Kyungsoo liked music, Hwamin found out. She was humming a song to herself when he suddenly appeared by her side and sat down. It was a great find for her because Kyungsoo seemed to calm whenever he heard her sing or hum, and Hwamin used it to convince him to do simple tasks like putting things back where he found them. When she music on her laptop he would sometimes relax so much that she could even touch him. After learning his name Kyungsoo seemed to start recalling certain things about the world, but only the most basic things like eating and bathing.

Hwamin started remembering some things of her own but didn’t know where the memories had come from. She remembered seeing the boy a long time ago, but she didn’t know when or where. All she knew was that he gave her a good feeling. Perhaps that was why she hadn’t tried to get rid of him.

“Mom,” Hwamin asked after dialing her mother, “did I ever know someone named Kyungsoo?” Her mother didn’t answer but Hwamin thought she could hear the sound of a gasp.

“Mom, please? I have this weird memory of a guy called Kyungsoo. Please tell me if you know what’s going on. All my life there’s been this weird void inside me and it seems to be filled when I’m..- Remembering that name.” She couldn’t tell her mother there was a stranger living alongside her in her apartment. What she’d do with him when her mother came to visit was a worry for another day.

“Oh baby.. Did he come back?” Suyeon sobbed on the other side of the phone. Come back? Had Kyungsoo been near her before? If so then why didn’t she remember it? Hwamin rubbed her temple and sighed, lying down on the floor. Kyungsoo, who heard her sigh, crawled closer from his corner and looked at her questioningly.

“I don’t understand, did he do something bad? He doesn’t seem like, I mean I don’t get a bad feeling remembering him. Who is he mom?” Kyungsoo persistently looked at her, willing her to talk to him.

“I-it’s nothing like that Hwamin.” If it was nothing then why was she sobbing? “You had a really hard time when you were about eight years old and you made up a friend. His name was Kyungsoo.” Hwamin looked over at Kyungsoo who seemed overwhelmingly real. He couldn’t possibly be an imaginary friend, there were other people who had seen him too!

“I don’t understand. How come I don’t remember any of this?” Hwamin asked. Her mother continued to sob.

“Well you had a really bad time. I sent you to a different school because I thought it would be good for you, but you hated it there. It was a terrible time for you. During that time you were very fond of Kyungsoo. I thought you’d forgotten. I’m so sorry Hwamin, it’s all my fault that happened to you.”

Kyungsoo crouched closer to her and lied down by her side, gazing at her curiously. To try and keep him quiet Hwamin moved his hand into his direction. Unlike before Kyungsoo didn’t cower away and instead carefully sniffed at her hand. Why was he being like this right now? Hwamin finally just pushed her hand against his cheek. Kyungsoo trembled but stubbornly remained where he was.

“I can’t remember. Can you tell me anything else?” She asked, trying to focus back on her phone call. Impatient and apparently feeling very clingy out of nowhere, Kyungsoo crouched closer and crawled closer, laying his head on her arm.

“No I’m afraid not. You can try and talk to your old classmates there. There was quite a ruckus when you left that school. Maybe they remember.” Suyeon suggested, “I’ll try to look for some contact information.” Kyungsoo sighed and pawed at her waist tentatively. Scared that he might say something and her mother would hear, Hwamin decided to quickly end the phone call.

“Just let me know. I have to go now mom, there’s someone at the door. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay sweetie, goodbye.” Hwamin hung up and turned to Kyungsoo who was staring at her.

“What?” She asked, reaching with her other hand to touch his nose. Realizing what was going on Kyungsoo sat up and crawled backwards. He didn’t seem as scared as he had been before but rather shy instead. Hwamin smiled and sat up, looking at him. “Do you want to eat again Kyungsoo? Are you hungry?” But Kyungsoo didn’t answer and turned back to the picture book. Hwamin smiled at him and leaned on her hands. He was quite cute in his own way.

It didn’t seem like he would be moving out of there anytime soon, so Hwamin decided that he needed clothes. The question was if she could drag him outside and make him buy clothes with her. Probably not. She could try and guess his sizes and see if she could pick out something that would fit him.

“Kyungsoo, I’m going out for a bit.” She announced and pointed at the door. Kyungsoo tilted his head as he followed her hand. Hwamin patted her chest and pointed at the door again. Kyungsoo slowly shook his head. Hwamin nodded and got up, grabbing her bag. In protest he ran over and moved in front of the door, shaking his head again.

“You can come if you want.” She offered. “you, me, going there together.” She motioned, tapping his chest lightly. Clearly that was too much for Kyungsoo who moved away from the door and stared at her, following her with his eyes as she left. She felt a little guilty about leaving him alone. The sooner she left the sooner she’d be back, Hwamin told herself.

After having been alone with him for close to a week it felt strange to suddenly not have him around. Hwamin couldn’t help but look around for him a few times as if she expected him to be sitting somewhere near her, crouched and hiding behind his knees. What kind of clothes would look good on him, she wondered. There were a lot of things that would probably look good on him. After a few minutes Hwamin decided to just pick simple, refundable things and stay as short as possible.

Three shirts, three boxers and two pairs of pants later Hwamin headed back to her apartment. When she walked into the building something felt strange. Footsteps were following her and stopped just shortly after she stopped. She opened the door to her apartment and noticed that Kyungsoo wasn’t sitting in the living room where he had been. That was strange. Maybe he was in the kitchen. Hwamin sighed and entered the apartment. Then the footsteps shuffled behind her. Kyungsoo slipped into the apartment.

“Did you follow me?” Hwamin asked him, dropping the bags to frown at him. He didn’t answer and crouched down, looking at the bags. “I bought you clothes. For wearing.” She tried to explain and opened the bag to take out the clothes. Kyungsoo looked at them and gestured to himself. Hwamin nodded.

“Try them. Look if they fit.”

Kyungsoo didn’t like trying on clothes. Under great silent protest Hwamin managed to get him to try the shirts. After determining that they looked good on him, and a lot of singing and coaxing with cookies, Kyungsoo finally took the pants and left to the bathroom. Hwamin sighed and headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner. His appetite might have been ruined by the cookies but she still needed to eat. Noodles seemed like the best option right now.

“Hungry.” It was the second word she heard Kyungsoo use. Surprised she glanced back at him, finding him behind her wearing one of his new pairs of pants. Good, they fit, she thought and beckoned him to come closer. Kyungsoo moved closer and sniffed at the food, then pointed at the cupboard where Hwamin kept the plates. He seemed to be a quick learner. Hwamin smiled and nodded. Kyungsoo picked up two plates and carried them off to the table.

Either he was picking things up fast or Kyungsoo had remembered to eat with chopsticks remarkably fast. It was probably the second one since he insisted on feeding Hwamin as she fed him. The misconception might have started when she first fed him because ever since he always insisted on mutual feeding. In a way it was cute. Kyungsoo trailed around her when she carried the food to the table. Something told her he wasn’t just hungry.