Jan Di was running late for class. She had stayed up most of the night studying for her exam, and she had missed her alarm. As she was getting on her bike she noticed her tires were flat.

"Why?" she screamed out loud. "Of all the days you had to do this to me, you had to pick today?"

She waved her arms around in frustration. "How dare you do this! You...arrggghhh!" She yelled, panic rising through her. She could take the bus, she supposed, but it would not be coming for another 15 minutes. She turned to her bike again, narrowing her eyes. "If I miss my exam, you'll be in big trouble!"

"I don't think it's going to answer you back," a voice called out.

She turned around and saw Ji Hoo there, watching her with amusement in his eyes. She turned red, embarrassed.

"Sunbae..." she began.

"Well, hurry up," he beckoned her over. "You'll be late. You can apologize to your bike later."

She grabbed her backpack and hopped on the bike with him.

"Thank you," she whispered.

She made it to her exam with 4 minutes to spare. She heaved a sigh of relief. It amazed her how her sunbae always seemed to know when she needed his help. It was like they had an invisible connection. When they arrived at school, he handed her a bagged breakfast with some fruit, pastry and a small carton of milk.

My honorary firefighter saved the day again, she smiled.

She looked around the campus for him after her classes were over. She went to the library, the music room, even the cafeteria, but she saw no sign of him. She frowned at herself. It wasn't like him to go home right after school. He normally hung around campus either at the library or the music room.

She saw a girl in his class and decided to ask her.

"Have you seen sunbae...I mean Yoon Ji Hoo?" she asked a tall and pretty girl. She couldn't remember her name, but had seen her follow Ji Hoo around campus (though Ji Hoo seemed completely oblivious to it), so she knew that this girl would probably know where Ji Hoo was.

The girl crossed her arms. "What if I have?" The girl eyed her skeptically, but her face changed as she recognized Jan Di. "You're Gu Jun Pyo's girl, right?"

Jan Di seemed uncomfortable being called that. "I'm...Geum Jan Di. "

The girl rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I thought you were after Ji Hoo at first, because you two always look like a couple, but then I heard you're actually with Jun Pyo, so I was like, thank goodness, right?"

Jan Di was starting to regret asking this girl. "So... have you seen Ji Hoo around?"

The girl looked her up and down again. "You're just friends, right?"

Jan Di was getting frustrated. "He's my sunbae." She turned around. "If you don't know where he is, I'll find someone else to ask."

The girl ran after her as she tried to walk away. "Wait!" she called. Jan Di considered walking faster, but the girl caught up to her. Stupid slow legs, she scolded herself. She turned to face the girl, who now had a wide grin on her face.

"He went to join a few students to volunteer at a children's clinic." The girl looked at her again, an idea forming in her head. "Hey, do you think you can introduce me to him? He doesn't talk much, and I've been trying to get his attention all this time." She stared off in the distance, eyes dreamy. "He's like, so amazing, isn't he? Tall, handsome, rich, smart. Handsome. Hmm..."

Jan Di definitely was feeling uncomfortable now. "Umm...I have...to...go," she ran, getting as far away from the girl as possible.

When she was a safe distance away, she sat on a bench and tried to catch her breath.

Ji Hoo hadn't mentioned volunteering to her earlier. The thought of Ji Hoo actually volunteering to be around people (especially little people) made her smile. He'd come a long way. She looked around, making sure the girl had not followed her.

She sighed as she thought of Ji Hoo's latest admirer. She had spent so much time with Ji Hoo and was so comfortable around him she often forgot what he was. He was also an heir – he was rich AND famous. She always knew he was ridiculously good looking – the throngs of girls that followed him around were reminders enough. But she never felt their social status gap as much as she did whenever she was with Jun Pyo. With Jun Pyo, she always felt a huge chasm was between them – like he was too far out of her reach. (It didn't help that Jun Pyo was extravagant in every way). Sure, he tried to go down to 'her level' once in a while, but it made her feel uncomfortable whenever he did that.

Her sunbae, on the other hand, never made her feel that way. It was like he blended perfectly with her life, even though he was an heir to a fortune also. He never once bragged about his fortune, though. He was just sunbae to her. Just like her, he never sought attention (though it often found him anyway).

Her phone beeped. She glanced at it quickly. It was a text from Jun Pyo.

