"Lee Kikwang."

I didn't look up, or budge. I squatted there in the patch of tall flowers.

Too many times I answered the sound her figure-less voice calling my name.

Too many times I looked up with dying hope in my eyes, praying that I'd see her there.

And too many times I cried out in frustration and regret, hating myself for letting her go.

-

After my encounter with bubble-girl, I was so preoccupied with thinking about how rude and peculiar she was, I forgot about my promise to Yoseob. He didn't mind, of course. Especially after I told him about bubble-girl. He was just as baffled as I was. No one, in the history of our lives, has ever been that rude to either of us. We were completely confused. It's not like I did anything wrong. I asked myself all night as I was walking home that day. 'Did I say something offensive?' 'Was I dissing bubbles out loud, or something?' But from what I remembered, I never said anything wrong.

I told Junhyung about her. He said that girls usually always have a reason for ignoring boys. I didn't dare question his authority. Junhyung knows more about girls than I do about my own mother. Probably another key to learning about his background.

He asked me if I was going to see her again today. I shrugged. How would I know if she would be there again? I've never seen her there before. It's like she came with the park. Weird.

But Junhyung said that if I did see her again, I should try ignoring her back. Apparently, girls who get ignored do it for the attention, and if you don't give the attention, they'll crack.

Oh, I tried it. I was walking home and, fortunately, she was there again. Squatting in the same position, blowing her stupid unnatural bubbles. I was determined to walk straight passed her, but...she just seemed to pull me in. Something about her was so familiar. I felt like I couldn't avoid her. Dazed, I walked towards her again, my eyes entirely fixed on her. As I arrived at her side, I opened my mouth to greet her again when I remembered Junhyung's advice and closed it immediately.

With great effort, I squeezed my eyes shut and backed away from her. I my heels, and with one eye open, ran home.

-

"Kikwang! She said 'Yes'!" Yoseob greeted me with his jubilant news the day after I ran away from bubble-girl. So, Yoseob bought the flowers on his own, and asked the girl he liked to be his girlfriend. Her name is Hwang Jaemin, and let me tell you. She is beautiful.

But that's not the worst part.

She's also my first love. The very first girl who I dedicated my time to. The very first girl who I gave my neatly and carefully wrapped up heart to. I swore to myself I would forget her. I promised her that I wouldn't hang on her and burden her after we broke up, and I did well for the last three years. We never really saw each other. We never said anything to each other. We just went on as if nothing had ever happened between us.

I guess you can say that's the empty part of my heart that Yoseob and Junhyung can never fill.

It felt like a hole. It's really hard to explain. Try cutting into your own heart and explain the feeling. It's like...painful beyond expression. I know I never mentioned Jaemin before, but that was because she never came up. Yoseob never told me Jaemin was the girl he liked. And I avoid any coversation with Hwang Jaemin as it's topic at all costs. Because I don't know when I'll just sit, break down, and cry until I eyes dry up.

"Really? That's great, man!" I clapped him hard on the back. Yoseob felt a stinging pain on his back. I felt a stinging pain in the emptiness of my heart.

After that day, I never really saw much of my best friend, Yoseob, again.

A dark, hooded figure appeared into my life.

-

I didn't see Junhyung that day. He missed school again. I wonder if he had a real reason to be absent, or if he was just skipping school to go hang and smoke with his gang buddies. I didn't really care. I wasn't a person to judge.

I walked down that same, stone paved pathway, I smelled the same sweet incense of cherry blossoms, and I walked towards that same bubble-blowing girl, squatting in the tall flowers.

My mind and heart were both metaphysically detached from my body, thinking about past memories with Jaemin, and I plopped myself down next to bubble-girl and let out a huge sigh.

"Don't mind me," I told her. "Continue with your endless soap bubble obsession."

Silence.

"So, there's this girl named Hwang Jaemin. She's my age, she's tall, beautiful, smart, funny, sweet, caring...basically everything an angel is. I swear I love her. When she ended our relationship three years ago, I promised to myself that I would do myself a favor and never go back to her again. She's just not satisfied with me, and if I really do love her, I'll let her go. I'm right, right?"

She continued to blow without giving me any sign that she heard anything I had said.

I just sighed and stood back up.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," I waved at her uninterested back and walked home, feeling even emptier and less loved.

Death was waiting for me.

-

"I'll talk to you later, 'kay Kikwang? I told Jaemin I'd eat lunch with her today!" Yoseob waved at me and ran off towards Jaemin's classroom.

"Ouch," a familiar cigarette-scented voice said behind me.

"Hey, Junhyung," I said, turning around.

