Like_Old_Times

Like Old Times (FTTS fic) Finished *contact me at: Shinhwa_jjang@hotmail.com

Prologue

Brian ran up the moving escalator and scanned the airport. He breathed heavily and looked for YoonJi. He thought, ‘YoonJi ah… Please… YoonJi ah…’ He scanned the crowds and found the screen with departures and arrivals. He looked for departures to LA… He murmured to himself, “Gate… gate… gate… 24!”

He scanned the above signs and looked for Gate 24. He found it and ran… He ran with his life. He tried to stop the tears coming from his eyes as he ran. He dodged everyone in the crowds and finally approached Gate 24. They were already boarding. He searched the line for a girl with shoulder length hair. He found a girl going in, handing her ticket to the assistant. He grabbed her shoulder, and spun her around.

He gasped and said, “Sorry… I thought you were someone else…” The girl mumbled and said, “People these days…” He apologized again as he continued to frantically search for YoonJi. He looked up and down… he couldn’t find her. From the speaker, it loudly blasted, “Gate 24 will finish boarding its passengers. This is your last chance to board on Gate 24 to LA nonstop.”

Brian sighed and plopped down in a chair. He put his head in his hands and whispered, “I thought I could have stopped you from going. I thought I meant more than that. I thought you loved me. How could you do this to me? I loved you so much… I thought you loved me… You never told me…” He groaned and got up to leave. He sighed as he looked back at the gate 24 and thought about YoonJi.
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Brian sighed as he slowly walked up the stairs. It had been two years since he had ever come to this place. This dreaded airport… Why did Hwanhee have to come to this airport? Well… probably because it was the only airport. Brian sighed.

”No, oppa… I can’t meet you today,” a young YoonJi had said. Brian had been confused and asked, “Why not? Don’t you like me, YoonJi?”

”Oppa… I'm leaving… for LA. I'm going to move there, permanently. I'm sorry; I should have told you sooner. But I couldn’t force myself to break the news.” 

Brian sighed at the memory of YoonJi and waited for his friend. He looked at the list of arrivals and it read: Japan… Gate 24. He sighed again. Out of all those gates, it HAS to be gate 24! He dragged his feet, not wanting to remember that day… two years ago… waiting for YoonJi.

Soon, they were coming through the door and he looked for his friend. He finally found someone with brown dyed hair and waved. “Hey, Hwanhee!”

Hwanhee turned and smiled. “Hey, Brian! Glad you could make it.”

Brian put his arm around Hwanhee’s shoulder as he took his bag. “Anything for my best friend! Who else would pick you up?”

Brian and Hwanhee were walking down the hallways when someone tapped Hwanhee on the shoulder. They both turned, coming face to face with a girl with brown shoulder length hair, baggy pants, and a tight shirt. She smiled and said, “Nice to meet you, Hwanhee. You were a nice person to talk to. Goodbye!”

Hwanhee smiled and said, “Bye!” Brian stared at her. She looked awfully familiar… really familiar…

After the girl had gone, Brian asked, “Who is that?” Hwanhee laughed and said, “You think she’s cute? It’s a girl I met on the plane. She was sitting next to me.”

Out of curiosity, Brian asked, “What’s her name?”

Hwanhee turned to Brian and said, “YoonJi… Sung YoonJi.”

Brian’s eyes grew wide as he turned back to face the huge crowd that had swallowed her up. He froze for a moment, but quickly came back to his senses. It couldn’t be… there were thousands of Sung YoonJi’s in this world. He laughed it off and said, “Let’s go.”

Hwanhee looked at him and asked, “Are you sure you’re okay? Is the Korean heat getting to you?” Brian laughed and shook his head. Hwanhee laughed and said, “Good… For a moment, I thought you were going to follow YoonJi shi.”

Brian narrowed his eyes at him and asked, “Why would you think I would do that?”

Hwanhee shrugged and said, “Because… I mentioned something about a friend named Brian and YoonJi shi’s eyes went hazy. She mumbled something about Brian Joo… boyfriend?” Hwanhee shrugged again and continued, “I don’t know. Something about Brian Joo being her love or something. I thought it was you but thought about how many other Brian Joo’s…”

Hwanhee’s voice drifted off, but Brian went blank. So… YoonJi hadn’t forgotten him… who knew? Maybe she had come back for him.

Chapter 1

”Excuse me? Do you know where Room 22 is?”

Brian turned to come face to face with a girl that he instantly fell in love with. He said, “Sure. I’m heading there right now. You have math?”

She nodded and said, “I’m Sung YoonJi and I'm new here. You’re the only kind person I’ve met since the day started!”

Brian smiled and said, “I’m Brian Joo. Welcome to our school. The kids here aren’t half bad if you get to know them.”

The girl smiled at him and made Brian happy. They walked to class together and started to talk. Brian asked, “Where did you move here from?”

”From LA… I miss it there. But it’s nice here too. Were you born here?”

Brian shook his head and said, “No, I was born in LA too. I have a friend that was born here… but he’s in LA right now. He’s coming for a visit next week, and in two years, he’s coming back for good. He went to study music. His name is Hwang YoonSuk.”

”Oh… You have an interesting life. What do your parents do?”

”I… My father… he died when I was 4. So it’s just me, my sister, and my mom.”

”Oh… I'm sorry to hear that…”

During the whole car ride, Brian was dead silent, and that worried Hwanhee. Brian was usually the loud obnoxious one… wanting to hear of Hwanhee’s adventures in America. But today, maybe he was tired, that’s all. Hwanhee asked, “Brian… is something wrong?”

Brian shook his head blankly and stared at the road ahead of him. After a few minutes, he said, “Did YoonJi say anything else about me?”

Hwanhee stared at him in amazement and asked, “Is that what has been bothering you all this time?”

Brian shrugged and kept on driving. He couldn’t keep his mind off YoonJi. He suddenly drove out the next exit and Hwanhee asked, “Are we here already?” Brian said one word, as if to clear all problems, “Bathroom.”

He stopped at a gas station and found out that he needed a key. He whispered, “Damn,” and went in to get it. He asked the lady at the register, “Can I have the key?”

She nodded and handed Brian the key. He mumbled, “Thanks,” and went in the bathroom. He wet a towel and put it to his head. He took five deep breaths before washing his hands and looking at himself in the mirror. Had YoonJi come back for him? If she had… why didn’t she recognize him? Was she the right YoonJi? He slammed the towel in the trashcan, furious. He handed the key back to the lady and went back in the car and slammed the door. He mumbled, “Sorry I took so long.”

Hwanhee asked, “Is something wrong, Brian? Hey… you could talk to me, you know that…”

Brian just nodded and started the engine. He drove out of the gas station, back into the freeway. He didn’t want to talk to anyone right now… He had been trying to forget about YoonJi for two years. It wasn’t going to work if she came back. But did she come back for him?

He drove to his house and helped Hwanhee unload his luggage. Hwanhee asked, “Hey, Brian… are you sure you’re okay?”

Brian decided to slap a smile on his face and said, “Yea. Sorry… it was just that I was kind of… you know… uneasy about someone knowing another Brian Joo… It’s kind of weird…”

Hwanhee laughed and slapped him on the back. “It’s okay. Man~ you moved to a big house… I’ve never been to your house since two years… Let’s see how you made your room.”

They walked in together, and Brian rang the doorbell. Someone asked, “Who is it?”

Brian answered, “Mrs. Jun! It’s me! Brian!”

Hwanhee gasped and said, “You have a housekeeper too?” Brian smirked and a middle-aged lady in comfortable jeans and a t-shirt opened the door. Brian smiled and said, “Nah… she’s more like a family friend, working for us. Right, Mrs. Jun?”

