| sPrologue SooKyung shook her head and opened her mouth to scream. A hand clamped over her mouth and whispered into her ear, “Stay silent. You say a word; your little wussy boy dies here… don’t say a word. I have a gun.” She felt a cold metal pierce her temple. SooKyung nodded and closed her eyes and prayed. “Please, get me out of this. What did I do to deserve this? Especially oppa…” She opened her eyes to take a glance at her beloved oppa… He was so brave… He had defended her… or tried to. He was closing his eyes, praying himself. “Please… let me be okay. But most of all, let SooKyung be okay… please…” The 6 year-old and the 9 year-old prayed for their lives. Suddenly, the metal door crashed open and a loud voice was heard, “Put your hands up! You are under arrest!” The man that had his hand over SooKyung’s mouth knew it was too late. He put it down and shook his head. “I… I thought I could make it this time.” The policeman shook his head and untied SooKyung and her oppa. He asked them, “Are you guys alright?” They both nodded and hugged each other. They held hands and SooKyung said, “Sir… if you could get us to our parents now… we would be so grateful. You have done so much for us already. How did you know?” The police beckoned to a little boy standing in the corner. SooKyung cocked her head and strained her eyes to see who it was. She gasped and whispered, “PilGyo? Jung PilGyo? Why… why would you…” PilGyo looked down and said, “SooKyung ah… I was following you. I wanted to ask you a question. And I saw that mean man take you in his car. And DongWan was following you… so I followed and I saw where you went. I went to the police. Wasn’t that brave of me? I did good right SooKyung ah?” SooKyung shyly nodded and DongWan watched. He grabbed onto SooKyung’s hand and said, “PilGyo yah… we’re going to go now. Bye!” HyeSung secretly waved so that only SooKyung could see. SooKyung mouthed, “Bye,” as she walked out with DongWan. SooKyung looked back forward and sighed. <I>PilGyo oppa… I can’t see you for a long time, you know that? A long time… </I> <C>~*~*~*~*~*~*~</C> (ten years later) SooKyung jumped down the stairs and yelled, “OPPA! DID YOU MAKE BREAKFAST?” DongWan came out of the kitchen and answered, “SooKyung ah! You’re up? It’s Saturday! I'm making it right now!” SooKyung giggled and DongWan asked, “What’s so funny!” SooKyung heaped into a pile on the floor and said, “Oppa… you look so funny in an apron!” DongWan said, “Aish!” He got down next to her and started to tickle her sides. SooKyung laughed out loud and the silent empty house was filled with their laughter. DongWan and Sookyung lived there all alone… after their parents had died. DongWan was old enough to get out of the orphanage and live with his sister in a small apartment. All of the sudden, the faint sound of a knock was heard. SooKyung and DongWan abruptly stopped and looked at each other. No one knew where their house was. They had no friends. No one ever came to their house… SooKyung slowly got up and looked into the peephole. She looked at DongWan and shook her head, indicating that no one was there. DongWan walked over to her and slowly opened the door. He looked to the right, left, and up. When he looked down, he found a small package with something scrawled on it. He picked it up and closed the door. He put it on the table and motioned to SooKyung. SooKyung slowly came forward and read the words written on the front. TO: KIM SOOKYUNG FROM: AN OLD FRIEND Since there was no stamp or return address, SooKyung and DongWan figured that it was delivered by hand. SooKyung looked questioningly at DongWan. He said, “Open it. It’s for you.” SooKyung’s small white hands tore at the brown rough paper. Inside, there was a long, thin box. She curiously lifted the top and gasped. Inside, there was a big, white rose. Chapter 1 DongWan looked at SooKyung curiously and asked, “SooKyung ah… who knows about our apartment?” SooKyung shook her head, speechless. “I don’t know… I swear oppa… I never told anyone.” DongWan said, “Then how come this came for you?” SooKyung shrugged and said, “I don’t know…” DongWan glared at her and asked, “Are you sure you’re telling the truth?” SooKyung nodded so hard