a second there, it looks like . She drew her gaze before he realizes that she had been drooling over him. She remains conscious by looking at the rain.

“Yuri?”

She turns to him again. “Uhm?”

“Thanks.” He said as he gives the bottle back to her.

The wind of silence blows. From time to time, she wraps her arms around herself to help her endure the coldness. She couldn’t help to notice that his hand fidgets maybe from nervousness but she ignores it.

“Are you not going home?” He suddenly spoke.

Her brows raise in surprise, “I am…but I forgot to bring my umbrella.” She said, “I probably have to wait for a few more minutes. It doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop soon.”

He nods his head encouragingly at the predicament.

“Aigoo. Dad is going to be mad again.” She muttered.

She thinks he picked up on those words that made his eyebrows knitted. It is hard to read his expression when it really didn’t tell much of what he thinks. When he finally spoken, that’s when she understands his silence.

“Do you want a lift?”

“Huh?”

Not much of a talking guy, he swiftly put his bag aside and s his black coat.

“Come. Let’s share my ‘special’ umbrella.” he offered with a teasing smile.

“Huh?” Yuri asked, still in a confused state.

Minho then slings his bag to the left side to make some space for her. When he brings his coat on top of his head and covers both of them with it is when she finally realized what a ‘special’ umbrella means.

“Let’s go.”

She hesitated, “But my house is far away.”

“I know.” was his simple answer. He pulls her in using her coat and she was too startled to react, “Let’s go.”

And off they run.

They step on the puddle together, running through the rain together. She struggles to fit into that small place of his but he never let the rain touches her. His shoulder is already wet by the rain yet he kept going. And she glad he did. She never felt as happy as she was that day, inside his ‘special’ umbrella, near to his heart. Her heart skips a beat every time they took a shy glimpse at each other as they run. There are thousand things she wants to write to describe that moment. But she was not sure how to word it.

But one thing for sure, she was the happiest girl alive that evening.

*****

2013

“What are you looking for?”

A grey-haired man in his oversized t-shirt came and sits down beside his wife, watching her pick up his old clothes from the boxes. His wife, a beautiful lady in her sixties, smiles at him with a hint of happiness.

“I just found something.”

He frowns, “What?”

His wife put an old worn out coat onto his lap and grins, “Your ‘special’ umbrella.”

He looks at it, it took him awhile before a memory start to register into his mind and he smiles at the sight of it.

“I nearly forgot about it.”

His wife agrees, “We nearly forgot about it. Years of hardships of raising eight children, it’s not a wonder that we completely forgot how love feels like.” She chuckles. “I was searching for clothes for donation but I found that instead. Lucky that I decided to ransack this box first rather than just give it away for charity.”

Her husband looks around at the clothes that spattered around them.

“Did you found yours?”

The old lady dives her hand into the box again and takes out the same old coat but a smaller version of it. She dusts it off before she hands it to her husband.

“I think the note is still in there.”

True to her words, her husband takes out a small piece of paper out of the coat’s pocket. He then smiles at the sight of the worn out letters on it.

I love you.

It says. Those were the magical words that brought them together till this day.

The old couple look into each other eyes. Their hearts were in their eyes.

“I love you, Yuri.”

Yuri smiles. After all, her friends’ theory was indeed right.

“I love you, Minho.”

*****

1970

“Thank you so much.” They’ve arrived at the porch leading towards her home. “You are completely soaked because of me. I’m really sorry.”

He shakes his head, “I’m going to get wet anyway so don’t worry about me.” He gave her his tedious smile again.

There’s an awkward silence between them before she realizes that she needs not to get her father angry because of her absence.

“I should be going.” She uttered, half cursing because her house was so near to her school. “My father is waiting inside.”

“Uh.” Was his short reply.

He then slowly walks away into the heavy rain. Yuri stares at him as he took his steps towards the other road. She puts her hand inside her pockets out of the coldness that the rain gave her. That’s when she feels it. It was never there in the first place.

The small paper that changes her life forever.

“Minho!”

The boy turns around and quickly caught her body as she throws herself into him. He was frozen in his place yet gently puts his hand on her waist.

“You are going to get wet.” He breathed.

Her eyes beam, “Are you not going to say it to me?”

His brown eyes widen but with shyness and nervousness. Even under the rain, she could see his cheeks blush a crimson red.

“Say it.” Her voice was about to choke, “And I promise you that you will not regret it.”

He closes his eyes and opens it again. He took a deep breath before stares down at her teary eyes. His smile back then was something that she would remember forever.

“I love you. I always love you.”

She bursts into tears. A few years keeping her feelings to herself, finally she was able to say it out loud for the first time.

“I love you too.”

And the rest was history…

*****

Enjoy

Words from the author,

Inspired by The Classics; currently the best Korean sad/romantic movie I’ve ever found.