A week of school had already passed; time surely rushes when you have a friend to enjoy with. Junhong never even left my side, not for even a minute. With him around I didn’t have even a second to think about my adversities, I was all smiles. In fact, during the whole week we both had gotten closer spending all the recesses and class discussions together and we had developed this habit of waving each other goodbye after every end of a school day. Another thing that made him always come to me was the long, neatly written list of Korean words that he had to teach me. Especially written for me. He had helped me a lot with the language and by now I had learned quite some words and because of the Korean classes that I was taking side by side, I had learned to write and read some of it too, although I was still unable to fluently speak, write or read it yet. Either way, it was still progress and Junhong still gave me hope that I will learn it eventually.

I looked out the window; it was definitely a beautiful Saturday morning. I had just finished my homework and now I was preoccupied with the world beyond my bedroom window. Autumn was truly a weather to be enjoyed if you lived in Korea. I watched people pass by as I wondered yet again about Junhong. Other than my sorrows floating through my head, he was the only happy thing there.

I was just smiling, thinking about that silly thing he had done yesterday when the echoing vibration of my phone snapped me out of my reverie. I stood over my phone as it kept on vibrating, making a buzzing sound against the side table. I checked the name on the lit up screen and smiled a wide grin,

“Well think of the devil and the devil is here.” I giggled as I unlocked it and pressed the speaker to my ear.

“Annyeong!!!” His enthusiastic voice spoke up. “Do you still remember what that means right?”

“Of course I do! How can I forget? After all you are such a wonderful teacher.”

“Oh geez. Thanks Hana.” He said a bit shyly.

We talked for another five minutes before he got to the actual reason he had called me for.

“Ummm Hana, are you done with your Math homework?” There was a tinge of embarrassment visible in his voice. I told him that I was finished with it.

“So I have this problem in a question, I can’t figure out how to solve it. So can you please help me?”

This was the first time he had ever called me to help him out with anything. I already felt so bad that he was being so considerate by helping me settle down, making me feel comfortable in this new place, being nice to me, teaching me Korean and basically what not? Now this was my chance to help him out even if it was as little as Math homework. I still felt like that it was my highest priority right now.

“Of course, I would love to. What question are you having a problem with?” Even I could hear the euphoria in my voice.

“Are you busy today?”

Well that was an odd reply. It was something that I hadn’t expected.

“Nope, I have no plans at all, I guess.” I said as I fumbled with a strand of my hair.

The next reply was as unexpected as the first one and also a sentence that left me stunned, making my heart palpitate.

“Can we both meet somewhere? Because you know, I would understand the solution way better if we are talking face to face and besides remember the promise you made that you would tell me more about yourself?”

After a short pause I replied jubilantly that I would love that. I inquired about the location, he offered,

“How about the park? The one near our school?”

“That sounds great!”

He asked me again with that adorable concern that whether it would be difficult for me and he should pick me up on his way. I told him that everything was  all right on my side, that I had no problem.

We further discussed the timings and with that he responded,

“Thank you! You’re the best!”

I sat on a bench; near the entrance, clutching my small bag that held my math books. I had arrived first since it was just at a small distance from my apartment. Waiting for some time, I absentmindedly began to twiddle with the locket that never left my neck. It was no sooner that I was engrossed in it, trying to apply whatever I had learnt in Korean, to decipher the message on its shiny, golden surface.

I shuddered at the suddenness of the familiar voice appearing behind me. The heart-shaped locket fell back to its place, slipping through my fingers.

“Forever in my heart.” Junhong had read innocently, over my shoulder.

I turned around, “You scared me!”

“Oops, sorry. I didn’t mean to.” He chuckled. I propped myself up to face him. For a second we both stood in silence. I observed that he was wearing a dark blue jacket that was ed from the front to reveal a plain white shirt underneath and he wore denim jeans with black converse. His black hair was a bit ruffled but looked amazing. I also noticed that he had a pair of hand frees hanging around his neck and he was clutching his skateboard. He really looked handsome.

This was the first time we both were looking at each other wearing something other than our regular uniforms. I also saw him staring at me. I started to feel a little unconscious. Like Junhong, I also had dressed casually; a long yellow and black hoodie with a cartoon bee on it that I found adorable, and a pair of skinny jeans with yellow converse. Today, unlike in school, I had left my hair open that currently fell over my shoulders, a yellow hair clip clasped on one side of my head. Most people usually mistook me for a thirteen year old because of the way I looked.

The silence felt longer than it was but thankfully Junhong broke the awkwardness by asking me about my locket.

“I’ve noticed that you wear it all the time. Is it something special?” he smiled and asked sceptically.

“Yes, it was a present from my mother.” I responded as I tucked a stray strand of my hair behind my ear.

He asked me some more questions that involved my life story. But I just answered that we should first get over with the homework.

He pouted like a cute little kid.

