| Fan Fiction |
by likelovers
A soft knock came on the door followed by his mother. “Changmin-ah?” she said quietly.
“Yes, umma?” he diverted his attention away from his textbook.
She walked in and sat on his bed and held his hands in hers. “Let’s pack our things and leave.”
“Leave?” The first thing he thought of was Ara. How could he leave her? Sure, his living conditions were not the best, but because of her, he made it through each day with a smile.
“Umma has secretly been seeing another man, and he is not like your good-for-nothing father. He has a steady job, a steady income, and he can support a family. Changmin, we can’t keep living like this.”
“Will we still be living in near here?” he asked. Another house was fine, as long as he could keep attending the same school. He wouldn’t even mind waking up extra early just to commute.
She looked down. “We’re going to America.”
“WHAT?” he jolted upright. “America!? Umma, you can’t be serious!”
“He was here on a business trip, Changmin. He has to go back. We have to go with him.”
He knew his mother was right, and his love for her kept him from fighting back. He sighed. “I understand.”
“You’re a beautiful boy with a bright future, and I want you to grow up in the best environment you can,” his mother patted his head. “Pack your things because we’ll be leaving tomorrow. Don’t give your dad any hint we’re leaving, okay?”
He nodded obediently.
“Don’t stay up too late; you’ll ruin your eyes even more. Good night.”
He nodded again. As soon as the door closed behind her, he threw off his books and covers and packed his things. ‘Maybe if I pack fast enough, I’ll have time left over…’ he told himself. It took only one hour for him to pack due to the lack of things he owned.
With ample time left, he tiptoed out of the apartment with his backpack over his shoulder. As soon as he had successfully escaped he ran down the streets. He ran past the familiar stores and buildings he didn‘t know the names of, this route practically a muscle memory for him. He finally arrived at the gate of a two-story elegant white house. Walking up to the door, he rang the bell. He was still catching his breath when a girl with long black hair, gray-green eyes, and soft pale skin opened the door.
“Changmin? What are you doing here? Did you run all the way here? Come in before you catch a cold!” Ara said quickly, bringing him into the house.
“What’s with the backpack?” she asked.
“Ara… Ara, I’m leaving,” he said between huffs.
She stared at him for a minute. “Leaving?”
“I’m going to America tomorrow,” he finally steadied his breath.
“Oh… Really?” she said, trying to conceal her shock. “Why?”
“My mom… met another man who’s willing to accept us as his family, but he lives in America.”
With each word he said, she could feel tears creeping up. “Then… could you stay here tonight, before you leave?” she asked slowly to choke back the tears.
“That’s what I was planning to do,” he smiled.
“Let’s grab some snacks down here first. Lucky for you, my mom just came back from the market yesterday with loads of food. It’s almost like she knew you were coming,” she tried to lighten the bittersweet mood. Having known her for so long, he knew she was restraining herself from becoming emotional, but went along anyway.
Climbing the stairs with arms full of snacks, they arrived at Ara’s room. “Let’s go to the balcony,” she directed. They dumped the snacks on the spacious ledge. “I’m gonna get blankets and stuff.” She left and shortly returned with sheets, pillows, and a comforter. Changmin placed his backpack near the sliding glass door and helped spread the sheets out on the balcony. They sat cross-legged with the snacks laid out in front of them. They watched the leaves rustle in the wind and birds fly home.
“Hey, remember that time in seventh grade?” Ara began. “You were so excited when you got on the swings, saying things like, ‘I’m gonna swing higher than you! I’ll go the highest!’ and we were competing against each other?”
“Yes…” Changmin turned red from embarrassment at the memory.
“And you got so excited that you fell off and face planted in the woodchips? HAHAHA!!” Ara broke out in laughter and Changmin merely chuckled.
“Remember last year’s winter formal?” Changmin smiled.
“Oh my gosh, we had SO much fun together. I cannot even remember how much my stomach hurt from laughing and my cheeks from smiling.”
“I meant before that. When like, five guys approached you at once to ask you to the dance.”
“HAHA! That was so sad when I had to reject them all…”
“But it was worth it, right?” Changmin winked and nudged her.
“Of course, Changmin, of course.” Their laughter died down a little and fell to silence. “Hey, how come you didn’t even open a bag yet? You’re usually munching twenty-four-seven,” Ara joked.
“I dunno… I’m not really in the mood… you know?” he said solemnly.
Ara leaned over on Changmin’s shoulder as he wrapped his arm around hers. After what seemed like forever, she finally said quietly, “I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you, too.”
With those words, the tears Ara had been trying to hold back finally streaked down her cold face. “I never thought- that we’d ever- not go through all of school- together,” she hiccupped.
The last word struck Changmin, his eyes starting to glisten as well. Could he really go on without this support? The support he had been receiving since the beginning of all of his troubles? But he knew that one of them had to stay strong, and that would be him. He cradled her face in his hands and wiped her tears. Slowly, he inched towards her face and placed a soft kiss on her lips. When he pulled back, she looked at him in shock.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time,” Changmin admitted. “And I hate that I had to do that in this situation.
