Seo Hyun finds herself on the school grounds' farthest corner. She takes out her handkerchief and lays it flat under a tree before sitting. There are no other people in here and she hopes nobody would come. She finally un-wraps the sandwich she bought from the cafeteria and silently enjoys her lunch.

The first few class periods are over and it had been uncomfortable for her. The students kept on staring at her as if they are observing her every move. Even in the cafeteria, she felt those eyes on her so she ended up being here.

           “Eating lunch alone?” Yeong Won appears out of nowhere that she almost chokes on the milk she was sipping.

            “Y-Yeong Won!”

            “What is this? Are trying to be a loner?” ne asks.

Seo Hyun only stares at nem. Yeong Won sits next to her.

            “You are given a chance that not everybody gets….Don’t waste it.” ne says.

            “B-but…I can’t help it. Coming back to this age, I like to choose the different path. The one I refused to walk on before but I’m afraid that I don’t know where to start.” She admits.

            “Don’t be afraid. Just let nature take its course. Try to socialize…”

            “But I feel like the kids don’t like me. Who would like to befriend a grandma like me?”

            “Hey! Who told you that you’re a grandma?”

            “We both know that I am. I’m just young outside but I’m really old inside…” Seo Hyun says while staring down.

            “You are old with your real age but you are young inside.”

Seo Hyun looks at nem.

            “What do you mean?”

            “Mind and heart matures thru experiences while physical body becomes old but the soul never changes. Human soul never gets old. It will always be the same therefore you are young.” ne explains.

Seo Hyun smiles a bit but then she suddenly looks around.

            “I know why you’re here but don’t you think people could see you?” she asks.

            “Don’t worry. No one could see me aside from you.” ne answers.

The bell rings and Yeong Won stands up.

            “I must go now.”

            “Wait! What shall I do now? How about you? Will I see you again?” Seo Hyun asks worriedly.

            “How could you make friends if I’m always around? I’ll be around from time to time to check on you so don’t worry. Now, go back to the class room and play as an ordinary eighteen year old girl okay?” after saying that, ne disappears into thin air.

__________________________________________________________________

Yonghwa just got out of school. He’s thinking about what food he could eat later at home. He fell asleep at the music room during the lunch time so he wasn’t able to grab a bite.

            “Ahh…I’m so hungry.” He whispers to himself as he puts his hand to his stomach.

The bus stops but he’s still two stops away to his destination. The person standing beside him boarded out of the bus and Yonghwa notices the girl standing not far from him. She’s that newly transferred student in their class. She looks anxious while she keeps looking out of the window.

She’s obviously not familiar with the place so she’s making sure that she won’t miss her stop. Yeah, she’s not from here anyway. His mind says.

When the bus moves, the girl is not holding on to the safety handrail and almost fall because she lost her footings. Yonghwa almost reaches onto her to catch her but the girl grabs the handrail. He blows out some air in relief. He then decided to stop looking at her and concentrate on the road.

After a few minutes, the bus arrives at his stop so he moves to get off but surprisingly, the girl goes out too.

            “She lives around here too?” he utters.

He walks with the girl walking a few steps in front of him. She seems to be staring down on the road that she accidentally crashes to an older woman. 

            “I’m sorry.” She quickly apologizes with her low voice and moves on.

Yonghwa continues to walk as well. She’s a bit clumsy—he thought. Both walks and he noticed that she’s going the exact same route as him. His eyebrows furrows. Is she living in the same neighborhood? Not long after, the girl probably notices his presence because she turns her head on the side. She suddenly stops making Yonghwa do the same. She moves again and so as he. Yonghwa puts his right hand on his pocket and think for a moment if he should just go pass her but his feet stops on their own when she pauses for the second time. She steps away again and he takes some too. Finally she looks back at him.

            “Hey, you kiddo! Why are you following me?!” she says in an accusing tone.

Yonghwa glances behind him and see no one so he turns back to her.

            “Me?” he asks.

            “Don’t play dumb! I just caught you following me around. Are you stalking me?!”

            “Woah…woah! That’s a serious accusation Miss. I’m not following you and DEFINITELY not stalking you, okay?” he says.

            “Aigoo! Look who’s this kid is trying to deceive! I know you were following me since I got off the bus!” she strongly insists.

Yonghwa smiles crookedly because of disbelief.

            “Can’t it be because I live in the same neighborhood?” he says and he grabs tightly to the bag he’s carrying over his left shoulder.

            “Huh! Nice try kiddo but that’s the oldest trick in the book!” she says while one of her hands is on her hip.

Yonghwa didn’t talk back but walks.

            “W-hat are you doing?!” the girl has her eyes wide behind those old style eyeglasses.

            “Moving.” He responds apathetically.

The girl holds up her hand giving a stop gesture.

            “Stop right there! Don’t you dare get near me!” she says with a threat then quickly sprints away.

Yonghwa is left feeling dumbfounded. The girl takes a right lift and is now gone from his sight.

            “What a weird girl…” he whispers and continues to walk home.

He also turns right but does not see any trace of her.

__________________________________________________________________

Seo Hyun closes the gate quickly. She ran as fast as she could so that strange youngster won’t be able to follow her here.

           “I have to be careful with people like that….” She utters while gently rubbing her chest because of fright.

Seo Hyun rushes out to go to the hospital. She receives a call earlier from the hospital. They informed her that the result of her latest laboratory test came out. The doctor said that he will personally go to her house if she can’t come and it’s because he knows that she has no guardian. Seo Hyun panicked and lied that she will send somebody to get it.

