“The first time you fall in love, it changes you forever. And no matter how hard you try, that feeling will never goes away.”

(Nicholas Sparks)

It was a quiet Sunday afternoon. Two teenage boys are currently sitting in the swings at the park near their school, or ex-middle school to be exact, since both of them were recently graduated. None of the boys are saying anything, they just kept swinging back and forth for hours, until one of them finally tried to break the silence.

"So.. you're really leaving then?" Myungsoo said weakly, trying to hold back his tears. He can't cry. He mustn't cry. He already knew about this anyway, he knew it months before their middle school graduation. So what is the point of crying now?

“I’m sorry Myungsoo.. But my father finally got a better job opportunity, and that new job is just happened to be in the UK. It’s not like he can leave his family here, Myung. And it’s not like I can live here on my own either.. I don’t want to go, Daeyeol also doesn’t want to go, but we don’t really have the choice, do we?”

Sungyeol stared at his best friend, who is now currently had his head hanging low, eyes to the ground. He hated the fact that he made his best friend sad. He hated the fact that he’s leaving Korea soon. He hated the fact that he won’t see his best friend for God knows how long. He hated the fact that he can’t hang out with his best friend anymore. But then again, what can he do? What can a fourteen years-old boy like him can do?

“Myungsoo.. I’m sorry..”

Myungsoo blinked his tears away, straighten up his back, looked up, and then smiled, “That’s okay Yeol, it’s not like we’ll stop being friends, right?”

“Of course we’ll still be friends, you’re my one and only best friend! Well, apart from Jongie, but still, you’re my bestest friend!”

“Yeah, you’re my bestest friend too.” Myungsoo answered, still smiling. He desperately wanted to add, ‘And you’re also my first love, Yeol.’ but none of those words ever came out from his mouth. Instead, he managed to say, “Lee Sungyeol, don’t you dare forget about me. And if you ever come back here again, look for me, okay. Promise?”

“Yes Myung, I promise..”

---

For almost a year after Sungyeol left to UK, the two boys do their best to keep in touch. There were emails, letters, and postcards being exchanged, there were also occasional phone calls once every several weeks. But with the time zone differences and their busy schedule as a high schooler, both of them started to grow apart. No more emails, letters, and postcards. No more phone calls. It’s not like they wanted to stop being friends, but it’s just that their friendship simply fade away with time.

But Myungsoo does miss his best friend. Sometimes he wondered what Sungyeol is doing right now, if Sungyeol still living in the UK, if Sungyeol will ever back to Korea, if Sungyeol miss him too, if Sungyeol still remembered him... Because Myungsoo sure still remember Sungyeol and every little details he knew about the older boy.

That Sungyeol loves coffee a little bit too much. (He started drinking coffee because he saw his father drinks coffee every morning before going to work, and Sungyeol thinks his father looked very cool while drinking coffee.)

That Sungyeol is a light sleeper. (A trait that both a bless and a curse for Sungyeol, because it meant he will never late for school since he’ll immediately awake after his mother knocked his bedroom door only once, but it also meant that he will kept waking up in the middle of the night because he shared his room with Daeyeol who had a weird sleeping habit and will occasionally talks and shouts while sleeping.)

That Sungyeol is very fond of Myungsoo’s little brother, Moonsoo. (Sungyeol forever wished that Daeyeol can be as nice as Moonsoo, and Myungsoo can only snicker when he heard Sungyeol said this, because Myungsoo is the only one who knows how demonic Moonsoo can be.)

That Sungyeol will laugh like a maniac when he succeeded pulling pranks on Sungjong, Myungsoo’s cousin and their other best friend. (Then Sungjong will starts shouting and crying at the both of them. He’ll start rambling on how Sungyeol is the evil one with all those pranks and childish antics Sungyeol pulled on him, and how Myungsoo is the second evil, letting Sungyeol do all that to him. And Sungyeol will only shrugged and said, “He’s the youngest and the cutest out of us, Myung, I can’t resist myself to pull a prank on him. After all, he’s destined to be my target.”)

