A few days later Ella Klein was surprised to find a personal letter for her in the mail box. She entered the apartment she shared with her two friends and stared at it. She quickly sorted out theirs and gave it to them. They noticed the odd look she was giving a particular piece of mail,

“What is it?” one asked. Ella just shook her head,

“I can’t imagine…” She trailed off and went into her room to be alone and read it.

She read it about three times before she actually believed it. She stared at the initials on the front and the signiture on the inside. Eli. Kyoung Jae Kim. He had read her letter and he had read it well. He had read it and replied to it. This had exceeded everything she had ever imagined. She had opened her heart and poured it into that piece of paper, thinking no one would ever give it a second glance but he had and he had cared enough to give her a reply. She was shocked and not in a fan to celebrity way, but a person to person way, because he cared, he really cared and he had listened without judgement or trying to change her and that was all she had ever asked for from anyone. He didn’t even know her, maybe that was the best part, he didn’t know her, but he had replied like they were good friends and he told her that he was there: he would listen. So, after a fourth reading, she picked up some clean paper, and began writing.

 

 

Eli was happy to open his mail and find a new letter addressed to him. He wasn’t surprised though. He had tried to make it as clear as he could that he wanted her to write him, he wanted her to be able to talk to him, he wanted to listen. He immediately set aside all of the bills and junk mail and sat down to read her letter. Although a little shorter than before, it was the same girl with the same voice. This time, besides answering any questions he had posed in his last letter, she asked him questions. She said that she wanted to be able to return the favor and listen to him if he’d let her. He hesitated before picking up his pen, but in the end he decided to trust her and let her in.

It was a slow process, but after months of writing letters back and forth, he finally delved into more personal matters, telling her about himself and some of his innermost personal feelings; feelings that he normally had no one to tell. Sure, he had family and friends, but like her it was hard to know who to trust. And sometimes it’s easier to trust a complete stranger than to trust your oldest friend. And this is how their relationship started. In a way, it was like a diary, but a diary in which someone responded and held your heart and whiped your tears, figurativly of course.

Ella tried her best to intercept the mail everyday so that her friends wouldn’t see the strange letters, but it could only last for so long.

“Korea…? Why are you getting a letter from Korea? Who is that?” One friend asked one day as she entered the apartment. Ella jumped up, unsure of what to say,

“Um, it’s just a friend… Nothing important…”

“I didn’t know you had a friend in Korea.” Her friend commented, handing the letter over.

“It’s a new friend. It’s not a big deal. Now, excuse me.” She quickly got away and went to her room to read her letter in silence as her two friends gave eachother confused looks.

 

This continued for months and each had poured their hearts out into paper for the other to read and keep forever. This type of intimacy with words was bound to make its effect on them sooner or later. Whenever Ella received a new letter from Eli, her heart would race and butterflies would explode in her stomach. Eli began checking his mail everyday with expectation and the smile that lit up his face when one would finally come was brilliant. Eventually, they came to want something more from eachother than just kind words on a piece of paper. Eli wanted to kow her, to hear her voice, to see her smile, to stare into her eyes. He wanted her. But she was so far away, and he was so busy. But still, he wanted more; something. He decided a good first step was her phone number. He’d pay for long distance if it meant hearing her voice.

 

 

When Ella got the letter asking for her number, hear heart skipped a beat. She stared at the paper long and hard and she thought. She needed to be serious here and be honest. This was Eli Kim she was talking to: Korean idol and UKISS member. They needed to be responsible, although all she really wanted was to speak with him and hear his voice as he talked to her, but was that the right thing for them; for him and his career? And so, she wrote him back and ended it with these words before: Are you sure? She then wrote her number, letting him decide for himself what he wanted. It was up to him.

 

 

It was a few days later when she got the call. She had been laughing and talking with her friends in their main room when her phone rang and an unfamiliar number flashed across the screen of her phone.

“Who is it?” One of them asked.

“I don’t know…” She said before slowly picking it up to answer. “Hello?” She said.

“Ella?” Her heart skipped a beat; that voice…

“Yes…?”

“It’s me… It’s Eli.” She took in a sharp breath before exhaling slowly. She tried to keep her thoughts straight,

“Prove it.” She whispered. He was silent for a moment,

“You once told me in one of our letters that one of your most prized possetions is a small snow globe that your cousin gave you when you were little. That you don’t really know why, but that you always liked it. Even that maybe you tend to put sentimental value in objects that possess none in reality, but it makes you feel better to think so. And I said that I agreed, sometimes we tell ourselves things and make situations more special than they are to add a little excitement.”

“Is that what this is?” She asked.

“What?” he asked confused.

“Am I making things more special than they are?”

“What? No! This… This is special. There’s no denying that by now.” She smiled and nodded her head,

“I know…” She looked up, suddenly remembering that she wasn’t alone. Her friends were staring at her quizically. She blushed slightly and excused herself, leaving to take the call in the privacy of her own room.

 

She and Eli weren’t able to talk for very long, as he had a schedule to attend soon, but it was the most amazing ten minutes either of them had spent in awhile. They spent every minute talking and taking in eachothers voices and breathing. It was beautiful and perfect and neither wanted to hang up.

