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In the Backyard...
"You're the prince and I'm your princess"
She gently lifted his small hand, fishing through the oversized coat he was wearing and dropped the tiny ring in his hand. He looked at the small plastic ring, a purple gem set in the middle of white plastic. He was in awe of how beautiful it looked.
"Okay, now you put it on this finger" She pointed to the fourth finger on her right hand and he obliged.
"Dum Dum Da Dum...Dum Dum Da Dum" she quickly started humming and began to walk away from him very slowly, her mother's long white dress dragging behind her.
"Mi Young! I think you did it all wrong. Aren't you suppose to walk first then put the ring on?" he piped.
"Shut up Young Bae. This is the right way, we get married and then I walk away to the music..."
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"Young Bae!...Young Bae?" rose the loud but gentle voice from the bottom of the steps. He was suddenly brought back from his revere realizing he had drifted off in thought for quite some time.
"Young Bae! Let's hurry, we don't want to keep her waiting" replied his mother as she walked away from the staircase, the step of each heel bringing him back to reality faster.
"Yes, we can't let her wait" replied the tiny voice in his head.
Listening to the voice, he slowly put the plastic ring in his pocket and slipped the box in the closet again. Quickly, he turned to face the mirror. Dressed in a black suit custom made to his frame, he looked quite the dashing young man. He knew she would be impressed when she'd see him. Locking his jaw and tugging on his tie once more turned and heading down the stairs.
"How are you feeling Bae?" inquired the deep voice from his right.
TOP.
"Tell him how you feel...tell him the truth" urged the tiny voice again.
"I feel fine hyung. Fine" he replied, reassuring himself and the little voice.
"Good" he replied, squeezing his shoulder to mean what he said like the others do.
"Alright boys, let's get in the car. Young Bae, you go with Ji Young & TOP" said his mother, pushing the boys out the door, his mother giving him a more gentle push.
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"C'mon Bae, we're gonna be late!" screeched Mi Young from the front door. She rushed in, her hair in a poof and her gown just as poufy. She looked like she'd just run a marathon.
"Mi Young, calm down" he replied, as he proceeded to walk down the stairs. His mother was standing at the foot of the stairs watching as he walked down. She was clad in an apron and taking photos to make up for 10 paparazzi's.
"Geeze Bae, shouldn't it be the other way around? Shouldn't I be the one walking down the stairs in my prom dress while you should be waiting at the door steps for me. Instead, I rush here like a mad woman only to see you're not even ready" she huffed, blowing at a piece of hair in front of her face.
He reached the bottom of the stairs and went to her. He tucked the loose strand of hair behind her ear and realized how beautiful she really looked tonight.
"You look beautiful" he replied.
"Bae, seriously I'm gonna gag. I'm only going to this thing cause you want too. You know me, I think prom is SO -
"- overrated" he finished, chuckling. He'd forced her to come with him because he'd thought it would be a good experience for the both of them. Also, it helped get the girls off his back.
"Aw, don't you two look so cute!" gushed his mother, while she snapped more shots of them. He looked at Mi Young, his best friend for 15 years, and saw how much she was smiling for his mother. It was then he'd realized how much he loved her.
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They were on the highway.
Cars sped past them in a hurry as he rested his head against the cool glass window, his breathing becoming more steady with each breathe. Ji Young and TOP were talking in hushed voices in the front, slight syllables raised an octave here and there.
Uninterested, he puffed a breath of cold air on the window and closed his eyes, remembering the warmth he'd found that first winter, when his life truly began.
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"Hi, my name is Mi Young" replied the tiny voice from behind him.
He quickly wiped his tears with his mitts and turned around to face the little girl who had intruded.
"Wha..What are you doing in my backyard?" he replied, his voice wavering.
"Are you crying?"she asked, approaching him. The snow crunched under her small feet as she went to him.
"What are you doing in my backyard?" he asked again.
"I'm Mi Young, I live there now" she pointed to the house over the fence. She settled down beside him.
"Oh, my name is Young Bae" he replied, looking down at the ground again.
"Why are you crying?" she repeated. Concern and curiosity on her face. Somehow he felt comfort in her presence despite knowing her for only a minute.
"My...My Appa...He..he...died." he trailed, tears emerging again, "he was my best friend...my appa"
"It's okay" she put an arm around his shoulder and he leaned into the small arms...arms of an angel. His angel.
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"Bae...Bae!"
He awoke to the voice in his ear.
Ji Young.
"Bae, you fell asleep. We're here, let's go" he said as he got out of the car.
His breathe was unsteady again. He didn't want to get out but he knew he had to. He fingered the little ring in his pocket and took a deep breathe.
"Control...do not lose control" added the tiny voice.
No, he was under control. He opened the door and got out. Standing straight, he fixed his coat.
"Let's go" said TOP, giving him a slight push from behind. They entered the hall, rows of beautiful roses lining the path they walked. He spotted her father a ways ahead.
His breathing became shallow as he tried to regain control. Stop it' he told himself, but it was no use, he was spiralling back inwards.
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"That was fun" she replied as they approached their houses.
"I told you, prom isn't all that bad" he replied as they came to a stop in front of his house.
"Thanks Bae. Tonight was really...special" she smiled and he noted the twinkle in her eyes. This was it, it was now or never.
"Come" he whispered, gently grabbing her hand and pulling him through the fence door that separated their houses. They were in the backyard, the place they had first met. The moon was shining brightly tonight and illuminated a single spot in the yard. He pulled her into it.
