(note: the grey parts are the contains of Nam Joo’s letters)

“Na Eun! wanna go with us to the mall? Taemin and the other guys are already there; they’re expecting you to come,” the owner of the called name looked back to her friend before smiling a gratitude.

“sorry, I don’t think I can come. Ballet recital’s today. Maybe next time?” she answered. Her friend smiled.

“okay, I understand,” she sighed “must be great to be you… you’re the queen in both school and on the stage, you have the perfect dancing and vocal skills, your grades are satisfying, you have the beauty and riches, and people around you loved you. I’m envious,” Na Eun laughed at her friend’s statement, though she couldn’t really deny it since none of the words were false.

“stop flattering me. Now, gotta go, see you Monday at school?” her friend nodded.

“okay,”

"autumn leaves under frozen souls
hungry hands turning soft and old"

a girl in a pink ballet tutu was sitting somewhere around the corner of the dressing room. Beads of sweat ran down her forehead, and her face looked pale. The ballet recital has just ended with the usual rounded applause for the star of the stage, which was none other than the certain exhausted and pale-looking girl, Son Na Eun.

But despite her huge success on the evening’s ballet recital, her expressions were hard. It would be slightly unbelievable if we should say that she had just had a victorious evening that paid all the hard work she had faced all these years. But no, victory was nowhere to be seen on her pretty face.

If only you’re wondering why, it was because she had found her parents nowhere to be seen that evening during the recital, and neither were after the recital. She found it quite odd, since her loving parents had always show up on her recitals, no matter how busy they were and no matter how much she performed; which could be counted as a lot considering that she was the ace of both her school’s music and dance department.

“where are they? Did something happen? I hope nothing bad happened to them,” she thought. Being the good girl she was, she shook the thoughts off as she slowly pushed the first speed dial button on her i-phone for her father before putting it beside her ear.

“the number you are calling is not active-…” she ended the call and pushed the second speed dial button for her mother. At this stage, she started crossing her finger, hoping that her omni-presence mother would be as quick as she always was and just answer the darned call already.

“please pick up… please pick up… pl-… hello?”

“oh, hi darling. How’s the show going?” it was her mother’s voice. Na Eun never felt so happy after hearing the woman’s voice.

“great. I got a bouquet of flowers again,” she answered “mom? You still there?”

“yes, darling, what is it?”

“why didn’t you and dad come today? I was expecting you guys but I couldn’t find you in the crowd,” after she said that, there was silence for a little while.

“Na Eun, Honey…”

“hmm?”

“your dad and I…” the older woman stopped “we’re going through a divorce,”

Na Eun almost dropped her phone. A drop of tear slowly formed in her glistening eyes.

“w-why?” she croaked out.

“honey, you’re still very young; there are things that you don’t understand yet. And-…”

“WHO SAID I DON’T UNDERSTAND?!” Na Eun’s sudden scream startled her mother, and also the people around her

“Na-…”

“h-how could you? H-how could you do this to me? I thought you love me. I… I…” soon enough, the girl broke down into tears. A few of her friends and teacher approached her and patted her back, even though they weren’t sure about what was going on.

“Na Eun, listen to me-…” ‘beep’

it was useless; the girl has disconnected the call. She broke down into tears again as some of her friends patted her back while some others asked her what happened. She didn’t answer, so they figured out that she needed some time to get a hold of herself before they can confirm what happened.

“get her changed,” as one of her teacher said. One of Na Eun’s friend nodded before she guided the lifeless-looking Na Eun to the changing booth. The girl however, wasn’t in the condition to resist, and so she obediently changed her outfit.

"my hero cried as we stood there in the cold
like these autumn leaves I don't have nothing to hold"

“you’ll be okay if I leave you here, right?” a girl asked from behind the car’s window. The girl—to whom the question was addressed to—nodded.

“I’m not that stupid to waste my life on alcohol or drugs just because my parents are getting a divorce,” she said with a weak smile. Her friend responded by smiling the same way, and reached out her hand from the car to touch her pitiful friend’s.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I hope you guys can solve it,” she said, giving her friend a word of encouragement. Na Eun smiled gratefully.

