Summer is the hottest and most exhilarating time of the year. The days lasts the longest, meaning there are many things to do. Whether it be riding alongside the beautiful sunshine at Han River, swimming with friends at the beach or having a fun day out at Lotte World; the summer is always a festive season.

During my 24 years of living, strangely many things happened during each year’s summer season compared to the other seasons.

The summer season of 2000 was definitely not an exception.

During the summer in Grade 5, many things indeed had happened to me. Many changes had surfaced in my life as a 10 year old, whether I liked it or not. It was a time where I first began to imagine and visualise the future. I didn’t know what those thoughts of mine meant or if they could occur or not. I just thought and acted without considering any consequences. As kids, we did not need to consider them nor did we care about them.

That aspect did not last for long, but when it did, I was happy. Really happy.

…

Grade 5 was a year that moved very quickly. Six months had already past since that winter day, and a lot had happened during that time.

My Appa had started a new job at a new law firm, so he was busier than ever before.  My oppa had just gotten his driver’s license, meaning he was responsible for picking me up from school, as his school had finished half an hour before mine did. However, one of the most significant changes was when Umma had made me get a haircut, t about 15cm off my original, long wavy locks.

I didn’t particularly like my hair cut short, despite my oppa always telling me that I looked even cuter with a bob and bangs. Even he didn’t convince me into liking my new hair, nor did my best friends succeed either. Only one person had told me honestly, that they preferred my old, long hair. Although appearance did not seem to be a big deal as primary schoolers, but it somehow mattered to me.

Was it because of the want I had to be noticed more?

…

I had gotten my haircut on a regular weekend, on a Sunday at Umma’s friend’s hairdressing salon. Umma took me there because she: 1) thought that my hair was getting too long, 2) wanted her daughter to have short hair since she didn’t dare to herself and 3) wanted to gossip about ‘god knows what’ with her chingu. So, I wasn’t really in the position to hesitate. Following Umma’s orders was all I was allowed to do. But hey, that was 13 years ago. 5^th Grader’s nowadays know how to demand things from their parents.

I obviously had to go to school the next day, so I made a huge fuss over how to wear my new hair in the morning before attending class.

“Umma! My hair is everywhere! What do I do?”

“Aigoo, So Eun-ah, why don’t you like it? It has already been a day,” said Umma. Only been a day!

“It’s not that I don’t like it…it is just when I tie it up it goes everywhere!” I had always tied my hair in a ponytail when I went to school. It was convenient, especially from the way I used to play around so wildly. That was why I was so frustrated with my short hair.

“Yah, why do you have to tie it up? Just leave it down. It is short enough to be allowed to at school anyway.” Umma insisted.

“But I…look ugly when I leave it down.” I hate it when it was not tied up, I thought to myself.

“Aniya, who said you look ugly? You are my little, gorgeous daughter. Who would dare to call you ugly?” Maybe he would. I had started caring about that chingu’s thoughts increasingly, especially after what happened in spring.

“Arasso…I’ll leave it out then!” My younger self said in frustration. I really disliked it, probably more than I should have.

“Excuse me, young lady. Did you just raise your temper at your Umma?” Uh-oh, what did I do? Now I am in big trouble…Pabo-yah.

“Mianhaeyo, I did not mean too…” I said, while tugging onto Umma’s arm, as I begged for forgiveness. She was weak to my aegyo, and she still is.

“So Eun-ah, that’s enough. Now let’s get you to school okay?” I nodded in return.

…

The first thing that happened to me at school was the same as usual on that Monday. Ye Eunnie and Jieun, who would always arrive earlier than me to class, would run to the front entrance and we would share our group hug. However, recently that pattern had changed. Jang Wooyoung, the new kid who was also my chingu would follow behind the two girls and wait until they finished hugging me.

