The first thing anyone noticed about him was his baby face.

                My friends all called him a little kid, giggling about how cute he was and how having him in their classes was like taking their little brother to school.  When they asked for my opinion I just smiled and nodded vaguely.

                The truth was that the first thing I ever noticed about Lee Jihoon was the back of his head.

                It was unavoidable and maybe kind of creepy.  I sat behind him during math and since he was an inch taller than me I always had to crane my neck from side to side like a tiny, deranged giraffe to see the board.  On the days I gave up, I slumped in my seat and took to studying the back of his head.

                When he wasn’t sitting in front of me, I could always pick him out on the field sitting in a lawn chair, taking a nap or absently strumming a guitar while his friends messed around.  He was so attached to that chair that somebody wrote his name on it in permanent marker, even though it was school property.  The teachers either didn’t notice or didn’t care. 

                It was on a chilly fall day that I finally saw his face up close.  As I waited on a bench outside school waiting for my mom to pick me up, my cell phone rang.  Jihoon was exiting the building when I picked it up.

                “Mom?”

                “Honey, do you think you could walk home today?”

                “What?” I asked a bit too loudly.  Jihoon glanced over at me.  I lowered my voice.  “Why?”

                “The car broke down and you know Dad is overseas for work.  It’s a short distance anyway.  Get some exercise.”

                I pressed my lips together and looked hesitantly at the street.  I’m being a baby – it really is not that far.

                “Okay.  I’ll call you when I get home,” I told my mother before hanging up.

                With a determined nod, I gripped the straps of my backpack and marched confidently as I could down the street.

                Except…

                Somebody is following me, I thought frantically as I heard footsteps crunching behind me.  I told myself not to look back and I quickened my steps. 

                The footsteps got quieter, and I dared a look over my shoulder.  No one.  Okay, good, I was just being paranoid.

                I turned back around and came face-to-face with a group of tall older kids. 

                “Hi, are you lost?” one of the boys asked me, grasping my arm.

                “Wow, you’re so small.  Are you sure you’re wearing the right uniform?” another taunted. 

                “Let go of me,” I said, trying to keep my voice as even as I could. 

                “You want to go eat ramen or something?” the boy holding my arm asked, leaning in close.

                I let out a shriek and shoved him away, falling on my in the process.

                When I looked up again, I saw a person who’s back I knew all too well.

                “Hey kids, you should pick on someone your own size,” Jihoon said calmly.

                “Says you, midget,” shot back one of the teenagers.

                Hearing that must have ticked Jihoon off because then he was charging forward, smacking the boy across the face and taking down his friends with quick, precise movements. 

                He rushed towards me and took my hand, pulling me to my feet.  We made a run for it, leaving the boys groaning on the street behind us. 

                Jihoon was still holding my hand long after the danger had passed.

                I stopped.  “Jihoon.  How did you…why…” I said, searching for the right question and glancing at our clasped hands.

                He let go quickly and stuffed his hands in pockets.  “This is my way home too.  I usually walk and so I know that sometimes it can be dangerous.” 

                “But still…were you following me on purpose?”

                He smirked a little and looked around as if he’d been caught.  Then he met my eye again and confessed, “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

                The girls at school were wrong.  Lee Jihoon wasn’t a baby or a little brother.  He was a man.