“thank you. I’m lucky to have you and the other guys as my friends; you’re always there when I needed you the most,” she said, earning a chuckle from her friend.

“you did the same to us. We should at least pay you back,” she said “I should be going then. Don’t do anything stupid after I’m gone!” Na Eun chuckled hearing her friend’s strict-but-cute warning.

“I won’t. now, be on your way or your mom will kill you. Bye now!” the girl said as she tried to assure her friend that she would be fine. her friend sighed in defeat after being ‘shoo’-ed away.

“okay, I’ll be going now. Take care of yourself. Bye!” and with that, the car finally took off, leaving the still waving Na Eun alone in front of her house’s white gate.

She sighed as she looked up to the gate. Was this thing always this tall? Na Eun never noticed. But when she did now, she felt that her own house’s front gate was now turning into some kind of creepy and stressful jail.

All of the sudden she has no intention of going inside anymore. At this point, it just hurts her if she would come inside only to see her parents being-…. Ugh, she can’t even imagine. It was too painful to even say.

“what’s the point of going in there anyway?” she thought. So she decided to just take a walk somewhere. Well, even if she got lost, at least her phone has a GPS.

"handsome smiles, wearing handsome shoes
too young to say, though I swear he knew"

Na Eun shivered. It was in the middle of autumn and it was starting to get colder, following the blowing northern wind. Though, she never hated autumn. It was always so beautiful and relaxing to see the reddened leaves flying everywhere peacefully like cherry blossoms in the spring seasons. Na Eun has always loved the autumn seasons, and so did her parents. When she was little, they would usually take her to a stroll in the park, and then they would let her play with other children her age as they sat on a bench, holding each other close. It was such a beautiful view to see.

But Na Eun knew that she would never see anything as heart-warming as that again. Now that her parents were getting a divorce, Na Eun was sure that it’d be difficult to even get any pictures of her parents in one frame again.

She reached out her hand to the air as she wondered if there would be any leaves that would land to her hand if she’d reach out her hand long enough. She knew that it was quite impossible, but so was the chance of her parents getting back together again. She was desperate at the time, and she was trying to see if there would be any chance of her parents making up again and cancel the divorce.

“like these flying autumn leaves that has nowhere to go, but only to follow where the wind leads them, so is how I am right now,” she thought.

But her thoughts were ceased when a paper plane slowly made its way right to Na Eun’s reached hand. She was not expecting this, but it was like fate, the paper plane landed right onto her hand.

She looked around, trying to find out where the thing came from. It was then that she realized that she was now in front of a hospital down her neighborhood. She noticed that almost all the lights in the rooms—that she saw through the windows along the walls—were out. Not that it was anything weird, though, since it was somewhere around midnight. But she also noticed that one particular room on the fourth floor still has its lights switched on.

She diverted her gaze back to the paper plane she was holding. It was just like any paper plane she had seen, only a bit messier. You can already tell that it was a kid’s artwork. She was just about to let the plane fly again somewhere when she noticed that inside the plane’s folds, there were writings inside. Curious, she opened it, revealing something that she assumed to be a letter.

“hello, my name is Kim Nam Joo” as the letter said

“cute name,” Na Eun thought. Then she continued reading.

“I’m 8 years old and I have leukemia.”

“leukemia? 8 years old and she has that deadly illness? Oh my,”

“My oppa said that it wasn’t something that I should be scared about, but I overheard Dr. Min said that it can put my life in danger. At first I didn’t know who to trust, but then I figured that if what my oppa said was true, that I leukemia is nothing to be afraid of, then I wouldn’t be here in the hospital for so long, receiving painful therapies and yucky medicines.”

“my God, how long has she been there?”

“I don’t hate my oppa for lying, but I’m just sad that Dr. Min was the right one. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to leave mommy or daddy, and I especially don’t want to leave my oppa.”

Without her consent, Na Eun has let out a tear. She quickly erased it before she continued to read.

“I’m not afraid to die, because mommy said that when grandfather died, he was just going to sleep for a while before God takes him to heaven. But I’m afraid that my family would feel sad when I’m gone.”

“how can an eight year old think about her family so much?”

