Wishes

7. Choi Young-ro

"Choi Young-ro's birth was a miracle."

Her parents had nurtured her with that phrase, treating her preciously as a cherished gift ever since she was little. She was blessed with a happy family who never hesitated to put her over their own well-being and for that she would always be eternally grateful. Yet, inexplicably, she suffered from episodes of severe melancholy–random bouts of tears and heartache–symptoms that no doctor could diagnose.

When she was five, her father had retrieved his old cassette player from the basement and she had burst into uncontrollable sobbing. At age seven, her parents bought her a bicycle which was met with relentless tears. Her parents were helpless to her condition and no matter what comfort they gave, she was completely inconsolable.

There was something wrong with her, she knew that much, but just like everyone else, she was ignorant of the answers. Her father had joked it had something to do with her past life. She had considered it for a moment, but it only confused her further so she had locked that thought away in her mind.

Though, the resilient child that she was, she decided that she would use such feelings to her advantage, so from a young age she knew she would become an actress. Despite her young age, she was drawn to tragedy–declaring that she and Juliet Capulet were one and the same at the age of eleven. By high school, she honed her talent and was accepted into her dream school–a prestigious performing arts university.

It was years of moving through the motions until she turned twenty and met him.

Walking to the convenience store one day she spotted a handsome man idling by his window pane. What caught her eye was his pensive face, eyeing the road helplessly, and she found herself slowing down, watching him with great interest. His arm rose and he launched a paper airplane out his window. It landed on a wire fence across the street, which had been littered with multitudes of folded paper. He sighed and went back inside his room.

The next day she was at the bus stop and spotted him tending to the convenience store. Again, the same distant expression, tinged with sadness. For some reason, she felt a strange connection with him. She wants to be closer to him, to make him smile. The handsome man who sends planes out his window. Who always buys melon milk from the convenience store. Who always looks sad, without explanation.

So she launched her plane and watched surprise color his face for the first time.

She knew he was gentle and kind from his first few messages alone. While he was older than her, he seemed to carry a maturity that surpassed any person his age. From afar, his calmness soothed her and seemed to wipe away any trace of heartache that randomly sieged her body. The spells had ceased with his letters and with this knowledge, his words were not enough. She wanted to know more about this man who intrigued her from first sight, who cured the ills unable to be treated by any doctor she had ever met.

So, she recommended him to the Rome Cafe and felt giddy as she watched him carry a guitar case around town, especially knowing she was the cause of his behavior. A boy had never quite captured her attention like this before and it embarrassed her that she dreamt of him without having met him face to face. It was so strange–the dreams had felt so real and she could not believe her mind created such scenes in her sleep.

Briefly, she remembered an old-timey building. Swarms of people in outfits from the eighties. Soo-ho in his best suit, her in a pink one-piece dress. In the fairytale of her mind, they danced in the ballroom. The record shop. The Rome Cafe. Her heart was thumping as he lifted her in the air. When she woke up, she walked through her day, the dance still pictured vividly in her head.

Another dream. She recalled a dusty attic. A gothic window lined with intricate tracery. The smell of coffee. And then he kissed her. The next day she could not think of anything else and her blush had convinced her parents that she was harboring a secret crush, an admirer.