Seo Hyun approaches the nurse station.    

         “Excuse me nurse, I’m here to receive Soo Joohyun’s laboratory test result.” She politely says.

              “Are you patient Seo Joohyun?” the nurse asks.

              “Yes.” She responds.

The nurse looks for the folder on the drawer. She takes out an envelope but her eyebrows furrows.

            “This is the only Seo Joohyun here.” She looks to her and continues. “But it says that she’s sixty seven years old….”

Seo Hyun slaps her head mentally.

            “Ah! She’s my grandmother. I thought you asked me if I’m her granddaughter so I said yes.” She lies.

            “Ahh…But, I need a proof that she sent you to pick it up.”

            “I brought her I.D. with me.” She says while searching her bag. “Here.” She gives her the I.D. and in return, she was asked to sign the release paper.

            “I will get you her medicines. Can you wait for a bit?” the nurse says.

            “Okay.”

While waiting, she sees a male nurse pushing an old man on a wheeled bed. Next to them is another male nurse carrying a devise that looks like a respirator.          

          “Where are you bringing the hospital chairman?” One of the nurses in the station asks the male nurse.

They stop in front of them.

            “There’s an instruction to move him to the left wing.” He answers.

            “Left wing? What do you mean?”

            “It is Madam’s order.”

            “It has only been two weeks since he fell into a coma, right?”

            “Yes. But the madam wants to give his room to a VIP patient so she gave an instruction to move the chairman to one of the cheapest room.”

Seo Hyun glances at the old man whom they identified as the hospital director.He looks like in a critical condition.

            “Why? He owns the entire hospital so he deserves to be in that suite, right?”

            “That’s true but Madam told the chief doctor that having that room for him is just wasting money. She obviously doesn’t care.”

            “Really?!How could she do that to her own husband? That’s so mean…”

The male nurse shakes his head lightly while looking at his patient.

            “I feel sorry for our hospital director. He had always been a kind person…He doesn’t have kids and his wife is not interested to look after him or even visit him.” He says.

They finally move and the nurse she’s waiting for arrives with the medicines she’s waiting for.

            “Thank you.” She says and leaves.

One couldn’t trust even a family member. The world is getting scarier--Seo Hyun thought.

__________________________________________________________________

Seo Hyun is walking home when it suddenly rains. Good thing she has an umbrella in her bag.

Yonghwa just got out of the convenience store. He bought ramyun for dinner. He pulls up his shirt’s hoodie to somehow cover himself from the rain. Then he sees the same girl from earlier.

            “We meet again, huh?” he says making her turn to him.

            “You again?!” she says.

            “Don’t misunderstand, I’m not following you. I bought this and saw you.” He says and shows the plastic bag in his hand.

She rolls her eyes on him and moves to the other side of the street to keep a distance from him. Not long after, a drunkard is walking towards their direction. As they almost meet him in the middle, the drunkard starts to head towards her direction and Yonghwa sees the fright in her face and he comes next to her. Because of him, the drunken man couldn’t approach Seo Hyun.

Their eyes meet for a moment but both break it due to an awkward feeling.

       “Y-your expression earlier is….so I…” Yonghwa tries to explain but couldn’t finish because Seo Hyun cuts him off.

            “Thank you.” She says in a low voice.

He was taken aback by that for he didn’t expect that since she’s vocal about her dislike of him.

            “Welcome….”

They walk home side by side. Yonghwa breaks the awkward silence between them.

            “You might have not noticed but uh….We’re in the same class at school.”He says.

            “Huh? You mean you are one of Mr. Ji’s students?” she asks in a surprised tone. “No wonder this kiddo looks familiar.” She utters after.

            “Yes. You are the new student, right? What is your name again?”

Seo Hyun blinks a few times before finally giving her name.

            “I’m Seo Hyun.”

Yonghwa nods his head lightly.

            “Hmm…Jung  Yonghwa here.”

They reach Seo Hyun’s house.

            “This is where you live?” Yonghwa asks staring at the Victorian inspired house.

Seo Hyun eyes him with furrowed eyebrows.

            “It’s because I know the Grandma who lives there. You see I live there.” He points out the four-storey apartment building on her house’s right. His unit is on the second floor right next to her home. It’s certain that he can view her yard and a bit of her room from his terrace. Seo Hyun turns her head on the side and puts her hand in front of . Her mind shouts a loud Oh My!.

            “From what I know, the grandma in that house is living by herself…” he voices out.

Seo Hyun gulps.

            “I’m her granddaughter.” She lies impulsively. She couldn’t look at him comfortably.

            “But that grandma is an old maid. She isn’t married and therefore no kids…”Yonghwa mention while analyzing.

            “She’s my father’s aunt. That makes her my grandmother, right?” she says convincing him.

                “Uh…” He scratches his temple a bit. “That’s right…”

            “I have to go in now kiddo!” She opens the gate and goes immediately leaving the clueless Yonghwa.

Once inside, Seo Hyun walks back in forth because of anxiousness.

            “What should I do! What should I do! How could I not notice?!” she says to herself.

She didn’t expect that he is that young man. He had seen him a few times. He actually tried to approach her in the past by offering her some help when he once saw her carrying the things she bought from the market in which she refused. The other times are when he tries to make a conversation with her whenever they meet outside. She ignored him in all of those times. And now, he is her classmate?! How could such thing happen?

______________________________________________________________________________________________

I'm happy to be back ^_^.....How was it? Please comment!