"Happy birthday!"I exclaimed, throwing over her the confetti.
Her soft lips formed a perfect O. I chuckled. It was just like I expected. Good thing I thought about this surprise party.
"Oh, Seung Ho! They are beautiful!"she continued as she opened the pink box. "I love them!"she continued while hugging me. "But how did you get them, Seung Ho? I bet they were expensive."
I smiled, watching her excitement taking over her as she put on the ballerina shoes. "That's not a thing to be discusted. They are my gift for you."
"They are perfect! But Seung Ho...how did you get the money?"
"That's none of your concern! It's not like you turn 10 every day!"
She looked me in the eyes and smiled. A smile that could illuminate the whole world.
"Yang Seung Ho, you sure know a girls heart!"
I felt my cheeks warming up. "Stop saying foolish things, Mi Rae!"
"It's not foolish, Seung Ho. I'm sincere here. You knew that I was wishing for a pair of ballerina shoes and you got it for me. That's not something anyone would do."
"Well...I would do it again. If it's you, I'd do it over again without regreting,"I mumbled, looking down at my shoes.
"Sweet,"she giggled.
That was it. The reason I was putting on with everyday's stres. Her smile. Her gentle smile that could warm up the coldest winter. Her smile was illuminating my life. I swear it did!
~*~
I threw the rock over the muddy pool that the rain left behind after last night's storm. I was waiting for her to come out from the school.
"Boo!"
"Mi Rae! When did you get here?"I asked, trying to hide my flushed face. "You're sweaty, Mi Rae! Don't cling on me like that! You need to shower first in order to do that."
She frowned. "How was your afternoon practice class?"
"Good,"I lied. "How was your dancing class?"
"Prfect,"she answered with a spark in her blue eyes. "You know Seung Ho, the teacher said that I'm the best in the class. Can you believe it? She said that I could be a great ballerina some day."
"Show off!"I laughed, putting my arm around her shoulders. "My best friend, the clumsy Mi Rae is a great dancer, huh?"
"Meany!"she cried, pulling herself away.
"Tag!"I slaped her arm gently.
"YAH! Yang Seung Ho! You cheater! Wait for me!"she called from behind while running after me.
I looked at her, how her black, wavy hair was moving in the wind, surrounding her small face.
"Got cha! You're it!"she laughed while touching my shoulder with her palm.
I smiled. "Mi Rae, you should stop running now. You'll catch a cold because you're sweaty."
"You're just afraid that you'll lose to me,"she replied, jumping around me.
"That's not it! I'll show you,"I started running after her.
Those days filled with laughter...I wish I could bring them back...
~*~
We were in the same class. Desk mates as well.
"Seung Ho, let me copy your math homework,"she whispered after the teacher entered the class.
I shot her a glare. "Why are you always too lazy to do it?"
"I'm not lazy! I had dance practice till late in the evening. Plus, I let you copy my english homework yesterday, didn't I?"
I pushed my copybook towards her. "Yeah...whatever..."
And like the bads kids that we were, we kept talking during the Math class.
"Seung Ho, do you think your mother will let me spend the night at your place?"
I hid the note under the textbook as the teached passed by us.
"Yah, do you want us to get detention?"I whispered.
"Just answer it!"
I sighed. She and her odd ideas of comunication.
"Of course, silly! Isn't she always like that?"
She smiled widey. Pffff! Like that was some sort of expensive gift, her eyes sparkled.
Then, with her tongue between her teeth she began writing a reply.
"That's good! I was just wondering...neh Seung Ho, what should we do tonight? What game should we play?"
I shook my head. This girl!
"How about we actually read something this time? You said you want to read "Anne of Green Gables" :)"
She giggled loudly when she read the note, making the teacher shot us a warning glare.
"Seung Ho! You actully put an emoticon on that note! Ok! Let's do that then :P"
"So this is the reason you're not paying attention to my class!"exclaimed the teacher, snaching the note from my hand before I could do something to prevent it. "You two! To the principal! NOW!"
We both left the classroom laughing.
"Mi Rae, you know that this is serious,"I spoke in between laughters.
"I-I know, Seung Ho,"she gasped for air just to continue laughing.
"We're going to be grounded for this, you know."
"I know, I know. But I don't care. As long as you're with me, it's ok."
As long as I'm with you...but where am I now?
~*~
"You know Seung Ho..."
"What should I know?"I smiled, putting down my book.
"I like how Anne thinks. I think I resemble her a bit. She's stubborn and so am I. She has a boy as her best friend and so do I. But Seung Ho, I like her idea. Kindred spirits. I think that's what we are, Seung Ho."
"Kindred spirits...and what does it mean?"
"Soulmates."
Soulmates that we were. And today? What are we today, Mi Rae?
And where exactly do we stand in this gloomy present? What happened to us? Where are we, Mi Rae?
No comments:
Post a Comment