❣ 2 ❣

May 14^th, 2013

            No longer did the two have combined break time, for short days rarely came. But lunch times were always at the same time, and occasionally, teachers would combine the classes for lunch, despite the different grade levels.

            It was at these times when the two, bullied children would see each other.

            At first, Mikyung was reluctant, scared. She was afraid that he only pretended to be nice. She was afraid that he would just leave her like all her previous friends. She didn’t want to be casually thrown away again.

            But that wasn’t the case. Joonmyun would sit by her side at lunch and offer her his apple sauce, saying that he never liked it (even though he did) and that his mother wouldn’t stop packing it for his lunch (even though she would’ve if he asked).

            “Hi, Mikyung.”

            She gave him a quick nod and held her head down, scared to make eye contact.

            Joonmyun simply opened his lunch bag and pulled out its contents. When he grabbed the applesauce, he looked back to the shy, first grader and offered it to her. “I don’t like applesauce. Do you want it?”

            Mikyung looked up slightly, and he could tell immediately that she liked it, for there was a glint of delight in her six-year-old eyes. But she shook her head, whispering out, “It’s your lunch. It’s okay.”

            Nevertheless, he left it in front of her and smiled softly. “I said I didn’t like it, remember? Do you like applesauce?”

            She slowly nodded, eyes flickering up for a moment to meet his.

            “Then you should have it.” He pulled a spoon out of his lunch bag and placed it next to the small cup.

            For his new friend, he didn’t mind giving up his treat.

            Little by little, Mikyung warmed up to Joonmyun and no longer grimaced or cringed when he sat by her, because she eventually grew to recognize if it was him immediately.

            At first, neither would speak often at first, and it was always Joonmyun starting the conversations. Mikyung would either nod or shake her head, and usually, that was the end of that topic until Joonmyun could think of another one.

            After some time, Mikyung opened up just a bit, offering longer answers to Joonmyun’s questions and statements. Every time she spoke more, Joonmyun’s face would light up, and he enthusiastically replied back to her.

            Before either knew it, they’re frequently expressionless faces began to smile again, and their hushed voices slowly grew louder, more childlike.

May 22^nd, 2013

            It was Joonmyun’s birthday. Mikyung had made a flower chain for him and brought it to school, hoping that they’d have a combined lunch that day. They did, and she shyly gave it to him.

            Joonmyun smiled kindly again and accepted the gift, looping it over his head, around his neck.

            “Thanks, Mikyung.”

            “Y-Your w-welcome,” she stuttered out quietly, averting her eyes shyly.

            “My mom packed me some cake. You can have some. I can’t finish this big piece,” he said, pulling said cake out of his lunch bag.

            The two happily dug into the dessert, both finishing with icing and crumbs laced over their small mouths.

            Joonmyun laughed and pulled out a few napkins, handing one to Mikyung.

            When he was walking back to his own classroom, he could hear snickering behind him, and quickly turned around. Joonmyun’s face immediately paled, and the smile fell from his face.

            “Look at the little girl, with a flower necklace,” said one of them, pointing at the flower chain.

            Joonmyun winced even before they walked towards him.

            “Maybe you can make one for us.”

            He was shoved into a nearby rose bush. Thorns aren’t very forgiving to the soft skin of a newly turned eight year old.

            That same day, Mikyung was confronted after classes, when the teachers let the children out in the playground to wait for their parents to come.

            “Why are you playing with that second grader now?”

            “You’re too small to be with us. You’re way too small to play with a second grader.”

            “You should just stay alone or go play with pre-schoolers.”

            Mikyung clenched her small fingers into a fist.

            “And you’re not pretty. Why would he play with someone as ugly as you?”

            “Go play with your little rag doll all by yourself.”

            She tried to ignore the words.

            “I bet he’ll throw away that ugly rope you gave him earlier.”

            “It’s a flower necklace!” she retorted, surprising herself and the other girls.

            One of the stepped forward and slapped her across the face. The slap of a six year old is never strong. But it nearly brought tears to Mikyung’s face as they all walked away.