Mrs. Jun smiled and said, “Right! You must be Hwanhee… I’ve heard a lot about you from Brian. Welcome to our home… no… Brian’s home.”

Brian said, “No, Mrs. Jun! You live here too! Welcome to our home!” Mrs. Jun smiled and said, “Come on in.”

Brian and Hwanhee stepped in. Hwanhee gasped at the sight. Two years ago, they had lived in a small apartment crowded with furniture. It had spider webs at every corner and Hwanhee pitied them. But now… this wasn’t even comparable to their apartment. It had large stairs that winded up to the second floor. The family room was huge, with a big screen TV. The living room had furniture that gave a special light to the room. The kitchen was huge, with good smells coming from it. The dining room was decorated with flourishes.

Hwanhee went upstairs and took a quick look. There were five rooms. He was guessing one for Brian, his mother, his sister, and Mrs. Jun. And the last one would be… for him? Or would he sleep in Brian’s room?

He asked, “Hey, where am I staying?”

Brian laughed and said, “You have a choice. The one downstairs, the one upstairs, or sharing mine. But if you get the one upstairs, then you’ll have to put up with my sister’s loud music.”

Hwanhee stammered, “But Brian… two years ago…”

Brian sighed and said, “I know. We were in a crummy old apartment. Uhmmah has been going to work a lot… she has about two jobs right now. She used to have three. She earned a lot of money… I did too… But MiYoung helped out the most. She auditioned for a singer… and the company said that they’d take her in as a model… She still loves music, though.”

Hwanhee gaped at him and asked, “MiYoung? The MiYoung that I know can’t even get a note out of her mouth. And she tried out for a singer? And a model? The last time I saw her… she was totally out of shape… How did she become a model?”

Brian laughed and said, “You’ll be surprised to see the change in her.”

Just then, heavy footsteps came down the stairs. A voice asked, “Brian oppa? Is he here yet?”

Brian smiled and said, “Yeah, he’s here.”

Someone peeked from the corner of the wall and Hwanhee’s eyes met hers. She smiled and asked, “Remember me?”

Hwanhee gasped. It was NOT the MiYoung that he remembered. This person standing in front him… She wore a baby blue spaghetti strap that showed her figure. She was wearing baggy pants and her hair was tied into a loose ponytail. Her eyes were bigger, even though Hwanhee knew she didn’t get ssangapul (double eyelid) surgery… Her nose was straighter, and even her lips were wider…

Hwanhee asked, “MiYoung?”

MiYoung nodded and said, “You can’t recognize me, can’t you?

Hwanhee nodded blankly and whispered, “Joo MiYoung… you’ve changed…”

MiYoung looked at Hwanhee in the eye and whispered, “For you…”

Chapter 2

Soon, if someone saw Brian, they saw YoonJi. Brian felt something for YoonJi that he had never felt before. He actually liked being with her… He was usually uncomfortable around girls. But with YoonJi… One morning, Brian woke up at 5 AM, feeling that something was wrong. He threw back his covers and ran to the phone. It had been ringing all night. “Hello?” Brian answered.

“Brian! YoonJi… she… she got hit by a car while walking home from the library last night. Can you come to the hospital?” Brian dropped the phone and only could think of one thing… was he too late?” 
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Hwanhee stared at MiYoung in surprise as Brian rolled his eyes. Brian said, “Get along with the mushy stuff later!” Hwanhee glared at him, but he was really relieved. THIS was the Brian that he knew. And he didn’t want to ask MiYoung why…

They went into the kitchen and Brian asked Mrs. Jun for something to eat. Mrs. Jun said, “Dinner’s almost ready. Wait a while.”

Brian groaned and asked, “Hwanhee, where do you want to stay?”

Hwanhee answered, “Your room.” They took his luggage into Brian’s room. As Hwanhee started unpacking, he said, “Thanks, Brian. You know I'm gonna move out soon… after I get a place of my own. I'm sorry for all this…” Brian nodded and smiled. “I hope it’s not too soon. I like my best friend living with me.”

Just then, Mrs. Jun called, “Brian! Hwanhee! Come down for dinner!” Brian answered, “Coming!” Hwanhee asked, “What about your mom?” Brian answered, “She comes home around 10…”

Brian and Hwanhee ran down the stairs and sat at the dinner table. Mrs. Jun and MiYoung were there, next to each other. Hwanhee stared at the amount of food in front of him. He looked at Mrs. Jun and said, “Wow~” They all laughed and Brian said, “Get used to it. This is our daily intake.”

After they had finished eating, the phone rang. Brian said, “I’ll get it!” He ran to the phone and answered, “Hello?”

”Hello? Brian?”

Brian smiled and said, “Hey, hyung! What’s up?”

The person on the other line asked, “Nothing… Did Hwanhee come?”

Brian answered, “Yeah. You wanna talk to him?”

”Sure.”

Brian handed the phone to Hwanhee and he said, “Hello?”

The person on the other line said, “Hwanhee yah! Guess who?”

”ChilHyun eeh hyung!”

”Yeah~ how are you? Ch~ don’t even give me a call… Brian had to tell me.”

Hwanhee laughed and said, “I'm good… Sorry!”

ChilHyun laughed and said, “No problem. You wanna hang out tomorrow? Bring Brian, too. I have someone to introduce you guys to…”

Hwanhee asked, “Who?” He turned to Brian and said, “Hey~ ChilHyun hyung wants to see us tomorrow. He’s gonna introduce us to someone.” Brian looked up and asked, “Who?”

Hwanhee said into the phone, “Who, hyung?”

Hwanhee listened to his and answer and turned to Brian. “His girlfriend…” Brian raised his eyebrows and said, “Ask him why he didn’t tell me before!”

Hwanhee asked and answered back, “Because she was on a trip for a year.”

Brian asked, “Name?” Hwanhee asked ChilHyun and when he told him his answer, Hwanhee’s eyes opened wide. He turned to Brian and said something that made Brian’s eyes and mouth open wide. He repeated, “Sung… Yoon… Ji…”
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They were driving to the café and Hwanhee said, “I know it’s her… How many Sung YoonJi’s could there be? It’s probably the same one that knows you too!”

Brian shook his head. It couldn’t be… How could things be like this? His old girlfriend… dating his favorite hyung… met his best friend on a plane… This couldn’t be happening. How did ChilHyun hyung and YoonJi meet? He wondered all these things as he parked.

Brian sighed and said, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Hwanhee looked at him and asked, “Why wouldn’t I?”

Brian shrugged as they walked in the doors. They saw ChilHyun sitting in a corner table and they walked over to him. They gave him a hug and said their greetings. ChilHyun looked at Hwanhee and said, “Wow… so, girlfriend yet?”

Hwanhee laughed and said, “No… not yet.” Brian asked, “Where’s YOUR girlfriend, hyung?”

”YoonJi? She said she’ll be coming soon. She was at the library… she’ll be here in about 5 minutes.”
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“Five minutes? Hyung, we’ve been sitting here for an hour!” Hwanhee yelled.

“Sorry… I think maybe YoonJi lost the way. But her cell is off… I hope she didn’t forget…” Just then, ChilHyun’s cell phone rang. He answered, “Hello?”

The person on the other line and ChilHyun conversed and his eyes grew big. He said, “I’ll be there!” He snapped off his cell phone and yelled, “You want to come with me? Did you bring a car? YoonJi… she’s in the hospital.”

Brian nodded and grabbed his keys. They quickly made their way to Brian’s car and drove to the hospital. On the way, ChilHyun said, “Thanks, Brian. You don’t know how much this means to me. She got hit by a motorcycle. Man! These stupid motorcycle drivers! I hope he’s still there so I could beat him up until he dies!”