He would greet me with a simple: ‘Annyeong, So Eunnie. Did you have breakfast?’ and a slight smile which I would return with a bigger smile and ‘Yes, of course! Wooyoung-ah didn’t you know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day!’ We, as in him and us girls, had gotten closer as the year had gone by. It had started particularly after the conversation we had on that spring day. However, there was still a weird, awkward feeling I had when I talked to him. Maybe it was just my own thinking and my younger self did not figure out why, at least not at the beginning of summer.

However, that Monday was different. Wooyoung didn’t greet me in his usual manner.

“So Eunnie…what happened?” He asked, which made me shiver in anxiety. Andwae, he noticed…

“Yah, Jang Wooyoung, what do you mean by what happened?” snapped Jieun, who seemed like she was yet to notice the change.

He ignored Jieun’s question, and just stared straight at me. I wondered to myself, he hates it! I know it! His stare was not vibrant as it usually was, it was not sad either, just a little tense.

“So Eunnie, why?” He asked, which made Ye Eun and Jieun look at me in return. Their mouths dropped in surprise.

“Omo, So Eun! You had a haircut! I didn’t notice until now!” exclaimed Ye Eun, who used her fingers to run through my bangs,

“Wah, So Eun, it looks great on you! Don’t you think so Wooyoung-ah?” Jieun asked, as we both shifted our eyes across to Wooyoung, who still kept his deep stare on me. At that moment, I was confused as to why he was acting so weirdly. I wondered if he actually hated it, despite us already getting over those ‘hate’ assumptions we once shared.

“I—ah, it looks good…but,” He began, before I interrupted him, in panic as to what he was about to say.

“But, you hate it, don’t you?” I was quite direct, despite my facial expression turning into a slight frown. That was what I had assumed, judging by his tensed expression since the moment I saw him that morning.

“Ani, ani. What did I say about me hating…. things? I just…like you--,” mumbled Wooyoung, before being interrupted once again, this time by the other two girls. Sometimes I would wonder why did he even bother to hang out with loud girls like we were…

“LIKE WHO?!” screamed the two girls.

“…like you with long hair better. That’s all. You still look cute with short hair.” He…Wooyoung…called me cute? Why do I feel so happy, that my cheeks are getting hot? No boy had ever called me cute before Wooyoung did, well other than my oppa and Appa. It was something new that I felt from inside my little heart, which had started beating faster without me even realising. I felt okay with calling him cute, but when he, himself said so to me…I secretly liked it. Who wouldn’t though?

“Yah…since when did our Wooyoungie become so nice?” teased Ye Eun, as she slapped Wooyoung hard on his back, making him wince in pain.

I laughed a little in response, as I tried not to explode in laughter.

“Jang Wooyoung, do you like So Eunnie?” asked Jieun, who went over to his other side, accompanying Ye Eun by bullying the poor boy. Does he…like me? No way, he only sees me as his chingu; I thought to myself.

“ANIYA! I DO NOT LIKE SO EUNNIE!” yelled Wooyoung, who immediately ran away from us with his tomato-coloured cheeks. At the time, I believed him because I knew that we only shared a friendship between classmates.

“Kya! Did you see how red his face was?”

“He is so fun to tease!”

The two girls did not stop bickering in amusement. They, even myself, loved teasing Jang Wooyoung, but at that time, I had started to feel uneasy.

“Yah, stop being mean to the poor boy…it’s time to go to class!” I said, before walking in front of my friends.

“Hold up, Kim So Eun.” Ye Eun ordered, as she and Jieun placed their hands on my shoulders.

“Then…. do you like Wooyoungie?” Why would they think that? Did I like Wooyoung? No way… That was what I thought at first, but the more I thought about Ye Eun’s words, my young brain started to wonder in places it had never visited before.

“ANIYA! How could I possibly like Jang Wooyoung?”

“We were just joking. We know that you don’t like Wooyoung-ah. You like Yoon Doojoon!” What are they even talking about?

“Yah, let’s just go to class before Teacher Ko gives us punishment.” I said, while I dragged the two nosey girls to class.