“but now, even if I were to die later, I only want to do one thing: I want to go out and see the world once more. I want to see the flowers, I want to hear the birds singing, and I want to feel the sunlight for the last time before I go. Sadly, mommy and daddy didn’t allow me to, and so did oppa. Now, I’m stuck in this room, only with the smell of medicine, not the smell of flowers. Only with white walls and ceilings, not the blue sky. Only with the lights from the light bulbs, and not from the pretty sun. only with the uncomfortable hospital bed, and not the green grass. I want to go out. If somebody is reading this letter, please help me. It’s okay if you don’t want to, but if you do, I’ll always be here, inside room number 411 in Seoul International Hospital. Just make sure that my mommy or daddy or oppa is not here, or they will scold you. Kim Nam Joo.”

Na Eun wiped her tears. She didn’t know this ‘Kim Nam Joo’, but she was determined to help the little girl. Na Eun was a good girl, so she would’ve felt really guilty if she wouldn’t help the sick girl.

“Nam Joo-yah, don’t worry, unnie will help you,”

"and I hear him singing while he sits there in his chair
while these autumn leaves float around everywhere"

it was 8 in the morning or so, and it was also a Sunday. During these times, most people in school ages would still be in bed, which was how that girl named Son Na Eun used to be, too. But not today, apparently. She was already in her favorite pink t-shirt, a pair of skinny jeans, a pink sneaker, and a cute Hello Kitty side bag on her shoulders to finish up the look. Her hair was tied up in a bun, she already had her breakfast, and she was all ready to go by 8. how can she not? She woke up at four to prepare for today.

Nope, it was not her birthday, nor was it her first date. It was but the day she was planning on escaping the now-awkward house of hers and instead help an eight year old girl with leukemia to see the world while she still has time.

Na Eun never saw her parents ever since she woke up this morning, which was a break of her parent’s tradition to kiss her out of bed every morning. But it was good in this kind of situation; at least she can avoid contacts with her parents while she’s still making up her mind about this ‘divorce’ thing.

Son Na Eun has never been late in her life, in which she still applied up until today. But she wasn’t on time to her appointment today. On her personal agenda, she wrote ‘9 o’clock, Seoul Int’l Hospital, room 411, Kim Nam Joo’. But what time did she got to the hospital again? Just so you know, she was already there by 8.30. she went extra early just because she was avoiding any possible encounters with her parents.

So as a result, here she was, already in front of Kim Nam Joo’s hospital room even when it was only 8.30. Na Eun let out a deep breath. ‘here it is,’. She pushed the room door open, slowly, afraid that somebody would be there to kick her out, or maybe she was entering the wrong room.

“who’s there?” the soft and weak voice of a little girl could be heard. “oppa?” nope, this is the right room. She just knew it.

Na Eun poked her head inside the room, and her eyes quickly captured the image of a little girl, sitting nervously on her hospital bed, afraid that the person behind the door was a bad guy or something; her tiny hands were hugging her pink teddy bear doll really tightly. The girl’s face was super cute, but she was really pale and skinny, and the beanie thing on her probably bald head just made her appearance looked more pitiful.

“not oppa,” the little girl—who Na Eun believed to be Nam Joo—mumbled as soon as she saw Na Eun’s face and not her ‘oppa’s “unnie, who are you? Are you looking for someone?” she asked. Na Eun smiled.

“are you Kim Nam Joo?” she asked. Na Eun could see the little girl’s face turned paler

“how did unnie know my name?” see? Told ya it was her.

Na Eun smiled once again before pulling out Nam Joo’s plane letter from her bag. “I believe you’re the one who sent me this,” she stated. Nam Joo’s eyes widen

“how did unnie get that?!” she squealed. Na Eun chuckled

“lucky find,” she answered shortly. Nam Joo could only laugh

“unnie, what’s your name?” the little girl asked in an innocent manner as Na Eun closed the door behind her.

“my name is Son Na Eun, and I live near here. I’m still eighteen years old, so you better not call me ‘ahjumma’ later on,” she joked “is anybody here with you?” Nam Joo shook her head

“no, my parents are working, and my oppa went downstairs a while ago to get some drink. He hasn’t been back for quite a while,” she answered.