Brian frowned during the whole ride. This seemed so familiar… What was with YoonJi and motorcycles? He sighed as he pulled up to the entrance. ChilHyun got out and said, “Look for me!”

Brian and Hwanhee parked and Brian said, “Hey… this happened to me. I was called 5 AM and told that YoonJi was in the hospital… hit by a motorcycle?”

Hwanhee shook his head and said, “That’s so weird…”

They asked the nurse for Sung YoonJi’s room and she led them to a room. They quietly opened the door to find ChilHyun holding YoonJi’s hand, looking at her. Brian cleared his throat and the girl in the bed shifted. ChilHyun whispered, “YoonJi ah… my two favorite dongsengs are here… Do you want to see them?”

YoonJi must have nodded, because ChilHyun motioned to them to come forward. Hwanhee stepped to her bedside first. He smiled and said, “I thought so… remember? On the plane?”

YoonJi whispered, “Oh yeah~ Wow… it’s a small world. Hwanhee right?” Hwanhee nodded and Brian quietly said, “It’s a really small world…”

Brian came forward and looked at YoonJi. It was her… the same her… YoonJi made a little gasp and whispered, “Brian… Joo…”

Chapter 3

Brian ran to the hospital, hoping he wasn’t too late. He burst through the doors and asked, “Sung YoonJi!” The nurse said, “Room 29.” He ran to room 29 and open the door. Her parents, already in there, stood up. YoonJi’s mom grabbed Brian’s shoulder and shook him. “Help my YoonJi! My poor YoonJi!”

Brian stood there in shock. How could this happen to such a kind person like YoonJi? Everyone liked her… and she was punished by getting hit by a motorcycle. He looked at her helpless face in the bed and whispered, “Are you okay?”

YoonJi slowly nodded and said, “Sorry that you have to see me like this… I didn’t want to show my weak side to you…”

Brian sighed and looked at her with sad droopy eyes. Why YoonJi? Why not him? 
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Brian stared and ChilHyun looked in awe. “Do you know him, YoonJi?”

YoonJi looked at him, tears filling her eyes. “Brian… Joo… I'm sorry you have to see me like this.”

Brian stood there, remembering… He had heard this before… Why did this have to happen again? But this time, it wasn’t him who was by her side, holding her hand. It was ChilHyun hyung. He sighed and said, “I’ve already seen you like this… It pains me to see you like this twice…”

YoonJi weakly smiled, but immediately winced in pain. In a hoarse whisper, she said, “The driver hit my face. I can barely talk. It hurts for me to open my eyes.” She closed her eyes as clear small drops flowed down her cheeks. ChilHyun brushed her cheeks and said, “It’s okay… I’ll make that driver pay… I will…”

YoonJi shook her head and said, “He’s already paying for the medial bills… He’s a really sweet guy. He was in a hurry to get to his brother’s wedding.”

ChilHyun sighed and said, “You’re too sweet, YoonJi. Don’t you know that this sweet guy did this to you!? Why do you think of him like that? He almost killed you!”

YoonJi looked into his eyes and whispered, “But I'm here, aren’t I?”

ChilHyun hugged her and kissed her. “Thank God you are.”

Brian shifted uncomfortably and said, “ChilHyun hyung… we’ll be outside. Call us when we’re leaving?”

YoonJi made a little whimper and Brian turned to look at her. ChilHyun was hovering over her, tending to her needs. Brian sighed and thought, ‘It’s ChilHyun’s job now… I'm done… No more of me… I can’t stand to look at you. It hurts me more.’

After they had stepped out, Hwanhee patted Brian’s back. “You really know her?”

Brian nodded and said, “She… she was my first love, Hwanhee. But I know she will never come back to me. She’s the one that left me… and I have to accept that.”

Hwanhee looked sympathetically at his best friend and said, “I didn’t know… that you had a life like that.”

Brian smiled and said, “No one does.” Just then, ChilHyun closed the door behind him and put his finger to his lips. He whispered, “Let’s get something to eat. She’s sleeping.”

They walked to the restaurant in the hospital and sat down. ChilHyun sighed and said, “So you know YoonJi?”

Brian narrowed his eyes and said, “How did you meet her?”

ChilHyun sighed and started, “I think it was last year. She approached me on campus and asked me for a ride. It was raining, and we were the only kids still in school. I said sure and I drove her home. I met her couple of times after that in school… and one day, my friend introduced me to her. We got closer and eventually, I asked her out and she said yes. So… yeah… we’re going out now, I guess.”

Brian said, “Hyung… did she ever mention to you about her first love?”

ChilHyun frowned and shook his head. “But I have a good idea of who it might be. Is she your first, too?”

Brian nodded slowly and said, “I didn’t know…” Just then, a little cry came from the room. Brian shot up and ChilHyun ran in. YoonJi was on the floor, her hands covering her mouth. ChilHyun wiped off the sweat from her forehead and asked, “What’s wrong? What happened?”

YoonJi gasped for breath and whimpered, “Oppa… ChilHyun oppa… I had such a bad dream…” She clung onto his sleeve and said, “Save me! Oppa… that dream…”

Hwanhee peeked in and asked, “YoonJi shi… are you okay?”

YoonJi looked at Hwanhee and gasped. “You! What did you do to him?”

Hwanhee looked at ChilHyun, who was picking her up from the floor. He set her on the bed and gently rubbed her head. “It’s okay… YoonJi ah… it’s over now… Calm down.”

YoonJi shook her head and started to cry. “I had a dream… Oppa, it was so awful… ChilHyun oppa… I'm sorry. I think I need some rest.” ChilHyun nodded and kissed her lightly. “Good night.”

Brian, Hwanhee, and ChilHyun stepped out and took a deep breath. ChilHyun said, “Wow… sorry about that. I guess the accident really got to her.

Brian and ChilHyun fell asleep in the chairs, waiting for YoonJi to wake up. Hwanhee looked at them and sighed. He scribbled a note that read: I can’t stand here, bored, waiting for either of you to wake up! Bye! He left and walked out into the cool night. He took a deep breath when a sound of a piercing scream came to his ears.

He frowned and turned the corner. He gasped when he saw a crowd of gangsters crowded around something. He moved closer to get a better look and saw it was a girl. He leaned back and thought, ‘Should I save her?’ when she was thrown out of the group of men.

There was blood flowing everywhere. It was as if she was sweating blood. Her lip was cut open and her eyes were red. Her clothes were ripped, showing her bloody arms and legs. He saw the gangsters looking her over, satisfied that she was hurt enough. He stood there, hands in his pockets, like a regular person walking in the streets. He gangsters started to disappear one by one, and Hwanhee stood there like a statue.

Ten minutes after all of them were gone, Hwanhee moved forward. He got closer and closer to the bloody mess. He took a handkerchief and wiped the blood off where the face was. He felt her pulse and it was barely going. He looked around and found a purse. He took out the wallet and searched for an I.D.

He found one and his eyes grew wide. He looked from the I.D. to the girl on the floor next to him. Joo… Mi… Young…

Chapter 4

YoonJi got better, but she was ashamed of the scar running down from her neck onto her back. She never wore low neck shirts, tank tops, or spaghetti straps. Brian reassured her again and again that it was okay, but YoonJi didn’t listen. She was top student in school, and Brian felt very proud of it. He told everyone that his best friend was a really smart person.

One day, YoonJi came up to him and looked furious. She slapped Brian across the face and yelled, “Best friends? Is that all I am to you?” 
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Hwanhee didn’t know what to do… He stared at her for a long time before coming to his senses. A girl in front of him might be dying! He turned on his cell phone and dialed for the ambulance.

