The Sun

I go and pick up Minyu the next morning. Last night I didn't dare to ask her what she meant with those words. Besides, we soon arrived to the convent and had to bid goodnight. On my way home later I decided that I wasn't going to ask. Once she has her feelings sorted out, she'll tell me because that's how she is: honest. She knows my feelings and that I'm waiting, so she won't torture me. I'm confident about that.

So I ought to be patient and just carry on, the only difference is that now I don't have to hide my feelings or pretend I don't see her as a friend and a woman. I won't make her feel uncomfortable, either.

The reason why I'm the only one picking her is because Jeremy and Minam had to run some errands first. They said they would meet us in the flat. I already arranged for a moving truck to take all the things she had in her room to her new flat. We'll see later what we are going to do with that empty room at home. However, I don't really care. I'm hoping I'll spend more time at Minyu's flat.

"Good morning, Oppa," she says when she sees me. I hurry to grab her suitcase and take it to my car's boot.

"Morning. Are you excited?" I ask and she nods enthusiastically. "Jeremy and Minam will meet us in your flat," I tell her before she can ask.

Then we are in my car and I'm driving. I notice she's acting nervous and I wonder if it's because we are alone in her car. She had time to think about what happened last night, maybe she's feeling self conscious now. Yet something tells me it's not the case. There must be another thing that's bugging her.

"Something wrong?" I ask, startling her.

"Oh! It's that… I was wondering if hyu—if Taekyung-ssi knows you three gave me the flat and where it is. I mean, does he know about all this?" she manages to ask and I sigh. I can read the real question behind those words and it hurts a bit. She wants to know if he's been asking about her.

"He knows. When we asked to have today off he was curious that it was the three of us. Jeremy told him." Yes, he knows and he looked anxious and even sad about all this, but he's too prideful to come with us or to even ask us directly if Minyu is doing fine.

"I-I think I need to talk to him," she says and I gasp. Why? Why now? "I don't want to avoid him or feel like he hates me. I know it's over between us and I'm okay with that. I came to terms with it. But I still want to try to fix our friendship. We can't act like strangers."

I relax a bit when I understand the reason behind her words.

"If that's what you really want I can take you to him, that way I'll be nearby if something goes wrong." And that has many connotations.

"Thank you, Oppa. I'll let you know when I'm ready."

I only nod and keep driving until we get there. I help her again with her suitcase and then wait for her to open her flat. We both are surprised to see it fully equipped and with Jeremy and Minam waiting inside.

"Congratulations, Go Minyu!" they cheer and throw confetti. I had no idea they were planning this. "This is our present," Minam adds waving with his arm to point all the furniture that last night wasn't there. "It's just the basics so we don't have to sit and eat on the floor."

Minyu is so surprised she can't utter words, she only gapes. She only reacts when Jeremy comes running to hug her tightly.

"I-I-I don't know what to say. This… Wow… Thank you so much but you didn't have to. Why did you—?"

"Because we love you and we want to help you. Shinwoo-hyung did the most with the flat so we wanted to be even," Jeremy explains offhandedly and Minyu shakes her head, giving up.

“Come in, come in. Your room is already settled. Let's go!" Jeremy sings and she laughs at his excitement, but she follows him nonetheless.

We help her settle and get accustomed to her new flat. She and I prepare lunch together and in general we have a great time. It's evident she's happy and that puts me at ease. Since she left the house she always looked at least a bit sad. Yes, I could make her laugh and smile honestly, but it was always briefly; her sad eyes always came back. Now she actually looks fine, renewed. Surely it's because she can finally start her independent life. I'm really happy for her.

We spend the whole day together and it's very late when we decide it's time to go home. We asked for this day off but tomorrow we have work to do. We need to catch up and finish the album once and for all.

Minam and Jeremy say good night and depart first, leaving us alone to part ways.

"Oppa, do you have to go?" she asks, surprising me.

"Uh, not necessarily. Do you need help with something?"

She shakes her head. "No, I just… I just want you to stay a bit longer." She's completely blushed when she says that and her eyes are fixed on the floor, which is good because that way she doesn't see the foolish smile on my face.

"Of course I can stay a bit longer then. In fact, I have a present for you that I forgot to give you when I saw all what Jeremy and Minam did. I'll go for it, okay?" She nods and I rush to my car to grab the present I bought. It's something small but it has a heavy meaning.

I'm back in no time and she flashes me a smile when she opens the door. Once it's closed I hand her the package.

"You three are spoiling me rot! Seriously, you have to stop giving me so many presents."

"As Jeremy said, it's because we love you," I say and I know she knows my love is different from theirs. "Go on, open it."

And she does and discovers the tea set I've given her. It's a set for two people, yellow with a painted sun. I saw it a few days ago and bought it thinking that, like how it happened with the shoes and flowers, I would never give it to her.

"It's so pretty, Oppa! I love it," she grins at me happily. "I'll think of you every time I use it."

I smile contently because that's exactly what I want her to do. "Shall I prepare some tea for us then?"

She nods and I start to work. I love doing this for the two of us, I feel it's a ritual only us can do. None of the other members of ANJell will do this for her. This is only ours.

I hands her the cup and she wraps her hands around it before lifting it to smell it. She closes her eyes to enjoy the scent.

"The smell and warmth is so comforting. Tea always reminds me of you: calm, sweet and comforting. You're always there for me, Oppa."

"And I'll say here for as long as you want me," I reply and her smile turns even kinder.

"When I was in Ghana there was a British girl volunteering, too. She prepared tea for us but it was different. I drank it anyways but you were always in my mind and those were the moments I missed you the most, it physically hurt. There was a sharp pain in my chest and I just wanted you to be there with me, drinking tea and smiling kindly as you always do. As you're doing right now. You've always been so special to me," she says and I feel my chest tightening. "I feel like I didn't appreciate you enough because Taekyung-ssi was all I could see. He's so bright that I can't even see all the other stars, but the moment I started seeing another piece of the sky, I noticed many other things. I saw how big the world is and when I came back everything looked different."

"You came back different," I comment. "More mature and wiser. You still are pure and innocent, but you're not naïve anymore."

"I'm glad. I don't want to overlook things ever again. I want to see it all in the daylight," she confesses and I feel so proud.

I ruffle her hair like I always do and she makes her cute face that I love so much. "That's good because the world's been waiting for you to see it. I've been waiting."

"You really are like my sun, Oppa. The closest to me and you help me see everything."

My heart skips a beat when I hear her words, happiness making me feel bubbly because she does… She considers me her sun. She finally does.

Thank you for all your comments! I'm happy you want me to keep writing here. I'm already working on a plot but I want to ask... do you want it to be more teenager (18-19) or more mature (21-24)?

Bel, xx