and DongWan laughed. “All right… but whoever delivered this can’t make any moves on my sister. Not yet anyway… I have to approve first.” SooKyung glared and frowned at him. DongWan smiled and looked in the box if anything else was in there. SooKyung asked, “Oppa what are you doing?” ”I'm looking for something that will lead to someone that left…” His voice died out as he rummaged in the brown packaging. SooKyung shook her head and said, “Oppa, there’s nothing there!” DongWan came out with a bulgy envelope in his hands and said, “Nope, there’s something here. Open it, it’s for you.” SooKyung slowly took the envelope and tore it open. There was a letter inside. What made the envelope bulgy was a small notepad with sketches of different kinds of flowers in it. She read the letter out loud: Kim SooKyung~ I'm pretty sure you don’t know who this is, do you? Well, I remember you so clearly… you’re as clear as the blue sky I look into. SooKyung ah, do you want to know who I am? If you do, can you please come to the café in front of your house next Saturday? I’ll be waiting. You might know me, you might not… But it doesn’t matter, SooKyung ah. You might remember if you thought about it really hard. Well, my boss is yelling at me so I have to go. Bye~ And make sure to come okay? I’ll be waiting until midnight if I have to… From, An Old Friend SooKyung frowned and asked, “Oppa? Who do you think it is? You don’t hang around particularly a lot do you? None of the people you hang around with has seen me before, have they?” DongWan shook his head and said, “I don’t know… maybe it’s some guy that saw you in the super market and followed you here.” SooKyung shook her head and said, “But it says: From an Old Friend… Do I have any old friends? Or friends that I haven’t seen in a long time?” DongWan shook his head and answered, “SooKyung ah… it’s just a trick. Are you going to go to the café? I don’t think you should… but if you decide to go because of that curious mind of yours, you have to promise me that you’ll take me okay?” SooKyung nodded and said, “Maybe I’ll go… maybe I won’t.” DongWan nodded and said, “Hey SooKyung ah… Don’t you feel like going to uhmah and appah today?” SooKyung smiled and said, “Yeah… I did feel that way. Oppa~ are you sure you’re not trying to read my mind again? It’s scary…” DongWan laughed and pinched SooKyung’s cheeks. SooKyung pushed him away and went into her room to change. DongWan shook his head and went into his room as well. <CENTER> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~</CENTER> “Uhmmah… appah… Nah wat ssuh yoh… SooKyung eeh lang gah chee wats ssuh yoh… She missed you. I missed you too.” As DongWan carefully laid the fresh flowers in front of their graves, SooKyung whispered, “Uhmmah, appah, I wish you were here. Guess what happened today? Someone sent me flowers. A white rose… your favorite, uhmmah… remember? It’s my favorite too. But no one knows that except for our family. So how did this “old friend” find out? I don’t know uhmmah, but when I find out I’ll tell you okay?” DongWan and SooKyung stayed there, the silence circling them. DongWan sighed and stood up. “Gah jah…” SooKyung nodded and stood up. They walked down the hill, the small teardrops dropping from SooKyung’s eyes. *SMACK* SooKyung fell to the floor, bumping into someone. The person tripped over her, but landed on his feet. SooKyung rubbed her elbow and groaned. DongWan dropped down beside her and asked, “Are you okay? SooKyung ah… gwen chah nah?” SooKyung slowly nodded and rubbed her knee. The person that had bumped into her got up, brushed himself, and asked, “I'm sorry… Are you okay?” SooKyung nodded and said, “No, I'm sorry… I should have watched where I was going.” SooKyung lifted her head, seeing the most beautiful guy in the world. He bit his lip, looked down at the floor, and said, “Are you okay? Is it serious? If it’s something serious… I’ll pay for it. I'm so sorry…” SooKyung was found speechless and shook her head. The person looked up, looking at SooKyung for the first time. He took a short breath. They stared at each other for a long time in silence, while DongWan glanced back and forth. DongWan finally cleared his throat and the person