Soon, the sirens were piercing the stillness of the night. They took her onto the stretcher and a woman asked, “Do you know her? Was she like this when you found her?” Hwanhee nodded and said, “I know her… she’s… a friend. I saw about the last two seconds of her getting beat up.”

”By who?”

”A couple of gangsters.” The woman nodded and said, “We’re here. Let’s go!” Hwanhee followed behind them into the emergency room. He stopped and thought, ‘Brian…”

He dialed his number on a pay phone and Brian answered, “Hello?”

Hwanhee sighed and said, “Hey…”

”Where are you? You just walked out on hyung and me!”

”I… Sorry… I'm at the hospital.”

”Why!? You okay?”

”Yeah! I'm fine! But… MiYoung… she’s hurt… bad.”

”What! This is the hospital in front of her work, isn’t it? I’ll be right there!”
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Brian’s footsteps echoed in the empty hallway and Hwanhee looked up. “Brian!” Brian ran to him and asked, “Is she okay?”

Hwanhee nodded and Brian let out a huge sigh of relief. “Thank God!” He turned to Hwanhee and asked, “Do you know how it happened?”

Hwanhee sighed and explained all he knew. “I was walking when I heard someone scream. I ran to see where the sound was coming from and I saw gangsters beating up a girl. I couldn’t stop them… they were done and I didn’t even know who it was. I saw her ID and it said Joo MiYoung. So I just called the ambulance.”

Brian fumed up and said, “I’ll get those punks… I swear I will.” Then, the doctor came out and said, “MiYoung shi will be fine. She might have to stay here for tonight. She could go home… but she needs rest.”

Brian asked, “Can we go inside? And talk to her? I'm her brother…”

The doctor nodded and said, “Go ahead.” Hwanhee and Brian stepped in and saw MiYoung’s face was covered in bandages; she was sleeping. Hwanhee sighed and said, “Oh man~ What if her face… isn’t this going to ruin her job? Only if I helped… this is all my fault!”

Brian said, “Hey! Don’t say that!”

MiYoung opened her eyes slowly and whispered, “Oppa?” Brian took her hand and asked, “MiYoung ah! Are you okay?”

She noddd and said, “How did you find me?”

”Hwanhee did…” Her eyes turned to Hwanhee and she said, “Thanks, oppa…”

Hwanhee weakly smiled. Brian asked, “What happened?” MiYoung sighed and said, “Later… I'm tired oppa…”

Brian nodded and said, “I'm staying with you… I’ll get some coffee… and let me call ummah.” Brian stepped out and Hwanhee slowly rose to go out but MiYoung reached for his arm. Hwanhee turned to face her fearful eyes. She whispered, “Oppa… I don’t think I can trust Brian oppa to keep quiet… Don’t leave. I'm so scared. If you hadn’t been there… if you hadn’t come, I would have died today.”

Hwanhee stared at her with narrowed eyes. MiYoung’s voice got softer… “Those guys… they were trying to kill me.”

Chapter 5

Brian looked at her, confused. “If we’re not friends, what are we?”

YoonJi quivered and said, “I thought… I thought I was more than that to you. I thought of you… I liked you, Brian.” Brian looked at her, surprised. He had no idea…

He stood up and said, “YoonJi ah… I like you too. YoonJi ah… the truth is… I was too scared to confess to you. What if you didn’t like me? So… I confess to you now, YoonJi. I love you.”

YoonJi stared at him and said, “Oppa… Then I’ve waited all this time…” Brian hugged her and said, “I'm sorry. It’s my fault. Will this make it up to you?” He leaned forward and their lips met each others…
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Hwanhee opened his eyes widely and asked, “What? Why would they want to kill you?”

MiYoung’s voice shook as she said, “I work as a model… you know that, right?” Hwanhee nodded and she went on. “Well, I borrowed a lot of money to buy clothes, get makeup, and those things. Sure, I paid off all of it with the money I earned. Those guys were the gangsters from the club that I worked at long time ago. I visit there once in awhile, and those guys wanted my money. I stopped going there, but today, I was forced to go again. They made a plan right on the spot to kill me and take my money. But… you came along…”

Hwanhee frowned and said, “They want your money?”

MiYoung nodded and said, “Oppa… YoonSuk oppa… thank you.” Hwanhee looked up in surprise. No one ever used YoonSuk unless they were serious. This MUST be serious. He nodded and patted her hand. “Any time.”
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“Oppa, wake up! I can go home now!” MiYoung shook Brian.

“Hm? Oh… sorry. I must have fallen asleep.” Hwanhee laughed and said, “You’ve been asleep from 11 PM to 9 AM, okay?”

Brian laughed and said, “Sorry. Let’s go.” They got into Brian’s car and drove to their home. Mrs. Jun was there to give MiYoung a big hug. MiYoung yelped in pain as Mrs. Jun put her arm on her back. Mrs. Jun pulled back, eyes wide. “I'm so sorry!”

MiYoung winced and said, “It’s okay… You can’t touch there for awhile…” She went in and went immediately to her room. Hwanhee watched her go up and thought, ‘Should I tell Brian what she told me?’

He decided against it. MiYoung had trusted him. That’s why she told him, and not Brian. He sighed and said, “Let’s take a walk, Brian.”

Brian nodded and said, “Park?” Hwanhee nodded and they walked out. Hwanhee sighed as he put his hands in his pockets and said, “So, what happened with YoonJi?”

Brian took a sharp breath and snapped, “Nothing.” Hwanhee said, “Come on! I'm your best friend!” Brian sighed and said, “Well… ChilHyun hyung took her for a walk. She went home. That’s it. No more.”

Hwanhee laughed and shrugged. “Whatever.” Brian sat down at a bench and Hwanhee stood next to him. Hwanhee stared intently at something and said, “Hey… isn’t that YoonJi and ChilHyun hyung?”

Brian looked towards the direction he was looking at and nodded. He said, “Are they screaming at each other?” Hwanhee nodded and said, “I wonder what they’re saying…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Earlier in the day
“Let’s go for a walk, oppa. It’s such a beautiful day today.”

“Alright… anything for my little princess.” ChilHyun held her hand as they stepped out into the morning sun. YoonJi sat down at a bench and ChilHyun sat next to her. YoonJi bit her lip and finally said, “Oppa… the truth is… I wanted to talk to you about something.”

ChilHyun smiled and asked, “What is it?”

”Well… I think it’s time… that we see other people.”

ChilHyun’s smile disappeared and he asked, “Is it Brian? Are you going back to Brian?”

YoonJi shook her head and said, “It’s just that… I feel like we’re going to go on with our lives without knowing other people. Please, oppa… it’s not that I don’t like you anymore. I just want to be free?”

”What?! Free to go to Brian? Free to do things with him in front of me?”

YoonJi stood up and raised her voice a little. “I never said that! I just want to be free to do other things instead of having to be with you!”

”I never said you had to be with me!”

”Well, when I have a boyfriend, I feel that way! Please, oppa. You’re making it harder for me!”

”Maybe it’s better if we break up! It’s about time I find another girl, anyway!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hwanhee shrugged as he said, “Do you think they broke up?” Brian shrugged. He was thinking the same thing. Did she do it for him? They watched as ChilHyun stormed off and YoonJi sat down on the bench, head in her hands. After a few moments, YoonJi looked up and sighed. She saw Brian and Hwanhee and gasped. Had they seen…

Hwanhee smiled and YoonJi said, “Hi!” She happily walked over to them and said, “Why are you guys here?” Hwanhee said, “We heard you and ChilHyun hyung… Did you guys…”

YoonJi nodded and said, “Yes. I just thought that we should see other people. I didn’t like the feeling of belonging to someone.”

Hwanhee nodded and felt that Brian and YoonJi needed to be alone. He spied a little boy walking by himself and walked over to him. He yelled, “Hey! You by yourself?”

