As the days continued to pass, the way I felt about Taemin changed drastically. Ever since that day, every time I looked at him it angered me. We never talked again. We don’t even smile at each other anymore. Could I be mad at him because if the way he had answered me? Or because we hadn’t finished our conversation? Should I really be mad at him over something so small? It’s probably because I’m a little bit embarrassed. I had tried to be nice and he just shot me down like that. Thinking about that moment again brought the feeling back. I sighed and pressed my cheek to the cold window.

                “Lucinda?” My mom called, turning her eyes from the road quickly before returning them.

                “Yeah”?

                “Are you okay? You seem kind of mad.”

                “No, I’m not mad. “Well, not at you. She smiled sympathetically in response.

                “Alright, we’re here, she smiled                to me. I looked out the window and saw that we were parked outside Munhee’s house. Munhee’s house was always clean. Too clean, actually. The white paint on the outside never got dirty, the shrubs were cut neatly and the flowers never seemed to die. It was a magazine house.

                “Thanks for the ride,”

                “Your welcome,” We hugged awkwardly in the car. “I’ll be at home if you need anything.”

                “Okay,” I gathered my book bag and violin case and got out the car.

                Munhee opened the door with a big smile, waving excitedly.

                “Hey,”

                “Hello,” She stepped aside to let me in.

                “Hello Lucinda,” Her mom smiled to me. I waved to her, struggling to carry my violin case at the same time. She doesn’t look like Munhee. Maybe in the eyes, but they’re both small and extremely nice. I’m guessing Munhee looks more like her dad. Not that I know what he looks like. Munhee reached for my violin case.

                “Yeong got here a little before you,”

                “That’s a shocker,” She’s usually the last one here.

                We walked up the clean carpeted stairs to her room. I hope my shoes aren’t dirty; I’d hate to ruin their home. She I opened the door for me and I had to adjust my eyes to the bright light. The sun always seemed to shine directly into her room. But every time I walked in my mood always brightened up. The air was always fresh to. This also seemed to be from a magazine. I guess it has to do with the fact that her mom is an interior decorator.

                “Where’s Yeong?” Munhee whispered.

                “Um…”I looked around the room quickly, she was nowhere in sight. “You should check the closet.” I whispered back. I’m guessing she didn’t hear the snickering coming from it.  She placed my case gently on the floor.

“Thanks,”

“You’re welcome,” Munhee walked to it slowly just as Yeong jumped out and screamed at her.

                “That’s not scary!” Munhee yelled back, covering her ears.

                “Whatever,” Yeong laughed, looking around the room.” Wow; you still have all of this?”She indicated to the massive amount of dolls and stuffed animals around the room.

                “What’s wrong with it?”Munhee said offensively.

                “You don’t feel weird knowing that all these dolls are watching you?”

                “They don’t watch us, they-they…” She seemed to be at a loss for words.

                “They what? Talk?”

                “…maybe…”

                The room went completely silent. For the first time in my life I had to question Munhee’s sanity.

                “What?” I asked when Yeong continued to stare at her like she had said something stupid. And also because I could see her pre-laugh face forming. Munhee walked over to her desk and sat down, rearranging an already neat cup of pens and pencils. She then indicated for us to join her. We sat on the clean carpet and waited for her to speak.

                “Well…”She started,” maybe the dolls are ‘alive’, in their own little way.” Yeong’s ‘you’re crazy’ face seemed stuck.” You know how dolls are made with love, it is like their creator put a bit of their own soul into them.” Her eyes became distant, like she was in another place.

                Yeong stood up and picked up a fragile glass doll from her nightstand.

                “This,” She said as she pointed to it. “-was made in a factory. One by one, all made the same by cold heartless machines. They’re not unique or different in anyway, I could go to a store right now and find one exactly like it.” She sounded like a parent trying to convince their child for the last time that unicorns aren’t real.

                “Actually,” Munhee stood with a new tone in her voice. She took the doll from Yeong’s hands lightly and fixed its hair.”This doll has been in my family for years.”

                “So, it was still made in a factory,”

                “No,” She laughed,” We’ve had it way before the industrial revolution.”

                “What?” Yeong said like she was speaking a different language.

                “If you paid any attention in world history, you would know that it couldn’t have been made in a factory before that.”  Yeong was about to protest but was stopped by Munhee. “So, who wants to listen to some music or something?”  Yeong stared at her, highly amused. I had never heard her speak like that before either.

                “Sure,” Yeong said, the awkwardness already a part of the past.

                I wasn’t really listening to the music. My eyes were roaming around the room. Everything matched and was super clean. Her bed covers matched the pillow cases. The large pink carpet by her bed matched with the white chair and white bed posts. Everything was where it should be. Even the curtains matched and blended well with the sunlight. Her furniture always seemed to match with the seasons. She changed her room early for winter. I wonder how she’ll decorate for spring next year. Her room is always pretty…in a girly way.

                Munhee sat on her bed and held a teddy bear as she stared out the windows. Under her bed covers were two more bears. A mother and father bear, I guess she was holding the child.  Munhee reminded me of a child sometimes. I stared into the eyes of the glass doll she was talking about earlier. Its glass eyes seemed to be staring directly at me. A chill ran up my back.

                I looked back to Munhee again, thinking about our childhood. In the past I would wonder which of us would mature first. Based on behavior, Yeong is another story.Munhee still dresses the way she did in middle school. In fact, she still looks the same, almost like she’s not ageing.

                “Munhee,”

                ‘Yes?” She smiled at me.

                “How old are you?”

                “I’m sixteen, just like you,” She laughed. But, that’s not right…isn’t she the youngest? Why does it feel like she’s lying? A sudden sharp sting shot through my head. I looked away from Munhee quickly so she wouldn’t see my pain. My eyes landed on the corner next to her bed. In her wall was a little nightlight with a smiling moon. I started to laugh quietly to myself; I guess that answers my question from earlier.

                After dinner we all changed into our night clothes and laid on our backs to stare at the patterns on the ceiling. It reminded me of how we used to lay in the grass looking at the clouds. Our heads touched in a circle, so when Yeong suddenly jumped she had pulled some of my hair with her.

                “What’s wrong?” Munhee wondered.

                “Well,” She said in a mischievous voice,” there’s this really cute guy in my art class; he’s new here so you probably don’t know him. And he doesn’t talk much, so…” As soon as she spoke, my good mood disintegrated with each word. Was she talking about Taemin? Of course she was…”You’ve seen him Lucinda.” Her head turned in my direction.

                “Mmhmm, yeah, sure,” I mumbled. Ugh, did she really have to bring him up? Of all the people in that class, it had to be him? Does she really think he’s cute?

                “Do you have a crush on him or something?” I teased, though I was desperate for an answer; I could hear Munhee’s quiet laugh. My cheeks started to burn as I started to feel hopeless. If she tried to date him, would he say yes? Why am I even thinking about this? It’s not like I like him or something. She can have him and his attitude.

                “Totally, who doesn’t?” She laughed, and then gagged loudly.

                “Since Yeong doesn’t talk about boys much, he must be very special to her.”Munhee whispered loudly. Yeong swung her hand up to try to hit Munhee but she rolled out of the way, coming to a stop next to me. “You want to start practicing our songs for orchestra?”

                “Sure,” She nodded with a smile and stood up.

                “Oh goody, its time for my nap.” Yeong fake yawned.  I carefully took my violin out of its case as Munhee got out music sheets from her book bag. I’ll probably stop feeling hopeless when I start to play the music. I had the whole song memorized. All would be find if I could get my mind off of Taemin. If only I could just forget about him all together. But, why is it so hard?