finally recognized his presence. “I'm so sorry. I hope I didn’t hurt your… girlfriend… sister…” DongWan grinned and said, “Sister… but wish she was my girlfriend.” SooKyung jabbed him in the stomach and said, “It’s okay, really. What did you say your name was?” The person shook his head and said, “I didn’t say… but it’s MinWoo… Lee MinWoo.” Chapter 2 SooKyung nodded and said, “Oh, nice to meet you MinWoo. I'm Kim SooKyung, and this is my brother, Kim DongWan.” MinWoo shook his hands with DongWan and said, “Please, I’ll pay for any medical bills that come out from this.” DongWan shook his head and said, “No, it’s okay. I assure you, we can afford it.” SooKyung interrupted and exclaimed, “No we can’t!” Her hand immediately went to her mouth as she glanced at DongWan. DongWan smiled uneasily and said, “It’s okay MinWoo… Just do what you came here to do… We’ll be going now. See ya later!” SooKyung walked down the hill, limping, as she felt MinWoo’s eyes on her back. <I>He was so… so… amazing. That face, those eyes…</I> ”SooKyung ah! Are you listening?” SooKyung glanced up at DongWan and yelled in pain as her foot gave out. She fell to the dirt floor, groaning in pain. DongWan grabbed her arm and said, “Stop being such a baby!” SooKyung whined and said, “I'm not being a baby!” It was at that moment that they saw a big limousine in front of them. They stared at it with their mouths wide opened. Just then, MinWoo came running down, yelling, “You guys! Wait up!” SooKyung and DongWan turned to see a panting MinWoo coming towards them. SooKyung pointed to herself, thinking: ME? MinWoo panted heavily and nodded his head. His purplish hair bobbed up and down and he raised up his hand. When he finally caught his breath, he said, “I… I ran all the way down. I heard SooKyung kind of yell, so I came down as fast as I could. Here, ride in my car. I’ll take you to the hospital.” SooKyung looked at the limousine and asked, “That’s your car?” MinWoo nodded and opened the door for her. “Here you go… you too, DongWan…” DongWan glanced at SooKyung and asked, “SooKyung ah? Are you sure it’s safe?” SooKyung bounced up and down on the leather seat and happily said, “Of course oppa. MinWoo seems like a nice guy… Aren’t you, MinWoo?” MinWoo stared at her and smiled. He shrugged and DongWan reluctantly got in. MinWoo told the driver to go to the nearest hospital. SooKyung shook her head and said, “No… it’s okay. I'm fine…” MinWoo shook his head and said, “The Lee family always takes care of others.” SooKyung laughed and DongWan frowned. DongWan finally asked, “Hey… why the limousine?” MinWoo sighed and said, “Well, that’s what you get if you’re the son of the sajangnim of a big company. You receive special attention… all because you’re riding in a limousine. Cham nah… I just don’t understand it, do you?” SooKyung nodded and said, “Well most people in this town aren’t familiar to limousines. Especially us. But what company is it?” MinWoo simply said, “It’s just some company that owns land and uses it for good use and stuff. You know… like building houses and making shops, stuff like that.” SooKyung nodded her head and said, “Does your father own houses?” MinWoo nodded and said, “We own a house in the southern part of the city. I think it’s called Noble Apartments. Yeah, I'm pretty sure it’s called that.” DongWan gaped and asked, “Are you serious?” MinWoo nodded and said, “Why?” ”We live there…” ”Oh! That’s nice. Maybe we could lower your rent fee instead of paying for medical bills… or I could do both. But if there are NO bills, then I could…” SooKyung laughed out loud at the hurrying of MinWoo. “MinWoo, it’s okay! Nothing’s wrong! Maybe I need a brace for a couple of days, but nothing major! It’s okay! I'm fine!” MinWoo turned red and said, “I'm sorry… my father, he just doesn’t want me to make mistakes, and if I do, he wants me to take care of them.” SooKyung nodded and said, “You have a pretty hard father…” MinWoo asked, “Yeah. How is your father like?” SooKyung dropped her head and quietly said, “He… my mother and father died in a car crash when I was 10. Oppa was 13.” MinWoo was speechless and muttered, “I'm so sorry… Second mistake of the day for Lee MinWoo…” SooKyung shook