“I’ve seen you as more than a friend for two years now, but I never found the right time to tell you that I really love you. I regret telling you so late; I regret telling you right as I’m leaving. My life may be full of regrets, but I will never regret meeting you, or regret telling you.”
Ara was shocked at his sudden confession. “I… don’t know what to say.”
“I don’t want my feelings to ruin our-”
“No, Changmin. I don’t know what to say as in… I’ve felt the same way. On one hand, I feel like heaven has answered my prayers that you’ve returned my feelings.” She said it with a smile, but it began to falter. “But on the other, I feel like fate has played a sadistic trick to just take my happiness away just as I’ve received it.
“Changmin… what do we do?” she asked helplessly as a tear dropped.
“I wish I knew…” he whispered as he brought her into an embrace where she sobbed into his shoulder and he did his best to keep his tears from spilling.
---The next morning…
Changmin woke up to a barely new day. A hint of the sun was present as it was just beginning to rise, and he sat there, taking in the scene with Ara in his lap, arms around his neck, and still soundly sleeping. He kissed her on the forehead and carried her back in and laid her down on her bed. He pulled the covers over her and turned back to his bag. He pulled out a sheet of paper and pen and began to write a note. As soon as he finished, he placed the letter on her nightstand and quietly tiptoed out.
---A few hours later…
“Ara! Time to wake up!” her mother called.
“What…?” she got up and rubbed her eyes. She turned to her clock - 10:00 AM and her eyes widened. “Where’s Changmin!?” she jumped out of bed. She ran out to the balcony to find nothing but sheets and unopened bags of snacks. She ran back in and looked around, only to find a letter on her nightstand addressed to her in the writing of none other but Changmin:
Dear Ara,
I’m sorry I had to leave before saying goodbye. I didn’t want to wake you up, nor could I bear to say goodbye to you. Don’t think this’ll be the last you’ll hear from me. I’ll write to you as often as you respond (my address is at the bottom).
And don’t worry – I’ll come back to Korea as soon as I graduate from high school; I promise.
Love,
Changmin
Ara fell back on her bed only to cry all over again. This was it, Changmin was gone. After what seemed like an eternity she picked herself up and headed back out to the balcony.
“I’ll be waiting, Changmin,” she said looking up into the sky.
---Two years later…
Ara excitedly ran out to her mailbox and pulled out all the envelopes. “Bills, bills, advertisements, ooh, my magazine,” she tucked that under her arm, “stuff for mom, stuff for dad, LETTER FROM CHANGMIN AHH LETTER FROM CHANGMIN!” she said as she tossed all the other papers on the kitchen counter. She ran up the stairs to her bedroom and carefully pried off the flap of the envelope and pulled out the paper:
Dear Ara,
Guess what? I’m coming back soon! I got accepted into Seoul University and will be heading back to Korea! I’m so excited to see you. Have you been well since you last wrote? I know I ask this every time, but I’ll never know what happens on the other side of the world. Anyway, I’ll be back in about a week, maybe earlier, so very soon after you get this letter. I have lots of presents for you, too, ‘cause there’s so many things out here that remind me of you. Or maybe it’s just because I’m always thinking of you?
Love you,
Changmin
P.S. Would it be too much trouble for me to stay at your house for a bit before I actually begin school and get a dorm?
Ara jumped up and down on her bed and yelled out happily. “YAAAAAAAAY~!!!”
The doorbell rang and Ara’s mother called for her to get it.
“Oh, just bring me down in the middle of my revelry, why don’t you?” she pouted as she hopped off the bed and ran down the stairs to the door.
“SURPRISE!” exclaimed a voice as soon as she opened the door.
“Changmin-oppa!” she jumped into his arms. “You’re back!!” She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and squeezed him. “I missed you so much!”
“I missed you, too!” he laughed.
“Whoa,” she stepped back and took a good look. “You’re voice got lower. And you got REALLY TALL. CHANGMIN, YOU’RE LEAVING ME… DOWN HERE,” she cried out with horror.
“Then I have to come down,” he smirked as he lowered his face to her level.
“Yah, don’t make fun of me,” she pushed his face away, laughing.
He turned back at her, now with a serious face which caused her laughter to trail off. His face began to move towards hers to plant a small kiss on her lips.
He pulled Ara into his arms and rested his head on hers. “I missed you a lot.”
“Me, too.”
“I missed being able to see you, even though it was as easy as mailing a picture. I missed hearing your voice even though it was as easy as calling you-”
“Changmin…” Ara said as her eyes began to glisten.
“But what I missed most of all,” he continued. “Was being able to hold you. That could not be replaced by anything in the world.”
Those words instantly brought tears to her eyes as she held him close and buried her face in his chest. And there they stood, in a happy reunion, yet both releasing the tears of separation they held in for years.