Na Eun smiled weakly before sighing and walked her way to the side of Nam Joo’s bed. She sat down on the side of the bed.

“then… do you want to go to a really beautiful dandelion field with unnie? It’s just a few floors below~…” Nam Joo shook her head sadly.

“what if my oppa comes and look for me?”

“then we can just leave him a letter!” Nam Joo went silent.

“we can do that?” the older girl smiled and nodded. A big, bright smile grew on the little girl’s face―probably the brightest smile she had shown yet―as she wrapped her arms around Na Eun’s shoulder who carried her safely and carefully downstairs to the hospital’s famous dandelion field on the ground floor.

"and I look at you, and I see me
making noise so restlessly"

Nam Joo couldn’t complain to what Na Eun had given her to see: a big dandelion field full of pretty flowers, under the blue sky, above the fresh green grass, where the sun was shining brightly onto. The little girl watched as groups of kids ran around, playing everywhere. She felt jealous, somehow, but she hid it well by only smiling widely and diverting her gaze to anywhere but the happily playing kids. At this point Na Eun swore she could erupt in tears anytime, seeing a little girl like Nam Joo being so mature in facing a deadly illness such as leukemia without even complaining, and was even mature enough to understand that she couldn’t play around like other kids her age. It’s painful to the heart.

Na Eun watched silently as Nam Joo walked around here and there, smelling and picking the flowers that was spread all over the fields. She changed her pitying face into a smile when Nam Joo called her to play along. Na Eun obediently followed the girl around, smiling and laughing happily.

“Nam Joo-yah! Kim Nam Joo! Where are you?!” the sound of someone shouting desperately for her name made Nam Joo divert her gaze to the owner of the voice. Of course, who would it be except for her oppa?

“oppa!!! I’m here!!!” she shouted back. The tall guy immediately looked much more relieved after his eyes had found his sick dongsaeng. However, he frowned at the sight of an unknown girl beside her, accompanying her to play.

“Myungsoo oppa!” the little girl repeated. Myung Soo smiled at her for a quick second before frowning again at the unknown girl. He let Nam Joo run along while he talked to Na Eun.

“excuse me miss, who are you?” Na Eun smiled sheepishly. Right, who is she anyway? Why was she there in the first place anyway?

“I’m… just a friend,” she finally managed o say “you see, I got a letter from Nam Joo, and-…”

“my sister wrote you a letter?” he cut her sentence.

“n-no!” she quickly arrange another way to put her words together “she flew a plane letter and I stumbled onto it,”

“a plane letter?” Myung Soo echoed. Na Eun nodded, then she pulled out the plane letter Nam Joo wrote, showing it to Myung Soo. As he read it, the guy looked a bit shocked at first, and it was obvious that he was in the verge of crying, but he managed to hold up his tears.

“I just… wanted to help…” Na Eun―who melted don upon seeing the sad expression Myung Soo had on―said faintly. Myung Soo looked up, then said coldly

“miss, if you really want to help, please leave us alone. Who do you think you are to just come into my little sister’s life out of nowhere and give her hopes about doing something she can never do?” a drop of tear formed on both of their eyes. Myung Soo bit his bottom lip. He wasn’t someone who says hurtful things to people just like that, but somehow the protective side of him that came from his love for Nam Joo made him did so, in which he regretted immediately after seeing Na Eun’s hurtful expression.

“oppa! Unnie!” right on time, little Nam Joo appeared with a smile on her lips. Myung Soo flinched, it has been so long since he had seen his sister with a smile that bright,―the one he had failed to bring back―and apparently this anonymous girl in front of him  was the one who succeeded in doing so.

“Nam Joo…” he mumbled unconsciously. The little girl looked up.

“hmm?...”

“let’s… go back. Yes, let’s go back; you shouldn’t be out here for so long. Come on,” he said as he scooped  the confused Nam Joo from the ground into his embrace and carried her back to her room. Nam Joo―who didn’t know a thing―only said ‘okay’ before she waved at Na Eun.

“I really thank you for today, Na Eun unnie!!” she shouted from her brother’s back. Na Eun smiled

“no she doesn’t!” Na Eun’s expressions turned into a frown when she heard the words Myung Soo said to replace his sister’s. Na Eun could see a pout on Nam Joo’s lips before the little girl shouted again.