her head and said, “It’s okay…” MinWoo nodded and asked, “Is that who you were visiting at the gravesite?” SooKyung nodded and said, “How about you?” ”Oh… my grandfather. He’s the one that started the company. He gave it to my father, and I'm next.” DongWan studied MinWoo for a minute. He seemed like a pretty nice guy. And SooKyung was getting along fine with him, and that was unusual for SooKyung. He shrugged and thought, ‘Maybe he has a way with girls…’ They stopped and the driver said, “We’re here, sir.” MinWoo nodded and said, “Do you think you can wait for awhile?” The driver nodded and MinWoo stepped out. DongWan helped SooKyung out and they all went into the hospital. Chapter 3 “MinWoo, you really don’t have to do this,” DongWan told him as SooKyung was with the doctor. MinWoo shook his head and said, “Of course I do! I feel so responsible for it. How old are you, by the way?” ”I'm nineteen. You?” ”I'm eighteen. Is SooKyung sixteen?” ”No, not yet. She’s still 15, she’s turning 16 next month.” ”Hm… next month… when?” ”August 12, why?” ”Oh, it’s nothing…” MinWoo saw that the doctor was done with SooKyung’s check up and got up. “Is she okay doctor?” The doctor nodded and said, “She’s okay… But she’ll have to wear a brace for a couple of weeks. Other than that, she’s in perfect shape.” DongWan bowed to the doctor and said, “Goh mab seum neeh dah sun seng nim.” The doctor nodded and said, “Now, I need to get down there. So, you could take SooKyung out and ask the nurses for a brace, you could leave. Goodbye.” DongWan and MinWoo thanked him and watched him leave. They went inside, where SooKyung was examining her foot. DongWan put his hands in his pockets and said, “Yah! They said you’ll be okay.” SooKyung lifted her head in surprise and said, “Oh… yeah… I know. Thanks, MinWoo. I don’t know what I would have done without you.” MinWoo smiled and said, “Of course… Here, let’s go ask the nurse for a brace. Then we could leave.” DongWan held up his hand and said, “Wait, wait… We? What do you mean we?” MinWoo looked confused and said, “I mean: you, SooKyung and me. Who else?” SooKyung shook her head and said, “No, no! That wouldn’t be right. You can’t take us home. It’ll be such a burden.” MinWoo shook his head and said, “It’s okay. I have nothing to do anyway. Do you know what I was going to do all day? I was going to stay in the limo… eat, sleep, eat, and sleep… Nothing else. Unless I have something to do now.” SooKyung sighed and looked at DongWan. DongWan was studying MinWoo carefully. <I>Something’s just not right about him. He’s too… he’s too… nice for a rich guy… Most rich people are snobby… aren’t they?</I> SooKyung shrugged and said, “I guess… OPPA! Let’s go!” DongWan shook his head and said, “Oh… yeah, let’s go.” They went to a nurse and asked for a brace. They took and went towards MinWoo’s limo, which was parked right outside of the hospital. When the chauffeur held the door open for them, SooKyung gave him a warm smile and thanked him. MinWoo and SooKyung sat in one seat and DongWan sat on the other side of them. SooKyung looked outside the window and sighed. MinWoo looked at her and asked, “What’s wrong?” SooKyung shook her head and said, “You know… something weird happened today. A package came for me. And a letter said to meet him at the café in front of my house next Saturday. It was signed: From an old friend. Do you think I should go?” MinWoo shrugged and answered, “If he was an old friend… I guess…” SooKyung shook her head and said, “But you don’t understand. Oppa and I don’t know anyone in this city. We used to live somewhere else before we moved here. No one knows us, except you… but we met you today.” MinWoo simply said, “Go…” SooKyung sighed again and looked out the window. Then she looked at DongWan, who had fallen asleep. She smiled and looked up at MinWoo. “How many more minutes until we get there?” MinWoo said, “Noble Apartments? About 30 minutes, I guess…” SooKyung asked, “MinWoo? Do you think I could sleep for awhile?” MinWoo nodded his head and SooKyung smiled. She fell asleep quickly, and not before long, she was leaning against MinWoo’s shoulder. MinWoo smiled at her and thought, ‘SooKyung ah… I know I met you today. I