There's a new kid in class.

His name is Hongbin.

He sits behind me in the class, and is very quiet. He wouldn't speak unless the teacher called on him. Apparently he transferred here this season, but I never heard of someone coming here in the spring.

Whenever I would turn around to talk to him (like the teacher told us to!), he wouldn't say anything. And I don't know why. I caught a peek at his test score and he gets better grades than me, so why does he make me do all the work!?

Oh, and he lives next door to me. Not like that makes much of a difference in if he talks to me. Because it kinda doesn’t.

He's also in my music class. Where he also doesn't talk. And he's got a nice voice. I know because the teacher made him sing the first day. I don't get why he keeps to himself so much.

It was a sunny day, and Jaehwan was just finishing up his vocal lessons. His parents hired someone when they discovered he had a promising voice and future, and she would come to their house every other day for private lessons. When he was watching her leave, he caught sight on Hongbin walking out with a soccer ball. He watched as he walked over to the field behind the house and started playing by himself. Jaehwan didn't think much of it, until he came back around dinner time all by himself still. And he did it again. Day after day. All by himself.

On the fifth day, Jaehwan ran out there when he saw Hongbin come out of his house.

“Need another player!?”

Hongbin blinked at him, but said, “Sure.”

We played until sundown. He was really good. I wasn't as good at him, but I tried my best to give him a challenge. We set up branches as the goal posts. It wasn't the best, but it worked.

Everyday he went out there, I went out with him. I like to think I got better, but he at least got more talkative. I learned he moved here from near Korea University, where he wants to go study. Of course he would want to get into one of the SKY. I told him he was smart enough. He asked me how I knew. I tried to play dumb and just said he looked smart, and changed the topic to how he should talk more. Like singing, his voice was very nice to listen to. Of course I didn't say that part aloud.

We came close in the spring, and then it became summer.