Brian laughed and said, “I swear… Hwanhee is SO friendly. I don’t know how I could be best friends with him. We’re so different.”

YoonJi sat next to him and said, “You know… you’re very friendly, too. That’s why I picked you to be my guide at school.”

”Picked? You picked me?”

YoonJi laughed and said, “No… but you seemed like a nice guy… I… I broke up with ChilHyun oppa for a reason, you know.”

Brian looked at her and asked, “And what exactly is that?”

”I want to be with you again, oppa. I’ve missed your hugs… your kisses… I’ve missed you.”

Brian sharply returned, “Then why did you leave?” YoonJi looked down at her feet and bit her lips. She looked at him with teary eyes that made Brian soften. He said, “I'm sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped like that. I… I’ve missed you too.”

As they looked into each other’s eyes, they fell in love all over again. Just like old times…

Chapter 5

Brian and YoonJi… YoonJi and Brian. Even they’re names were never alone. They were the best couple at school, both being smart, nice, and popular. Everyone respected their thoughts and opinions. That was the problem. There were a couple of guys at their school that respected YoonJi’s opinions too deeply. They always stared at Brian, making him feel uneasy.

One day, they made their move. When YoonJi was waiting for Brian to come out of the bathroom, a gang member came up to her and asked, “You alone?” YoonJi, being nice and having no clue, answered, “I'm waiting for my boyfriend, Brian.” The gangster laughed and said, “My guys are finishing him off in there. And you’re coming with me.”

YoonJi frowned at him and asked, “What do you mean…?” The gangster just laughed and pulled on her arm. YoonJi strugged and yelled, “Let go!” Unfortunately, this was after school, and no one heard her. Brian was inside, trapped by his “guys.” But suddenly, Brian burst out from the bathroom and ran to YoonJi. He grabbed her arm and stared at the gangster directly in the eye. “Let go.” The gangster snickered and asked, “Why should I?”

Brian rolled up his sleeves and said, “Let’s settle this. Right here, right now.” YoonJi eyes went wide and she whispered, “Oppa no… You’ll be hurt.” But the gangster threw her to the side and he rolled up his sleeves. “Let’s go, then. For YoonJi.” 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brian and YoonJi pulled apart from the sweet kiss they were sharing and blushed. Brian murmured, “Hwanhee must be waiting. Let’s go.” YoonJi pulled him down and said, “I'm sure Hwanhee shi is having a nice time alone. Oppa, I’ve waiting so long… Don’t you think we could stay like this a little more…” Brian smiled at her and sat back down.

Meanwhile, Hwanhee was playing with the “little” kids. After he asked the little boy if he was alone, he answered, “My mommy said not to talk to strangers.” Hwanhee shrugged it off and walked over to the playground. He knelt beside a girl and asked, “What are you doing?”

The girl smiled at him and said, “I'm making clay spoons for my baby. What are you doing, ah juh shi? You’re much too old for this playground!” Hwanhee laughed as he saw that her “baby” was a little doll. She was covered with mud and a small cup-shaped object was in her hands. Hwanhee smiled and said, “I came to take a walk. But my friend left me for a girl.”

The girl laughed and said, “Ew! If I was a boy, I would rather have guy friends.” Hwanhee laughed again and turned to the adults who were looking at him. He bowed and said, “Ahn nyung hah sae yoh. I was just taking a walk, and I was bored. You don’t mind if I play with your children, do you?”

The parents shook their heads and smiled. It was nice to have older people to take care of their children. Hwanhee went from kid to kid, playing with them. He walked over to the edge of the sand and sat down, exhausted. Little kids were more active than he thought. On the other side of the playground, he noticed a little boy, sitting by himself. He was watching the other kids play and had a little smile on his face.

Hwanhee was curious and carefully walked over to the boy. He carefully knelt beside him and asked, “How come you’re not playing with them?”

The little boy looked surprised, but carefully answered, “They don’t want me to.” Hwanhee frowned and said, “So… go over there and say that you want to play with them.” The little boy stared and said, “They don’t like me. They tell me to go away.”

Hwanhee stared at this boy. He was a sight. He had a clean white shirt, even though it was obvious that it was old. His jeans were faded, but not dirty. His hair was combed, and his eyes were sparkling. Hwanhee asked, “Why don’t they like you?”

The little boy said, “Because they don’t like to play with kids that have no parents.” Hwanhee was taken aback by this response, but didn’t show it. So, this guy was an… orphan? He asked, “Then who did you come with?”

The boy said, “Mrs. Park did. But I don’t like her. So I ran away. Don’t tell anyone, though.” Hwanhee was immediately attracted to this boy. He was interesting in his own way. He asked, “What’s your name?”

The boy answered, “HaNeul. But you can’t tell anyone. Because I'm not supposed to talk to anyone I don’t know. Mrs. Park said. But I don’t like her. What’s your name?”

Hwanhee smiled and said, “My name is YoonSuk, but everyone calls me Hwanhee. Why did you run away? Little boys like you shouldn’t be out here by themselves.”

The little boy shrugged and said, “Mrs. Park doesn’t care. No one does. I’ve been at the orphanage all my life. No one cares about little boys like me. We’re all lonely.”

Hwanhee stood up and held out his hand. “Come on. Let’s go back. I promise that I’ll tell Mrs. Park to be nice to you.”

The little boy’s face brightened and he asked, “Really?” Hwanhee nodded and said, “Only if you come.” The little boy jumped up and he smiled. “Thank you, Hwan… Hwanhee hyung.” Hwanhee smiled and he said, “Let’s go!”

They ran all the way to edge of the park when he forgot to tell Brian. He shrugged and thought, ‘He’s probably spending his time with YoonJi shi.’ He asked, “HaNeul ah, would you like me to put you on my shoulders?” HaNeul nodded and said, “If you can…”

Hwanhee picked him up and set him on his shoulders. He walked to a taxi and got in. HaNeul laughed and said, “This is fun!” Hwanhee asked for the nearest orphanage, and they got there in about ten minutes. He paid and stepped out.

He took one look at it and immediately hated it. How could HaNeul be dressed so nicely, and live in a place like this? It was awful! There were vines covering every bit of the walls. You couldn’t even see the windows. The door was the only thing that was visible. He cleared himself a path to the door and knocked. A lady in about her 30’s opened the door and said, “Welcome to…” She saw HaNeul and said, “Yoo HaNeul! Where were you? Everyone’s been looking for you!”

Hwanhee said, “I hope he didn’t cause a lot of trouble. I found him in the park and brought him here.” The lady bowed and said, “I'm Mrs. Park, the headmistress of the orphanage. I'm sorry you had to come at a time like this. Everything is so hectic. A couple came a minute ago, looking for a daughter. We had to gather up all the girls… Well, would you like to step in?”

Hwanhee stepped in and the smell of rotten eggs came to his nose. He winced as he heard the squeaking of the wooden floors. He smiled uneasily at HaNeul, who seemed to be used to all this. He walked to Mrs. Park’s office and passed the kitchen. The kids were eating something that looked like bread and butter. He shrugged and HaNeul waved to some of the kids.

The children looked at Hwanhee and they whispered, “Did someone finally come to get you?” HaNeul shook his head and said, “No… no one will ever come.” He ran to join them, but Hwanhee grabbed his shirt. He whispered, “HaNeul ah… how about me and you go out for dinner later, okay?” HaNeul shrugged and nodded.

They went into Mrs. Park’s office and she turned to look at HaNeul. “Yoo HaNeul! Tell me how bad of a boy you’ve been! Do you know how much trouble you have been to this young man?”