don’t want to rush things, but when I saw you… it was just a feeling inside of me… A feeling that told me that I could only have you… Even on my shoulder, you’re so cute…’ SooKyung shifted and MinWoo slowly leaned his head on hers… falling asleep as well. <CENTER> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~</CENTER> “Sir? Sir! Wake up! We’re here, sir!” MinWoo rubbed his eyes and slowly got up. He carefully shook SooKyung and she quietly woke up. He looked up to see DongWan, carefully studying him. MinWoo sat back and thought, ‘Did he see me leaning on SooKyung like that?” DongWan got out and pulled SooKyung out with him. MinWoo got out slowly and pulled out something from his wallet. “Here… here’s my business card. Call me okay?” DongWan nodded and SooKyung rubbed her eyes, not wanting to wake up. MinWoo watched as SooKyung got on DongWan’s back and they both went up the stairs, into their home. MinWoo sighed and went back in the car. He leaned back on the leather seat and thought, ‘Kim SooKyung…” But SooKyung wasn’t thinking about MinWoo. She was sleeping on her bed, wrapped up tight in the thin blankets. She shivered and quickly sat up on her bed. She whispered, so that no one could hear, “Jung PilGyo.” Chapter 4 SooKyung shook her head and went under her blankets to think for awhile. How could she suddenly have a dream about PilGyo oppa? She hadn’t seen him years… about 8 years. This couldn’t be happening. She had promised to forget him. To forget that he ever existed. But it wouldn’t work… her mind wouldn’t give up, her heart wouldn’t give up… She thought about the dream she just had. PilGyo oppa had given her a bouquet of white and red roses… She had smiled, kissed him, and thanked him. She walked over to put the flowers in the vase when the vase dropped on the floor suddenly. It cracked, but each of the pieces turned into more roses. And PilGyo oppa picked them up and handed them to her. SooKyung had gathered them all up, and PilGyo had kissed her. Then, SooKyung had woke up, ending the dream. She thought under her blanket, ‘PilGyo oppa… I miss you so much. Why did I have to leave you? I didn’t know it was going to hurt this much. I was only eight back then… and I still loved you… I knew what love was at such a young age. It was you…’ SooKyung finally threw off the blanket and looked at her watch. It was 7 PM, and it took a while before she realized she was hungry. She tiptoed into the kitchen, trying not to wake DongWan oppa, who was sleeping on the couch. She made herself a quick dinner of salad and some buttered bread. She was going to go back in her room when DongWan opened one eye and said, “SooKyung ah… make me something will ya?” and went back to sleep. SooKyung groaned and stomped back into the kitchen. DongWan oppa was already awake… no use of tiptoeing now. She made him some salad, buttered bread, and opened a can of corn. She put it all on one plate and put it down on the floor next to the couch. She said, “Oppa, here’s your dinner. Hurry and eat. It’s already 7.” DongWan threw off the covers and looked at the clock. “Why didn’t you wake me up before!” ”Oppa? What’s wrong?” ”AISH! I have to watch…” He flipped on the TV and the 7 o’clock news came on. “Just in time,” he said. SooKyung groaned. DongWan oppa always made such a big deal of things. “Just in from our reporters, a powerful company has decided to build a huge shopping mall next to Noble Apartments, which they own. We’re here, live, from the company. This is the sajangnim’s son, MinWoo Lee, speaking. MinWoo shi… who first brought forth this idea?” SooKyung looked up at the TV and asked, “Hey… isn’t that MinWoo?” DongWan nodded as his fork stopped midair from the plate to his mouth. He watched with interest as MinWoo answered, “My father, of course. If it weren’t for him, I don’t know what I’ll do.” He flashed his killer smile and thousands of flashing lights shone around him. He held up his hand and said, “I have to get to business now. I'm sorry, but you’ll have to save all these questions for another time. He bowed respectively and made his way through the crowd. “That is the latest we have on the huge mall that will be built near Noble Apartments. Thank you.” SooKyung