Hello! It is not usual from me to post in English before to post the story on Spanish, but I'm making an exception, Happy birthday Jayjayzek! This One shot it is totally for you.
I hope you like this…
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"We shouldn't be here," said the young boy but his brother didn't pay attention to him.
"Hyung," insisted the boy.
"Jeong-ah, c´mon. Don't be afraid. We are only going to buy an ice cream and then we will go back to the Hospital so we can see Omma," said the older boy with a smile.
His little brother nodded. So Il Hyun started to guide his little brother. He took his brother's hand so he would not get lost. They were children after all. Il Hyun was 13 years old and Yi Jeong was only 9 years old. When they got into the ice cream shop, they discussed the flavor of the ice cream. They finally decided which one they would buy but they had to wait until a man and his daughter bought their ice creams.
"Appa, I want a strawberry ice cream with some chocolate and Choco chips," said the little girl with a smile.
"OK, but remember, it will be our secret. You cannot tell Omma that I buy you ice cream." The little girl giggled in response. Her father smiled and took her hand so they could ask for their ice creams.
Il Hyun and Yi Jeong were surprised by how the father of that girl acted with her. He looked like a kind and caring man. Il Hyun looked with sadness while Yi Jeong was confused. Il Hyun was sad to see that kind of happiness. Even his friend's parents weren't like that but that man was different. He looked like a good father. Il Hyun watched him closely and noticed that they were not rich like them but they seemed like a happy family. The little girl smiled all the time and her father was happy.
Yi Jeong, on the other hand, was confused. He never met any man like the one in front of him. Then he looked at the little girl. He was surprised. She looked happy and a wide smile never left her face. Even his friends do not smile all the time.
The man and his daughter received their ice creams and left. It was Yi Jeong and Il Hyun's turn. They picked they favorite flavors and then went out. They walked to the hospital when they saw the two again. The man and the little girl. They were in a street shop.
"This bracelet is beautiful, and look! Some autumn leaves. I think it is perfect for you," said the man.
"Appa, we should buy something for Omma, not for me," said the girl.
"We can buy this necklace for her and the bracelet for you," was the man's answer. The little girl took the bracelet and admired it for a minute. She was smiling. Yi Jeong watched the girl carefully this time. She looked like a happy little girl, and she looked cute smiling like that.
"Yi Jeong," called his brother. "We must hurry."
Yi Jeong followed his brother even when he didn't want to go to the Hospital again. Going to the Hospital meant seeing his mother in a bad state. His father wasn't with them, only Mr. Ming the family butler, but he has to follow his brother.
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He had seen his mother. She was crying, saying some things to Il Hyun that he didn't understand. He was in the Hospital's cafeteria. He wanted a chocolate so Mr. Ming was buying it for him. Il Hyun was still with their mother. He heard a giggle. Then he saw next to him was the girl, the same girl he had seen in the ice cream shop and on his way to the Hospital. She was watching the Hospital's TV, a cartoon was playing on the screen.
However, Yi Jeong didn't look at the cartoon. Instead, he looked at the girl. She was wearing a simple dress, a commoner, he thought. Even at his age he could identify who was rich and who was a commoner but she looked happier than any rich child he knew.
"Hi," said the girl when she saw him looked at her. Yi Jeong kept silence. The girl smiled and gave him something and then she went away. When he opened his hand, there was a lollipop in his hand. A simple lollipop yet in some way, it meant more for him than the other gifts he had received. He saw the girl walked away. He then ran so he could reach her. When he was close enough he grabbed her wrist and noticed a bracelet, the one she was looking at with her father before.
"Thanks," said Yi Jeong. The girl only smiled and then, she left.
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He never saw her again. He wish he had but he never got the chance. Little by little, he had forgotten about that little girl. The only memories Yi Jeong had of his childhood were the ones that involved his mother, his father and of course, the F4. Sometimes he could remember a giggle and a smile, but he considered them as a dream.
He walked by the forest, and then he saw her. A smile slowly curved up. She was taking pictures of herself again.
"You never change," he said, teasing her. She saw him but didn't pay attention to him.
"C´mon Ga Eul, stop this," said Yi Jeong.
"I like to take pictures of myself," she said, taking the camera again and clicking another picture. Yi Jeong took the camera off her hands and then pulled her close to him.
"A picture of both of us will be better," and then he focused the camera and took a picture of them looking at each other with smiles on their faces. After that, he gave her a quick kiss.