HaNeul bowed his head and said, “I'm sorry. I ran away from you at the park, because you were talking to someone. And Hwanhee came and found me. He gave me a ride on his shoulders, and we rode on a taxi. It was fun! And we had to come back here, because he said.”

Mrs. Park frowned and said, “Hwanhee, I believe? Well, I'm very sorry about the inconvenience that this has caused you. We’d like to pay back the fee for the taxi.” Hwanhee shook his head and said, “Tell me… is HaNeul eeh up for adoption?”

Mrs. Park was surprised by his question, but she managed to say, “Why… yes…”

Hwanhee nodded and said, “How do you adopt a kid?”

Chapter 6

YoonJi ran to Brian and said, “Oppa, are you okay?” The other gangster had gone, bleeding as well. But Brian was worse. Brian nodded and said, “YoonJi ah… don’t tell anyone about this.” He got up slowly and went into the bathroom. After ten minutes, he came out with a wet paper towel and some dry ones. He put the paper towel on the floor and started to wipe the blood off with his shoes.

YoonJi looked at him, tears coming to his eyes. She didn’t deserve such a nice guy like him. A perfect angel deserved him. He was too precious to waste on girls like her. She tapped his shoulders and said, “Oppa, I’ll be outside.”

Brian nodded and YoonJi stepped outside. After that day, YoonJi and Brian were closer than ever before. They were even better well known… Until that one day… 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mrs. Park stared at Hwanhee and asked, “Adpoting? Well, you just need to sign a few papers… and… wait, why?”

Hwanhee nodded at HaNeul and said, “I want to adopt him.”

Mrs. Park stared at him in disbelief and said, “Well… if you’re positive… we could start now.” Hwanhee nodded and said, “Yeah. Right now.” Mrs. Park walked over to a collection of papers and pulled out a thick file. She handed it to Hwanhee and said, “You’ll have to read over these. Or if you want, I could just give you a basic summary of it.” Hwanhee nodded.

Mrs. Park said, “Well, Yoo HaNeul… there’s not much to say about him. He was our very first orphan. We found him on our doorsteps with a little note. It said that his name was Yoo HaNeul and he was only two months old. As our first orphan, we took extra care of him. We educated him, fed him, and clothed him. But as he grew, we were all getting tired of him. When was someone going to take him back? Then, a little letter came to us telling us that HaNeul’s parents had died in a car crash. He’s been living with us all his life. He knows nothing else. And those papers are just you agreeing to taking care of him in your home, and making him happy. Do you have the strength to do that?”

Hwanhee nodded and said, “Show me the places to sign.” Hwanhee couldn’t believe it himself that he was doing this. Where was he going to get the money to support HaNeul? Well, he supposed that he DID save MiYoung’s life, and she could help for the first months… but… this was too much for Brian’s family. He HAD to move out.

He signed all the places where she wanted him to sign and said, “Can I go with HaNeul now?”

She nodded and said, “If you like. Please give him time to say goodbye to his friends and the teachers. They all love HaNeul very much.” She turned to HaNeul, who was sitting next to Hwanhee on a chair the whole time. She said, “HaNeul ah… you don’t have to live here anymore. You get to live with this hyung. But he’s going to be your father… Are you happy?”

Hwanhee smiled and said, “How about brother? Not father… I don’t think I'm THAT old…” HaNeul smiled and said, “That’s cool. I get to have a fun brother!” Hwanhee laughed and said, “Go say bye to your friends. I’ll be outside.”

HaNeul’s face fell a little, but he smiled. “Okay, hyung!” Hwanhee smiled at him, running to his friends to say bye. He walked outside and said, “Thank you, Mrs. Park.” Mrs. Park shook her head and said, “No… we must thank you. We always wondered when someone would take him. He’s such a sweet little boy. Please take good care of him.”

Hwanhee nodded and soon, HaNeul came out of the doors with his friends and his teachers. They were all saying bye. HaNeul took Hwanhee’s hand and said, “Bye everyone! I can visit here, right, hyung?” Hwanhee couldn’t take his pleading eyes and nodded. They all waved as Hwanhee picked HaNeul up on his shoulders and walked to a small restaurant. He ordered rice and bul gogi (meat) and watched HaNeul eat. After they finished eating, they walked to Brian’s house.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brian and YoonJi walked slowly underneath the moonlight. They walked to Brian’s house and he said, “Do you think you want to be introduced right now? My mom’s a really hard person to get a hold of during the day.” YoonJi shook her head and said, “Maybe next time…”

Brian nodded and said, “I’ll walk you home.” YoonJi shook her head and said, “I can take a taxi.” Brian nodded and grabbed a taxi for her. He kissed her goodnight and whispered into her ear, “It’s nice to have you back in my arms again.” YoonJi smiled and said, “I'm happy, too.”

He watched her drive off and sighed. He went into his house and said, “Mrs. Jun, I'm home!”

His mom came out from the kitchen and she said, “Sh! Mrs. Jun’s sleeping in MiYoung’s room. She must have been so tired. She fell right asleep when MiYoung went to sleep. MiYoung woke up and called me. I came home early today. I wanted to spend some time with you guys. And Hwanhee, too…”

Brian laughed and said, “I see… yeah, I don’t know where Hwanhee is. We lost him in the park, but I'm sure he’ll show up.”

”Who are we?”

Brian smiled and said, “YoonJi and I are back together again, ummah.” She stared in surprise and asked, “Didn’t she go to America and leave you?” Brian laughed and said, “Yeah… sure… But it turns out that she was sitting next to Hwanhee on the plane. And she was ChilHyun hyung’s girlfriend, but she broke up with him… for me.”

Mrs. Joo laughed and said, “Kids these days… there is NONE that are mature… Dumping everyone… going out with everyone… If I see anyone that’s mature, it’s the day that I die.”

Brian smiled and said, “Don’t say that! What if Hwanhee comes in and says that he did something… and it’s really mature?”

Mrs. Joo laughed and said, “I doubt it. What could he do? Where is that young man anyway?”

Just as if on cue, Hwanhee stuck his head through the door. He said, “Brian… Mrs. Joo.” He came in and said, “I know that I'm enough trouble for you. But… today, I’ve done something really… I don’t know. I even thought it was surprising. And mature… I hope that you will appreciate what I did.”

Brian and Mrs. Joo stared at each other and asked, “What is it?”

Hwanhee turned to HaNeul, who was waiting outside. He motioned to him to come in and HaNeul came in the huge house. He bowed and said, “Ahn nyung hah sae yoh. My name is Yoo HaNeul. I hope I won’t be much trouble.”

Mrs. Joo raised her eyebrows and asked, “Who’s this?”

Hwanhee sighed and said, “I adopted him… not as father, but as brother.”

Chapter 7

”No, oppa… I can’t meet you today,” a young YoonJi had said. Brian had been confused and asked, “Why not? Don’t you like me, YoonJi?”

”Oppa… I'm leaving… for LA. I'm going to move there, permanently. I'm sorry; I should have told you sooner. But I couldn’t force myself to break the news.”

“Why are you going? When are you coming back? You’re not going to move there, permanently… I know you.”

”Oppa… I'm going to study for a year. The year after that… well, I'll come back for two months, but I have to go back to America. My aunt wants me to take a vacation. I'm sorry, oppa. I didn’t want to part from you like this… But… there’s no choice. You’ll let me go without any worry, won’t you?”

Brian was speechless. He thought he meant more than that to YoonJi. He sighed and said, “YoonJi ah… Please… I…”

YoonJi said, “I'm sorry. My plane will be boarding soon. See you, oppa. I'm really sorry.” Brian hung up and whispered to himself, “Boarding soon? She’s at the airport…” He grabbed his jacket and rode a taxi to the airport… He hoped it wasn’t too late… 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mrs. Joo stared at Hwanhee and looked at Brian. “This is something mature… But Hwanhee… do you think you are… capable to take care of someone? Raising a child is big responsibility.”