…

It was lunch-time. I had been looking forward to eating lunch since the early morning. I would usually get hungry easily, especially when I used a lot of mental energy. What happened earlier that day had affected me.

“Yay! It is finally lunch!” I said.

“Assa! I am starving!” said Jieun, as she hooked her arm onto mine.

“Where is Ye Eunnie and…”

“Wooyoung-ah?” I asked, after I swallowed my saliva. We all ate lunch together these days, since Wooyoung was Ye Eun’s seating partner and sometimes Kwon and Chansung would also join us. Lunch was a fun time, but at that moment, I had somehow felt nervous.

“Oh, they are just talking to Teacher Ko about something, let’s wait outside for them!” said Jieun, as we walked out of the door.

After five minutes, I had felt someone’s hands on my shoulders. I turned around, only to see…

Yoon Doojoon.

“Doojoon-ah?” Even Jieun was surprised.

“So Eunnie! Why aren’t you girls eating lunch yet?”

“Ah, well we were just waiting for—“ That day, we were all getting interrupted by our impatient fellow chingus.

“Me.” Wooyoung-ah… He pushed Yoon Doojoon to the side and stood next to me.

“Oh, Wooyoung-ah…are you, um, ready to go?” I asked nervously, but Wooyoung was not even looking at me. He kept his eyes at Yoon Doojoon, with the same stare that he gave me earlier. Is something bothering him? I wondered.

“Yah, Jang Wooyoung, what is wrong with you? I was just talking to So Eunnie, so why did you have to in?” snapped Doojoon, whose normally kind tone had changed to an annoyed one. What was wrong with everyone today? Did they wake up on the wrong side of the bed today? That was all I had thought about. Surely, now I have realised that when guys talk so seriously like that, it is usually because they are pissed off.

“Who…are you, to call her So Eunnie?” warned Wooyoung coldly. I nudged him in response.

“Yah…Wooyoung-ah…it’s okay.” He then shifted his stare towards me.

“Aigoo, come on guys, let’s go and eat lunch already. Doojoon-ah, you can join us if you want…So Eunnie, let’s go!” said Ye Eun, who saved the day as she stepped in from behind and grabbed me to walk with Jieun away from the two strange boys.

“What did you do now?” whispered Ye Eun.

“Those boys were fighting over her! I thought Wooyoungie was friends with Yoon Doojoon…” said Jieun, a little too loudly.

“Aigoo, how embarrassing, come on now. I am so hungry!” I said quickly, as my stomach had begun to rumble.

And the rest of the lunch was spent with us three girls, along with Wooyoung and Doojoon having a death stare match and plus Kwon, Chansung and Kikwang also joining in, though totally oblivious as to what was happening.

Lunch time had not turned out to be as happy as usual, as the first day of summer that year had already experienced many changes in what was my daily schooling life.

…

After returning from lunch, it was time for music class. Music class was fun, but I was, by no means a child prodigy. Unlike Ye Eun and Jieun, who have had singing lessons since Grade 1. As for Wooyoung, I was only aware of his dancing skills back then, so I assumed that his artistic talents had ended there.

I shortly discovered how wrong that assumption was.

“Okay class, today we will start our choir program, where we will be singing a different song each week.” Teacher Ko explained.

“Yes!”

“No!”

“Why, I hate singing!”

“Does singing at karaoke count as knowing how to sing?”

My classmates had given mixed responses to Ko’s announcement. Our class was well, talented in different ways and the majority was not great at singing other than my two best friends, Kwon and that Taeyeon girl.

“Calm down kids, we will all sing together. But for those talented students, they will have an opportunity to have a solo part!”

“Omo, a solo part?” Ye Eun and Jieun gasped at once.

“We all know that part will be mine,” said the girl that everyone had ignored.

“Pfft, whatever Taeyeon.” Kwon hissed. He was the competitive type, one that I surely did not want to compete with back then, except for a running race.

“Well, the song is an English song.” Teacher Ko announced.