“let’s play again tomorrow!” she shouted with a smile. Na Eun returned the smile with a wave of agreement, but Myung Soo―once again―just had to ruin her mood.

“no you’re not!” Na Eun sighed.

“rude guy, stupid guy,”

"but now it's quiet and I can hear you sing
'my little fish don't cry, my little fish don't cry' "

Son Na Eun let her head collapse to the stack of books on top of her desk. She was in her room right now, and was daydreaming instead of studying.

It has been 2 months or so since she first met Kim Nam Joo and Kim Myung Soo. Though Myung Soo and their parents were worried about their little daughter’s friendship with her, but as time went by, it seemed that they had trusted Na Eun a lot more. Which was good. On Nam Joo’s side, Na Eun’s presence had made her remaining days meaningful and joyful (as her protective family had always blocked her way to almost everything before Na Eun came), and on Na Eun’s side… well, it looked like she managed to get away from her family problems.

Na Eun smiled. She knew for sure that she had grown really fond to that particular little girl named Kim Nam Joo. Na Eun really liked to visit her and spent time with her because she admired her spirit and her optimism in facing everything she had to face. But then she couldn’t deny that that guy named Kim Myung Soo was also beginning to be a part of her reasons.

In the middle of the reminiscence, Na Eun’s phone rang. The corner of her lips twitched a bit as she read the caller’s ID. Kim Myung Soo.

“yes, Myung Soo oppa?” she answered the call. There was silence on the other line for a while “oppa?” this time, somebody responded.

“N-Na Eun-ah… c-can you… come to the hospital right now? please?” Myung Soo’s voice was a bit shaky and feeble, but understandable enough. Still, it got Na Eun worried sick.

“oppa, what happened?” she asked carefully, hoping that what she thought happened didn’t actually happen.

“N-Nam J-Joo… she… she… c-collapsed, and-and… she’s in c-critical state….” His voice begun to break. Na Eun’s phone fell to the floor. She felt like all her energy was drained out of her body that instant. And without a word, Na Eun grabbed her sling bag from the rack and ran as fast as she could to the hospital.

"autumn leaves have faded now
that smile I lost, well I've found somehow"

Mrs. Kim almost fainted. Mr. Kim couldn’t hold his tears. Myung Soo just stood there, red eyed, biting his lower lip to the point it almost bleed, his hands touching the glass walls of the ICU room where Nam Joo was in.

This was the situation Na Eun came to when she arrived. She didn’t dare to speak a word, so she just walked up to Myung Soo, accompanying him watching the doctors and nurses inside, taking care of Nam Joo. His stares were blank, and his chest moved up and down in a hasty way. Na Eun reached her hand up to Myung Soo’s, but she couldn’t manage to touch him. Her courage level didn’t reach that high.

Everyone turned to the door when a doctor stepped out from the room.

“Kim Nam Joo’s family?” she asked. Everyone nodded. “you might want to see her now,” the doctor said in a low tone.

There was definitely something wrong with the doctor’s sentence. It wasn’t ‘you can see her now’ like what doctors says when the patient is alright, but it was ‘you might want to see her now’, like she was saying ‘if you don’t see her now, then there’s no other chance’. But then again, the family was in a state where they couldn’t analyze the hidden meaning behind the doctor’s words.

“NAM JOO-YAH!” Mrs. Kim screamed when she got to the side of her daughter’s bed. Nam Joo wasn’t able to move her body, but a drop of tear rolled down her pale cheek as she saw her mother crying.

“mmo-mmy…” a mumble escaped her lips.

“Nam Joo-yah… uri ddal… (Nam Joo-yah… our daughter…) “ Mr’ Kim sobbed as he caressed his daughter’s small cheeks.

“ddaa-ddy…”

both Na Eun and Myung Soo couldn’t hold their tears anymore. The scene was just too sad and too heartbreaking for both of them, especially for Myung Soo, seeing his beloved little sister lying helplessly on a hospital bed with a pale face and a lot of life supports tangling her small and fragile body. Myung Soo couldn’t take it anymore, he rushed to her bedside and sobbed as he held his sister’s tiny body in his embrace.