Hwanhee sighed and said, “I know… But I saw where HaNeul eeh lived and I couldn’t leave him there. He was such a nice little boy, and to live in a place like that…” He frowned and took a sat in the living room. HaNeul followed him like a dog and sat down next to him. Hwanhee stroked his head and said, “I had to do it. Something told me that this little boy was special.”

Brian and Mrs. Joo sat in silence and stared at HaNeul. HaNeul stood up and said, “Hwanhee hyung? Is this where you live?” Hwanhee nodded and said, “You can go upstairs. Look around, but don’t touch anything. Okay? Brian hyung and my room is the first one you see when you go upstairs.” HaNeul nodded and said, “Come on fast.”

Hwanhee watched him walk up the stairs, eyes wide. Mrs. Joo turned to Hwanhee and said, “Are you ready for this kind of responsibility?” Brian added, “He seems like a sweet kid, but you have to feed him, clothe him, take care of him.”

Hwanhee nodded and said, “I might need some help… but I know I can manage. He’s a sweet little boy. I know that I should have got to know him better, but… like I said, there was something special.”

Just then, they doorbell rang and Brian said, “I’ll get it!” He ran to open the door and MiYoung was standing there with two shopping bags in her hands. Mrs. Joo stared in disbelief and asked, “When did you get out?”

MiYoung smirked and said, “Right after you went into the kitchen. I left just for a little tour in the mall. Mom, you won’t guess what kind of bargains I got…” When she saw Hwanhee sitting the living room, she turned red and said, “Oh… hi oppa. Maybe I’ll show them to you later…”

HaNeul came running down the stairs and said, “Hwanhee hyung! Something went ding dong in this house. I didn’t touch anything, I promise!”

Hwanhee hugged him and said, “It was the doorbell. When someone comes into the house, it does that…” HaNeul grabbed onto his shirt and said, “I'm scared…”

MiYoung stared at him and said, “Who’s this little boy?”

Hwanhee looked up at her and said, “I adopted him… as a brother, not a father. I know I should have waited and I know that it’s a big responsibility. But I couldn’t leave such a sweet boy like this in that place… It was so awful…”

MiYoung narrowed her eyes and said, “Let me see his face…”

HaNeul turned around to look at her and smiled. “Ahn nyung hah sae yoh. My name is Yoo HaNeul.” MiYoung stepped back in surprise and smiled. “Well, HaNeul… I'm MiYoung… nuna…”

HaNeul frowned and said, “MiYoung… MiYoung…” MiYoung smiled and asked, “Is something wrong?”

HaNeul looked up at her, suddenly, and yelled, “MiYoung nuna! It’s me, HaNeul eeh!”

MiYoung looked at the little kid in front of her as memories rushed back into her mind.

”Thank you very much, Joo MiYoung shi. You don’t know how much help your donation will be to this orphanage.”

MiYoung smiled and said, “I always said that I wanted to help out kids when I had the chance to. Thank YOU, Mrs. Park, for giving me that chance.”

Mrs. Park smiled and said, “We, the orphanage, would like to show you our appreciation. All the kids signed this card with their little notes. This is HaNeul eeh, the orphan that has been here from the beginning. I'm sure he will appreciate your donation as much as the others.”

HaNeul had come up and handed her the big poster board filled with signatures and messages. MiYoung smiled and said, “Thank you, HaNeul. I'm sure I’ll come back… Have a nice time here.”

HaNeul had looked up at her with round big eyes. He whispered, “Thank you.” MiYoung smiled and patted his head. 

MiYoung snapped her fingers and laughed. “HaNeul ah! Wow, so someone finally took you from the orphanage. You were such a cute little kid, trying to carry that big piece of poster board.”

HaNeul shrunk back and whispered to Hwanhee, “Let’s go, hyung… I'm sleepy.” Hwanhee nodded and said, “Okay… Let’s get you washed up. You don’t want the germ monsters to get you in the night, do you?”

HaNeul shook his head and they walked up the stairs. MiYoung, Brian, and Mrs. Joo watched them walk up the stairs and Mrs. Joo sighed. “Let’s get to sleep. Tomorrow will come faster that way.” MiYoung frowned and said, “Why do you want it to come faster?”

Mrs. Joo shrugged and said, “To see how Hwanhee and HaNeul eeh turn out. Let’s go to sleep.” Brian and MiYoung walked up and said good night to their mother. MiYoung suddenly put her hand on Brian’s arm and said, “Oppa, I need to have a word with you.”

Brian went into MiYoung’s room and sat on her bed. MiYoung stood, looking out the window into the starry night. She sighed and asked, “Do you think Hwanhee oppa will take good care of HaNeul eeh?”

Brian frowned and said, “Sure. He’s a responsible person… why?”

”Because… I was thinking of adopting HaNeul eeh, too. I just couldn’t get myself to sign the papers… to tell you and mom what I was thinking. I didn’t want you guys to refuse…”

Brian sighed and said, “Then… help Hwanhee take care of him. I'm sure he’ll need help from an experience person.”

MiYoung smiled and said, “Maybe I will do that…”

Chapter 8

Brian sighed as he closed the door to MiYoung’s room. ‘YoonJi,’ he thought. He went into his room to find Hwanhee asleep on the floor with his arm around HaNeul. He smiled down upon them and whispered, “HaNeul ah… I'm so jealous of you. You have a great… brother…”

Hwanhee slowly blinked his eyes and whispered, “Brian?”

Brian nodded and said, “Yeah, I'm here.”

”Oh man… what time is it?”

”12. Why? Are you going to go out somewhere?”

Hwanhee shook his head and said, “Isn’t it MiYoung’s birthday today?”

Brian opened his eyes widely and said, “Oh! Well, it’s today… since it’s 12…”

Hwanhee rolled his eyes and said, “Oh shoot! I didn’t get her anything. I just had a dream that it was MiYoung’s birthday… and…” Hwanhee turned red and Brian smiled. “And what?” he asked.

Hwanhee blushed redder and said, “I gave her a bouquet of roses and asked her to be my girlfriend…”

Brian laughed out loud. When HaNeul shifted, Brian put his hand over his mouth. He smirked and said, “Maybe you SHOULD do that…”

Hwanhee shrugged and said, “I'm getting back to sleep.” Brian watched and laughed silently as Hwanhee went to sleep. He drifted off into sleep himself… dreaming of YoonJi.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brian walked down the stairs, to found his mom and MiYoung already at the breakfast table. He smiled and gave MiYoung a hug. “Happy birthday, little sister.”

MiYoung laughed and said, “You remembered…”

Brian shopok his head and said, “Hwanhee reminded me… he’s coming down in a little while. He’s taking a shower.”

After five minutes, Hwanhee came down. He was wearing a red shirt, blue baggy pants, and his hair was wet, even thought the water wasn’t dripping.

MiYoung smiled and said, “Sit down, oppa.” Hwanhee smiled and said, “Happy birthday, MiYoung.”

MiYoung smiled and said, “Thanks oppa… I heard that you reminded Brian.”

Hwanhee laughed and nodded. Brian’s mom stood up and said, “I have to get to work. I’ll be home early… to spend some time with my daughter. Goodbye everyone!”

MiYoung and Brian said, “Bye, mom!”

Hwanhee stood up and bowed. “Ahn nyung eeh gah sae yoh.”

Shortly after Mrs. Joo left, the doorbell rang. Hwanhee’s face lit up and said, “MiYoung ah… why don’t you go get it? Mrs. Jun, leave it!”