“Andwae!” said most of the students. Ko was cruel at times, and giving us an English song to sing did not give him any free cookie points from us kids.

“The song is ‘Country Roads’ by John Denver-ssi. Here are the lyrics, and I know it is long, but we will only be singing the first half of it.” But still, it is in ENGLISH! He is so mean today!

“So, who wants to give it a shot first?”

I had a peak over to my two friends, who were shaking their heads. They weren’t confident with their English, as was I. I then looked over at Kim Taeyeon, whom also had he head hung very low. That was the first time I have ever witnessed Taeyeon, of all people, back out from a challenge like that. But I then turned over to where he was sitting. I saw his hand went up, or in fact Kwon lifting it up along with his.

“We will sing it together first!” said Kwon with confidence. I have always liked that passionate personality that Kwon had. He was an inspiring chingu I had.

“Yah! Jo Kwon!” He said, while giving Kwon a hard nudge.

“Arasso! Kwon and Wooyoung please come forward. Give it up for the boys!” said Teacher Ko, as we all gave a round of applause.

“Omo, what is Wooyoungie doing? I didn’t know he can sing!” said Ye Eun.

“Aigoo, what if he does bad? He would be so disappointed,” said Jieun.

Jieun then poked me.

“Kim So Eun, why are you dazing off all of the sudden? Aren’t you worried for Wooyoungie?” She stated. I was not worried for some reason. I always thought that Wooyoung was one very capable chingu, who could at least do anything.

“I think he will be okay.”

Then the two began to sing the song.

Almost heaven, West ia

Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River

Life is old there, older than the trees

Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze

Country roads, take me home

To the place I belong

West ia, Mountain Mama

Take me home, country roads

And from that short minute, I, along with the two girls beside me were left amazed. Absolutely amazed by…

Jang Wooyoung’s voice.

We all knew how good Kwon was, but with our Wooyoung-ah… we had no idea that he had it in him. His voice was very nice and husky, for a ten year old. It had completely melted my 10-year-old self. It was the first time I had felt so touched by someone’s voice, other than H.O.T’s Moon Hee Jun oppa’s voice. Even Ko was impressed.

“Wah, that was brilliant! Well done boys! I am very proud! Now that is how we are going to sing like by the end of the week!” Aigoo, how can we? They, Wooyoung… were too good!

“Eh… Teacher Ko…” said the class in disbelief, which was inevitable at the time of course. Kwon and Wooyoung were unbeatable and unreachable, not even Taeyeon could have surpassed their performance.

“Yes we can kids! It is all about practice, so when you guys go home tonight, you must practice for at least one hour! Make that one hour from now until next Monday, arasso?” One hour each day won’t even be enough for me to sing like them. I was right, as even till this day, I cannot even pass as an ‘okay karaoke singer’. Singing is just not my forte.

“Neh, Teacher Ko.”

“Okay, well look at that, it is 3:10pm! Class dismiss! See you all tomorrow, and remember to practice singing!” He said, as we all stood up from our seats.

Ye Eun and Jieun ran up towards Wooyoung and Kwon before I even stood up myself. They went up to congratulate and praise or dearest chingus.

“WAH, JANG WOOYOUNG, YOU WERE DAEBAK!” They screamed, which made Wooyoung blush.

“Aniya, aniya. Kwonnie here was the one who pushed me up to go with him.” He said, just like his usual considerate and humble self. He was never the type to boast about how good he was. Sometimes I wondered whether if he knew how capable he was. I would always think of ways to praise him, but I would have backfired each time.

I catch up towards them.

“Yah, Kwon-ah, you were really jjang! As expected!” I praised Kwon, who looked slightly jealous of Wooyoung.

“Thanks, So Eun-ah.” He said, with a smile.

Then Wooyoung looked at me in return, with that tensed expression of his again. It was not the first time that I had seen that expression of his that day. He was acting extremely strange which somehow made me gain weird, new feeling too.

“You were amazing too, Wooyoung-ah.” I said, as I patted my chingu on his back.