“oopp-paaa…”

a tear finally left Nam Joo’s round eyes as she snuggled herself into her brother’s embrace. Na Eun―who couldn’t take the pressure anymore―prepared to walk away as a tiny voice struggled its way to her ears.

“N-Na Eun uun-niie…”

Na Eun gasped as she turned around, only to see the most heartbreaking view in her life. Nam Joo―in her condition―reached out her hand to the maximum capacity her current strength allowed her to, trying to get Na Eun back to her bedside, while both her parents and also her brother looked at her as if pleading for her to proceed with the kid’s plea. Na Eun sighed in defeat and returned to Nam Joo’s bedside to give her a hug.

“uunn-niie…” she called out. Na Eun wiped a tear that fell down her own cheek before wiping the one on Nam Joo’s.

“yes?”

“oopp-paaa…” she called out to Myung Soo. The older couldn’t manage to answer, so he could only nod. “I… h-have something… for y-you… buried in th-the dandelion… dandelion field… un-under… AH!”

“NAM JOO!!!” all four people almost fainted thinking about what horrible thing would happen to the little girl, but Nam Joo calmed them down by waving her hand.

She really shouldn’t be wasting her remaining time to talk anymore, but the girl was stubborn and insisted on continuing her words.

“un-under… the big… tree…” after that sentence, Nam Joo stopped struggling. She calmed her body and let herself relax. “mm-moommy… ddaa-ddy… oop-paa… uun-niee… I’m g-going t-to s-sleep now… ssaarang haee…”

and with that sentence, Nam Joo went to sleep. She closed her eyes, and those little eyes were never opened again. They wouldn’t open when her mom and dad called out her name. they wouldn’t open when Myung Soo shook her body in his embrace. They wouldn’t open when Na Eun caressed her hair and pleaded for her to open her eyes once more so she could say thank you. They wouldn’t open anymore.

Kim Nam Joo died in peace, at the age of 8, after accepting defeat to the Leukemia that took over her body. She died early, but she died with a bright smile on her face, a smile that brought other smiles to life.

"because you still live on in my father's eyes
these autumn leaves, all this autumn leave are yours tonight"

It was the afternoon after Nam Joo’s funeral. Both Na Eun and Myung Soo have come to the hospital where Nam Joo used to be treated in to get her things and get down with the hospital’s payments. And also, to fulfill Nam Joo’s last wish, to dig the buried box in the dandelion fields.

Na Eun’s mother who came to the funeral with her have taken Myung Soo’s parents home (because Mr. Kim looked like he could faint anytime, and Mrs. Kim have done that several times today). She had promised to help with the hospital bills, also, so Na Eun have told the family not to be too concerned about it.

After Nam Joo’s death, Na Eun wasn’t as mad to her parents anymore. She had learned that having her parents living in different houses were nothing compared to losing a precious family member. She figured that she could work with living in two separate houses. I mean, at least she still get to see both her parents, right?

Na Eun took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of the dandelions. The dandelion fields looked pretty much the same throughout the days, but to Myung Soo and Na Eun, the field was dead without the presence of that certain little girl named Kim Nam Joo.

The tree Nam Joo mentioned was none other than the big, old peach tree at the corner of the field. The tree held a special meaning to Nam Joo, since it was the tree where she first played below when Na Eun took her to the field.

Nam Joo made it quite obvious as to where she had buried the mentioned box, so it didn’t take that much time for Myung Soo and Na Eun to find the box. Both teenagers unconsciously held their breaths when they took the box out from its hole, and as they slowly opened its lid. The box looked more-less like a regular carton gift box with no locks, so they didn’t have any trouble opening it, either.

As they opened the lid, the first thing that caught their eyes were a pile of pictures. They were pictures of Nam Joo, Myung Soo, and Na Eun. One look and they both knew that those were the pictures Myung Soo took with his Polaroid camera all the time on Nam Joo’s favor. As they took the pictures out one by one, memories of Nam Joo came swarming back to their heads, sending tears to their eyes for the umpteenth times that day.

But the one that shocked them the most was the thing hidden way down below the pile of memories. There were two letters: one with pink envelope, and the other with a blue one.

