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The week that followed after the incident was kind of disastrous for all of us. Eunhyuk visited the doctor several times because of stinging pain in his ankle. In the end it was bruised too much that someone else had to replace him in the match.
The mystery around Leeteuk’s mother was solved. Leeteuk had ignored our calls the first days. On Monday morning he wasn’t in school, but later that day he called us himself with the news that his parents divorced.

- ding dong –

It didn’t take Leeteuk long to open the door.
“Sorry, for the inconvenience…” Eunhyuk started. “…how is everyone doing?”
We stood there like utter idiots as if it was just a regular day like any other.
Thankfully Leeteuk understood our awkward situation and picked it up. “It’s alright; I had expected you to come since I didn’t call the past weekend.” Leeteuk almost whispered. Apparently his parents were close enough to hear him.

“Come in…” Leeteuk finally said. “My father is packing, and my mother doesn’t speak to him.”

For a moment we stood there immovable, it was really happening as Leeteuk had explained through the phone.
“So, let’s go to my room!” Leeteuk escorted us up the small stairs. The hall way had a total of approximately 2 m2. His so familiar room was tiny and filled with a lot of stuff, but it was neat. I remember last summer when we had a slumber party. We stuffed two mattresses in this small place and stayed up until 4:30 in the morning.

Because there were no chairs we settled in a circle on his floor as Eunhyuk showed he was really eager to know what happened to his parents.

“You know how my parents always fight about the smallest things…I guess last time pulled the trigger for them.” Leeteuk looked down at his feet.

I shuddered, not knowing what to do. I looked at Eunhyuk who seemed also uncomfortable.

“…Last Friday they were fighting about the amount of my pocket money. The conversation quickly changed to our critical financial condition. My mother started complaining that he should try harder to find a better job but since my father is old already, he’s too expensive for most companies…” Leeteuk’s voice cracked at that moment.
I felt tears burning behind my eyes seeing Leeteuk like this. I wished there was something I could do. I thought about my own parents who were probably celebrating in Europe at this moment.
“And your mother…? You’re staying here with her right?” Eunhyuk swallowed.
Leeteuk nodded once “In the weekend I’ll go to my father on the other side of Seoul. He got up to get tissues from the bathroom. I looked at Eunhyuk and noticed just by then that he hadn’t brought his crutches.

“Yah. Aren’t you supposed to walk with crutches? Why aren’t you listening to the doctor?” I prompted.

“Nayoung, please…” Eunhyuk rolled his eyes “I’m a man now, don’t you know how embarrassing that is?”

“You should! Or do you want it to take longer to heal?!” I retorted.

“Well I can’t play Friday anyway!” He said and looked down. That was all that mattered for Eunhyuk.

“So stubborn…” I muttered but Eunhyuk had heard it.

“Leeteuk will understand me…” He said as Leeteuk had returned. He chuckled lightly at our argument.

“We should do something fun now.” Leeteuk let out enthusiastically. We stared at him in disbelief at the sudden change in his mood. “Let’s go, go GO aja aja!” He shouted when we didn’t move an inch.
It was so typically Leeteuk when I thought about it. He never liked talking about his problems and always made sure he was showing his best side.

“Let’s go see a movie! My house?” I suggested.

On our way to my house we stopped by at Eunhyuk’s to get his crutches.

“Let’s see what you have here…” Eunhyuk passed through my DVD rack. I went upstairs to gather some pillows and blankets. Then I went to the kitchen to get the snacks and drinks.

“Na-Young! You have the Note book?!” Leeteuk almost jumped up and down from excitement.

“Not that one, that is so cheesy…” I grabbed it from his hands and put it back.

“How about action?” I took ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ out of the cupboard and held it in front of his face.

“OMO that’s ‘Pretty Woman’!” Leeteuk grabbed another DVD and held it up for me, totally ignoring my suggestion.

I sighed and looked at Eunhyuk. “Hyung, I don’t think Na-Young likes romance…” Eunhyuk let out and took ‘Pretty Woman’ from Leeteuk’s hands.
In the end I persuaded them to watch Ocean’s Eleven.

“There’s not THAT much violence right? I hate violence.” Leeteuk prompted.

“Don’t worry there’s hardly any violence, even though it’s action!” I reassured him and took some of the chips in front of us.

Eunhyuk and I watched silently as Leeteuk couldn’t keep his mouth shut and talked the whole movie through.

“He doesn’t look like he’s going to change his life, how could they just believe him even though he’s never charged?” Leeteuk asked when they were about to release George Clooney.

“Oh, they’re asking him what he’s going to do with his life now…probably something bad, I can see that…”

“Shhh!” Eunhyuk hissed.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen. We’ll have to watch to find out…” I whispered.

Just then George Clooney stepped into the casino. “That back ground music sounds just like throat gurgles. Hee hee.” Leeteuk laughed.

I sighed. Is he going to be quiet?

…

“A casino robbery! I KNEW IT!” Leeteuk almost yelled in my ear. “…no three Oh. My. God.”