“Thanks So Eunnie!” Wooyoung said, with his bright smile returning again. That’s better; he has his cute smile back! Aish, I’m saying it again…

“No worries…uh, let’s go home guys! It’s home time!” I said nervously, before storming out of the door, only to collide with another body.

“Aigoo, I am so sorry!” I said, as I immediately bowed to the person I had ran into.

“Kim So Eun, what did I tell you about running into people like that?” Omo, that voice! It’s him!

“Omo, Kim Bum oppa! How come you are here?” I asked excitedly, at the sight of my oppa.

“Well, did you forget already? I am here to pick you up remember?” Oh, that’s right! How could I forget.

“Ah neh, I must have forgot. Mianhaeyo, oppa!”

“Omo, Kim Bummie oppa?!” squealed Jieun and Ye Eun.

“Oppa?” I had heard Wooyoung mumble. He had not met my Kim Bum oppa before.

“Yes, it’s me girls! How have you two kids been?” Oppa said, as he tousled their each of their heads.

“Good thank you! We’ve missed you!”

“Eh, So Eunnie, who is this boy here?” He asked. Oh, he doesn’t know who he is…uh-oh.

“Ah, he is the new kid, Jang Wooyoung.”

“Annyeonghaesayo, Kim Bum hyung!”Wooyoung greeted nicely.

“Who told you to call me hyung?” Aish, how embarrassing! Why was oppa being so rude? I was not aware of the mental note that guys had while meeting their dongsaeng’s guy friends. That’s why I blamed oppa for acting so rudely, not knowing that he was merely protecting me.

“Ah, mianhaeyo…” Wooyoung was shaking slightly in his spot. I felt sorry for him…for more reasons than one.

“Oppa! How could you be so rude to my chingu?” I said.

“Well he is not your boyfriend so why can’t I?” Boyfriend?! I choked on oppa’s words. No, he was not my boyfriend, but I still felt the need to protect him. Maybe it was because he was my chingu, maybe it was because of him saying he would never ‘hate me’ or maybe it was his cute smile. Whatever the reason was, I did not care back then. I just did not like my oppa’s actions directed at Wooyoung.

“He is not my boyfriend! But he is a person that I like, so oppa you just can’t do--“

I did not even bother to finish my sentence, and I just ran away to hide my embarrassment. It did not occur to me that saying that I liked Wooyoung, in a chingu sense was not a big deal. But saying that, I understood that I was confused about everything that had happened, which all accumulated to a point that made my young mind boil.

So, I ran as fast as I could away from my oppa, away from Ye Eun and Jieun…away from Wooyoung.

I ended up at the car park, in search for oppa’s car.

It wasn’t hard to find a bright yellow Volkswagen Beetle in the parking lot full of regular coloured vehicles.

I walked towards the car, and leaned against the passenger side’s door.

Why am I like this?

Oppa was just protecting me.

But he is harmless, so why did oppa not like him?

He must think I am a horrible friend, no person for embarrassing him like that.

And before I knew it, I was already lost in my thoughts…thoughts about that chingu of mine. That chingu who called me So Eunnie on his first day. That chingu who could dance and sing so well. That chingu who was making strange faces at me that day…

But then, I felt the car window moving down. Who was in the car? Is it Appa? Aniyo....then who is it? My younger self turned around to face the person who was in the car.

“WHO ARE YOU? AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY OPPA’S CAR?!” I screamed, as I saw a boy, with short, black hair with a fringe that covered his eyes, which were also covered by sunglasses.

“Calm down.” The unknown boy said.

“NO! HOW CAN I BE CALM WITH A STRANGER IN OUR CAR? GET OUT!” Who was he? He looks like someone bad…I can’t even see his eyes! He really did look bad. Everything about this mysterious boy in oppa’s car had screamed ‘stranger danger’. All kids at that age, would have thought the same – sunglasses, dark black hair, weird aura; fits in exactly with the description our parents had given us. I obviously was no exception.