MiYoung frowned and slowly got up. Who did Hwanhee think he was? The boss of this house? But she went anyway. She slowly opened the door and came face to face with a teenage boy. He asked, “Are you Joo MiYoung?”

MiYoung nodded and slowly and said, “Why…?”

The boy smiled and said, “Here’s a delivery for you. Just sign here and enjoy your flowers!”

MiYoung said, “Okay…” She signed and asked, “Where are the flowers?”

The boy smiled and said, “They’re in my car… it’s a load to carry the flowers and the clipboard… Wait just a second.”

By this time, Brian had come next to her. “What is it?” MiYoung shrugged and said, “Flowers.”

”From…”

”I don’t know…” The boy came, carrying the flowers. It was such a big bouquet that she couldn’t even see his face. He mumbled, “Here they are…”

MiYoung was taken aback. There was a bouquet of at least 20 roses, surrounded by all other kinds. Carnations… tulips… lilies… She hadn’t seen anything more beautiful. But who would send it to her.

She thankfully accepted the flowers and closed the door. She looked for a card to explain everything, and found one wedged in the middle. She took it out and read: Dear MiYoung, Happy birthday! You’re not a teenager anymore… 20 huh? I hope you have a nice birthday. This isn’t much… but I hope it is. After you read this, move the flowers and look up.

She frowned and slowly put the flowers aside. She looked up and Hwanhee was right in front of her. She gasped and said, “You… you sent me the flowers?”

Hwanhee smiled and whispered, “MiYoung ah… I know that I’ve hurt you before. That’s part of the reason why I ran away… I ran away from my problems. Will you please forgive me?”

MiYoung nodded and said, “I forgave you long ago, oppa…”

Hwanhee smiled and said, “MiYoung ah… I want to spend my life with you. But I don’t think this is time for marriage. Will you go out with me?”

MiYoung nodded and Hwanhee hugged her. “I promise you… that I will never hurt you again. Never…”

MiYoung smiled as she hugged Hwanhee tighter. “I know… I won’t hurt you either, oppa.”

Brian smiled as he saw the young couple caressing each other. He slowly opened the door silently and let himself out. They could take care of themselves. He chuckled as he thought, ‘They even have their own child already… HaNeul eeh…’

Chapter 9

”Hwanhee oppa… what do you mean? Who’s this girl?”

Hwanhee smiled and said, “My girlfriend. Do you like her? This was the girl that I’ve liked since I met her.”

MiYoung gasped and looked at SeHee. “But oppa… I thought it was me…”

Hwanhee looked at her with sad eyes. “It WAS you… until last month. When you started to hang around MinWoo, I was mad. So I decided to find a girl of my own. Then I realized that a girl that I’ve known all my life was the girl of my dreams. She had everything I wanted.”

MiYoung’s lips quivered as she slapped Hwanhee across the face. “Fine then! I never liked you anyway!”
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Brian stepped out as he wondered of what to do. For some reason, he wanted to see YoonJi. He slowly walked towards the direction of her house. He took each step carefully, finally getting to YoonJi’s house. He stood there and sighed, looking up at her window. The lights were on but there were no movement. Maybe he should go home…

He slowly turned to walk back home when he saw a lone figure walking out of YoonJi’s house. He squinted his eyes to get a clearer look. He… was… ChilHyun?

Brian frowned. He thought… they had… broke up… Wasn’t YoonJi… Why was ChilHyun… He shook off all his thoughts as he thought of what to do. He couldn’t walk up to him and ask what he was doing. He hadn’t talked to ChilHyun hyung ever since him and YoonJi had broke up.

He decided to visit YoonJi. He walked up to her door after he was sure that ChilHyun had left. He rang the doorbell and YoonJi answered it. She looked at him in surprise and said, “I didn’t expect you here…”

Brian smiled and said, “What was ChilHyun hyung doing here?”

YoonJi took a short breath and sighed. “He… he wanted me to run away with him. He wanted me to break up with you.”

Brian looked at her and said, “And…”

”Oppa! Of course I said no! I practically kicked him out of the house!”

Brian laughed and said, “What did he say?”

”He said… that he would be back… And I would pay for today.” She shivered and said, “Don’t worry about it. Do you want anything to eat?”

”No… I just wanted to see your face…”

Brian got up and said, “Bye. See you tomorrow.” YoonJi waved at Brian and watched him leave.
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*5 Years Later*

”Hwanhee oppa! HaNeul eeh wants something!”

”Okay, MiYoung! I’m coming! HaNeul ah~ What do you want?”

”It’s ummah’s birthday today. And I wanted to get her something special. Do you think you could help me?”

”What would you like to get her?”

”I don’t know… with the baby coming soon… I was thinking of getting her some baby clothes.”

”That would be nice. Your mom is very stressed out about the baby, HaNeul ah. Try not to give her more.”

HaNeul nodded and said, “I'm almost nine now, appa! I'm big enough to know!”

Hwanhee smiled and ruffled his hair. It had been five years since he had adopted HaNeul eeh. It had been two years since Hwanhee and MiYoung had been married. She was pregnant with their first child, a girl.

MiYoung suddenly yelled, “Hwanhee oppa! Hurry! I think my water broke!”

Hwanhee stopped talking to HaNeul and whispered, “HaNeul ah… stay here… go to sam choon’s house okay? Go!”

HaNeul ran off and Hwanhee went in to MiYoung. “MiYoung ah…” MiYoung looked up at him and said, “Hurry! Get me to the hospital!”

Hwanhee held her and put her in his car. He drove to the hospital and got her in a room. He wanted in the waiting room and the doctor called him up. “Hwang YoonSuk? Your wife… she’s in labor.”

Hwanhee slowly walked into the room and held her hand. “MiYoung ah… it’s okay. Be strong… for HaNeul eeh and me…”
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“She’s so beautiful…” MiYoung whispered.

The doctor smiled and said, “She’s in perfect condition. She’s exactly in the average weight, too. You have a healthy baby.” MiYoung smiled and said, “Thank you, doctor.”

MiYoung held her baby in her arms and Hwanhee smiled down upon her. Hwanhee said, “What are we going to name her?”

MiYoung thought for a moment and said, “How about Hwang SeHee?” Hwanhee nodded and said, “I like it…”

MiYoung whispered, “Hwang SeHee… you’re going to have a wonderful life… With your dad… your mom…”

”And your brother!” HaNeul came into the room with Brian and YoonJi, with a baby boy in her arms. MiYoung laughed and said, “Yes… with your brother, too.”

MiYoung said, “How is YoonSuk doing?”

YoonJi smiled and said, “He’s doing great.”

Hwanhee laughed and said, “It’s so confusing… Now, there’s two YoonSuk’s…”

Brian laughed and said, “So, SeHee… how do you like your sam choon?” SeHee started to cry and MiYoung laughed. “I don’t think she likes you a lot, oppa.”

Brian laughed and said, “I’ll make you like me… Watch, Hwang SeHee… I’ll make you love me…”

Hwanhee laughed and said, “Brian… you make it sound like you’re in love with her.” Brian laughed and said, “Why would I? When I have my girl right here?”

YoonJi leaned on her shoulder and Brian hugged her. Hwanhee kissed MiYoung and said, “And I have my two girls right here…”

HaNeul eeh looked up at Hwanhee and said, “Me too, appa!”

Hwanhee laughed and said, “You too… we can never forget you…”

Hwanhee, with his family and Brian, with his, were crammed up in the hospital room. But they still shared all the love that someone needs to live through their lives. Hwanhee, Brian, YoonJi, MiYoung, HaNeul, SeHee, and YoonSuk were to be connected with two words. Family… and love…

Hwanhee and Miyoung were back together again… planning out their lives. Brian and YoonJi were back together again… planning out their lives… Just like old times.

End

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