Words that say I love you.

“I’m sorry” with those short words, I hung up the phone
There was nothing special, there was no commotion
And things just flowed on like that
 

The night of the play was cool and crisp; the sky was absolutely clear without a hint of clouds. We had to arrive an hour early, and I'd been feeling pretty bad all day about the way I'd talked to Ara the night before. She'd never been anything but nice to me, and I knew that I'd been a jerk.

I saw her in the hallways between classes, and I wanted to go up to apologize to her for what I'd said, but she'd sort of slip back into the crowd before I got the chance.

She was already at the Playhouse by the time I finally arrived, and I saw her talking to the art teacher and scarecrow.

Everyone was in motion, working off nervous energy, but she seemed strangely lethargic. She hadn't put on her costume yet-she was supposed to wear a white, flowing dress to give that angelic appearance-and she was still wearing the same sweater she'd worn at school. Despite my trepidation at how she might react, I walked up to the three of them.

"Hey, Ara," I said. I bowed to the rest.

Ara turned to me.

"Hello, Seung Gi," she said quietly. I could tell she'd been thinking about the night before, too, because she didn't smile at me like she always did when she saw me. I asked if I could talk to her alone, and the two of us excused ourselves. I could see scarecrow and the art teacher watching us as we took a few steps off to the side, out of hearing distance.

I glanced around the stage nervously. "I'm sorry about those things I said last night," I began. "I know they probably hurt your feelings, and I was wrong to have said them."

She looked at me, as if wondering whether to believe me. "Did you mean those things you said?" she finally asked. "I was just in a bad mood, that's all. I get sort of wound up sometimes." I knew I hadn't really answered her question.

"I see," she said. She said it as she had the night before, then turned toward the empty seats in the audience. Again she had that sad look in her eyes.

"Look," I said, reaching for her hand, "I promise to make it up to you." Don't ask me why I said it-it just seemed like the right thing to do at that moment. For the first time that night, she began to smile.

"Thank you," she said, turning to face me.

" Ara?" Ara turned. "Yes, teacher."

"I've got to go," she said to me.

"I know."

I let go of her hand. "We both will. I promise."

After a long time, I received your letter
You said it was too hard for you
That loving me, understanding me was too hard for you
That you don’t want to do this anymore
 

After that, we had to get ready, and we went our separate ways. I headed toward the men's dressing room.

My costume, which was kept at the Playhouse, was already in the dressing room. I was getting dressed when Jae Hyun walked in the door unannounced. He sat on the dressing table in front of the mirror.

"So," Jae Hyun said with a mischievous grin on his face, "what are you going to do?"

I looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"About the play, stupid. You gonna flub up your lines or something?"

I shook my head. "No."

"You gonna knock the props over?" Everyone knew about the props.

"I hadn't planned on it," I answered stoically.

"You mean you're going to do this thing straight up?"

I nodded. Thinking otherwise hadn't even occurred to me.

He looked at me for a long time, as if he was discovering me.

"I guess you're finally growing up, Seung Gi," he said at last. Coming from him, I wasn't sure whether it was intended as a compliment. Either way, though, I knew he was right.

In the play, Cha Tae Ho is amazed when he first sees the angel, which is why he goes around helping her as she shares Christmas with those less fortunate.

The first words out of his mouth are, "You're beautiful," and I was supposed to say them as if I meant them from the bottom of my heart. This was the pivotal moment in the entire play, and it sets the tone for everything else that happens afterward. The problem, however, was that I still hadn't nailed this line yet.

Sure, I said the words, but they didn't come off too convincingly, seeing as I probably said the words like anyone would when looking at Ara. It was the only scene where teacher had never complimented, so I was nervous about it.

Ara was still in her dressing room when the curtains finally opened. I didn't see her beforehand, but that was okay. The first few scenes were mainly about Tom Thornton and his relationship with his daughter.

Now, I didn't think I'd be too nervous when I stepped out on stage, being that I'd rehearsed so much, but it hits you right between the eyes when it actually happens. The Playhouse was absolutely packed.

As soon as I stepped on stage, everyone was absolutely quiet. The crowd, I noticed, was mainly old ladies, though I could see Jae Hyun sitting with all my friends near the back row. It was downright eerie.

