Little pieces of paper floats above the little girl who stands still in the middle of a crowded room. Eager to see what it is, she grabs one and tears them apart. Delight. It screams in her eyes. The little girl could not help but smile. She watches her mother from her side as she picks up a small cylindrical container with a string tied to its back.

“Mommy, what is that?” The little one asks.

Her mother chuckles at the sudden question.

“It’s a contain of confetti.”

The little girl her head to the side, cutely, and asks, “Confetti? What is that?”

Her mother pulls the string and out goes the bright spectrum of colors, floating above them.

The little girl didn't flinch at the sudden pop of the container, and instead claps her hand and jumps in joy at the same time.

“Mommy! One more!” She pleads, bright and innocent.

Her mother looks at her side, her lips tugs down.

“Honey. There is none left.”

The little girl’s arms go down at the sudden announcement. She glances around, quietly watching.

“Mommy,"  she tugs the hem of her mother’s skirt, "I’ll be back.”

Her mother shakes her head at the sight of her daughter’s back slowly fades. She smiles, suddenly.

Her daughter may look like an innocent and naïve 5 year old, but she is actually a brave and a courageous one. She would suddenly disappear then come back holding a lollipop; only to find out she helped a grandmother walk up the stairs.

Her mother snaps out of her trance and glances worriedly around.

“Hyemi?”

She frantically walks around, looking left and right to find her daughter, slicing through the thick crowd.

"Have you seen my daughter? She wears a pink headband and a white dress." She asks a random man who shrugs his shoulders.

She randomly walked through the heavy crowd, bumping her shoulders and asking people as to where her daughter is.

A familiar laugh rings in her ears; she snaps her head towards the corner where the tables are.

Pop, pop, pop.

Various shades of colors scatter behind the blanket that covers the table. Pop, pop, pop. She hears it again.

Giggle, giggle, and giggle.

Her mother unfolds the blanket and loud squeals fill the area. Why are they here? Under a table? 

“She found us!” The boy shouts.

He crawls out, same as Hyemi.

“Mommy!” She reaches out her little hands that happily welcome her. “He has a lot of those…” Her words left hanging. “Those… pop, pop, pop.” She smiles giddily. “It was so fun!” She throws her hands up in the air and enthusiastically waves them around.

“So many colors.” Her voice squeaks. Her mother smiles at her daughter’s toxic laugh.

“What colors are they?” She asks.

“Blue, red, yellow, green…” She glances around. “Where is he?” She tilts her head to the side.

She squirms in her mother’s arms. “Let’s find him, mommy.” She impatiently looks at her mother, who immediately sets her down and lets her run to find him.

She shakes her head at her daughter’s actions and follows her.

“Hey!” Her little body busily moves around to find the boy she met a while ago.

Her eyes shine brightly as she notices the worn-out red converse shoes. She pulls the blanket up and finds him, crying.

“What are you doing there?”

Hyemi sits beside the boy, folding her knees to have more space.

“Why are you crying?”

The boy faces her, tears running down his cheeks.

“Hyung.” He mutters.

Her eyes frantically moves around, trying to find something to cheer him up, she spots a familiar cylinder container and grabs it.

Pop!

The boy jolts up in surprise and looks at the girl beside him.

“Cheer up!” She smiles at him. “You know what these are?”

She grabs a bundle of little colored paper and throws them, slowly floating above them then lands on the ground softly.

The boy shakes his head.

“Confetti.”

The boy his head to the side.

“Con…fet…ti.” He slowly mutters.

“I love these!”

“Why?”

“Because it makes me happy.”

The boy takes a moment to look at the pieces of paper that scatters below him. He takes one and tears them apart. He takes a bundle and throws it up in the air; allowing it to fall down and land on the ground.

“Hyemi!”

The said girl frantically pulls the blanket upward and makes her visible to let her mother easily find her. The boy follows her and stands beside her.

“Over here!” He shouts.

Hyemi surprisingly looks at him and says, “You scared me.”

He smiles; his eyes become mismatched and replies, “Sorry.”

“Hyemi!” Her mother shouts again.

