Oppa. She always hesitated to use that word. The intention was too confusing, she thought. How was he supposed to know if she meant “oppa” as in “older brother” or “oppa” as a term of respect for an older guy she knew… or “oppa” as in “honey…” “darling…” “sweetheart?”247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmkuVxDnvx6
copyright protection243ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2t9P7yjLHT
It was unfair for a word to have so many meanings. Okay, maybe it wasn’t the only word in any language to have such nuances, but it was one word whose meaning should be absolutely clear and without question.247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNCuV6lJAV7
copyright protection243ＰＥＮＡＮＡxxbAD3s6WZ
He started walking to school and back home with her everyday. It wasn’t planned. He lived two floors above her. She had hurried out of her apartment one day, shouting exasperated agreements at whatever her mother was saying, only to come face-to-face with him on the stairs. That was when it started.247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEW2qOC5NUW
copyright protection243ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsllq1Yr6y
She would walk beside him, listening to him speak, trying to think of the right things to say. Her clammy fingers would find their way to the skirt of her school uniform and clutch at the fabric. She’d wipe her hands as subtly as she could, just in case he one day decided to hold her hand. She always wondered if he would have noticed her if they didn’t live in the same building.247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCgh6cOJzkh
copyright protection243ＰＥＮＡＮＡI82SX9qgV7
All the while, her mouth would rebel against her efforts to call him oppa. Honey. That was what she meant, and she wanted so much for him to know. How was it so easy for the other girls to call the boys oppa? They didn’t waste any effort doing it. She was the only one who seemed to have something broken inside her.247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG8Ta40vOBr
copyright protection243ＰＥＮＡＮＡasEm3hqwom
In a fit of desperation, she took to listening to Girl’s Generation’s Oh! on repeat. “Oppa, oppa, I’ll be down, down, down, down,” she sang with them. Maybe if she said it over and over, it would be easier to finally say it when it counted.247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfoXGczLZu
copyright protection243ＰＥＮＡＮＡwfPRAgSzHY
And it seemed to work.247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBL0IYPrxa
copyright protection243ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8p6ah4kHlg
For the first time, she responded to his question with, “Yes, oppa.”247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIejConCUbd
copyright protection243ＰＥＮＡＮＡPvItRMLij9
Her heart ballooned in her chest, sweet spring air that smelled of cherry blossoms filling her lungs. This was her confession. He had to finally know how she felt about him.247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6tJ49WEVV
copyright protection243ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPptG0Jzzq
He patted her head as though she were a child—or a puppy.247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ExUEfSuHq
copyright protection243ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHQES7IdP3
“I’m so glad you’re finally calling me oppa,” he said. “I think of you as a little sister too.”247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEqEX23lFXw
copyright protection243ＰＥＮＡＮＡtFzc8rYUJi
Oppa. She could imagine the deceptively innocent word pointing and laughing at her.247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSjDm3IvZmr
copyright protection243ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4n7uROuAn3
Boy, did she hate it.247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVv5tqKJieq
copyright protection243ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1VLRzEZiRO
