ONE YEAR LATER

Dong Gun became extremely busy with a new series when he came back to Korea. The series required him to travel to different nearby countries like Thailand, Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong. Needless to say, he didn't have time to come back to the Philippines to see Tami again. Even his communication with Jung Wha was cut off when she went back to the United States to study fashion design.

Tami also became busy with her jobs. She continued to be a freelance photographer, covering events such as weddings, debuts, fashion shows, and establishment openings. Aside from that, she and Malyn put up a small business that catered to young men and women who are addicted to unique fashion accessoriies. Tami and Malyn went on a sale "test drive" on replicas of Tami's brass key pendant, and it clicked. In no time, their shop was known for selling antique-looking key pendants and other accessories.

From time to time, Tami would remember Dong Gun and miss him, and the only thing she could do was hold the brass key she wore around her neck. If only in her memory, she could be with him, she thought.



"Annio. There is nothing you could possibly say or do to make me change my mind. Thank you very much for everything, but now, I would like to play this role..." Dong Gun said with a smile and stood up to leave the table. He bowed to his manager and walked away.

"Dong Gun-shi!" He turned around. "What are you going to do now?" his manager asked.

Dong Gun thought for a moment and smiled, "I'm going to fly a kite."



Tami was preparing to go to Malyn's shop that day to bring a new stock of key pendants when Jammi walked up to her and pulled her sleeve.

"Ate... samahan mo naman ako sa kite-flying contest namin sa CCP."

Tami looked at Jammi, "Ha? Kailan?"

"Ngayon."

"Ano? Naku... eh paano ba 'to, may lakad ako," Tami said. She looked at him and creased his hair playfully, "Jams, next time na lang, ha? Importante kasi eh."

Jammi nodded, "Okay."

Tami continued preparing her things, but was bothered when she saw Jammi fixing his kite alone. She sighed and walked up to Jammi. "Halika na nga," she told him, "Akin na. Ako na mag-aayos niyan. Tatawagan ko na lang si Malyn para siya na lang mag-pick up ng mga pendant dito."

"Talaga Ate, sasamahan mo ako?"

Tami rolled her eyes, "Ano pa nga ba?"

"Yehey!" he exclaimed and hugged Tami, "I love you Ate!"



"O, mag-register ka muna doon," Tami told her brother when got to the Cultural Center of the Philippines grounds for the kite-flying contest. Jammi ran to the registration booth while Tami stood at the entrance.

"Ma'am," a tall guy who wore an ID of the kite-flying contest committee walked up to her. "Good afternoon, my name is Tony."

Tami smiled at her, "Yes, Tony, what can I do for you?"

"I'd like to ask if you are Miss Tami Fajardo..."

"Yes, I am," Tami answered and figured somebody in the crowd knew her as a photographer. "Why?"

Tony held out a big package for her. It was covered in brown paper, and looked like it was bigger than Jammi. "Somebody wanted to give this to you. It's a gift, Ma'am."

"Who'd give this to me? I can't---"

"Don't worry, Ma'am. We've already had it checked out by security. It's only a kite.”

At that moment Jammi ran to Tami and saw the big package she was holding in her arms. "Wow, ate! Ano yan?"

She looked at Tami, "Ah, ito? Saranggola."

Jammi's eyes glowed, "Saranggola!? Ang laki!!! Yan na lang paliliparin ko, ate!"

"Ha? Ah... o sige," she told Jammi and gave him the kite. Jammi went inside the kite-flying area and excitedly opened the package. Tami faced Tony, "Thank you."

"Wala pong anuman, Ma'am. Sige po. Good luck po sa inyo," Tony said and turned around.

"Ah Tony... si-sinong nagbigay nung saranggola?" Tami asked.

Tony looked at her, "Ma'am, sabi niya kabigan niya raw po kayo."

Tami wondered who could possibly give her a kite, and who would know where she was at that exact moment. Maybe it was Kyle, but no, she thought. Kyle didn't know she was going to the kitefest, and neither did she. Her being there was a spur of the moment thing. She got lost in her thoughts and was surprised to hear Jammi calling her.

"ATE!!! ATE!!! TINGNAN MO YUNG SARANGGOLA KO!"

As if waking from a trance, Tami jumped back into reality again and looked at Jammi. Following the string that Jammi held in his hand, she looked up and saw a magnificent white kite that looked from afar like an angel spreading out its wings. As the wind blew harder, she noticed that a smaller part of the kite was unfolding slowly, like it was growing a tail.

As the tail grew longer, she noticed something written on it, and she couldn't believe her eyes. The words were in Korean, and they said: Sarang hae.

She looked around like a lost little child looking for her parents in a park. Her chest was brimming with anticipation, and her eyes were welling up with tears.

"You think you're the only one who could write something on a kite?"

Quickly, she turned around, following the voice she heard and saw Dong Gun walking towards her. As soon as he came near her, he handed her a white handkerchief.

She looked at the handkerchief and took it from Dong Gun, but before she could wipe her tears away with it, Dong Gun reached out, held her face and wiped her tears with his hands. "God, I've wanted so much to do that," he said.