“Over here!” They wave their arms and jumps; making them visible amongst the crowd.

Her mother notices the small voices that shout ‘Over here!’; she snaps her head towards the corner and runs.

“Aigoo.” She shakes her head and smiles.

“Hyemi.” She grabs her daughter softly by the shoulders. “Don’t run so fast. I have been looking for you everywhere. Don’t you know that it’s dangerous to be by yourself?”

Hyemi could not help but nod.

“Who is this boy?”

Her mother shifts her body to face the little boy and smiles.

“Shim Changmin,” he introduces; a crooked grin covers his face.

“Tell me, Changmin. Where is your family?”

The boy shakes his head. “I don’t have a family.”

Hyemi her head to the side, curious as to why he muttered, ‘hyung’, a while ago. With an innocent smile, she asks him. He answers with a shrug, saying that he lives with his grandparents. Hyemi shakes her head and giggles, saying that your grandparents are your family. The boy dismisses the topic by running towards the cake, taking a slice of it.

Her mother looks at Hyemi then at her watch. “Omo,” she says hastily, “We need to go.”

Hyemi looks over her shoulder and finds him, happily chatting with a kid. The kid’s eyes would shrink when he smiles.

Her mother gently grabs her daughter by the hand and softly pulls her away from the crowd. She looks for the host of the party, which is the mother of the birthday celebrant. The host happily shakes her hand and tells her that it is okay to leave in such short notice. Hyemi’s mother sighs in relief and happily bids goodbye.

Hyemi, meanwhile, glances around, looking for a boy that wears mismatched eyes when he shows a crooked grin. She found nothing. With a pout on her lips, they left.

 

---

 

Hyemi pulls the string and out goes a bright spectrum of colors, slowly hovering her from above then gently falls down. She giggles.

“So pretty.”

She remembers the memory that she had 14 years ago, it seems like a dream to her now. The boy in her memory seems to fade almost turning into nothing.

A classmate of hers shouts her name but she was unable to hear it. She hears it again and looks over her shoulder.

“What is it?”

She walks towards her classmate, confused as to why she called her.

“Why are you so occupied with that confetti of yours?”

She looks dumb-founded.

“How can you not know about it?”

Her classmates their heads to the side, processing their minds to force them to remember what she had told them.

Someone snaps its fingers and nods in satisfaction.

“That birthday party you attended before when you were a kid.”

“Exactly.”

Hyemi grins at him and claps in acknowledgement. Hyemi glances around, trying to find something that might kill her boredom. She aimlessly walks around the room, leaving her classmates, who are dumb-founded by the sudden leave of Hyemi.

She unknowingly walks through the halls, observing the paintings that were attached to the wall. She stands before a painting. She carefully looks at it, observing how it was painted and why it looks like that.

It was colorful. Four lamps were lined up in the front, hovering above are colors of blue, yellow, red and mostly red. Beside those lamps, was a tree, with no leaves but it was exceptionally pretty.

A tree with no leaves, but it was beautiful. How ironic. Nevertheless, it looked like it belonged there.

Behind the tree, was a building painted with colorful lights, as if something bright was going on there. Her eyes wander to the puddles that rest below the painting.

It is raining in that painting.

She thought as her lips forms a smile. She lets her eyes wander, observing the painting and internally adores it.

She was about to move to the other painting when two figures catches her attention. She looked closely and there it is, a couple sharing under the same umbrella. She looks at the mixture of blue and white with a touch of red beside the couple on their left. She her head to the side.

Why is a couple there? Standing beside a building that explodes a bright set of colors? What were they doing there?

A sudden thought of hers made her stop and rethink.

Explodes a bright set of colors. Explodes a bright set of colors. Explodes a bright set of colors.

She looked at it again. “Confetti.”

She stands before a painting, with a theme that made her stay in a blissful moment.

 

---

 

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

She looks at him and nods in agreement. “It sure is.”

Hyemi is surprised by the fact that she doesn't jolt in shock. She slowly glances at the man beside her and gulp. He still looks scary no matter what happens. She shivers. She continues to look at the painting and silently debates whether she would start the conversation.