So I did the best I could to put it out of my mind as I did the first few scenes in the play. A small girl from my class was playing my daughter, and we went through our scenes just as we'd rehearsed them. Neither of us blew our lines, though we weren't spectacular or anything. When we closed the curtains for act two, we had to quickly reset the props.

I still hadn't seen Ara-I guess she was exempt from moving props because her costume was made of light material and would rip if she caught it on one of those nails.

The words “I love you”, I couldn’t say those common words
And I hurt you, I was so bad
Let’s put all the sad memories behind us
And let’s start again like the moment we first saw each other

 

The next thing I knew, the curtain was opening again and I was back in the play’s world, walking past storefronts and looking in windows for the music box my daughter wants for Christmas. My back was turned from where Ara entered, but I heard the crowd collectively draw a breath as soon as she appeared on stage. I thought it was silent before, but now it went absolutely hush still. Just then, from the corner of my eye and off to the side of the stage, I saw scarecrow's jaw quivering. I readied myself to turn around, and when I did, I finally saw what it was all about.

For the first time since I'd known her, her honey-colored hair wasn't pulled into a tight bun. Instead it was hanging loosely, longer than I imagined, reaching below her shoulder blades. There was a trace of glitter in her hair, and it caught the stage lights, sparkling like a crystal halo. Set against her flowing white dress tailored exactly for her, it was absolutely amazing to behold. She didn't look like the girl I'd grown up with or the girl I'd come recently to know. She wore a touch of makeup, too-not a lot, just enough to bring out the softness of her features. She was smiling slightly, as if she were holding a secret close to her heart, just like the part called for her to do.

She looked exactly like an angel. I know my jaw dropped a little, and I just stood there looking at her for what seemed like a long time, shocked into silence, until I suddenly remembered that

I had a line I had to deliver. I took a deep breath, then slowly let it out.

"You're beautiful," I finally said to her, and I think everyone in the whole auditorium, from old ladies in front to my friends in the back row, knew that I actually meant it.

To say that the play was a smashing success was to put it mildly. The audience laughed then cried, which is pretty much what they were supposed to do. But because of Ara's presence, it really became something special-and I think everyone in the cast was as shocked as I was at how well the whole thing had come off. They all had that same look I did when I first saw her, and it made the play that much more powerful when they were performing their parts. We finished the first performance without a hitch, and the next evening even more people showed up, if you can believe it. Even Jae Hyun came up to me afterward and congratulated me, which after what he'd said to me before was somewhat of a surprise.

"The two of you did good," he said simply. "I'm proud of you, buddy."

I looked for Ara after we'd pulled the curtains closed for the final time, and spotted her off to the side, with her father. He had tears in his eyes-it was the first time I'd ever seen him cry-and Ara went into his arms, and they held each other for a long time. He was her hair and whispering, "My angel," to her while her eyes were closed, and even I felt myself choking up.

The "right thing," I realized, wasn't so bad after all.

After they finally let go of each other, He proudly motioned for her to visit with the rest of the cast, and she got a boatload of congratulations from everyone backstage. She was her normal cheerful self, but with her looking so pretty, it came across in a totally different way. I stood in the background, letting her have her moment, and I'll admit there was a part of me that felt like old scarecrow. I couldn't help but be happy for her, and a little proud as well. When she finally saw me standing off to one side, she excused herself from the others and walked over, finally stopping when she was close.

Looking up at me, she smiled. "Thank you, Seung Gi, for what you did. You made my father very happy."

"You're welcome," I said, meaning it.

The strange thing was, when she said it, I realized that scarecrow would be driving her home, and for once I wished that I would have had the opportunity to walk her there.

The following week was our last of school before winter break, and finals were scheduled in every class. In addition, I had to finish my application for university, which I'd sort of been putting off because of all the rehearsals. I planned on hitting the books pretty hard that week, then doing the application at night before I went to bed. Even so, I couldn't help but think about Ara.

Her transformation during the play had been startling, to say the least, and I assumed it had signaled a change in her. I don't know why I thought that way, but I did, and so I was amazed when she showed up our first morning back dressed like her usual self: brown sweater, hai