May 23^rd, 2013

            Mikyung asked whether Joonmyun kept her flower chain.

            He said he did, and she gave him one of her rare, tiny smiles. She knew what those girls said yesterday was wrong. But words hurt. And certain actions do as well.

            She then noticed the little scratches all over his body, including his small face.

            “It was my cat. She’s a baby and wanted to scratch something.”

            “Why did you let her?”

            “She was really cute.”

            “Can I see her sometime?”

            “No, because then you’ll be scratched, too.”

            He didn’t have a cat. He hated them.

June 8^th, 2013

            It was the last day of school, and all day, Mikyung seemed upset.

            When she explained to Joonmyun that she was upset they wouldn’t be able to play together, he smiled and patted her head.

            “It’s okay. We can play when school starts again.”

            “But that’s in a long time.”

            “If you play a lot with your mommy and daddy, it won’t be as long.”

            “Really?”

            “Really.”

            “So we can play again when school starts again?”

            “Yeah.”

            “Joonmyun-ah! Your parents are here!”

            He smiled at the small Mikyung. “Play well during the summer. I’ll see you soon!”

            Mikyung nodded, her frown rising into a small smile. “Bye bye!”

            Joonmyun laughed and waved.

September 15^th, 2014

            Mikyung was now eight years old and in third grade. She and Joonmyun had been friends for nearly about a year and a half. Like he had promised, they began to play again when summer ended. And he kept this promise again this school year, when he immediately called to her when they spotted each other during their now joint break time.

            However, despite the fact that she had grown taller, she was still petite compared to everyone else in her class, and the bullying had never stopped.

            “You’re still the shortest.”

            “Your nose is too big.”

            “Why do you stand like that? Your shoulders are ugly.”

            “Your skirt isn’t pretty on you. You should give it to me instead.”

            And for Joonmyun? He was still being pushed around, even more so, now that he had a friend and it was a girl. Boys in his class would chase him around, saying that he was gross and now had girl cooties (for all elementary school students go through this phase).

            Small fists and hands would push him into walls, trip him while he was walking, pull him down when he was on the monkey bars, and kick him when he sat alone.

            It was too unbelievable that teachers never noticed the abuse these two children phased. But who said they went to a good school district? None of the teachers wanted to be there, but had no other job. Parents didn’t want their children to go there, but they had no choice because it was the only school in their district.

            Yet, even as the two suffered, they suffered quietly. They didn’t even complain to each other about it. When they were playing together, it wasn’t a time to complain. It was their time to forget and have fun. So that’s what they did.

            “Do you like puzzles? My dad just got me a new one,” said Joonmyun, pulling a small box out of his backpack.

            “I’ve never played with one before.” Mikyung looked curiously at the new toy.

            “It’s really fun. This one makes a puppy picture.”

            Neither played games that the other kids played, for they knew that bullying would ensue. For ball games, they would get hit in the face, or taunted for their “lack” of hand-eye coordination. For games like jump rope and hopscotch, they would be tripped and accused of clumsiness.

            It wasn’t as if these actions and words were so harsh that it would make the two cry (though sometimes it was the case). What was important was that these events would shape the people that they would grow up to become if they let these things get to them.

            But they had each other to lean on, and the impact of these occurrences wouldn’t be as big if they didn’t have anyone.

            In the one and a half years they have been friends, they learned to forget their troubles when they were with each other. They learned to have fun again, like the times before their bullying began. They remembered what it was like to have a friend again. And at their young age, they matured too fast. Gaining a new friend was a breath of fresh air for both of them. It was a chance to forget about their troubling problems and revel in the fun of the beginning of their childhood.

author's notes: Hi lovelies~!! I'm back from my camp and excited to write again for you all ^.^ Here's the second chapter to my new story :)! And I'm sorry if it's bad T.T I'm still trying to get back into the right mindset of the story o.o I hope you like the chapter though, and are excited about the story :D (I can't wait to write more!) Anyways~ thanks for reading :)! Please comment, subscribe, and/or upvote~                 

~DespisedSecret

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