“I know I look scary.”

On second thought, he will just start the conversation.

“Sorry.” She softly mutters. “I just don’t know what to say.” She chuckles.

The man beside her drinks his coffee and sighs in delight. “Want some?”

Hyemi shakes her head. She does not want to drink coffee that belongs to a stranger. It will be an indirect kiss. Well, the indirect kiss really made an impact in her mind.

“Jung Yunho.” was his name.

“I know who you are. You were the one who gave the speech about how tough it is to be in college. You were the president of the student council last year.”

He nods in response.

“Noh Hyemi.” She introduces herself meekly.

Silence engulfs them; only the sound of their breathing and the music playing in the halls heard. Hyemi continues to walk aimlessly along the hall, examining the given message to each painting displayed on the walls.

Yunho follows her, his footsteps quietly tread, his gaze stuck on the girl in front of him. He silently examines her. He tilts his head to the side. This girl intrigues him.

She stops, looks, moves to the other painting.

That is what she has been doing ever since, Yunho thought. He reluctantly looks around and shrugs. This hall is filled with paintings, he thought. He snaps out of his trance and approaches Hyemi.

“Hey.” He calls.

Hyemi looks over her shoulder; curiosity imprints on her face. “Yes?”

“Do you want to drink coffee? My treat.”

“You just drank a cup.”

“I know. What’s wrong with it?”

“We just met.”

“Well, you’ll learn about me more when you come with me.”

He was the president of the school before. He was nice when he apologized to me because he bumped me accidentally before, though it was only a short meeting.

“I won’t do anything to you, I promise.”

Hyemi never learned to say ‘no’ to a person before and never will.

 

---

 

The only thing that keeps them pre-occupied was the sweet smell of coffee lingering around the room, people typing on their laptops and constantly sipping their coffee and them, awkwardly glancing around while taking a sip on their coffee. Well, for Hyemi's condition, that is.

“Why are you silent?”

Yunho drinks his coffee as he leans back to let his back rest on the chair. Hyemi plays with her fingers, unable to look at him.

“I don’t know what to say.”

He smiles, “There are a lot of things to say, Ms. Noh.”

Hyemi finally looks at him and smiles. “I know that, Mr. Jung.”

 

---

 

From the mixture of orange and red of the afternoon sky becomes the dark and star-filled blanket of the evening sky. It wasn’t that much of an effort for them to know each other for they both gave a blissful vibe that made them laugh and smile all through out.

“I am still wondering, Mr. Jung^___”

He cuts her off in an irritated manner, “Just call me Yunho.”

The latter sticks her tongue out and gives him a teasing smile. “Mr. Jung, why were you invited in our graduation ball?”

He thinks for a while, even sips his drink. It made her chuckle at his charming act.

“It’s because I am awesome.”

Yunho smiles triumphantly as he complimented himself. Hyemi could not help but gawk at his sudden response.

Hyemi grabs a crumpled tissue and throws in right on his face. “Yeah right.” She rolls her eyes in disbelief.

“It is true.”

“I doubt it.”

“It is true,” he repeated.

“I beg to differ.”

Yunho smirks in fascination. He drinks his coffee empty and claps his hands clean. Hyemi does the same.

“It was nice meeting you, Ms. Noh.” He flashes a smile.

“Me too, Mr. Jung.” She reaches her hand out, silently telling him to shake it. Moreover, he does.

“I believe that I’ll be seeing you from time to time.” He says, in no doubt.

“We’ll see.” Hyemi smirks.

 

---

 

“.” She mutters upon running towards the bus stop. She was clearly late on her first day and she did not want that. Just one step could make her day a bit less difficult; but luck was not on her side. The door closed the bus swiftly left and now, she is hopeless.

“So much for my first day.” She sighs and continues to walk on her own. She holds the straps of her backpack tightly and sighs again. “Just great.” She kicks a small pebble away.

She continues to walk until she steps on the borderline of her university. “I’m here,” she mutters.

She walks along the halls, silently debating to enter her class or just skip it.

She coughs, sighs and knocks on the door.