“I am not a stranger.” The boys said calmly.

“I DO NOT CARE ABOUT WHO YOU ARE! AISH JUST GET OUT BEFORE I—“

“YAH! KIM SO EUN! Why are you screaming at an oppa like that?” Omo, thank god! Kim Bum oppa had finally come! But what oppa?

“Oppa! There you are! This ‘bad stranger’ here has been sitting in your car! Who is he?” I asked, while running towards my oppa. As I was in a sticky situation, I had already forgotten about my previous disappointment. I was like that when I was young, forgetting things very easily.

“He is not a ‘bad stranger’, silly girl. He is your oppa’s chingu from school. He is just coming over to our house to play.” Oh, so he isn’t a bad boy.

“Oh, mianhaeyo! Chinchayo! I did not know that you were my oppa’s friend. I am so sorry for disrespecting you, ‘mysterious-ssi,’ like that!” I apologised quickly. Why did I address the friend of oppa’s as ‘mysterious-ssi’? It was because I did not know his name, and I had felt uncomfortable by just calling ‘oppa’ to people I didn’t know.

“Mysterious-ssi?” Oppa’s friend chuckled. Woah, this person actually smiles!

“Aigoo, So Eunnie. His name is Kim Myungsoo. He is my hoobae from my school. So you can call him Myungsoo oppa, not ‘mysterious-ssi’ arasso?” Myungsoo oppa…Myungsoo oppa.

“Annyeonghaesayo, Myungsoo oppa! It is nice to meet you!” I said, while bowing to him, still from outside the car.

“Aigoo, So Eunnie. You were so cute when you got angry and scared before! Mysterious-ssi, hah, that sounds quite good actually.” Myungsoo oppa then patted the top of my head like some puppy. I normally hated when people patted my head like that, but when this mysterious oppa did it…it felt different. I liked it.

“Myungsoo oppa…you called me So Eunnie…” Why do strangers always call me by my nickname? We just met! First with that chingu and now this oppa? Why?

“Can I not?” He said. That rang a few bells in my 10-year-old ears. And boy, did they ring loudly.

“Myungsoo-ah, of course you can! Yah, Kim So Eun, why are you still so sensitive about people calling you that! I am sure that Wooyoungie boy of yours calls you that too!” My Wooyoungie boy. My Wooyoung. Well, he was mine…my friend, only.

“Who is your Wooyoungie boy, So Eunnie? A boyfriend?” He asked in a somewhat serious and curious tone. I could not make out which one he was using. It was just, well mysterious. And when it came to Myungsoo oppa, he had always been everything associated with the word; even though I knew from that moment on, he was not a stranger.

“ANIYO! WOOYOUNG-AH IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND! HE IS JUST…” I denied, before I stopped at my words.

“Someone she claims that she likes. Don’t know to what extent, but I’m guessing it is pretty big.” Kim Bum oppa whispered into Myungsoo oppa’s ear.

“OPPA! It is not like that! We are just friends!” I said to Myungsoo oppa, directly. I did not know why I had to explain all the details about my situation with Wooyoung, but I did, just by feeling.

“Arasso, I won’t misunderstand…So Eunnie.” He replied, with a large grin on his face.

That Myungsoo oppa is very…unusual.

That summer day of Grade 5 was one of the most bizarre days of that year. Why was it so bizarre? It was, because of many strange things that had happened to me and I had done or said myself. I had discovered some new talents and expressions that I did not notice that my (our) cute Wooyoung chingu had. I had also discovered that darkly dressed young men with sunglasses where not all strangers, after realising Myungsoo oppa was the exact opposite of being ‘stranger danger’. Ultimately, I had discovered new aspects of my 10-year-old self that I had not imagined before. There were so many changes to my life that season, and I felt like everything was changing too quickly. Little did I know, it was a time that my feelings began to bloom into different flowers, not just into the one type of sunflower. But, I was still very happy back then, despite all of these changes.