That Sungyeol didn’t particularly like his big eyes and chubby cheeks. (“It makes me look like a girl, Myung.” Sungyeol once said. Myungsoo only shook his head and say nothing, when the truth is, he wanted to say that it makes Sungyeol looks exceptionally beautiful.)

That Sungyeol is actually insecure that no girls, or boys, will ever like him because he’s too tall, too loud, with a facial feature that too lady-like. (To this, Myungsoo wanted shout and scream on his face saying, “I AM ING HERE!”)

So yeah, Myungsoo still remembers loads of things, trivial or not, about Sungyeol.

---

Through out the years, Myungsoo become friends with many people, despite being the quiet boy Myungsoo is. No, Myungsoo did not change into a depressed boy just because his best friend who also happened to be his first love, left him. No, Myungsoo did not shut himself from his parents, Moonsoo, Sungjong, or any of his other friends just because he never heard anything from Sungyeol anymore. Myungsoo is still.. Myungsoo. He is naturally a quiet person. But yes, he still deeply in love with Sungyeol even though he never see him again after that afternoon in the park near their middle school. Yes, he still can’t forget about his the feelings he held for his best friend even though he never heard anything from him again after they stopped exchanging emails, letters, postcards, or phone calls.

Myungsoo did try to move on, he even dated several times. Three times, to be exact. Jiyeon, the first girl he ever dated on 10th grade, is a very pretty girl. A girl that being adored by the whole school, including Myungsoo and Sungjong. Myungsoo felt he’s very lucky when she suddenly confessed to him, so he accepted her confession without much thinking. But then she started to get too clingy, a little too possessive for Myungsoo’s liking. So after the constant bickering and fight, Myungsoo decided to go part ways with Jiyeon. It didn’t end very well though, Jiyeon took the break up in a very hard way, causing her to even moved out of town and changed school, and Myungsoo felt really guilty about this. But after several months, he got a text message from an unknown numbers saying that Jiyeon is fine, she’s doing well now, and that he should stop feeling guilty. So, he did.

Then came Sooji, Myungsoo’s 2nd girlfriend. She’s a very sweet and mature girl, despite her age being two years younger than Myungsoo. She tried to understand Myungsoo, what Myungsoo wants, what Myungsoo likes, and this was the one that made Myungsoo liked her very much. Yes, he really did like her. After all she’s the kind of girl every boy would ever wanted, but then again, she’s not the one Myungsoo truly wants to stay beside him, so in the end, he broke up with her and wished for her to find a better person.

And then there was Hyoyoung, the third, and the last girl Myungsoo dated. Sungjong set them up, because Hyoyoung twin sister, Hwayoung, is Sungjong’s girlfriend. Myungsoo and Hyoyoung did try to know each other, since they don’t want to disappoint their best friend and sister. They even going on several dates and found out that they have similar taste, but Myungsoo didn’t want to give false hope to Hyoyoung, since his heart is clearly belonged to someone else. So he told Hyoyoung the truth, about Sungyeol and everything, and much to his convenient, Hyoyoung accepted it very well. Hyoyoung even told him that she actually liked someone else but she’s too afraid to confront that person. They ended up as best friends rather than lovers, but both of them are happy with that condition despite the fact that Sungjong kept telling them it was a ‘pity’.

After years and years harboring the same feelings, Myungsoo finally believed in what those people said, that first love is the hardest to forget, that first love left you with the deepest impression, because Myungsoo finally realized that he knew that feelings so well at heart. Because no matter what he did to move on, he still back to his memory of Sungyeol, their first meeting, their shared secrets, their pranks and antics, their friendship... and his own hidden feelings.

---

What is this, seriously. Ah, it's not as good as I wanted it to be. Hahaha. Still, I deeply thank anyone who subscribes and reads this story. I don't think I'll ever got any subscribers to be honest. I also owe Kim Myungsoo an apology, for making his character based of me and my personality. Myung, I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry! *bows*

Oh by the way, I know I said this is going to be a one-shot, but I decided to make it several chapters. Maybe two, or three, or four at the most, so no, it won't be a very long story. But yes, this story hasn't ended yet, don't worry. Haha. Please bear with me, okay?