It was officially start of summer vacation. And the amount of studying we had was finally being rewarded with two months of leisure days out from school grounds.

We were not going to meet for a while the teachers we hated and the students we didn’t want to see, tired of the ruckus and unnecessary commotion they brought to our lives.

But supposedly it also meant a short goodbye to some of our friends. Because while most of us were to stay in town, Joonmyeon had to go to Seoul with his father to do a short training course at the main office of the Kim’s company, and Baekhyun had to drive north with his family to Busan because his sister was going to get married with a guy she had met while working there as a local high school teacher for the past two years.

I felt a little prick in me when I heard the news, because secretly, though I might never admit it out loud, I was hoping that I would also meet them in the coming days. It was only a little bit relieving, though, that they were only going to be gone for a few weeks.

“What about you Mijoo, aren’t you coming back to Seoul for a while?” Chanyeol had asked.

We were out at Mr. Moon’s store, eating some ice cream and hoping that the sun would stop from shining so intensely.

I looked back at him unsurely and shrugged. It had never crossed my mind before after mom had disapproved of it for the first time. Surprisingly, too, I wasn’t looking forward to going back to Seoul so much.

“Mom’s going to kill me if I even broached the topic,” I told him and sighed. “She hates it when I speak of staying with dad and his fiancée.”

Chanyeol cringed at what I said. “Your oh so sweet mother has that side?”

I laughed, seeing his point. They had never seen mom go berserk on me yet, of course. It was all thanks to Mr. Oh’s help that she was calm as a panda these days.

Jongin nudged him and added with a laugh, “Why Yeol? Even your mom is nice. But when you do something she didn’t like, doesn’t she pinch your ear until you cry for help?”

“Well,” he said with childlike grudge in his tone, “mom’s a dragon to me all the time. She’s nothing sweet like Mijoo’s mom. Ever!”

Joohyun giggled, patting Chanyeol’s back in comfort. “Cheer up. They are only just like that because they care about you,” she uttered reassuringly.

Chanyeol sighed and laid back tiredly on the low table we were sitting on. “I wish I could believe that. But not my mom. What do you think she did to me when she learned I need to do summer classes after the finals exam?”

We couldn’t help but guffaw at Chanyeol’s misery, because it was a fact that he was given a handful of nagging when his mom learned that though he passed his final exam in math, it was not enough for him to pass the entire subject that he was required to attend three weeks of summer classes. He still needed a few units that he had to do it out of will.

We had cheered him up and told many times it was just fine to attend the classes, because surely time was going to pass quickly, but Chanyeol was a true free spirit. He hated being confined in one room and following a lot of rules that it was understandable he hated the mere idea of going to school in summer while we were all resting at home or doing whatever we wanted.

Still, that summer we all thrived.

Whenever Chanyeol was not yet home from his summer classes, we would hang out at Jongin’s house to eat the cookies his mother baked. They were so tasty I had emptied a plate, one time, without me knowing count of how much I ate. His mother had seen the entire thing and had laughed at me. I was deeply embarrassed with how unlady-like I appeared, but I was just glad she still found that side of me adorable—if it even was. Sehun tried not to laugh at me at that time, but he was not able to help it. I hated him for it. He was no help. Glad that Jongin was still the ever so kind friend he was and instead comforted me with words.

At his house I also met his sister who had lent me the yellow sundress at Joohyun’s party. She was such a pretty girl that I was struck to embarrassment when at first meet she had rushed to me and enveloped me in a hug. I had no clear idea who she was that I had turned into a rock in her embrace. And the only time it all made sense who she was then had been when Jongin started whining and pulled me away from her.

“Stop hogging her, noona! You’re scaring Mijoo!” he said defensively, pulling me behind him.

His noona, Jisoo unnie, had laughed at his little brother then. Saying how foolishly obvious he was. I had not gotten the point of their conversation then, all I knew was that they were somehow talking about me. Jongin might not have allowed me to see it, but I knew he was red as a beet in front of me. Chanyeol and Joonmyeon were definitely joking about it when Jena unnie was finally gone.

At other times, especially on weekends, we would play ball at the park. I would always refuse to play with them because I had never played with a ball before, but Sehun had forced me into it. He thought me the basics of soccer, though rather impatiently, until I had slowly moved on to take Jongin’s help especially since he hadn’t been as impatient as Sehun was. In fact, he had taught me step by step without getting mad.

“This is easier than when Sehun was teaching me.” I was laughing as I was running with a ball on my toes. Jongin was on the side watching me with a smile.

“Keep your eyes on the field so you won’t trip!” He had shouted at me in instruction.

“Ne!” I shouted, more confident than the first time I entered the park. “I promise to do better—ah!!!”

I ended up tripping on the ball and rolling repeatedly on the ground. I had heard them shout in worry, seeing what had happened. And Sehun was the first to get to my side, asking if I was just okay, checking for any injuries.

“See what I told you? Be careful, you idiot!” Sehun nagged, finally seeing the bleeding wound on my knees and right leg.

I winced, seeing the gash, and held closer onto him with my eyes closed. I was not really good with seeing blood. It frightened me, especially that it was not a regular occurrence I see people getting hurt; not me, especially. Mom had been careful not to let me get hurt.

“Sehun,” I called his name with trembling lips.

“Jongin, you should have specially foreseen that coming. How could you let her get hurt?