She kept hiding behind Aunt Sunhyung, only to finally peek her face out, reach out her hand, and say hello. That day—the day we first met—I can never forget it.
"I'm Kim Taehyung, one year older than you. I'm 11."
"I'm 10, Kim Yeoju!"
Aunt Sunhyung had been my mom’s best friend since high school. She used to live in a different city but moved to Seoul for work and, by chance, ended up living in the building next to ours. That’s how I ended up getting tangled with Kim Taehyung every single day since third grade.
"Here, eat this."
"Wow, Taehyung, how are you always so polite?"
Taehyung was well-mannered and much more mature than kids his age. At 11, when most kids were only focused on themselves, he always looked after me first. Whenever we ate together, he would put the best piece of meat on my plate before taking his own. Whenever we went somewhere, he held my hand tightly and never let go. The adults constantly praised him for being so thoughtful. And honestly, I liked that about him. That’s when I started having feelings for him—long, deep, and endless feelings.
"I like Taehyung oppa."
But Taehyung wasn’t only polite to me. Even in our own grade, so many girls liked him. If he was already this popular among younger girls, I couldn’t even imagine how much attention he got from girls his age.
"Hey, who do you think you are to always walk home with Taehyung?"
By the time I entered fourth grade, after spending a year sticking to Taehyung, older girls in his grade started getting jealous. They would often come to me, filled with envy. But I didn’t mind. In a way, it made me feel special—like I was more important to Taehyung than anyone else.
"I heard Harin confessed to you. Isn’t she super pretty and popular?"
"Yeah, that’s what people say."
"Ugh, I really don’t get why girls like you so much."
"Huh? Haha, didn’t you like me too, Yeoju?"
I never wanted Taehyung to find out about my feelings. I was already special to him in my own way, but if he knew I liked him, would I just become like every other girl to him? That thought terrified me. So I acted even more exaggeratedly.
"Huh…?"
"You like me, don’t you?"
Maybe it was impossible for him not to notice. I smiled like an idiot whenever I was around him. Expecting him not to figure it out was foolish. Taehyung knew everything from the start. To him, I was just another girl, no different from the others. That realization hit me hard, and at 11 years old, it made me incredibly frustrated. I wanted to be someone truly special to him.
"What are you saying? I don’t like you. You’re always acting like such a grown-up. You’re just fake."
That was the last time we hung out at each other’s houses. Taehyung’s face showed shock at my words, and for some reason, I hated that look on him. Did he really think every girl in the world had to like him? I refused to be just another predictable admirer. That was how we drifted apart.
"Congratulations on graduating."
"Yeah, thanks."
Time passed quickly, and before I knew it, I graduated from elementary school. Taehyung showed up at my graduation wearing his new middle school uniform, and he looked surprisingly cool. I was assigned to a faraway middle school, and my family decided to move. After the ceremony, we ate one last meal together and said our final goodbyes.
Even though we lived right next to each other, we had already grown distant. Now that I was moving away, I figured we would never see each other again.
"Take care. Don’t forget me, okay?"
"Yeah… you too."
"You never called me oppa, huh? I don’t think I’ve heard it since that day."
"Yeah, it’s too cringy."
"…"
A long silence followed. If I didn’t say it now, I might never see him again. But I couldn’t bring myself to speak.
"You didn’t actually hate me, did you?"
Just as I turned to leave, Taehyung’s question stopped me in my tracks. My heart sank. Did he still remember what I said all those years ago?
I turned my head slightly and answered.
"No, I never hated you. Not even once."
Taehyung let out a bitter smile. I still don’t know what that smile meant.
And just like that, we parted ways. Other than occasionally hearing updates about him from our parents, we never contacted each other again.
Five years passed.
.
.
.
"Oh my god, I’m so late! I was supposed to be at school by 8 for the Teacher’s Day event!"
"That’s what you get for oversleeping. You better run."
May 15th. I had set five alarms the night before, but somehow, I slept through all of them. Throwing on my gym uniform, I rushed out the door.
And then—
"…?????"
A man stood in front of me. His face felt oddly familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time.
Where had I seen him before? He looked so familiar…
"Hey, Yeoju. It’s been a long time."
The moment I finally recognized him, Taehyung smiled and greeted me.
Was this really the same Taehyung I knew? Had he always been this tall? I stared at him, trying to process what I was seeing.
And then, he spoke again.
"I missed you."
That voice—hearing it again made me certain.
It really was him.
My first love and my last love. The boy I thought I would never see again.
After five years, we met again—right in front of my house.