He was sitting on the couch, watching an ad for upcoming movie. Except… he wasn’t watching the ad… at all. Instead, he was thinking of her. Again.

“Ugh.” He said, grabbing the pillow that was lying next to him and smashing his face into it.

‘You know, if you just told her…’ the annoying voice in his head said once again.

The truth was he wanted to tell her, so badly. But every time he tried to bring up the subject with her, he would get way to nervous. For crying out loud, one time they were at lunch and all he said was ‘Do you ever think’ before he bolted out of the restaurant and didn’t stop running until he was at his house!

Thinking about this made him even more frustrated.

“Why is this so difficult?!” He cried out aloud.

Today, he resolved, would be different. He wouldn’t do anything else until he told her. Just thinking about it made his heart beat ten times faster. But, he wasn’t about to back down now. He was going to do this, no matter what it took.

However, there was one thing he had to do before he went through with this.

He pulled out his phone and pressed a few numbers before putting up to his ear.

After a few rings, there was a voice on the other side.

“Yoboseyo Siwon hyung!” The voice said.

“Eunhyuk! Do you really think I should tell her?”

He chuckled before answering. “YES! You’ve been in love with her for what? The past three years? Are you really going to let more time pass to tell her? You know, soon enough she’s going to have a boyfriend, and that could be either you or someone else. Which would you prefer?”

The two  young men said goodbye shortly afterward.

Siwon sighed. He knew his friend was right, but it was still incredibly nerve wracking.

Before he could chicken out… again, he changed into a nicer outfit and got into his car.

On the way, he passed by several stores and markets, making him realize he didn’t want to show up at her house without anything for her. He wanted her to be his girlfriend, after all. He had to make a good impression.

He stopped at the next market he saw. He wasn’t sure what to get her, so he settled on a koala bear (Don’t guys get their girlfriends teddy bears? And her favorite animals were koalas), and a single flower- a red chrysanthemum.

He paid for the two items, got back into his car and drove to her apartment.

Ten minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex.

He got out of his car, straightened his clothes and started walking to her door.

Just as he was about to ring her doorbell, he thought he heard laughter.

Then he heard it again. This time more distinctly. And he knew exactly who it was that was laughing. He would always know whose laughter that was. He thought it was the cutest laugh he had ever heard.

‘Well at least I know she’s home,’ he thought to himself, taking a quick breath and touching her doorbell. Just as he was pushing it in, he heard something that immediately made him regret ever doing that.

“Oppa! Stop it! Someone’s at the door!” The girl squealed and giggled.

‘Shoot, she’s with someone?! A guy? Oh shoot....’ thoughts were frantically racing through his head as he was panicking about what to do. Should he stay there? Should he try to run back to his car? Should he jump in the bushes?!

“Oppa! What are you doing here?!” The girl exclaimed when she opened the door and found her friend standing on her doorstep, looking like a ‘deer caught in headlights.’

“Oh, uh… Annyeonghasayo Amy! Um… are you busy right now? Are you in the middle of something? I could just come back later.” He said, desperately trying to find a way to leave. He was mentally slapping his face. ‘Why did I ever think I could do this?’ He yelled at himself.

“Of course not! Please, stay! My brother is here. He was being his usual self and tickling me.” Amy answered.

“Oh…”

“Do you want to come inside?”

 “Uh… sure. I… brought these for you, by the way.”

“Ah, kamsamnida oppa!” Amy said. She was always trying to practice her Korean in front of her friends. She was usually too shy to practice it with people she didn’t know. She was an American who always loved Korea, and swore one day she would come here to live for at least a year. Fortunately for Siwon, she ended up moving here permanently. She got a job as an ESL teacher, and that’s how the two met.

“Ooh a koala! My favorite animal! And a red carnation? How did you know they were my favorite flower? Oppa… did you know they mean ‘I love you’?”

This last question caused Siwon’s head to snap up almost as fast as his heart was beating. He’d always wanted to hear those words from , but he never thought he’d hear it like that.

“Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I’m not quite sure how to say this bbuuutttt……. Amywillyoubemygirlfriend?”

“I’m sorry, what did you say? I couldn’t understand the last thing you said.”

Siwon was pretty sure she had though because her face was pretty much as read as he guessed his to be.

He tried again.

“Amy, I’ve had feelings for you since the first day I saw you in your class. Over the past three years, they’ve grown a lot stronger. I know I could never feel the same way about anyone as I feel about you. You’re one of my best friends, but I want you to be my girlfriend too. So… Will you?”

There seemed to be a silence that hung in the air for too long. Had an hour passed already? Siwon thought he might die- or just pass out. He looked down at his watch. Not even thirty seconds had passed.

“What took you so long?” Said a young man that looked to be a few years older than Amy. He was coming out of the guest bedroom of the apartment. Siwon figured it must have been her brother.

“KEVIN! Were kinda in the middle of something, so can you please leave us alone?” She said as she was pushing him back into the room he came out of.

“Ouch, lil’ sis. That’s no way to treat your ‘oppa’.” He was always such a teaser… especially to his sister.

Amy rolled her eyes, and shut the door.

“So, anyways, like we were talking about, BEFORE WE GOT SO RUDELY INTERRUPTED,” she said emphasized for her brother to hear “of course I’ll be your girlfriend. I always wondered if you had the same feelings. It took me a couple months, but I realized I like you a lot too.”

“Really?!” Siwon asked, genuinely shocked. This had to be the best day of his life. He already knew he was in love with her, and it would only be a matter of time before he told her, but he never thought SHE would be the one to return the feelings.

“Yeah…” She smiled one of the most beautiful smiles he had ever seen, before looking down.

Before he realized what he was doing, he took a couple steps towards her, put his index finger under her chin and gently pressed his lips on hers.

She responded by wrapping her hands around the back of his neck and pressing her face into his.

“Wow, already getting’ some action! But next time, you might want to think about giving me some warning. Then again… it has been four years in the making, I guess I should have-“

“KEVIN!” Amy shrieked, as she picked up a pillow and chucked it at him.

The new couple left the apartment, and walked to a park that was only a few minutes away from her house.