"I miss you. Hope your day is a good one."

She smiled again. Lately, they'd been reduced to text messages instead of phone calls.

She cocked her head to the side and thought.

It was Friday, and she needed a break from studying. Maybe she should go to the Porridge restaurant and play catch up with Ga Eul. She missed her friend. She looked for Ga Eul's number and hit send.

...

Christmas was fast approaching and Jan Di wouldn't have noticed it if she hadn't gone home one day and found a car with a huge red bow tied around it in front of her house. It was a gift from Jun Pyo, of course. Jan Di was a little annoyed, though. A car was a bit much. Besides, he knew she didn't have a driver's license. He wanted her to come visit him in New York but she had said no. She had called him back and insisted he take his present back. He had laughed but eventually promised he would.

As annoyed as she was, she knew she had to give him something. Money was a little tight though and she knew she couldn't afford to give presents to everyone. She thought long and hard about what to send him. Finally, she decided she was going to knit a scarf and send it to him. Having never knitted before, it was quite a challenge at first, but eventually she got the hang of it and her scarf ended up looking not too shabby. She thought of the hundreds of designer scarves that Jun Pyo probably had. But she hoped that he would wear hers at least once. She went to the post office to mail her parcel, hoping it would make it there on time. She frowned as she saw the cost to send her parcel to New York. There was no way it would make it there if she didn't send it Express, but it was way beyond her budget.

She sat sulking in front of the post office holding her parcel. With the money she had left, she could still get small presents for her family. It didn't seem practical to spend all her money on Jun Pyo, who had money (and scarves) to spare. Plus, she wanted to get something for Ga Eul and her sunbae too.

She decided to just send him a card.

"Penny for your thoughts?" a voice called out.

She smiled. She knew that voice anywhere. Ji Hoo was standing in front of her, wearing a long, white wool coat and hat.

"I just realized how poor I still am," she sighed out loud.

He looked at her and noticed the parcel on her lap. Immediately, he understood. He didn't say anything about it, though.

"Aren't you cold? It's starting to snow, " he said, concern on his face. He took his winter hat off and put it on her head, making sure to cover her ears with it.

Jan Di stood up, brushed the snow from her skirt, and nodded. "Yeah, I should probably get going."

"Do you want a ride?" he said, pointing to a car across the street.

She nodded. It would be nice to not have to walk home in this weather.

As they approached the car, a man came out and opened the door for them. "Young Master," he bowed, as they stepped into the car.

They drove home in silence, both of them staring out the window. The snow blanketed everything in white. Granted, it made things slippery too, but it was beautiful to look at.

Jan Di turned to look at Ji Hoo. He was staring outside, lost in his thoughts. She thought about what to get him for Christmas. She thought about knitting another scarf, but that didn't seem right to her.

After Ji Hoo dropped Jan Di off, he noticed that she had left her parcel in the car. He looked it over, and thought, carefully. Finally, he made a decision.

"Can you go back to the post office please," he called to his driver and his driver nodded and turned around.

...

Jan Di managed to finish most of her Christmas shopping within a week. She only had Ga Eul and Ji Hoo left. She went inside a store that sold locally handmade knickknacks and found a beautiful hair clip for Ga Eul. She looked in her wallet and frowned at how little money she had left. She wandered from store to store, still at a loss on what to get her sunbae. She HAD to get him something.

She went inside a craft store absentmindedly and walked around the aisles, not really expecting to get anything, when a painting caught her eye.

It was a painting of a white horse, running freely in the meadows. It reminded her of Rui. She looked at the price and gave a little gasp. There was no way she could afford it. Dejected, she started walking towards the exit door when she noticed the clearance bin. They had a sale on blank canvases and it was right within her budget. An idea began to form in her head. She had some painting supplies left over from an art class she took as an elective last year. She looked through the bin and found a small 8" by 10" white canvas. She almost skipped all the way home, giddy with excitement at having thought of the perfect present for her sunbae.

Jan Di spent the next several days working on Ji Hoo's present. They had Christmas break so she had no classes. Finally, she looked at it admiringly. "Not bad," she said, proudly analyzing her work. Then she thought of actually giving it to him. She felt herself blush. Maybe this was too much. What was she thinking? What if he hated it? Doubts crossed her mind. She shook it off and gathered her courage. She had never really given him anything before. Knowing her sunbae, he would love it no matter what. She carefully wrapped his present humming gleefully to herself.

