Their friendship quickly developed, and pretty soon, the entire long lost vocabularies that 5zic almost forgotten came spilling out of his mouth like a bullet train. She managed to bring out the talkative side of him, a side he never knew existed. He spoke so fast, like his entire existence depended on it, and Renee listened as raptly as she could. She was surprised to find that underneath the cold quiet facade he put up, there was still a boy yearning for attention, and she was more than happy to give him all the attention he needed. There was just one thing he hadn’t yet told her, and she was dying to know.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” 5zic asked before popping a piece of kimbap into his mouth.

“I’m not sure if I can bring it up.” She replied cautiously. Their feet dangled dangerously over the rooftop, and she leaned closer to him. The wind blew then, as if encouraging her to put forward the question that plagued her. Was it time for him to reply though?

“What is it?”

“Erm... Uhh, will you tell me?” She asked, peering at him through her lashes.

5zic didn't need an elaboration to know that she was asking about his past. Over the last few days he had spoken to her about almost everything, but his past was one thing he never spoke of. He wasn’t ready to indulge on it, afraid that if he finally did tell her the truth, she would stop being his friend. He couldn't risk that, not when he just started knowing her.

“You might not understand-“

“I’ll try my best to understand.” She said softly. “There must be a reason why you’re so quiet all the time...”

5zic scoffed lightly. “You might not believe this but I’ve always been very quiet.”

“Really?” She asked in slight disbelieve.

Sighing, 5zic ran his fingers through his hair, wondering briefly if she was absolutely worth it. What if once she heard his story, she might never want to be friends with him again? He had heard of her past, but his past was the complete opposite to hers. Renee Lee had come from a small village in Busan, with 5 brothers and a struggling mother. Deciding that Busan had nothing to offer, they moved to the city; her mother doing odd jobs here and there to pay the rent.  It wasn’t enough, so Renee worked full time at night to support her family. He knew they were excessively poor, and he wasn’t sure if she would react lightly to him throwing his wealth away.

He gazed at her earnest face for a short while, before inwardly nodding his head. She might not understand, but she was definitely worth it. Even if she refused to continue being friends with him, he would do everything in his power to make her see that he was who he was.

“Have you heard of Kim Chang Woo?” He asked slowly, running his tongue over the back of his teeth.

Renee furrowed her brow. “Of Kim Electronics? Erm, the whole world knows him.”

“Yeah well, some better than others.” 5zic replied quietly.

“What do you mean? Do you know him? Personally?”

5zic’s silence spoke volumes and Renee’s jaw dropped open.

“Oh my God, he’s your father?! And no one here knew?”

“Nope.” 5zic said, popping the ‘p’.

“So what happened? I’m assuming that since no one here knew about your father, I’m guessing you’re kind of ashamed of him.”

5zic took a deep breath and swung his legs over the edge, taking her hand in his as he did so. He led her towards the bench, leaning against the side wall for better comfort. It was going to be a long story, so they might as well make themselves comfortable.

“When I was born, I was destined to be the heir of Kim Electronics. He sent me to the States when I was very young, and I was taught many business things, things that I have absolutely no interest in whatsoever. So I started acting up. I threw a lot of tantrums, I cried, I shouted, I did everything I could so I didn't have to study business. But my dad kept on forcing it on me, and so over time, I even talked less. I refused to do anything he told me to. When I was in the States, I actually found something that I liked, and I did that instead of studying.”

“And what was that?”

“I got into hip-hop.” 5zic replied with a small smile. “All those words I haven’t spoken, I wrote them into my rap and it sounded quite good, so I continued. I even won their Annual Underground Rap Battle. But there were people there who weren’t satisfied with my win. I was new, and they didn't know who I was, so they didn't think I deserved it. I eventually got into a fight with them until I... accidentally shot one of them.”

“Oh 5zic...” Renee whispered.

“No no, I didn't kill him. He went into coma and I was thrown in prison. My father didn't know until a few weeks later. He uhh, he bribed the officer in charge of me and brought me straight home.” 5zic said quietly. “He threw me here in this school. And I’ve been here ever since. A year ago, last summer to be exact, he kicked me out of the house because I continued to do hip hop. When he found out, he uhh, disowned me.”

He finished his story on a quiet note, too afraid to even peek at Renee. What would she think of him now? What would she think of a person who had everything but threw it away when she had absolutely nothing to start with at all? 5zic squirmed in his seat, anxious about her reply. What was taking her so long?

“5zic I... surprisingly understand.”

She had said it in such a carefree tone, that 5zic quickly whipped his head to look at her. Her smiling face surprised him, but he took it as a sign that she, under circumstances completely unknown to him, still wanted to be his friend. She still thought of him as the 5zic she knew, and not a stranger. And to 5zic, that was as good as it could be.

“You don't hate me? Or anything?” He asked meekly.

Renee laughed, and slapped his shoulder lightly. “Why would I hate you? You didn't do anything to me. And it’s not your fault that you don't want to own the company right?”

“Right. Exactly.” 5zic nodded his head enthusiastically. “I just thought...”

“Thought what?”

He looked at her still smiling face, and swallowed his thought. Since she didn't have any problem with him being who he was, then he might as well just don't mention it.

“Nothing. I’m just glad we can still be friends.” 5zic finally said.

“5zic, don’t be silly. Friends aren’t like that. Friends don't ditch their friends when they found out about their friend’s past. It doesn’t work like that. At least not with me. So you got nothing to worry about ok?”

5zic smiled and pulled her up to her feet, feeling like the weight of the world has been lifted off of his shoulders. He was worried for absolutely nothing. Maybe Renee was right. A friend wouldn’t do that to each other. And it was about time that he has one.

“Let’s go. Class is starting soon. Hey uhh, do you mind keeping it a secret?”

Renee raised her eyebrow at him, an incredulous expression on her face. “Who am I going to tell? Zico?”

5zic shrugged as they make their way down the stairs.  “Hey you never know. He’s been hitting on you, haven’t you noticed?”

“Get lost 5zic!”

Chapter Posted on: Sept. 24. 2014

Next chapter is up! Heappy reading! Enjoy! =D