First Year

The sky was pale blue. The sun was rising over the short fence of their compound lot. Green grass and sweet summer scents drifted around the early morning. Gravel crunched under his sneakers, and warm winds raced over his thin cotton shirt. Just a few more feet and he would be where he wanted to be.

It was a straight shot from his deck to his friend’s backyard. In the nearing distance, he could see a familiar, younger boy standing at a table where an array of colorful dishes was laid out. Ryeowook’s eyes lit up at the sight and he ran up to it, mouth parting in awe. Swallowing, he remembered his manners and greeted his friend’s aunt and mother. Once that was out of the way, Ryeowook grabbed the other boy’s hand, tugging on it, “Hyungsik-dongsaeng, can I play?”

“Yeah! That’s why they’re out here,” the five year old replied, squeezing the older one’s hand. With his free one, he picked up a large, round pink bubble blower. Hyungsik took a deep breath and then blew hard, managing to push the swirling rainbow liquid into an air filled ball. “Whoa…look at it, hyung!” He shook their held hands, grinning widely at Ryeowook.

The latter was bug-eyed. “What happens when it pops?”

Hyungsik’s face fell. “I’m not sure…”

Exchanging a look, they laughed and ran away to a safer distance, watching as the bubble popped when the air grew too thin. Ryeowook pointed at it, exclaiming gibberish. The younger boy just nodded along as if everything made sense.

It was so simple for them. Every day was just another day of fun. The hours were endless, the sun was everlasting, and the games never ceased. That’s what it was like to be a child. Things like friendship were nurtured through staying out all night and day without a care in the world. And for them, it was just like that fairytale childhood.

Beginning of summer…

Ryeowook climbed up the unfamiliar carpeted stairs, one hand in his father’s. They were getting higher and higher until they reached a modest sized hallway. There was a bedroom directly on the right, and then next to it was a bathroom. In front of them, at the end of the corridor, the master bedroom overlooked the backyard.

“Appa look!” Ryeowook exclaimed when the realtor had stopped talking for a second. Standing close to the window, he pointed out at a bright blue swing set just beyond the gravel driveway and parking. “Is that mine?” he asked, hoping that it was.

The realtor chuckled, silently sympathizing with the helpless father. “I’m sorry, but that’s the neighbor’s swing set. If you want to play on it, you can go talk to the—”

Before he could even finish the sentence, Ryeowook was darting away after giving his father a quick hug. “Bye-bye, appa!” he called, disappearing down the stairs. There was only one thing on his mind, and that was getting to play on that set.

Running outside, he saw a little boy sitting on one of the plastic swings. Ryeowook raced over to him and said, “Can I play with you?”

The kid blinked a few times and then smiled widely. “Yeah! I’m Hyungsik.”

“I’m Ryeowook,” he replied, taking the other swing and sighing in content. Grinning, he kicked off the ground, pumping his legs to make the swing go faster. “This is so cool!”

Hyungsik nodded, copying the other boy’s movements. “Are you new here?”

“Yeah, we just moved in. My appa is talking to some person giving us the house. Do you live right there?” Ryeowook pointed at the house next to theirs. When the boy nodded in response, he laughed and said, “That means we can play together every day!”

“Really?” Hyungsik asked eyes wide.

“Mmhmm, my appa won’t mind. My umma shouldn’t either,” he responded.

July…

“What’s that?” Hyungsik asked as they sat in the grass together. Up above, it was another bright blue day with wispy clouds floating around. The grass around them had been cut short and carried a clean but spicy scent.

Cool shadows kept their young heads from overheating, but more importantly, the shadows kept them hidden. In their minds, they were on a stranded island and this small patch of grass was their haven. A cotton blanket hung up to dry on a spinning rack was what truly caused the dancing cold patches, but in illusion, it was the big leafy palm trees of their beach getaway.

Ryeowook finished applying the Chap Stick, but just as he was pushing it back into his pocket, he heard the younger one’s question. “This?”

“Mm!”

“It keeps your lips from getting all dry and broken. My umma makes me take it around.” Ryeowook held the stick out to his friend. “Do you wanna try? It’s cherry flavored.”

“Is that okay?” he asked, brow furrowed.

“You’re not sick or icky,” the other boy giggled, “I don’t think it’ll be that bad.”

Shrugging, Hyungsik took it. Ryeowook looked up at the fluttering white blanket overhead, smiling at it. Closing his eyes, he hummed a little tune and let the light breeze rush around him.

August…

There was a slight dip in the ground. It was in Ryeowook’s family’s side yard and there were thin trees all around, protecting it. Long grass grew around there, but it was also the natural breeding place of lightning bugs.

Some kids from around the neighborhood had come out to play night games with them and as per usual, they were collecting lightning bugs.

Ryeowook was walking around the area, laughing whenever one of those bright lights got really close to his face. Cupping his hands together, he caught one after another, dropping them into the glass jar Hyungsik was holding. “Do you wanna switch places?” he asked the other boy.

“Okay!” Giving the jar to his hyung, he walked around for a few moments before catching one. A surprised yelp burst from his lips and then he released the bug. “…It got away, hyung-ah,” Hyungsik mumbled.

“Look there’s another one!” Ryeowook exclaimed pointing ahead.

The younger male nodded, lunging forward, rolling through the grass as he captured the tiny, glowing insect. “Got it!” he called, laughing and dropping it into the jar.

Behind them, they could hear the older kids cheering and laughing about something as well. Ryeowook closed the jar, twisting the cap into place. “Let’s go,” he waved at his friend.

Little did they know, poking holes in a lightning bug jar was incredibly important.

September…

Ryeowook rode down the slightly steep slope of their compound lot, breaking carefully. The tires of his bike squeaked a little, but other than that, it had been a perfect ride. Looking at Hyungsik, he broke into a confident smile. “My appa taught me how to ride a bike!”

“Wow! Can I learn?” he was jumping up and down in excitement, not wanting to lose to his best friend.

“Yeah, I’ll teach you!” Ryeowook stated, ride his bike around the lot a few times as he waited for Hyungsik to retrieve his bike from the shed.

The latter reappeared with his training wheels still attached to the back tire. Ryeowook looked at it and frowned. They would need someone to remove it for them. Telling his friend to wait for a moment, he went back home and opened the door to his deck. “Appa! I’m trying to teach Hyungsik- dongsaeng how to ride a bike. Can you take off the training wheels?”

A loud banging from the kitchen made the little boy jump. Ryeowook blinked a few times and backed away when he saw his wide-eyed dad coming towards him at alarming speeds. “Ryeo-ah, let appa teach Hyungsik, okay?”

Huffing, Ryeowook pouted. “But I wanted to teach him! I can do it!”

“Ryeowook…”

Balling his hands up, he resigned, not wanting to get lectured. Ryeowook walked back out onto the deck with his father and then headed down the steps to where Hyungsik was waiting with his bike.

Having nothing to do, Ryeowook walked over to the swings and played by himself, practicing his jump. It was a bravery game. The farther and higher you could jump, the cooler you were. So far, Hyungsik still hadn’t beaten him. After making one jump, Ryeowook turned to look at his friend who was practicing earnestly to ride a bike.

The faster he could learn to do that, the faster they could play together again.