“But curiosity kills the cat.”

“Well, you’re not a cat, Junhong.” I joked as I chuckled at his cuteness.

“I am.” He replied and meowed and purred in order corroborate his statement.

A chortle escaped my lips. This was probably the thousandth time I laughed throughout the entire week and it was all because of him. Sometimes it was his stupidity, sometimes it was his humor and sometimes it was his cuteness.

“Ok, I promise I’ll tell you everything after we are finished with your homework.”

He smiled and we both settled down on the autumn grass to begin with our work.

When we were finally completed, Junhong beamed and said,

“You’re so smart! No wonder why all the teachers have taken a liking to you just within a week.”

I felt flattered but also delighted to hear the compliment.

Soon after packing up we both decided to walk on the track. We sauntered on the leafy trail that was neatly lined up with orange-leaved trees.  The leaves crunched under our feet as we talked.

“So you have by now double promised to tell me more about yourself so no cheating this time.” He said playfully.

“Sure, if you also fulfill your promise by letting me in on your information too.” I smiled naughtily.

He asked me that what I wanted to know since there was nothing much about him.

“Like why you want to visit the US?” I reminded him.

“Look who’s the little smart kitty now.” He teased.

“I’m curious too!”

We continued to walk as Junhong asked me questions starting from the locket.

“It was a birthday gift from my mother,”

He then had asked whether it was real gold.

“Yes it is.”

I further narrated him my story telling him that my parents were rich as my mom and dad had been running their own business. I made sure to narrate everything in present tense, since I didn’t want him to know that my parents weren’t in this world anymore.

“We moved to USA because my dad is American. And my mom, well she is Korean. My dad had moved to Korea to study and basically to pursue his dreams, instead here he had met mom. He completely changed the course of his life. They became really good friends; my mom and dad, always sharing everything and completing each other’s sentences, eventually they had fallen for each other.” I smiled as I went on explaining about my parents and as Junhong listened intently.

“When they both graduated from University, they got married. My dad, he totally cut himself off from America and decided to settle with my mom in Korea. They soon had me. I was their only child, and still am.”

This part was getting tricky as I didn’t know what to explain further, I couldn’t tell him the truth so I had to blurt out lies. I hated it. I didn’t like the feeling of lying to him, lying to my only friend. But I had no other choice.

“We moved to USA soon, with my Aunt and Uncle due to my parents’ business. Now after so many years I have returned to Korea as my mom thought it would be a good idea for me to know more about my birthplace.”

After I finished my long story Junhong questioned while looking at me,

“So your dad was American?”

“Yes, I know I look Korean, adopting all my mom’s traits,” I hesitated a little, “Though I wouldn’t have minded to have my dad’s blue eyes.”

At that Junhong blurted out,

“But I like your eyes just the way they are.”  He realized what he had said and immediately looked away, I was aware he was blushing and there was no doubt that I was too. He quickly brought up another topic to cover up our embarrassment.

“So have you stored any memories in your locket?”

I paused for a few minutes, hesitant. “No I haven’t.” I replied clutching my locket. This was a fact that I grieved the most. I had no pictures, no good memories of the past anymore. I always had wanted to place pictures of people who were special to me in it, like my mom and dad. But all has been lost. All has been burnt away and is now like a thing that never existed.

My eyes welled up with tears but I didn’t dare make eye contact with Junhong. I quickly recovered for his sake, knowing he was a good observer and he got worried very quickly.

“So isn’t it your turn to explain?” I playfully punched his arm like we had been best friends since forever. But I had to admit, we were growing closer and I could feel us finding keys to unlock more facts about each other.

He began his story and this time I was all ears to it.

“Well I am an ordinary guy, living an ordinary life. I have an older brother and so I’m the youngest member of the family.” He spoke casually.

“Tell me why you want to go to the US. That is, if it’s ok for me to know.” By now I had started to feel like a trespasser, demanding his personal information like that. I felt like prying.

In the next moment, I sensed his figure sulk a little “You see, I used to have a friend when I was little. She was like a best friend as we both did nothing without each other. We laughed together, played together, ate our lunch together and even cried together. We both were very little I guess around 5 or 6.”

I could see Junhong smiling as he kept his eyes on the ground while we continued to stride through the park. I could tell by that little, sad smile of his that she was certainly someone special, someone who was always on his mind even after all those years. Someone who always brought a smile to his face even in her absence.

I felt my heart tie itself into a knot. I felt a little jealous because I never had a friend like that, a person who would think about me even after a decade, a person who would actually cry with me.

I continued to listen as he went on.

“One day………..she had to leave. She had to move to America due to her family issues. We had cried a lot. But fate just had to be the villain of the story. From that day on we never saw each other again.”

I could clearly hear the melancholy, loss and despondency in his voice. My eyes were flooded with tears again. For the first time not for my losses but his. I held them back as much as I could; I also hid my face so Junhong wouldn’t see some of them flowing out.