and DongWan looked at each other and SooKyung said, “MinWoo never told us about some mall…” DongWan shrugged and said, “We never asked.” SooKyung frowned and thought, ‘Oh well, MinWoo oppa is leading his own life now. For now, I have to worry about who that person is… the one that gave me the flower. The white rose, my favorite…” <CENTER> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ </CENTER> (a week later, Saturday) SooKyung yawned, stretching her arms. “Euh ah! Today’s the day I get to find out who the guy is!” She jumped out of bed, to smell the delicious aroma of DongWan oppa’s cooking. “Hm… what is it this time oppa?” DongWan jumped out of the kitchen and said, “Omlette, cereal, orange juice, and an orange. Sit!” SooKyung sat and rubbed her hands together. “Sometimes, I feel like I'm the guy, and you’re the girl.” DongWan glared at her as he put her plate down on the table. She dug into her food right away, chopping noisily and spilling. DongWan shook his head and said, “Yeah… sometimes you eat like a guy too.” SooKyung hit him and said, “I'm just so excited! Today’s the day I get to meet the mysterious sender of the flowers. You’re coming with me, right, DongWan oppa?” DongWan shrugged and said, “Have you called MinWoo? Isn’t he worried about you? It seemed like he cared… a lot…” SooKyung kept on eating and shook her head. “Nah… he probably has some rich, pretty girl waiting for him out there somewhere. But it was cool… riding in a limousine. Didn’t you think so?” DongWan nodded and still thought that there was something weird about MinWoo. The way he acted in front of them… not like a rich snob… His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the telephone. He got up to answer it, “I got it!” But SooKyung was already there, answering, “Hello?” “………….” ”Hello! Aren’t you going to say something?” ”…………” ”Aish moh yah!” The person on the other line thought, ‘SooKyung ah… your beautiful voice. Just a couple of words makes my heart melt.’ She hung up, stomping back to her food. “It was a prank call, oppa…” DongWan shrugged and said, “We get a lot of those, ignore it. Come on, eat. Hurry… we have to get to the café by… Hey… the note never said what time to go!” SooKyung ran to her desk and read the note over. It didn’t say when to go. She shrugged and said, “He said he’ll be waiting until midnight, so I guess any time is okay.” DongWan sighed and said, “Do I have to go with you?” ”I can’t do this by myself! What if it’s some bad guy trying to catch me…?” ”It wont’! That will never happen… again…” There was a moment of silence when SooKyung yelled, “Oppa! I better get ready!” She ran into her room, looking for clothes to wear, how to do her hair, her makeup… DongWan watched her from the doorway and thought, ‘SooKyung ah, you’ve grown up so much. I remember when you used to follow me around asking for a piggyback ride… Now, you’re following me around, asking me to go to a café with you to meet a guy…’ SooKyung stepped out ten minutes later, while DongWan was watching TV. She said, “Done!” and DongWan looked up. She wore hiphop, baggy pants, with a white tank top. She wore a thin jacket and did her hair in two buns with hair coming out from the middle. She had put on lip gloss, eyeliner, and foundation. But it was enough to make her look like a person from a commercial. DongWan went back to his TV, and if he was surprised, he didn’t show it. SooKyung gave him a glare and said, “Oppa, let’s go! Hurry!” DongWan groaned got up to follow her to see who her mysterious person was. <CENTER> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ </CENTER> “He should be around here somewhere,” SooKyung said. “But you don’t know who he is!” ”But still, he knows who I am. So I guess he will confront me or something.” DongWan shook his head as he follows her around the café. SooKyung looked from face to face to see if she recognized anyone. Someone in the corner of the café stood up. He held up his hand and said, “Kim SooKyung!” SooKyung turned around and gasped. It couldn’t be… no… it couldn’t… She shook her head and looked again to see if she was seeing things. But no… she wasn’t… it WAS him. ************************************************ |