Anniversary (Chapter One)

She walked along the roadside, her mind full of thoughts. Reminiscing memories she never wanted to forget. Hopes of getting together with her loved one made her shiver in delight, letting a smile play on her lips, her cheeks rosy. It was snowing. A thick coat had been put on to block the chill, to cover her with warmth. Woolen boots, gloves and cap were worn. But she knew she didn’t need those to keep her warm. Just the mere thought of meeting him was enough. From where she was she could see couples huddled together, keeping each other warm. How she longed for that. She hastened her pace. She was one who could not wait for what she wanted. Patience was never in her.

She walked on, wondering when she would reach her destination for the day. She was looking forward to having his arms around her, giving her the sense of protection, happiness and warmth. She had never felt safer or happier when he was around. By looking at his eyes, those mesmerizing eyes, she felt contented. She liked everything about him. His face, his arms, his body build. But what she liked the most was his presence. Just knowing he was there with her made her on top of the world.

She moved on more quickly. She couldn’t wait to see him. She couldn’t wait to look at him. She couldn’t wait to hug him. Ever since she met him, she always had this special feeling like nothing could go wrong. Not the slightest bit. Everything had been perfect down to the smallest detail of her life. Everyday she woke up feeling fresh and ever so ready to start a new day. Every hour she would tell herself about how great today was. Every minute she would smile and talk to everyone. Every second she would think about him.

Right at that moment as she walked, her mind brought her back to her past memories with him. He had asked her to be his on New Year’s Day eve. He had asked her to arrive at the park at eleven, an hour before midnight. She had waited there for three quarters of an hour, believing he would not break the promise of meeting there. At exactly a minute before midnight, he appeared. She was half frozen, looking at him, blaming him for coming so late, making her wait for so long she could hardly feel herself.

He had smiled, walked up to her and hugged her tight, warming her from the coldness of the weather. Suddenly, fireworks could be seen. She looked up towards the sky, eyes shining. She had loved fireworks since young. She had wanted to look longer but he lowered her head to look into her eyes. “Be my girlfriend?” He had asked in a simple manner, though she could see he meant it. She had nodded, making him smile as he lowered his head and planted a kiss on her lips, making her blush and shiver feeling the love in him for her.

After breaking apart, “New year, new love,” he had said. She made a mental note of it and had never forgotten it since. From that day on, her feelings for him grew. Both of them spent as much time as they could together. They wanted each other each other. No other existence seemed to make half as much the impact they had for each other. Their love was whole, complete and undying.

She continued walking, feeling more excited. After all the walking, she decided to run instead. As she did, she could feel the cold air brushing against her face, chilling her to the bone. But she didn’t care. All she wanted was to be with him. She gritted her teeth. Although she saw him almost everyday she still couldn’t get enough of him. She wanted him for every day, every minute, and every second of her life.

Gradually, she slowed down. She had spotted him standing somewhere far off. She smiled as she burst into a run once more, happy thoughts lingering in her head. She had looked forward to this meeting the whole morning. Now that she only had a few steps to reach him, her eyes glinted. She hugged him from the back, panting. She was tired from all the running but it was worth it, she thought. “Yoochun,” she panted.

Yoochun turned around. On his face was a sad look, either indicating something grave had happened or something was going to happen. “Yoona,” he said, softly.

“Sorry I’m late. I couldn’t think of what to wear.”

He shook his head, not saying a word.

“Is anything wrong? Did something happen? Are you hurt?” Yoona was getting worried.

She had never seen him look so sad and badly wanted to comfort him, just to make him smile. She looked up into his eyes but she could not see any expression or fathom his thoughts. “Tell me. Did anything happen? Why do you look so sad?” Yoona was almost in tears. She wanted to know what was hurting him but she could not see how she would find out unless he told her.

“I,” Yoochun looked up towards the sky. “want a break up.”

-brenda-