"Dong Gun-shi? What are you doing here?" Tami asked.

"You were right," he said. "If you want to fly a kite, it has to be at the right time, at the right place, and with the right circumstances."

"I've tried so many times to find you, but I failed. I figured it was Fate's way of telling me that it wasn't the right time yet. But today... today is the perfect day to fly a kite." He held her shoulders, "You haven't cut the strings just yet, have you?"

Tami shook her head, "You're not supposed to be here," she said and looked around to see if there were press people around. Fortunately, the people around were very busy with the event that they seemed oblivious to Dong Gun's presence.

Dong Gun hushed her, "Please, Tami. Don't turn your back on me. I've left my world to be with you."

"You what?" Tami asked, disbelieving.

"I'm tired of playing roles, Tami. This time, I want it to be real." Dong Gun held her arms, "I want to ride bikes, dance in the rain, cook adobo, sing while no one is looking... and most importantly, fly a kite with you."

Tami cried. She was trembling all over and Dong Gun felt it. He pulled her closer and hugged her tightly. Tears fell down his face too, as he kissed her hair gently and whispered into her ear, "Mahal kita."

Surprised, Tami pulled away and look into Dong Gun's eyes. He leaned forward and kissed her lips sofly, passionately, and at that moment he felt like he owned the whole world. He held her face again after the kiss, "Don't faint..." he told her.

Tami smiled and shook her head, disbelieving everything that had just happened. Dong Gun looked over at Jammi and gave him a thumbs-up. Tami saw this gesture, "What was that for?"

Dong Gun shrugged, "Let's just say I had a little help from an angel who adores his sister very much."

Touched by his words, she embraced him again, "Sarang hae, Dong Gun-shi," she whispered. "Sarang hae."



"Ikaw ang siyang pag-ibig ko, asahan mo ang katapatan ko. Kahit ang puso ko'y nalulumbay, mananatiling ikaw pa rin..."

Jammi pulled Dong Gun's sleeve, and he bent down to hear what Jammi had to say. "Kuya Lee, do you think my Ate is pretty?" he whispered. It was Patrick and Alice's church wedding, and Tami was assigned to sing their wedding song.

Dong Gun smiled and looked at Tami who was wearing a heavenly white dress, standing at the side of the altar, singing. The rays of the bright afternoon sun glowed through the stained glass window of the church and illuminated Tami's face.

"No..." Dong Gun told Jammi. "I think she's beautiful."



Tami was the last person out of the church, and she found Dong Gun standing by the main door, waiting for her. She smiled at him when he turned around, "Let's go?" she asked.

He just looked at her from head to toe, smiling. "What? Why are you looking at me funny?" Tami asked.

After a few seconds, Dong Gun turned his back against her, "Come on. Ride my back."

"What?"

"Come on!"

"Dong Gun-shi! I'm wearing a dress!"

Dong Gun turned to her and grabbed her, letting her ride on his back. "Dong Gun-shi!!!" she wailed as he walked outside the church. "Put me down!"

"Keep still, Tami..." Dong Gun said and continued walking. "Don't you know that I've been wanting to do this with you while we were still in Seoul?"

Tami stopped wailing and flailing her arms as Dong Gun walked. "Do you miss Seoul?”" she asked.

"I won't lie. Yes, I do miss Seoul. I miss my house," Dong Gun replied, which made Tami sad that he had given up all of his conveniences for her. "But the house became nothing more than an empty space when you left."

"Dong Gun-shi... I just... I don't think you should've ---"

"Shhh..." Dong Gun hushed her, "Stop talking and look at the sky." Like a child being instructed by an elder, she was swayed. She looked at the sky and saw the horizon, beautifully lit by the setting sun. "No one can tell if the sun is still going to rise tomorrow, or if the clouds are going to hide its light from us. No one can tell if the next rainfall will be the last, or if it will flood us apart."

"Be that as it may, I want to spend every tomorrow with you... so I don't have to worry if it will be the last. As early as now, I want to tell you that I won't regret anything that I've ever done --- especially the ones I did while I was thinking of you --- because somebody told me once, that you should never regret loving anyone."

Tami remembered what she told Dong Gun in Seoul last Christmas: "You never regret loving anyone, ajushi. You shouldn't be sorry for loving, because love the best gift you could give anyone... regardless of whether he or she chooses to receive it or not."

Dong Gun continued, "Because love is the best gift you could give anyone..."

"Regardless of whether he or she chooses to receive it or not," Tami finished, and put her arms around Dong Gun. She leaned her head on her back as tears flowed from her eyes once again.

Dong Gun felt her tears on his shirt, "Are you crying?" he asked.

Tami just nodded as her eyes looked at the sky, "Thank you, God. Thank you very much," she said in her heart as a prayer. "Thank you."

Dong Gun smiled. "You shouldn't," he said. His eyes welled up with tears also, and as he continued walking, holding Tami securely behind him, he remembered Dana. "I've found her, Dana. And I promise I will be the only light that will brighten her cloudy eyes..."

The End.
May 31, 2005