“Sorry, I’m late!” She shouts, only to be welcomed by no one.

“What?” She enters the room; processing the situation in her mind. She her head to side and walks outside of her class and into the registrar’s office.

“Excuse me; I would like to know when the first day for the Psychology class is.” She asks, silently praying that it has not been moved to another date.

“I am sorry to say that your class will be scheduled next week. It was announced last week in our website. You were not informed, aren’t I right?”

Hyemi nods meekly as she plays with her fingers. “I didn’t know.” She answers.

“I can see that.” The latter chuckles.

Hyemi sighs and bows to inform the woman in front of her that she is leaving.

 

---

 

She sits on a bench, which is located at the right side of the school. It is quiet but it does not bother her. She likes it, actually. She plays with the dirt beneath her shoes, drawing various kinds of shapes. The scent of coffee lingers in her lungs as she inhales. “Reminds me of someone,” she says

“I think that someone is me?” He stood in front of her, two cups of coffee present in his hands.

“Want one?”

Hyemi looks baffled to see him in her university.

“What are you doing here? Why do you have two cups of coffee? Are you stalking me?”

“One by one, please?”

Yunho takes a sit beside her and hands her a cup of coffee.

“I study here. I happened to pass by and saw you stupidly stand in front of your class. And no, this is just plain coincidence.”

He takes a sip and sighs in delight.

“What’s with you and coffee?”

“What’s with you and confetti?”

He counters.

“How did you know?”

“Graduation ball.”

“That can’t be possible. The room was completely packed. How could you see me?”

She points herself, still taking in the information from the person beside her.

“Easy. You were all oh-my-God-there-is-a-confetti.” Yunho’s voice went higher, trying to impersonate a woman when in shopping.

“No way. You saw me?” Hyemi gawks at his sudden change of voice. “No. Don’t you ever do that.”

“I still look awesome.”

“Self-proclaimed.”

She rolls her eyes and sips on her coffee. This is good, she thought.

“You reminded me of my friend.” Yunho throws the empty cup in the trash bin, which is behind them.

“Really?”

“Always so giddy when he sees confetti.” Yunho’s eyes look distant in Hyemi’s view.

“He once told me that confetti could mean a lot of things.” Yunho shrugs. “I just told him, 'Do not get too delusional about it.'” Hyemi made a face.

“He’s right,” she says, “Your friend.”

“Why is that?”

“Whenever you are happy, sad, jealous… just pop one and no one could ever know what you are feeling. Like a mask, perfectly hiding you.”

 

---

 

“Hey.” Yunho sits down beside her. He slides an envelope, white and plain. With a questioning look that she sent to him, she opens it and reads the content.

“Your birthday party?”

Yunho nods like a puppy.

“Aren’t you too old for this? You’re going to be 20,” she says, reluctantly.

“Aren’t you happy for me? I just met you for like what? Two weeks and this is what you give to me?”

He throws a tantrum; he slams his hands on the table and whines like a baby.

“If you’ll shut up, I’ll come.”

He immediately stops.

“I hate you.”

“I love you, too.”

Hyemi rolls her eyes and faces him. “Will there be a box full of confetti?”

Yunho nods.

Hyemi sighs and shakes her head. “Completely attacking my weakness.”

“I know.” He smirks.

 

---

 

“Can you please explain to me as to why I agreed to your stupid party?”

The lively and animated neon lights that rapidly spin around the room hit her eyes, which made her almost blind.

“Confetti is located to your right.” Yunho boringly informed her, his back slouching in defeat.

“Thank you.”

Hyemi picks one and holds the string located at the bottom of the cylindrical figure and pulls it. A squeal came out of her lips as she saw bright colors slowly hovers her then gently settles down on the ground.

“Why are you so sad?” She holds his cheeks and squeezes them lightly.

Yunho shrugs his shoulders; his hands going cold.

“It’s your birthday so cheer up.” Hyemi looks at him, directly in his eyes. “Besides, I don’t know anybody here.” She pats his cheek and smiles.

He opens his mouth to say something but decides to shut it, thinking that it might destroy something between them.

