Just like yesterday, Seo Hyun sneaks her head out of the gate to check if there are people outside and when she couldn’t see anyone, she goes out.

            “Seo Hyun sshi!” Yonghwa just got out of the building and sees her.

Seo Hyun shuts her eyes tightly upon hearing his voice and when she opens them, she runs quickly without looking back.

            “Wait!” he says with an extended arm but she still, she goes like that. “Didn’t she hear me?” he asks himself.

            “Why do I have to run into that kid?!” she says panicky.

Yonghwa tries to run after her but Seo Hyun hail a cab leaving him in the street.

            “It’s not like she’s gonna be late…..” he utters. It’s still early so there’s no use to be in such a hurry like that.

_________________________________________________________________

Yonghwa enters the classroom so Seo Hyun secretly gulps and pretends to be busy looking at her notes from yesterday. He sits and stares at her for a moment. She’s aware of it yet she ignores him and covers herself from his view by letting her hair drapes like a curtain. Yonghwa decides to ask her if there’s something wrong but Mr. Jin arrives so he fails with his attempt to touch her shoulder.

_________________________________________________________________

Lunch time---like yesterday, Seo Hyun heads to the place where she ate.

            “This is a great spot for lunch!” Yonghwa says as he sits next to her.

            “K-kiddo!” her eyes are wide in shock. She never had an idea that he was following her.

            “I want to set things straight that’s why I followed you.” He says. “You seem to be avoiding me since this morning. Did I do something wrong?”

            “H-huh? No…..why would I avoid you?” she answers without looking at him.

Since you know that I’m avoiding you, why do you still have to ask?

            “Then why did you run when I called you out this morning?”

            “You called me? I didn’t hear anything….” She denies.

            “I thought you purposely ran away because you even ride a taxi even if it’s too early.”

            “Uh…I don’t feel like taking the bus. It’s too crowded in the morning…”

Yonghwa nods.

            “You’re right…..But, if you’re not avoiding me…why did you act like we’re strangers in the classroom?”

            “Ahh…..that? Uh…..it’s because I thought that you won’t like it if I act too casual with you. You know….you might get irritated…..” she couldn’t find the right excuse to give him.

            “Why would I get irritated? Hmm….I don’t mind if you act too casual with me. After all, aside from being classmates, we are neighbors too.” Yonghwa says.

            “Ahh….Is that so?” she fakes a chuckle. “Okay…thanks for letting me know. No more misunderstanding…” she smiles and he returns it.

A few moments pass and Yonghwa is not budging from his place so Seo Hyun feels a bit awkward.

            “You brought a lunch?” Yonghwa says upon noticing the lunchbox on her lap.

            “Uh…yes.”

He sits comfortably and un-wraps the sweet bread he got from the cafeteria. Seo Hyun looks at him with confusion. Is he going to eat here too?

Yonghwa bites his bread confirming that he has no plan to leave. Seo Hyun is torn whether she should leave and find a new place to eat or just stay but she told him that she’s not avoiding him so in the end, she chose to stay. She hesitantly opens her lunchbox. 

            “Wow….it looks good.” Yonghwa says looking at her food. “It must be great to always have a homemade lunch.”

            “You want some?” she asks.

            “Can I?”

Seo Hyun nods and gives him the spoon.

            “How about you?” he asks.

            “I’ll use the chopsticks.”

Yonghwa tries the food and his eyes show that he likes it.

            “Hmm. It tastes really good. Did your grandma cook this?”

            “Uh? No….I made it.”

            “Really? You get up really early then….You can cook well too.” Yonghwa praises her.

            “This…this one is easy to prepare…” Seo Hyun doesn’t know how to react since aside from her parents, she never cooked for anyone before.

They share the food together.

            “Doesn’t your mother prepare a lunchbox for you?” she asks.

            “I live alone. My parents are abroad.”

            “Ahh…” He’s probably been living there for years and she doesn’t even know.

            “You must be missing your friends.” He says.

            “What friends?”

            “Your friends from your former school. Your friends from where you are from.”

            “I don’t have friends.” She answers then eats.

            “You don’t have friends? Not even one?” Yonghwa couldn’t believe the idea.

Seo Hyun nods to confirm it.

            “That !” he exclaims.“How could you live like that?” 

            “Live like what?”

            “This!” Yonghwa says while making a rectangular shape with his index finger like she’s inside that imaginary frame. “Being an absolute loner.”