“I have to go now…” Eli finally whispered. Ella sighed and closed her eyes,

“I know…”

“I don’t want to…”

“I don’t want you to either…” It was silent for a few breaths, “But you need to. So go. Don’t let me distract you from your work. Have a good day…”

“You too…” It was silent on the line for a moment before he finaly hung up and the line went dead. She sat there and listened to the tone for a few more seconds before shutting her own phone and staring at the wall.

 

“Who was that?” Her friends asked once she rejoined them in the main room. She just shook her head.

“Ella, why won’t you tell us? First the weird letters and now this phone call? What’s going on?” Ella sighed,

“You guys just have to trust me. I’ll tell you when the time comes, just… for now it’s something I need to keep to myself. Can you trust me on this?” It was silent as they all stared at eachother and she sighed, smiling, “I promise I will tell you all everything one day.”

“Soon?” Ella laughed,

“Yes, soon.”

“Fine. But I want to know everything and soon, okay?”

“Yes, yes, alright.” Ella smiled. “Thank you.” She finally said. They nodded and returned her smile, knowing they could trust her.

 

Another month went by with the two sending letters back and forth and calling eachother at least once a week. Ella couldn’t help but feel her heart swell whenever she heard his voice.

 

“What are we doing, Eli?” Ella asked one day.

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean. What are we doing? What… What is this?” She heard him sigh as she waited patiently for his response.

“I-I’m going to be in D.C. next week... To visit family. You should come. Meet me. Meet me there and I’ll answer your question.” She was silent for a moment as she took in his words,

“I have class.” It wasn’t much of an excuse, but it’s all she had. He was silent as he considered her words,

“I know… But… I hope you can find some way…” And then he excused himself for a schedule and hung up, leaving her mind reeling.

She exited her room an hour later with determination and a plan set in place.

“I’m going to D.C. next week.” She anounced to her friends.

“What? Why?” Ella smiled,

“When I get back, I’ll finally tell you everything.”

 

Ella left class that Friday at noon and found a text awaiting her from Eli asking her to call him.

“I’m in D.C.” was the first thing he said when he answered her call. She smiled,

“I’ll head out soon. I should be there in a few hours.”

“Are you driving?” He asked,

“Of course.” He was quiet,

“I should have bought you a ticket or something…”

“No, don’t be silly. I think I need the drive anyways, to let me think and clear my thoughts.” He agreed that he understood and the line went silent for a moment as they thought of what to say, “Well,” She began, “There is one thing you could do for me. I just realized that I’ve forgotten to call ahead and reserve a hotel room. Could you take care of that for me? Somewhere decent for a reasonalbly price, of course.” He agreed and they hung up, promising to see eachother soon, and this time it was real.

 

On the road Ella thought.

She thought about everything.

She thought about the first letter she sent and what she revealed. She thought about all he had said since then and how they had grown together over the months that had ensued. She smiled, still not believeing that she was so lucky to have finally found someone whom she could trust so whole heartedly.

 

Eli texted her an address and she typed it into her GPS once she got closer to the area. It was ten minutes now before she was supposedly going to reach her destination and her heart was racing and she couldn’t stop her smile.

She began to get suspicious when she entered a neighborhood rather than what she expected of a hotel. She followed the directions sceptically through the streets before finally reaching her destination. It was a small brick house in the middle of a neighborhood and it was most definitly not a hotel. She sighed and got out of her car, pulling out her phone. She leaned against her car as she dialed his number. She stared at the house as the phone rang and she watched as people moved around inside.

“I asked you for a hotel and I am not standing before a hotel right now.” She said as soon as he answered. She saw a shadow make its way towards the front door and she stared as the door opened. Out came Eli; it was her first real glimpse of him and she took in a deep breath. “This is not a hotel.” She repeated breathlessly.

“My parents insisted you stay here.” He said into the phone, only yards away from her now, his own breathing slightly ragged from the adrenaline pulsing through his veins. “Well…” Eli smiled, shutting his phone, and began taking slow deliberate steps toward her. Her breath hitched as she watched him, her thoughts all over the place. She was here, and she couldn’t believe it. Eli was only yards, feet, inches away. She slowly lowered her own phone from her ear as he appraoched her, clutching it in her hand. Eli stopped in the middle of the street, inches from her now,

“Say something?” She blinked and opened , only to let it close once again.

“I-I don’t quite know what to say…” Their voices rang clear in the evening air, with no phone to muffle or wharble it. Eli grinned,

“You sound different than on the phone.”

“So do you.” They stared at each other for the longest time. Finally Ella gave in and crossed the small distance between them and wrapped her arms around him, burrying her face in his chest. She had resisted for far too long, and the proximity had been driving her mad. For a moment, Eli stiffened, surprised from her sudden movement, but then he relaxed and returned the embrace, a small smile lighting his face.

They stood like that for a long time, undisturbed and uncaring. Eventually, Eli tilted his head and whispered in her ear,

“I think I love you…” Although her words were slightly muffled by his shirt, he heard her well enough,

“I think I love you too.” With that he pulled away just enough to look into her eyes. They stood there like that for a moment with her arms wrapped around his neck and his tight around her waist and they simply stared. They took in everything they saw in eachothers gazes. In them they saw honesty, patience, and most importantly love. Eli smiled softly and leaned in, capturing her lips in a kiss, their first kiss, and she let him, kissing him back.

_____________________________________________ A/N: Ahhh! Such a cheesy ending! DX i'm sorry, but here it is finally! I hope you enjoyed it! Leave me a comment if you can. :)