With one last smile from Hyemi, he turns his body around and left.

 

---

 

Hyemi grabs five cylindrical figures and wanders around his house, trying to find a place to pop them.

It took her quite a while to find a place. Yunho’s place was not that huge but it was not that small either. It seemed huge in Hyemi’s eyes for she lived in an apartment for almost 3 years.

Her mother left her to find an efficient job around Seoul. However, her mother’s place and her school were quite far apart. Therefore, they part ways; only the use of technology to keep them updated.

She wanders around his house, not minding the screams, shouts and the sudden appearance of drunken people. It was fresh to her, seeing all these people move in a way she could not. Even though, she is in a legal age. She decided not to do it for this event.

“Happy Birthday, Yunho!”

Somebody screams and a series of explosion of confetti follows. Hyemi could not help but follow them and enjoy this moment.

She stands there, completely lost in excitement. She reaches her hand out and a bundle of confetti rests on her palm.

She glances around, happy to see the smiles present on their faces. She looks for a familiar smile that she has grown accustomed to.

“Thanks for coming,” his voice soft and deep, as if whispering to her.

Hyemi felt her hands sweating and her lungs tightening. What is happening?

Hyemi shrugs it off and faces him with a smile. “You forced me into it.” She sticks her tongue out.

Somebody calls Yunho’s name in the background. He gestures that person to wait and looks at Hyemi. “I have something to do.” He ruffles her hair and left.

“That guy.” She hisses softly and watches his back disappear.

 

---

 

“Wassup, guys!” Yunho’s voice booms the speakers.

“Thank you for attending my birthday, though this is too late for me.” Series of laughter followed. “Anyways, I hope that you’ll have a good time.”

He finishes his speech with an explosion of confetti, and soon, everyone followed.

Hyemi stands there, again, taking her time to digest the sudden excitement rushing in her body. She looks around; she giddily smiles at the sight in front of her.

Hyemi suddenly stares at a corner where the food is located. His mismatched eyes, his crooked grin, she thought, it seems familiar.

Her feet unconsciously move towards him; a sudden flash of memories rushes in her mind. It’s him, right? She asks herself, Damn it, Hyemi. It has been 14 years. How could you remember him?

 She forces herself to move away and disregard the thought.

 

---

 

“Hyemi!” An arm wraps her shoulder, pulling her closer. “I want you to meet my friend.” Yunho says, catching her interest.

“Who is he?”

“I didn’t say a he.” Yunho sticks his tongue. “How did you know that it is a he?” He asks.

“Almost everybody here are boys; I bet your bros brought their girlfriends.” She rolls her eyes.

“Whatever,” he says, “Meet Max.”

Hyemi looks at Yunho’s finger to where he is pointing. “Where is he?”

Yunho blinks twice, “He’s gone.” He sighs. “I’ll go get him.”

Hyemi nods and waits for him to come back.

“How many times have I reminded you not to disappear when I ask you to meet someone?”

She heard Yunho nag at the boy beside him.

Hyemi could not decipher the face of the boy. He wears a cap, which covers half of his face. He wears an all-black outfit, making him unusual from the others. Hyemi shivers in a peculiar manner. I do not want to befriend that person. She thought.

“What’s with that cap anyway?” Yunho nags. “Take it off.” He grabs it, attempting it to rip it from his head. “No way, hyung.” He said, in a frustrated manner.

“Why do I have to meet her anyway? It’s not like I care about her. I don’t even ing know her.” He shouts, unintentionally using profanities.

Yunho’s eyes widen as he finally steps in front of Hyemi.

“You heard that?”

Hyemi nods meekly, keeping her head down.

“I’m sorry about him.” He apologizes.

“No, it’s okay.” Hyemi smiles. “It’s not like I don’t ing care at all.” She looks at the boy and smirks. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to go home and prepare some things for my class next week.”

She turns her heels and left.

“Hyemi. Wait!” Yunho runs after her, only to be stopped by a hand on the wrist.

“You like her don’t you, hyung?” Yunho forcefully rips his wrist from his hand.

