“Omma, can I have my breakfast later? I can put it in a lunch box and eat it later,” I mean throw it away later, but that would only made everyone sad.

“Are you sure?” My Mom raised her brows. I nodded and gave her a smile. “Okay.”

Jong Up eyed me from the table where he was munching his nth toast. He stayed with me until I fell asleep last night, and he was rather cold because I refused to see doctor while he begged to bring me to one. My parents of course had no idea what’s going on. They were on their date night when incident happened. I already in my deep slumber when they got back.

“Eat,” Jong Up mouthed the word to me.

I shook my head to him. “I can’t.”  I mouthed back.

He glared to me with his small eyes. “It’s just bread. Come on, please eat it,” he whispered to me.

“Jong Up, you know I can’t digest them if I don’t feel like it. Stop it,” I whispered back.

“That’s why I said let’s go to doctor and have it checked! I hate seeing you becoming so skinny! Skinny is not pretty, Noona. Whoever teach you to put out your food after you eat it, was wrong,” he gritted his teeth and kept glaring.

I sighed. “I told you, I’m not bulimic, Moon Jong Up!” I gritted back my teeth at him.

“Then what…,” Jong Up’s whisper abruptly stopped when our Father coughed as he eyed on us.

“Mind to share what’s happen? You two had been whisper-fighting in the table and I don’t like it,” He put down his news paper and looked at Jong Up who looked away then to me.

“Jong Up wanted to eat all the breads, but I told him that I want to take some to eat it at school but he said he was still hungry,” I lied. Jong Up’s head snapped to me and he scowled. He hated lying, and couldn’t do it but I’m better than him. I’m a better liar. Not that I should proud of it.

“Jong Up?” My Dad shifted his gaze to Jong Up. He knew his son couldn’t lie, but I pierced his son with a look.

Jong Up sighed. “I’m hungry, Appa,” he answered and took the remaining toast and stuffed it in his mouth while scowling.

He just lied. My little brother just lied for me. I love him so much.

I reached out and caressed his hair but he slouched on the chair instead. My Dad shook his head then continued to read his newspaper, while my Mom just chuckled from the kitchen.

After we went out of the door, he spun to me with hard face. “I don’t want to lie to Appa and Omma again, so we better find a doctor to help you,” he said.

I smiled and went to hug him. “I will go to hospital after school. Don’t worry,” I moved back and gave him a pat on his head. “Off you go. Jun Hong has been waiting for you,” I told him.

He nodded and then left with Jun Hong while the latter boy waved to me in a silly manner.

Dae Hyun came out of his house a few moments later.  He stared me with that expressionless gaze again.

But hey, he talked to me last night. So I gave him my sweetest smile. “Good morning, Dae Hyun.”

He kept silent. I didn’t wait for him to answer the greeting. I smiled one more time and went ahead.

“Are you okay?” I stopped in track as I heard his question.

I turned to face him and raise my eyebrows.

“Are you okay, Moon Jeong Ae? Last night you…,” there were frowns between his eyes. He looked worried.

I smiled. “I’m fine. It’s just menstruation pain. You don’t have to worry,” I waved my hand. I lied to Jung Dae Hyun. I wanted to bite my tongue.

 He looked relieved. The lie was worth it. “Is that so? Then… uh… we… we have to go to school,” he put on that expressionless mask again and walked past me ahead to the school

I followed behind him. I couldn’t hide my wide smile. “You talked to me.”

He didn’t answer. It wasn’t really a question though.

“It had been two years since you last talked to me, you know that?” Still no answer. “You’ve been ignoring me, avoiding me, moved away from me and I don’t have any idea why you do it. Now that you finally talk to me again, will you explain?”

Silent.

“Dae Hyun-ah…,” I reached out and pulled his arm and he halted.

“Maybe later,” he didn’t even turned to see me, he kept pacing and left me there staring at his cold back.

For a moment I thought I had my best friend back.

***

“You bring a lunch box!” Hyo Na raised her eyebrows when she saw me pulling out my lunch box that my Mom prepared this morning. “You usually don’t eat much!  And now you’re bringing a lunch box. Let me see.” She snatched the lunch box from me and began opening the box.

It was lunch time. While the other students had gone to cafeteria, I was wishing I could slip out and throw away the food. But this crazy girl found me before I could do anything.

“Sandwiches!!!” she raised up both of her arms as if she had found treasure box. “Tuna sandwiches! Can I have one? Please? Pretty please?” she batted her eyelashes at me. A move that she would never do on boys. Nope, she was not a lesbian, her state of mind just simply hadn’t reach puberty yet.

“Just dig in,” I nodded.

“Yaaay!” She reached up for a piece of sandwich and began munching it with pleased expression. “It’s amazing. Did your Omma made it?”

I nodded.

She bit another bite and gave a heavenly sigh, but then she frowned. “Why don’t you eat it then?”

“I’m not hungry,” I told her.

“Nonsense. It’s lunch time already. Come on, eat it. It’s yours anyway. I’m not going to finish all your food alone,” she reached for another piece and put it in my hand. She stared at me, waiting for me to bite the food.

Please stomach. Just take the sandwich. With that pray I bit a big bite and munched the sandwich. Hyo Na smiled widely and finished her slice of sandwich.

My stomach began to stir uncomfortably. I gritted my teeth as the pain slowly crept up in my stomach.

Hyo Na turned when Si Wan called on her and after taking another slice of sandwich she waved me good bye to join her friends for lunch. I would usually join their table later or not if I don’t feel like having lunch. And now was the not.

I put back the remaining sandwich I had in my hand to the box and ran toward the bathroom in a super speed. I accidentally bumped into someone but I apologized and went without seeing who it was. I went to one of the toilet and started to throw up. There was nothing in my stomach, but I kept vomiting water out. It was not a pretty sight. Sorry.

After everything went out my system I leaned on the stall and caught a breath. I was lucky the other stalls were empty and there was no one in the girls’ restroom. It was lunch time anyway. I stood up after my pulse went down and the stench of my vomit gone and went out the stall.

I stopped in track. There were a pair of school shoes, and the owner wore a trouser, not a skirt. I looked higher until I saw the familiar face.

“This is girls’ restroom. Or was I entering the wrong restroom?” I peered behind him to the toilet sign. No. I was in the right place. “Dae Hyun, this is girls’ restroom. What are you doing here?”

He pierced me with demanding voice, “Why were you throwing up?”