"His mom is dead," Jaehwan said, causing Hakyeon to look at him in confusion. 

"What?" Hakyeon asked. "Who?"

"Taekwoon," Jaehwan answered immediately. "Taekwoon's mom is dead."

"How did you find that out?" Hakyeon asked in surprise. There was no way Taekwoon would just willingly share that information, especially with Jaehwan.

Jaehwan started playing with his fingers. "I saw him at the cemetery," he answered.

Hakyeon just looked at him for a while. He noticed how mellow and reserved his friend was. Jaehwan only turned serious in regards to one topic. "You went to-"

"Yes," Jaehwan said, not wanting to hear his name. "His mother called me and I know she tried calling you, Wonsik, and Hongbin too."

Hakyeon bit his lip at the accusation, not being able to deny anything but not wanting to lie either.  He let out a sigh. "Jae-"

"You shouldn't get mad at me for paying my respects," Jaehwan said timidly. He knew this was a sensitive topic.

"I'm not mad," Hakyeon replied.

"I don't blame you for what happened," Jaehwan continued. "Nobody did."

Hakyeon scoffed. "Nobody?" he asked in disbelief. "What about him? In his letter didn't he say that things would have turned out differently if I hadn't treated him the way I did? And what about his mom? Do you not remember her kicking me out of the funeral home because she couldn't bear to see me? And what about-"

"She's dying," Jaehwan said, interrupting Hakyeon once again.  

"Wh-what?" Hakyeon asked, getting himself together after his little explosion. 

"His mom is dying," Jaehwan explained. "Her cancer got worse. She has two months."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Hakyeon said, almost robotically. It's not that he didn't care. Hakyeon was just confused about what feelings he should be showing right now. He wrung his hands repeatedly. "So Taekwoon..." he trailed off, wanting to change the subject.

Jaehwan sighed. He knew what Hakyeon was doing but decided to play along. "He talks more to his dead mother than he does to us," he began, a soft laugh escaping his lips. "I'm not sure how she died, but according to her grave stone, she's been dead for eight years now, but it's clear Taekwoon hasn't gotten over it."

"And I guess you were too far away to hear what he was saying," Hakyeon replied, earning a nod from Jaehwan. Hakyeon sighed. "Either way, the death of his mom would explain one thing."

"Yeah," Jaehwan said. "But who knows how many things about Taekwoon would need to be explained before we finally understand him."

"Something turned Taekwoon into the way he is," Hakyeon said. "He wasn't born that way."

"I wish that was always the reason," Jaehwan said with a sad sigh. "It would make more sense and would be easier to explain. This person was born sad. This person was born happy..."

Hakyeon nodded. "It would probably take away a lot of hurt and confusion."

Jaehwan shrugged. "But if a person was born sad, would it still be possible to help them?"

There was silence as Hakyeon pondered Jaehwan's question. "I think...I think that even if you are born sad, there's always this tiny sliver of hope," Hakyeon began. "Life is full of challenges, and finding that one life saving factor could be the reason you smile and want to keep going." Hakyeon nodded. "We don't know Taekwoon's story. Not yet. But even still, let's be that reason he smiles and wants to keep going."

"There you are, Podo," Taekwoon gasped happily as a familiar looking small dog appeared in front of him. He reached down to pick up the stray, not caring how dirty it might have been before placing the dog on his lap. "I haven't seen you in a while. I was afraid someone found you and took you to a shelter."

Taekwoon smiled as the dog looked up at him, wagging his tail. "Sorry," he said to the dog. "I don't have any snacks for you this time." He continued petting the dog, ruffling the dog's hair until a new voice sounded that caused him to jump.

"That's so adorable," Dohoon said, cutting short Taekwoon's short moment of peace. "The freak talks to stray animals."

Taekwoon didn't reply. He glanced at Dohoon for a while before placing the dog back on the ground. "Run little guy," he whispered to the dog. "I'll see you tomorrow."

As if the dog understood, it started running away. Taekwoon watched in sadness before looking at Dohoon again. He grabbed his backpack from off the ground and stood up to leave. He really didn't want to deal with Dohoon today. The fact that the bully had invaded his little sanctuary behind the school made Taekwoon shudder.

Taekwoon started walking toward Dohoon, seeing as how the only exit was being blocked by hi