He finally sighed, and within the next second he was the jovial boy I had known, as if he had let all the sadness flow out with his breathe.

“So now I aim to go to America and I have this positive thought that I might bump into her again. Hana if you’d like you can come too, I just have this feeling that you both will become best friends because you remind me of her quite a lot!” he said joyously like a little kid, being taken on a trip to the amusement park.

Eventually, it was time to go home. We both had lost track of time as we had continued to walk together.  We didn’t even realize that we had spent 4 hours in the park already.

“So, it was fun spending time with you.” I said a bit nervously.

“Yeah, same here. Would you like me to drop you home?” Junhong asked politely. I could even see his eyes sparkle indicating that he really wanted to. I would’ve also loved it but the problem was that I didn’t want him to discover the truth about me; that I was an orphan living with my aunt.

“Ummmm, it’s ok. I can go by myself. Thank you anyway.” I smiled back.

“But I insist. What kind of guy doesn’t walk a girl home when they just hung out?”  He did have a point and also the eagerness in his eyes was intensely hypnotizing so I couldn’t escape this time.

Our walk continued as we sauntered towards my abode. On our way, we persistently shared more facts and stories of our life. There wasn’t a single second when either one of us felt bored or deprived of more things to share; there was just too much to exchange.

We finally arrived at my apartment. I had already told him that I lived in a rented place so he didn’t question anything.

But then I realized, this was the most difficult situation I had entangled myself into as I knew it would be extremely rude if I didn’t invite him inside after all he had done for me. So I had to.

“Would you like to come inside?” I tried saying it with as much sweetness and hospitality I could muster. My voice quivered.

Junhong had replied that he couldn’t burden me any further by hanging around. His tone was apologetic and it hurt me. I actually loved his presence around myself. He being there made my uncolored life fluorescent. It was him; the person who made me smile, the person who made me forget my troubles and the person who made me look towards the bright side of life.

So I repeated my request for him to come inside with pure sincerity. And this time he had concurred.

My aunt had opened the door and was amazed to find that I had for the first time brought a friend home. I introduced my aunt and Junhong to each other.

“Junhong, this is my aunt Linda. She also moved to Korea with me.” He had been very respectful as he bowed and sweetly greeted my aunt.

“Oh my, what a handsome young man you are!” Aunt Linda exclaimed with exhilaration. I’ll immediately fetch something for both of you to eat. With that she dashed away into the kitchen. I took Junhong to my room; where we both finally sat down to rest our legs that had been working nonstop for the past 4 hours.

“Your aunt really seems nice.”

I just smiled in reply and we both sat in a soothing silence. It was no sooner that my aunt burst inside giggling as she brought in a tray of heart-shaped cookies. I had suspected something suspicious in her behaviour and I was soon to be proven correct.

“I had baked these cookies for me and Hana to share but it’s even more perfect if both of you share them. Don’t you two look so adorable together? ”My aunt laughed lightly, “I never thought that the friend Hana had been mentioning was such a handsome and sweet young boy like you Junhong. You both seem so perfect together!”

I had known something was fishy. Junhong and I had reddened intensely and the worst part was that I felt responsible. I had to act before my aunt said something even more humiliating.

“Aunt Linda! I told you it’s nothing like that! Junhong is just a really good friend.” I stated trying to sound as solid and convincing as possible to my unbeatable aunt.

Regrettably, it was the closing chapter of my time spent with Junhong as the three of us stood at the door to say our goodbyes. Junhong once again bowed towards my aunt thanking her for her hospitality. Then he turned to me,

“I hope we can we spend more time like this!” he said boisterously.

I nodded. The day had been stupendous until fate yet again had decided to prick a thorn in this perfect moment.

“Almost forgot to meet your parents. Where are they?” Junhong asked innocently.

My heart stopped. I also felt my aunt stiffen behind me. I had to act quickly.

“They aren’t at home. They’re on a business trip, currently not in Korea.” I blurted out yet another lie to him. I despised myself for that. I hated lying to him like that.

“Oh. Well I hope I can meet them, when they return.” He beamed innocently not knowing the truth.

I waved him goodbye until he was out of my vision and then closed the door. My smile faded immediately afterwards.

“Why didn’t you tell him the truth?” My aunt question when I turned around. She was dead serious and her being like that was rare.

“I can’t.” I replied blankly.

“Why Hana?” She asked feeling a bit sorry for the situation I had gotten myself into.

“Because I don’t want to burden people with my stupid sorrows!” I started to weep. “I don’t want to be made a friend out of sympathy. I don’t want to burden people with my losses and my worries. I just don’t want people to worry about me. Neither do I want anyone’s sympathy.” I sobbed.

My aunt hugged me and tried to console me.

“But you do know that he will eventually find out.” She explained softly.

I just managed to whisper out two words, “I know.”