He took her hand and started to walk with her so they could go back to the country house where they were staying. The F4 wanted to go on a trip but the girls were the ones who decided to spend some time away from luxury. Well they tried. Even when they were in the middle of the forest, they were staying in a very luxurious house.
He ran his finger on her wrist when he felt something, he stopped and held up her hand in front of his face.
"What is this?" He asked.
"A bracelet," she simply said.
He took a closer look. It looked familiar in some way but he could not remember. He let go of her hand, still confused.
"C´mon Sunbae, let's join the others," she said and walked away but Yi Jeong was still confused. That bracelet looked so familiar to him but he was sure he never meet Ga Eul before, not until Geum Jan Di entered their lives. Shaking his head, he followed his girlfriend.
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That night they built a campfire. It was the girls' request. At first, the F4 didn't want to do it but the girls won. The boys couldn't resist to follow their command.
"So, we never heard how Jan Di met Ga Eul," said Woo Bin.
"We were at the kindergarten together. Some boys were bothering Ga Eul, so I helped her," said Jan Di. Ga Eul smiled at the memory. Jan Di had protected her since the beginning.
"Deh. She and I became friends, and when my mom was at the hospital, I knew she and I will be friends forever. We were little back then. We were 8 years old, but Jan Di was very supportive of me," explained Ga Eul.
"Your mother was at the Hospital?" asked Ji Hoo.
"Deh," said Ga Eul. "She had an accident at her work, so she had to stay for some time in the Hospital. My dad and I visited her every day."
"I didn't know," Yi Jeong said.
"It was only for a few days. Oh! I remember one day when my father couldn't go to the Hospital, Jan Di insisted we visited her without an adult but we couldn't. She tried very hard to find a way. We hid at the nurse station so we could run to my mother's room. Then a boy saw us and said: What are you doing there hiding? The nurse saw us and called Jan Di's parents. Jan Di was so mad so she punched the little boy." Jan Di and Ga Eul laughed but the F4 didn't laugh and Jan Di noticed that.
"What's the matter?"
"Which Hospital?" asked Jun Pyo.
"Shin Hwa Hospital," answered Jan Di with a confused look.
"Could your mother be at Shin Hwa?" asked Woo Bin.
"Well, my mother's boss was a senator back then. She was his secretary, so he paid for the hospital," was Ga Eul's explanation.
The boys looked at each other, very confused and surprised.
"Are you going to tell us what is happening here?" asked Jan Di.
"You punched me when I was 9," was Jun Pyo's answer.
"Mwho?" Jan Di was surprised.
"We were at the hospital to see Yi Jeong. His mother was there, and I saw two girls at the nurse station. I asked why they were hiding, and then a nurse came and one of the girls punched me." Ga Eul and Jan Di looked at each other.
"That was you?" Jan Di asked.
"I cannot believe it. They were destined since the beginning. They would be together by a punch," said Woo Bin. Jan Di and Jun Pyo looked each other and then they laughed.
"Wait a minute…" said Yi Jeong. He held up Ga Eul's wrist.
"I meet a girl back then…she gave me a lollipop…" He said, looking at his girlfriend. Everyone else was surprised.
"You were that boy? I cannot believe it," said Ga Eul, remembering a really cute boy.
Woo Bin and Ji Hoo looked at each other with a smile. So, they knew the girls when they were children, and after almost 10 years they found each other again.
"Destiny is funny."
"It is," was Ga Eul's statement.
Yi Jeong took her hand. He couldn't believe it either. He remembered now. That little girl with the brightest smile he had ever seen was her, his love, Ga Eul. Since then she could make him forget the pain. Since then her smile could make the bad things disappeared. Destiny brought them together again. He never would let her go.
Later that night, they were watching the stars. Jan Di and Jun Pyo were fighting next to a telescope. Woo Bin and Ji Hoo were in a conversation but Ga Eul and Yi Jeong were in silence. They were still accepting the fact that they knew each other before.
"I envied you," said Yi Jeong breaking the silence. Ga Eul looked at him, waiting for an explanation.
"You looked like a happy family. My mother was at the Hospital for one of her episodes but you and your father looked happy. My parents never saw me that way. And your smile was sincere. I've never met a girl with that kind of smile."
"I know you had a bad childhood but you have a family now, Yi Jeong. You have the F4, you have Jan Di, and you have me… I can share my parents with you," she said giggling. Yi Jeong smiled. Then he hugged her.
"Thank you, lollipop girl." Ga Eul laughed for his words but she was also thankful. Destiny had brought them together.
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THE END
Hugs and love
Cari