"Bae, what are you doing" she whispered, turning away, but he pulled harder on her hand and into an embrace. Gently, he pushed her hair aside and whispered into her ear...
"Mi Young. We've known each other for 15 years. You're my best friend, my other half. If there was anyone in the world who knew me better than myself, it's you. I wasn't sure whether to say this, but life is too short and I don't want to live with regrets. Mi Young, I love you...I didn't know when or how it happened but...but...I'm in love with you. And I've been in love with you since the day we met...I love you, Mi Young.
Gently, he pulled apart, and saw the tears falling from her eyes. He raised her right hand and pulled the plastic ring from their childhood from his pocket. It was too small now for the right finger so he slipped it on her pinky.
" We'll save that finger for the real thing" he replied, smiling. She laughed with tears streaming down her face.
He wiped them away and smiled. Slowly, he pulled her face towards his and pressed his cool lips against her...she complied without resistance.
That night, the world stopped turning.
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"Bae! C'mon, keep moving" urged Ji Young, attempting to push him forward. Everything moved in slow motion, the people, the flowers, his breathe...the time...It was as if he was caught in a sandglass. He wanted to run, but he was stuck running in a timeless loop...
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"Mi Young! Mi Young stop!" he yelled, running across his lawn.
She was almost to her door when she stopped to look at him. Her look was cold, distant...far.
"Mi Young, what is going on?" he asked, reaching for her. She jerked away, almost disgusted.
"Nothing, leave me alone" she replied, turning away again. He quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her through the fenced door. They were at the beginning of time once again.
"I'll leave you alone if you tell me why you've been avoiding me" he replied. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared hard at her. She looked away and down at her hands.
"Okay fine...Bae...I, I can't do this anymore. Let's break up" she replied. She suddenly looked up, determination in her eyes.
"W..What? Why? I thought we were good" he was shocked, something wasn't right, "You're lying to me..."
He pulled on her arms but she jerked away, "No, I'm not. I want to break up. I...I don't feel the same way for you anymore. I'm tired of this...this friendship. It's boring" she finished. She pulled out the plastic ring from her pocket and through it at him. It settled on the grass between them.
"Take that, we're finished"
"Please, don't do this" he dropped down to his knees and picked up the ring, he looked up at her "I...I can't live with you...you know that" he replied, tears springing to his eyes.
"Well, you're going to have to learn how to" she replied, turning away and walking out of the backyard.
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He gently dropped to his knees.
The floor was smooth and cold. He liked cold...so did Mi Young.
He could hear the wailing of her mother nearby, the angry tears aimed at God, wherever he was. People shuffled around her picture. He wanted to scream at them. Tell them to move away, they were blocked his view.
"Bae? Sweetie, say something" urged his mother from his side. She dabbed a handkerchief at her eyes. He wanted to ask why. Don't cry for the living, he wanted to yell.
"You want to cry, right?" asked the tiny voice.
No.
No tears.
Not for Mi Young.
She was waiting for him, in the backyard. Like she promised to always...
Why would he cry for the living?
"Bae, c'mon get up" she gently lifted his arm and he got up. They moved closer to the picture at the front of her room. It was her graduation picture, he remembered how much she had fussed over the bad haircut she'd gotten the day before. He still thought she looked beautiful. He traced her image with his finger.
"Young Bae"
He turned around to the voice behind him...
"Thank you for coming. I know this must be very hard for you..." replied her father, his hands shaking, he pulled out an envelope from his pocket "Here, she wanted me to give this to you after she...after she passed away"
"Let's go Bae" his mother pulled on him, as he took hold of the letter...
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"You go inside mom, I'll be right in" he replied, getting out of their car.
He walked across the lawn and slipped into their backyard. Settling himself into the swing that was much too small, he pulled out the letter from his pocket.
He didn't want to read it.
Didn't want to admit it.
Mi Young was going to come running through the gate any time now...
He ripped the envelope and pulled out the sheet of paper.
Dear Young Bae,
I guess you know everything by now. I hope you're not too mad? Please don't be angry with me. It was the only way I could save you...and save myself. I was selfish and mean and I hurt you. I know I did. But I know the truth would have hurt you even more...please, forgive me.
Thank you, Bae, for being my best friend, my soulmate and my first love. You said you loved me the day you met me. I loved you even before that when I had first spotted you in your backyard from my bedroom window. Your beautiful smile lit up my heart and I knew at the age of 5, that you were my prince, the one who'd save me, my knight in shining armour. And you did, you gave me a more beautiful childhood then I could ask for and even showed me what it was to fall in love. I thought it was okay, for me to love you. I thought God was finally giving me the chance, but I was wrong. The cancer came back and I knew that this was it. I couldn't tell you, how could I? You were so in love, so was I. No, I couldn't give you the pain. So I held it in, I'm so sorry.
I'm gone now. Gone to a better place without the pain, without the doctors and chemo and everything else, but I know heaven is nothing without you. Live your life to the fullest, fall in love again, do everything your heart desires and when you get tired, live my share of life that was snatched from me. Be happy and I'll always be waiting for you...in the backyard.
Mi Young.
Slowly he folded the paper up and put it in his pocket. He pulled out the plastic ring and held it in the palm of his hand. A strong breeze blew past him and tossed the ring into the grass. Quickly, he went for it and bent to pick it up. Standing up, he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. He turned around and smiled. She smiled back at him, her long black hair shimmering in the noon sun. Gently, he took her hand and slipped the ring on, it was a perfect fit...
And they stood there for eternity...in the backyard.
Cricket
Anupamaa
Health and Fitness
