It was the last class of the day and Nam-soon could not wait to get out of there.  He normally would’ve welcomed a nap at a time like this, but today he tapped his fingers on his desk and felt much too hyper to even consider sleep.  He threw a look in Heung-soo’s direction and could not help but break out into a smile.  Heung-soo turned his head slightly and acknowledged him from the corner of his eye.  That was enough response for Nam-soon.  He opened his textbook to a random page and feigned interest.  He twirled his pencil between his fingers and allowed his thoughts to roam... Go Nam-soon does not need to transfer… I am not a victim, he is not an assailant… we are just friends… and we are in the process of making up… 

Nam-soon tapped his toes in his shoes and re-read the same line in his book for the fiftieth time.  He threw another distracted glance Heung-soo’s way; this time their eyes met.

Nam-soon lingered outside the classroom at the end of the day, waiting for Heung-soo to emerge.  He didn’t know how to really thank Heung-soo for coming to his side (again) when he’d sorely needed it, yet least expected it today.  Park Heung-soo had a way of doing that, he thought; he had a way of…

“What are you doing there staring at your feet?” 

Nam-soon’s head shot up in an instant.  Heung-soo was standing before him with a look of exaggerated confusion on his face.  Nam-soon smiled and plunged his hands in his pockets.

“Waiting for you, sekki.  Let’s go.”  Nam-soon headed down the hall before Heung-soo could speak.

He could feel Haung-soo’s gaze between his shoulder blades.  His heart thudded and his palms felt crowded and sweaty in his pockets.  Before he could step out of the building, Heung-soo pulled on one of his backpack straps and brought him to a halt.

“Where are we going?!” Heung-soo asked, wondering how far Nam-soon would go without saying a word.

“We’re gonna get something to eat.  I know this great place…”

“A ramen place?” Heung-soo’s lips curled in amusement.  Nam-soon rolled his eyes.

“No.  There’s this great grilled meat stand not far from my house.  I thought we could go there tonight and…”

“I can’t tonight,”  Heung-soo interjected.  Nam-soon gave him a questioning look.

“My sister’s been on my case lately.  About getting home late after school and not eating supper together like we used to.”

“Why have you been getting home late?”  Nam-soon could not hide the puzzled look on his face.

“Somedays it's work.  But she’s been grilling me a lot about school lately.  She gets on my case – wanting to know every single thing that’s going on.  It gets tiring.  So I just take my time getting home.  Most times when I get there, she’s already left for work.  Problem solved.  Thing is, she’s caught on, so I guess I better get home earlier today, or else…”

“I see..” 

Heung-soo caught the look of disappointment that passed over Nam-soon’s face.

“But let’s have lunch together.  Tomorrow...  at the cafeteria.”

Nam-soon nodded as eagerly as he could, “Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

There was an awkward pause.  Nam-soon thought to ask if they could head back together, but before he could get a word out, Heung-soo nodded a goodbye and took the stairs two at a time, down towards the school gates.  Nam-soon mentally slapped himself and watched as Heung-soo walked away.

That evening, Heung-soo missed his bus home.  He was distracted and his belly grumbled.  When he got home, he found a tray of food and a hastily-scribbled note waiting for him in the kitchen.  Turns out his noona had been called in to do another night cleaning shift at the hospital. He read the note and tossed it aside... And she tries to give me grief when I’m not here.  He was hungry but felt too restless to tackle the spicy kimbaps she’d left him.

Ten minutes and a change of clothes later, he stepped back out into the cool night air.  His belly protested loudly, but he ignored it.  He took out his cell phone and dialed the number he'd already memorized.  It rang five times.. no answer.  Unwilling to stay home, Heung-soo took the winding path down to the busy main street and followed the noisy road to nowhere in particular. A few blocks later, he conceded to his hunger.  He checked his cell phone one more time before giving in and turning around homeward.

Nam-soon was sitting on his bed, working on his second helping of spicy fish cake soup when he heard a chime from his cell phone.  He set the steaming bowl aside and tracked down the device.  He turned it on… 2 missed calls and a new text message. His eyes widened as he recognized the number.  He checked the time of the calls – five minutes apart, two hours ago.  He’d left his phone at home when he’d gone down to grab some supper from the food stand down the street.  .

He checked the text message – “You avoiding me?  Can’t let you off the hook. Bring the pages tomorrow.  Filled out, front and back.”