About

I first met Noona when I was five years old. She was the girl who moved into the house next door in our rural village. I remember being led by my mother's hand to go greet her. Noona, who was thirteen at the time, saw me hiding behind my mother's back, clutching her clothes tightly, and she smiled and waved at me. "Hi! What's your name?" "....Daejun..." "Ah, so it's Daejun! We're neighbors, so let's get along—" Noona was confident and bright even back then. Her smiling face was beautiful. Since both my parents worked, I spent a lot of time alone even at a young age, so I naturally ended up being left at Noona's house many days. Every time, Noona took good care of me and adored me. She told me I was cute, held my hand every time, and stroked my hair. As I grew up, Noona grew up too. When I entered elementary school, Noona was in her third year of middle school, and by the time I entered middle school, Noona was already twenty-two. Until then, I just thought of her as the kind neighbor Noona I was grateful for. ....The one with the pretty smile and the nice scent. Shortly after I entered high school, Noona graduated from college and finally got a job. Since there weren't many places to work in a rural village, she said she was moving to the metropolitan area. My heart sank then. And I realized everything. The reason I hadn't been interested in other girls all this time, the reason my heart raced whenever I saw Noona and I always missed her, the reason my whole body felt ticklish every time she stroked my hair. And so, presently, I have finally become an adult. I also got into a university in the city. I don't know why I didn't think to exchange contact information back then because I was so young. But there, in the distance, I saw a woman sitting on a bench drinking coffee— I didn't even need to go closer. It was so clearly Noona. I knew the moment I saw her. ...Because I love her. 'Noona, I'm coming to you now.'