I looked at him, expecting to see the same drug-addict of a friend I had always had. But, to my dismay, he came looking even worse. His brown hair was dyed black and shaved dangerously close to his scalp. His eyes looked dark and bloodshot. And yet, he had that same half-conscious smile on his face.

"Hey," he said. It was one word, one syllable, but in that short second, he told me that he knew everything that I was going through. He said through his eyes and that one word that I wasn't the only one feeling pain. And for the first time ever, Junhyung came to overlap a significant part of Yoseob's territory in my heart.

But after that day, Junhyung never came back to school again.

And Death was growing impatient.

-

"...I just really miss my friends, you know?"

Bubble-girl hates me, I know it. Why doesn't anyone care about me anymore?!

"You know what? I bet I could go die in a corner and no one would realize or care."

She just kept on blowing.

My parents just left on a vacation with my siblings yesterday without telling me. Or they say it's a vacation. I should have realized it sooner when I found the large bag of money in my parents' room. Sure enough, when I went to the bank this morning, our family savings were all withdrawn a week ago.

I don't even know why.

And Yoseob never talks to be anymore. He's too busy smothering Jaemin.

And Junhyung?

He completely disappeared off the face of the earth.

Not cool.

That day, like any other day, I said 'bye' to bubble-girl and left the park.

Does she never run out of bubbles?

Death was counting down.

-

It was Saturday. That meant no school, no park, no one-sided conversations with bubble-girl.

I enjoyed talking to her. Even though she never said anything, it felt like she was listening. I always ranted at her. Everyday, after school, I'd go squat next to her and watch her blow as I talked. It was a total one-sided relationship.

I wonder why she likes bubbles so much.

I was sitting at home, staring at the silent figures moving around on the television screen. I had a large bowl of snacks in my lap and a can of soda in my hand. Saturdays, I would usually hang with Yoseob or Junhyung. I remembered the days when I was forced to choose which of the two I would be hanging out with for the day. And I also remembered choosing Yoseob more often.

I looked at the empty seats around me, where my family used to be. My little brother and little sister. My parents. Why in the world did they leave?! Where on earth would they go?!

Now, I'm alone at home.

I'm alone at school...

The only place I have is that park, next to weird ol' bubble-girl.

But strangely enough, I didn't mind much.

Death didn't mind much either. Time was up.

-

Monday, I hurried to the park.

I wanted to talk to her.

I had had a particularly lonely weekend and I needed someone to talk to.

But this time, I didn't smell fragrances.

This time, I didn't see bubbles.

This time, I didn't see her.

Death was in my mind.

-

Thankfully, she was there the next day.

But she wasn't blowing bubbles.

What was wrong? Did she run out? Was she finally sick of them? What happened?

She sat there, leaning with her back against a huge tree. Worried, I hurried to sit beside her. This was so out-of-character for her. Bubbles are her identity. She's the bubble-girl. If she doesn't blow bubbles, she's just a girl.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

No answer.

At least she's still ignoring me. If she began to talk to me as well, I would have thought I had gone utterly insane.

"You're name is 'Lee Kikwang', yes?"

I sat there, almost dizzy. Her voice was soft, quiet, gentle...I would expect it to be shrill and obnoxious, considering how she would ignore me like I was nobody.

"Uhh...yes," I confirmed, completely disoriented. Wait, how did she know my name?

"You know you're really forgetful?"

What in the world in she talking about? This girl is something. She doesn't talk to me for weeks and suddenly, when she does acknowledge my presence, she points out any flaws she sees in me. What in the...how would she know anyways? How the heck does she know anything about me anyways?

"Uh. Right. Who are you?"

She looked at me right in the eyes. Her eyes were a piercing shade of light brown. A too-familiar, light brown.

"Exactly. You just proved my point."

I looked at her, wide-eyed.

"How can you be so stupid to forget me when I begged for you to remember?"

Suddenly, the park around me disappeared.

The flowers were gone.

The tree I was leaning against vanished.

And so did bubble-girl, leaving behind her plastic bubble wand.

I picked it up, and the moment I touched it, I just knew I was gone.

-

"Lee Kikwang."

That voice wasn't hers. It was different this time. I looked up to see the man in white clothes looking down at me again.

"It's time to go," he extended a hand for me to take.

I took his hand and allowed him to help me stand up.

He took me to a train.

He sat me down.

There were six seats, one person on each seat.

I looked up to see the seat across from me.

A girl with long, wavy, brown curls sat quietly.

She had a bottle of bubbles in her hand.

I had a plastic bubble wand.

The man in white clothes stood up to close the doors.

I walked towards the girl across from me.

"Hwang Jaemin."

She looked up.

I gave her the bubble wand.

And I remembered.