She called him earlier that day and asked him where he was. He was at the Art Center so she asked him to wait for her there. Her heart hammered in her chest. She was nervous and excited to see his reaction when he opened his present. She walked in and found him sitting in front of the grand piano in the main hall. The hall was empty, as it was after hours. As soon as he saw her walk in, he began to play.

A soft, sweet melody began to travel through the air. Jan Di slowly descended the steps towards Ji Hoo, mesmerized. It was the most beautiful melody she had ever heard.

Ji Hoo's fingers danced on the keyboard. He closed his eyes now and then as he played, as he poured his heart onto playing. Jan Di listened intently, feeling an unusual sense of calm and joy as she did so. When the melody got faster she found herself wanting to dance and laugh out loud, when it went softer she found it so soothing she could have fallen asleep right then and there. Her heart became so overwhelmed with emotions as if each note was speaking directly to her.

When he finished, Jan Di was surprised to find tears running down her cheeks. She hastily wiped them away, hoping he wouldn't notice. Ji Hoo stood up, pulled out his handkerchief, and gave it to her. She shook her head.

"What's wrong?" Ji Hoo asked, concern on his face.

"Sunbae, that was..." she began, at a loss for words. "...absolutely beautiful."

At this he smiled, sheepishly. "You like it?"

She shook her head. His smile disappeared. Then she smiled at him. "I didn't just like it. I LOVED it." She stepped towards the piano. "I've never heard it before. Where did you learn that?"

He was about to answer when he noticed the beautifully wrapped parcel she was carrying. He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Jan Di blushed. She handed it over to him. "It's just a little something...for you."

"Me?" he asked again, unsure.

She tried to brush off the pounding of her heart. Why was she so nervous?

"Umm...it's nothing, really. I just thought...you know." She fidgeted with her hands. Then she looked at him and smiled. "Merry Christmas, sunbae!"

Ji Hoo was taken aback. "Should I...open it now?"

Jan Di blushed some more. "Up to you, sunbae."

Ji Hoo sat down and carefully unwrapped his present. He opened the box and took out a canvas. He stared at it, speechless. Finally, he said, "Did you...make this?"

She nodded. She couldn't tell exactly if he liked it or not, as his head was bowed, still staring at the canvas.

"Sunbae..." she began, unsure of what to say next.

Ji Hoo looked up at her. He looked as if he was about to cry.

"Thank you," was all he could say.

He turned to look at Jan Di's gift. It was a painting of him. He was smiling in the painting – and his face looked genuinely happy. She had captured his features perfectly - from his copper colored hair, to his dark brown eyes, and his gentle smile that touched his eyes.

At the bottom right side, she had signed her name simply as "GJD" and at the back she had written the name of the painting.

It was called "My Sunshine".

He remembered the time she had drawn a sketch of him many months back. It was a good sketch, but this...what he held was a work of art. He traced the outline of his face on the canvas, marveling at how lifelike it looked. It was obvious to him she had spent a lot of time making this.

Ji Hoo smiled and looked at Jan Di. She had been quietly waiting for him to say something. He took a deep breath, stood up, went to the piano, and grabbed the sheet music that he was just playing. He handed it to her.

"Merry Christmas, Miss Geum Jan Di." He said, as she took the sheets from him.

She looked at the first page of the sheet. There were over 10 pages of meticulously handwritten music notes. The title of the music read, "For Jan Di".

Jan Di stood there, speechless, her mind in shock. Her mouth kept opening and closing like a goldfish, but no words came out. She scanned the music sheets again and again, until her brain was able to process what just happened. "You...made this...for me?" She was finally able to croak out.

He just gave her a crooked grin.

"But...this must have taken you a lot of time to do! When did you even find the time to do this?"

Ji Hoo shrugged nonchalantly. "It wasn't that bad," he humbly answered.

Jan Di stared at him in amazement. He felt like he was floating on a cloud. She likes it, his heart sang.

He would never tell her that for the past three months, every free minute he had he spent on her song.

She would never know that he had written and rewritten her song many, many times until each note was perfect for her - he had made sure that every time she listened to it, she would feel joy and happiness, not pain and sadness.

She would never know any of those things, because he would never tell her.