Eunhyuk let out a deep sigh and rolled his eyes. “Hyung, you’re spoiling it.”

“By the way, Julia Roberts is so GORGEO-…”

Eunhyuk and I both turned our heads to glare at him.

“Sorry… I’ll shut up now. Hee hee.” Leeteuk giggled.

But after half an hour he started again. “There’s only one example of that bomb - that’s actually not really a bomb - in the whole wide world, and they’re just stealing it like that?! How kickass! But not really realistic…”

“Shhh, I can’t hear what he just said…” Eunhyuk complained

“Er Eunhyuk… it’s subtitled.” I noted.

“…The shape of it is so weird. Haha. Just like an hourglass.” Leeteuk continued.

I threw my head in my hands, giving up on the thought that watching a movie with them would be fun.

“Okay, sorry Na-Young… I’ll be quiet now.” Leeteuk said and grabbed the bowl of chips in front of us. He stuck his hand in, causing a loud noise.

Eunhyuk sighed again.

After a few minutes Leeteuk stood up to go to the bathroom.

“Yah. What’s wrong with him? He’s never THIS talkative. I mean, he likes to talk but not to the point where it gets annoying…” Eunhyuk started automatically.

“I don’t know, maybe it’s his way to cover up his problems a little…?” I asked slowly.

“Ah…” Eunhyuk let out thoughtfully but turned his attention back to the television screen.

After the movie, Eunhyuk and Leeteuk both headed home. All three of us needed to study for chemistry.
It was around that period when school was taking more of our spare time and we did fewer things together.

Weeks passed and Eunhyuk’s legs had healed completely, much to his own relief. Leeteuk grew accustomed to the fact that his parents took turns being visited by him.

It was now November and it was getting colder outside. As it was our first year in which we all had some different classes, we did make other friends. Eunhyuk was hanging a lot with his regular friends from the soccer team and some girls who befriended them.
Leeteuk made some male friends in his art classes.
There were about fifteen people in the whole school who took philosophy like me. Because it was that unpopular it was scheduled in the latest hour on Friday.

There was a girl who came to sit beside me every week. She was petite, really feminine and pretty. Her name was Yu-Na. At first she made me feel uncomfortable, not because I was like a tomboy but because I was used to hanging with boys. In fact, I never had a real female friend before, I knew some girls in Canada when I was really young, but that doesn’t count. I thought Yu-Na had a lot of friends when I saw her for the first time. But the moment I talked to her for the first time I realized that I had misinterpreted things. Her problem was that she was a natural chatter box. Sometimes you couldn’t follow her unorganized fast talking, as if she threw out everything that instantly came to mind. She left me with nothing to do than just nodding my head and smiling when she did.
Of course her company was nice but somehow I thought that any normal person who was really looking for a friend would have run away already.
I wondered why I wasn’t like that. Is it because I’m too nice?

“Na-Young what do you think about both theories? What’s the best?” Our philosophy teacher dragged me out of my thoughts. I had no clue what subject or statements she was talking about.

“The first…” Yu-Na whispered to me.

“Um… the first.” I mentally hit myself in the face. I knew philosophy was never that accurate; it never chose a whole theory and it never gave real answers to a problem.

“Really? Interesting… could you explain your answer?” She asked as she was pacing from the right to the left side of the classroom.

“I mean, I’m not sure… I’m actually in between both theories; both have their good and bad side I think…” I rambled on.

Then she paused for a second “Well, I think you haven’t been paying attention…” she saw through me like I was a piece of glass. I heard faint giggles filling the classroom. Luckily she didn’t give me detention. Just a warning was enough.
Apparently the question was about the heart versus the mind. I was absolutely positive that you needed both in order to avoid becoming insane and irrational or a cold hearted person.

I walked in the hall of school which was totally empty because it was already 6PM. I noticed it was raining heavily. There were no bikes left in the shed or cars parked outside of school. The place was completely empty as I left it. At the end of the lane I saw a girl looking up the sky, wishing the rain would stop. I pulled out my umbrella and when I walked closer I realized it was Yu-Na. Did not anyone of our class offered to share their umbrella with her?

I really couldn’t let her stand here on her own, although I rather walked alone.

“You want to walk together?” I asked, trying to get her attention as I held up my umbrella in front of her.

A wide grin appeared on her face as she stepped over to me and hooked arms. “Thanks!” She laughed.
“No problem.” I smiled back as I let the usual monologues begin. I tried to pay attention but my mind wandered off. It felt different when I walked with Eunhyuk or Leeteuk like this than how I walked with Yu-Na.
Although I didn’t like the idea, but I was suspecting it had to do something with girls versus boys. With Yu-Na it felt like I was walking with my equal. She was the same height and had the same posture, although a little smaller.
Leeteuk and Eunhyuk gave me the feeling that I was protected or withheld. It might have something to do with the difference in strength and height that had increased the last years. I used to be just as tall as Eunhyuk. Eunhyuk and Leeteuk were more like big brothers for me now. I didn’t know if there was something else, if I was loved in a different way…