Despite the fact that their eyes were starting to get blinded by the forming tears, Na Eun and Myung Soo took the letter out anyway, and read it.

“Na Eun unnie…”

“Myung Soo oppa…”

”firstly, I want to say thank you for saving me from my prison... kekeke,”

“I just want to say thank you for being such a great oppa for me in all the years of existence I had,”

“also, thank you for being a really nice friend for me…”

“though it was short, but I’ve been really thankful…”

“I know we’ve only known each other for a little while, but to me, unnie is better than a thousand friends!”

“to have such a caring oppa like Myung Soo oppa…”

“you know, I really like unnie, probably as much as I like oppa…”

“I can consider myself lucky then, can I?^_^”

“and I would really like it if I can keep unnie forever…”

“oppa, you know, I have a favor to ask…”

“so… can unnie be a good unnie for me and take care of my oppa for me?”

“I really like Na Eun unnie… so I’d like to ask you to protect her…”

“I know I’m being rude… but… please? I’ve said the magic words~…”

“you can do it, can you, oppa?”

“with love…”

“hugs and kisses…”

“Kim Nam Joo,”

“your beloved sister, Nam Joo,”

Na Eun finished reading her letter first. While waiting for the guy beside her to finish reading his, Na Eun took the time to stare at his perfectly sculpted features. Judging by his expressions, Na Eun could tell that the letter he was reading had pretty much the same contents as the one she had received.

When Myung Soo finally finished, the first thing he did was sighing.

“so?” Na Eun asked.

“she asked me to protect you,” Myung Soo glanced at the girl beside him “gosh, what did you do for her to like you so much?”

Na Eun chuckled before spilling the beans “at least she likes you just as much,” Myung Soo looked confused “she asked me to take care of you,”

“what? suppose to marry each other?” the chuckle and the smile on Na Eun’s face faded away after hearing that sentence escaping Myung Soo’s lips. he―on the other side―wasn’t very aware of the awkward moment he had caused before he heard Na Eun said

“should we really?” Myung Soo’s weird stare landed on Na Eun

“what?”

“should we really do as she please? Because, come to think of it… I’ve grown to… really like you,”

Myung Soo was bewildered with the younger girl’s sudden confession. How should he respond?

“I-I…” Na Eun chuckled

“sorry, I didn’t mean to… I know there’s no way you’d like me, and-…” her sentence was cut short, with none other than Myung Soo’s lips.

Yes, Kim Myung Soo was kissing Son Na Eun right now, under the tree that held a lot of memories regarding his little sister, in the dandelion field that was so precious to the little girl, with memories of her still flooding both their minds.

Myung Soo reached for Na Eun’s waist―still with Nam Joo’s letter in his hands―and pulled the girl close. Na Eun closed her eyes as she reached for Myung Soo’s neck―also still holding Nam Joo’s letter in her hands―and nibbled with his lips. Her hands twirled inside his chestnut hair, and the same thing was going on with his hands on her waist―only slightly different.

They were now kissing passionately under the shades of Kim Nam Joo, but no, they didn’t exactly mind that. As long as the kiss was moved out by love, then there’s no other thing that matters.

(Epilogue.)

it was a bright and sunny day in spring, and the cherry blossoms were flying around to set the mood. A young couple was standing before a small tombstone that read ‘Kim Nam Joo’. The female carefully placed a bouquet of pink roses on top of the tomb before getting back to her mate’s arms.

Yes, they were Kim Myung Soo and Son Na Eun, all grown up and still having a happy relationship. All thanks to Kim Nam Joo.

“Nam Joo-yah…” Na Eun called out. “it’s been a while. How have you been? Unnie and oppa missed you so much! Don’t you do too?” Myung Soo could only smile seeing his fiancé’s small monologue.

“Nam Joo-yah, oppa and unnie are getting married… that’s what you want, isn’t it?” he continued for her “you should come too, okay? After all, we already promised you that we would take care of each other…”

Na Eun nodded “I originally wanted to have you as my Maid of Honor, but I know you’re happier up there,” a tear rolled down Na Eun’s cheek as she continued “just letting you know, we love you, Nam Joo-yah… we will always do…”