That day, I will never be able to forget the first day we met, when Seonhyung (Auntie) who had been hiding behind me finally showed her face a little, stretched out her hand, and said hello.
"I'm Kim Taehyung, one year older than you, 11 years old."
"I'm 10 years old, Kim Yeoju!"
Seonhyung (Auntie) has been my mother's best friend since high school, and their relationship continues to this day. Seonhyung (Auntie), who previously lived in another area, coincidentally moved to Seoul for work, and the house she found happened to be next door to ours. That's why I've been closely connected with Kim Taehyung since I was in third grade.
"Here, eat this."
"Wow, how can Taehyung be so polite?"
Kim Taehyung is indeed polite. Furthermore, he is very mature compared to his peers. At 11 years old, when many people are more busy with their own desires, he always thinks more about me. When we eat together, he always puts the meat on my rice first, and when we go out, he always holds my hand and doesn't let go. Adults always praise Kim Taehyung every day. Of course, I like him too. From then on, I fell in love secretly. Timeless, long and endless.
"I like Taehyung oppa."
Kim Taehyung wasn't just polite to me. Even in his class, he had a crush on a lot of girls. If he was so popular among us younger guys, I couldn't imagine how popular he would be among girls his own age.
"Eh, why do you always come home from school with Taehyung?"
After about a year of being with Taehyung, when I moved up to fourth grade, many girls started to get jealous of me. Those who were Taehyung's age, those who were older than me, often came to tease me. Strangely, I didn't feel annoyed. In fact, I felt like I was someone special to Taehyung.
"I heard Harin unni confessed her feelings to Taehyung oppa? Unni is very beautiful, right? Popular too."
"Yes, that's what people say."
"Tch, what do girls like about oppa? I don't understand."
"Huh? Haha, you like me too, right?"
I didn't want Taehyung to know how I felt. I was afraid that if he did, he'd think I was just like any other girl. So, I tried not to show my feelings and ended up overreacting.
"Heh…?"
"You like me, right?"
It would have been weirder if I hadn't noticed. I always smiled stupidly around him, but I hoped he wouldn't notice. Turns out, Taehyung knew everything from the start. I was just an ordinary girl in his eyes. That reality really upset me. I really wanted to be someone special to him; that was my desire at the time.
"What do you mean? I don't like you. You always pretend to be mature. You're so fake."
After she said that, Taehyung stopped coming to our house, and I didn't go to his house anymore. Taehyung seemed very surprised by what I said, but it also made me angry. Did he think all girls would like him? I didn't want to be that obvious in his eyes. We got a little awkward after that.
"Congratulations on your graduation."
"Yes thank you."
Time flew by so fast, and I finally graduated from elementary school. Taehyung's appearance in his middle school uniform at the graduation ceremony was so cool. I went to a high school quite far away, and our family decided to move. After the graduation ceremony, we ate together and said our final goodbyes. Although we lived close by, we weren't that close, and I thought we wouldn't see each other again after I moved.
"I hope you are doing well there. Don't forget me."
"Yeah… you too."
"You still don't want to call me oppa? It seems like I've never been called oppa since then."
"Yes, that's embarrassing."
"..."
The silence continued. I felt like if I didn't speak now, I might never see him again, but I couldn't open my mouth.
"You really don't hate me, do you?"
As I tried to turn around, Taehyung asked me. My heart felt heavy. Did he still remember what I said back then?
I turned around and answered.
"Yes, I never hated you."
Taehyung smiled bitterly. I still didn't know what that smile meant.
Anyway, we just went our separate ways, and apart from hearing from our parents, we never contacted or saw each other again.
Five years passed like that.
"Holy crap, I'm so late!"
"So whoever told you to sleep too long, come on, run quickly."
On May 15th, the class president told me to come by 8 o'clock for the Teacher's Day event. Even though I had set five alarms the night before, I didn't hear any of them and fell asleep. I just put on my gym clothes and hurriedly ran out the door.
"...??????"
I saw a man's face that was very familiar, but also foreign.
Where have I seen this before? So familiar...
"Hey, Yeoju, it's been a long time, huh?"
As I remembered, Taehyung approached me and greeted me with a smile. Was that really the Taehyung I knew? He wasn't this big back then, was he? I rolled my eyes, trying to think, and then Taehyung opened his mouth again.
"I miss you."
After hearing his voice again, I was sure. It was really Taehyung, the old Taehyung.
I finally met my first and last love, Kim Taehyung, at my doorstep after five years, and I was so surprised.