Taekwoon reached to open his house door but, before he could, it flew open to reveal his eldest sister. She was wearing make-up and had her long, black hair pulled back into a ponytail. Beneath her jacket she appeared to be wearing a shirt of some kind.

She took one look at Taekwoon and her mood seemed to fall. Her cheeks were determined to hold her smile, but her eyes betrayed her.

“How did it go Leo?” she asked with a false brightness in her voice.

He nodded to indicate good. She looked at him, her eyes now revealing their inner concern. She ruffled his hair fondly before walking down the path to the gate.

Taekwoon turned to look to his sister who was walking away from him. She somehow seemed so grown up. From within the boundaries of his room he had not been able to watch his sister grow into an adult.

When he got inside her found his mother waiting by the door for him to return. “How did it go?” she asked meekly, not really expecting an answer.

Taekwoon stopped, mid-stride. “Good.” He said, then continued upstairs.

Her eyes widened and she smiled wearily to herself. If only he would tell her what was on his mind.

Once in his room, Taekwoon placed his bag on the ground and began to rummage about in it. He found what he wanted and put it on his lap. From the lion box he produced a pencil, plain and blue, and twirled it in and out of his fingers. He sighed and placed it on his bedside table.

Without even bothering to change his clothes, Taekwoon lay down on his bed and closed his eyes, slowly entering the world of dreams.

***

Taekwoon awoke on the final day of his middle school career. He washed and dressed and stared at himself in the mirror. Finally.

He walked to school with some amount of purpose. His classroom was notably rowdier than usual, he heard at least three promises to keep in touch as well as one girl who broke into tears before the bell had even rung.

Miss Nam came in and they did their greeting. A few words about moving forward and continuing to work hard were exchanged before she starting sniffling and left, allowing the class to talk amongst themselves.

Taekwoon looked around at his third year class. He did not recognise half the people there – probably because he spent most of his time looking down or at his notebook. He did not know the names of the two girls talking next to him.

“Even though you’ll be living in dorms you’ll still come and visit won’t you?”

“Of course! Because we’re best friends!”

As they gave each other a hug, the taller of the two girls noticed Taekwoon staring and scrunched up her face. “What are you looking at Takoon?” he immediately looked down.

“She asked you a question!” said the other girl. How pathetic, Taekwoon thought, now I’m even being hassled by girls.

“Nothing.” Taekwoon sa