“Shut it, Changmin. You just ruined my day.” He shouts at him.

“Ah.” He coos. “You like her.”

“So what?”

Yunho turns his body to follow Hyemi.

“I see.” He says, disappearing into the crowd behind him.

 

---

 

Hyemi sits on a bench after a morning jog. “How dare he say that?” She mumbles. “He doesn’t even know me.” She continues to pant then slowly breathes to make her feel comfortable.

She stretches her arms and legs; she feels refreshed by the sudden action. A loud thud hits the ground as she looks at it with frantic eyes.

“Are you okay?”

She helps him by half-dragging him to the bench. “Are you okay?” She repeats.

“Yeah, I think so.” The person faces her and his eyes widen in shock.

“Why is your face like that?” Hyemi her head to the side as she sits beside him. “Any bruises?”

The person looks around to see if there is blood present on his shirt or sweatpants. “None.”

“That’s good.” Hyemi sighs in relief.

 

---

 

“Max!”

The two suddenly jolts up in shock.

His name is Max. Where did I hear that?

Oh . She’s going to know me.

Hyemi looks at the running figure of a man running towards them. “Yunho?”

He slows down when he saw the two familiar figures standing in front of him.

“Hyemi?”

“Why are you with that guy?”

“Why are you here?”

“What is happening?”

“Are you following me?”

“Okay! So you guys now each other.”

Max claps his hands, signaling them to shut up.

“Damn you and your attitude.” Hyemi mutters under her breath.

Max chuckles and smiles at her. “Thank you.”

Hyemi recognizes that smile.

“I know. His eyes go mismatched when he smiles and it's crooked too. It’s weird.” Yunho comments.

“Stop it, hyung.” He threatened him; hovering the older using his height.

“I swear I saw that smile before.” She mutters, which Yunho caught.

“You saw him before?” Hyemi shakes her head.

“Not him. I saw that kind of smile before. When I was a little kid,” she says, grinning.

“Where?” Yunho asks.

“In a birthday party.” She answers.

“I only attended a party once. My grandparents didn’t allow me.” Max shrugs in response.

“Anyways, let’s go and drink a cup of coffee.” The two rolls their eyes at the sudden announcement.

“No complaints.”

 

---

 

They sit in silence, occasionally sipping their drinks.

“How did you guys meet?” Hyemi asks, completely uncomfortable with the silence.

“Children’s party.” They both answer.

“When?”

“When we were both 7 years old.”

“Up until now?”

“Through thick and thin.” Yunho proudly answers.

“Why do you call him ‘hyung’ then?”

“I wanted to have a brother.” Max answers.

“Wow.” Hyemi sips her coffee then silence reigns over them.

“Why are we talking about this?” Max complains.

“Because you’re not talking and I hate the silence,” Hyemi responds.

“Whatever.”

 

---

 

Yunho looks past the window and sighs. He was clearly getting bored. In addition, he does not want to die in boredom.

“So, I heard you two like confetti?”

The two nods their heads.

“Why is that?”

“Because of my mother.”

“Because of somebody I met when I was a little kid.”

“Where is that?”

“Children’s party.”

They look at each other, give a questioning look and shrug it off.

Yunho shuffles his feet in an uncomfortable manner. “That was awkward.”

“It is.” Max growls.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have to go home and rest.” Hyemi smiles.

“Wait!” Yunho abruptly stands up and hurries to her side.

“Give me your phone.” She unconsciously brings her phone out and waits for a couple of seconds.

“Thanks.” Yunho cheekily grins at her.

“What did yo^___” Max cuts her by saying, “He gave you his number.”

Hyemi nods in response.

“I’ll be going now.” Hyemi smiles and left.

 

---

 

“Hyung. You seriously like her.” Max teases him. “Aigoo. My brother.” He pats Yunho on his head and ruffles it. Yunho smacks his hand away from him. “Do not.” He points his finger, signaling him to stop.

“Whatever.”

“But, seriously.” Yunho’s words trails off.

“What is it?”

“Why does it seem that it’s connected?”

“What do you mean?”

“Our story.”