Two months passed, it seemed to Minseok, in the blink of an eye.

He was so used to his grandparents coming to receive him at school that he found it bizarre when he did not see them standing outside the school gates after all his classes had ended. Jutting his bottom lip out forlornly, he treaded back into the kindergarten building to wait for his father to pick him up.

The day before, his mother had telephoned his grandparents, letting them and Minseok know that he could be moved back to his home today. His grandpa and grandma had sent him off to school this morning, and he had half wished that they would surprise him by stopping by the kindergarten to take him back to their warm apartment.

In the waiting area, Minseok discovered Jongdae perched alone on a couch, nose buried in a book. As if sensing Minseok’s presence close by, Jongdae looked up from his book in his direction and bestowed upon him a sunny smile, welcoming him to sit on the empty space alongside himself.

“Why did you come back, Minnie?” Jongdae inquired as Minseok settled on the couch beside him and slid his backpack off his shoulders. Jongdae shut his book gently and turned to face him, all ears. Minseok appreciated how the other boy always stopped doing what he was doing to attend to him, as though nothing else could be as important to him as Minseok.

“I’m waiting for my dad. He must sti