Seo Hyun couldn’t say a word. She had always been like this so she never thought that she’s a ‘loner’.

            “How could you say that I’m a loner?”

            “No friends, has the habit of doing things alone, not fond of socializing or mingling with others, and having a world of your own. What else to call a person like that?”

            “You think I like being a loner?” she backs at him.

            “You don’t?”

Seo Hyun blinks and turns her eyes away.

            “It’s not that I intentionally want to be a ‘loner’. You see, I was homeschooled during my elementary and middle school years so when I finally got to be in an actual school, I really don’t have an idea how to make friends…” she admits.

            “But you attended an exclusive school for girls, right?” he asks. He thinks that it is easier to make friends with the same gender.

            “Yes. But it’s not easy. Just like here in this school…..nobody seems to like me.”

Yonghwa finally got it. Seo Hyun has no social skills and at the same time, girls her age feel intimidated so they don’t approach her.

            “We can make it happen.” He utters.

Seo Hyun turns to him.

            “Huh?”

             “How to make friends….It’s totally doable. I can teach you.” He says in a determined tone.

            “You can teach me how to make friends?” she asks him back. “What do you want to get in return?”

Yonghwa smiles crookedly.

            “Stop. Right. There.” He says pointing his fingers at her. “That’s one of the things you don’t do when trying to make friends. You should not make the person feel that you think that he or she wants to get something from you. You can’t simply buy friends.” He explains.

            “But you are going to teach me. There must be something I could give you in exchange of what you’d do for me.” All her life, she pays for everything she gets from other people. She never takes free thing before.

            “I’m willing to help you with your problem free of charge.”

            “But why?”

            “Hmm…Because you let me share your lunch…and we are neighbors too. It’s natural to give and receive help from a neighbor once in a while.” He answers.

Seo Hyun only stares at him. Yonghwa turns his entire body to face her.

            “Let’s start with this.” He says rising his hand for a handshake.

Seo Hyun takes his hand.

            “To be friends with them, you have to know what they are up to. What their interests are.” Yonghwa says as they walk home that afternoon. “Look.” He nods and Seo Hyun follows where his eyes at.

The female students are walking side by side. They are excitedly talking about some guy’s name.

               “Who’s Sehun? Baekhyun?” she asks.

            “Those guys are members of EXO. It is an idol group which is very popular among youngsters nowadays.”

            “Idols?”Seo Hyun hangs her head on the side. She has no idea what it means.

            “Idols are those guys and girls who sing and dance on TV. They dresses fashionably making teenagers swoon because of their looks. Their music is being loved by them too.” He says as if he reads her confusion.

            “Do you like idols too?” she asks him.

            “I’m not particularly into that stuff. Mostly, girls are the ones crazy about idols.”

            “Ahh…” she says nodding. “Then, I should be crazy over them too in order to obtain friends?”

Yonghwa smiles crookedly.

            “You don’t have to go that far…Just know enough so that you can relate to them.”

Seo Hyun brings out a small notepad and writes IDOLS and EXO for research.

            “You can check out CNBlue too.” Yonghwa adds.

            “CNBlue?”

            “Yeah. They are idols too but I think they’re cooler than those other idols.”

            “Why?”

            “Well….They don’t have to dance and wear those highly accessorized clothes like other male idols to get fans. They just play musical instruments and sing the songs they wrote. I think they’re cooler that way.” He says. “I just think you’d like them especially their lead vocalist.” He adds.

They continue to walk to the bus stop. While waiting, they see a girl whose busy sending SMS with emoticons.

            “You have to get in tune to what’s hot. Sending messages using different emoticons is a trend among friends these days. So when you are talking with them, try to express yourself using those cute stuffs…Girls love that.” he says.

Seo Hyun tries to peek into the girl’s phone to see what an ‘emoticon’ is but the girl caught her and frowns.

            “S-sorry…” she nods her head lightly.

Yonghwa sighs secretly and lays his hand in front of her.

            “Give me your phone.” He orders but Seo Hyun only looks at him.

            “You don’t have a phone?” he asks.

            “Of course I have. What do you think of me?!” Seo Hyun talks back.

Yonghwa does a close and open hand gesture.

            “H….how can I possibly bring a telephone?” 

Yonghwa realizes that she’s talking about a resedential telephone not a cellphone. He scratches his temple gently.

            “Seo Hyun sshi…You really are something.” 

_________________________________________________________________

[Author's Note]

I will post three updates every week. Please look forward to it. Thank you so much for the comments!