Seoul, 10 August 2012

It was a calm day in the 2^nd week of fall; the leaves fall from the trees at the backyard of the school, swept away by the wind that blows gently. School hour was over; it was almost quiet there, the students already going back to their home, only some people walked around the corridor. In the midst of the calm air that enveloped the school at that time, there are two junior-high schoolers, a boy and girl, standing side by side at the rooftop in silence.

“That’s right Oppa, why did you take me here? Is there something you want to talk about?” the girl started the conversation, her eyes shown that she doesn’t understand why there were there, while the boy just looked down.

“That...” The boy started to speak. “Do you want to go on date with me?” the boy confessed to the girl in front of him. His voice was low, but she could hear it really well.

“E-eh? Excuse me? Did you say that...” there was a visible shocked and panicked expression from her face upon hearing the boy’s confession. Her face was really red. “That....Oppa, I... I really thought you all this time as my friend.....so... you know...I don’t want to ruin our friendship... I’m....”

Hearing her words, he already knew that he was rejected. He felt that his heart had been shattered to pieces. “Ah, is that so? I understand. I'm sorry if I startled you with this sudden confession. But, you know, we could still be friend right?” the boy said, trying to form a smile on his face, a bitter smile that  bitter smile that is clearly visible for the girl.

There was a guilty feeling for the girl when she saw his smile, but for whatever reason, she couldn’t accept that boy’s confession. “I’m really sorry Oppa.. i didn’t mean to...” she sighed, before nodded and smiled to the boy “we are still friend oppa, I could assure that....”

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Seoul, 11 August 2015

Myungsoo sat on his desk with his hand clasped together. In front of him, there’s a bottle of banana milk and piece of sandwich that is still wrapped with plastic foil with label that says “Special Ultra Limited Sandwich” on it. Unlike his fellow students who have to fighting over to get that limited sandwich, Myungsoo got that sandwich which only sold 200 pieces per day was because he worked part-time at the place where the sandwich was made.

“Geez, look at those people, their greed and gluttony driving them insane” Myungsoo uninterestedly said while looking down to the sea of humans from the window. “Ah, whatever, let’s eat!”

Just when he about to take a huge bite of the sandwich on his hand, his eyes were attracted by the sights at the sandwich outlets. “What the?!” he saw someone, a girl, crowd surfing the people below her just like in a metal concert. Just an instant, he knew who the girl who did the extreme action, with speed as fast as lightning, he put the sandwich that he had not eat and ran out from his class.

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Earlier that day...

It was a really hard day for Jiyeon, at the start of the school, she already facing with extra difficult sudden math test from a teacher that she doesn’t like. And as if that was not enough, her misfortune continued when she forgot to bring her lunchbox to school, the lunchbox that forced her to wake at 5 and sacrifices her precious sleeping time.

“Ah, so hungry~ Sunyoung-ah, let me take a bite of your lunch, please~” She pleaded to her friend with pitiful looks. But her friend just replied to her with uninterested look.

“Aniya~ you always said that you would just take a bite, but in the end you wouldn’t even let me to taste my own food.” Her friend replied, semi-whining to her friend’s bad habit. Hearing that, Jiyeon just grinned and while scratching her head.

“A~h, but really, I’m really hungry, what should I do? I didn’t even have breakfast this morning.” Whine Jiyeon. “I’ll go to hospital if I don’t eat anything Luna-yaa”

Unable to hear her friend’s whine any longer, Luna impatiently closed her lunchbox while pointing at the SuLS’s stand. “There’ you go there, and your problem will vanished in an instant.” She told her.

“Eh? But that place is a warzone can’t you see that Luna-ya? Do you want your friend to die there?” Jiyeon said with frightened look.

“You have no choice; you said you want to have a lunch right? Then that place is the right place, but...” Luna stopped her sentence.

“Eh, but what?”

“Going there with that condition out there will be a bit difficult, Jiyeon-ah, you need to do that.” Luna said with serious expression.

Unable to understand her friend words, Jiyeon lift her eyebrow “Do what?”

“The Ride of Death.”

“E-EEEH?! T-the r-ride of death?” Hearing that words, Jiyeon was surprised until nearly fell backwards from her chair.

“That’s right” Luna nodded her head. “There’s a legend in this school, ununlike normal students who could only get just one sandwich, the one who could ride the crowd is the ultimate king who could get the sandwich as much as they want.” She narrated. “But, that action was so dangerous that if you missed even one step, you could get... ah, I don’t want to  said that, it’s too scary.” She shrugged her shoulders.

“T-that, that’s so scary, b-but, I don’t have any other choice, I’ll risk everything for my stomach!” Jiyeon stood up from her seat, lift her fist to the air with passionate eyes, While Luna and her classmates applauding & cheering her as she make her way out from the class.

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“Yosh! you can do it Park Jiyeon!” Jiyeon clenched both her hands as she encourage herself. Right now, in front of her there’s so many people jostling with each other, trying to get their hands on one of the ‘legendary’ sandwich in front of them.

“Okay, here we go!” Jiyeon running at full speed toward the crowd, and in the end, she jumped high as if she’s Korean’s Isinbayeva.

Unexpectedly, he succeeded on the first try, her body carried away by the flow of people underneath, steadily getting closer, and closer, and closer to the stand where the sandwich is sold. In no time, she can see the place where the sandwich is placed. I can do it! She thought to herself as she stretched out her hand to reach the sandwich. But as her hand was just an inch to the sandwich, a pair of hands suddenly grabbed her body; forcing her away from the crowds.

“What the?!!”

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Myungsoo sat on the concrete floor at the school rooftop with panting breath, never in his life he would thought to enter the deadly crowd at the sandwich stall, but he just did it, and not for bought the sandwich like other people, but to save the girl who is now sulking with her back facing him from the dangerous zone.

“Hey, I said I’m sorry, i don’t know you haven’t had a lunch. But, what you did out there was stupid, you know that right?!” he tried to defend himself to the girl.

“That was my only hope; don’t you know that i already risking my well being for that one? Why did you pull me away just like that? You said you’re my friend, why can’t you let me get that food? Its not like you’ll give me food don’t you?” the girl keep sulking gloomily with low voice in the corner, hugging her knee together.

“Ya stop sulking! I don’t know you haven’t eaten anything at all! And why don’t you seem troubled with that action?!” he yelled to her.

“Because I’m hungry!!!! I don’t care if i gonna lose one of my limb as long as my stomach is full!” She yelled back, resulted with a smack to her head.

“Yah! What are you? a hobo? No one is willing to have their limb lost for food you fool!” he angrily yelled to the girl, whose now crouched down while holding her head in pain. “Geez, really, why’d you change so much comparing to when we’re still in junior high? Aish, I think I don’t have other choice then, here, take this.” With heavy heart, Myungsoo reached into his jacket and pulled out a sandwich. “Its’ foil is already opened, but I haven’t eat that, thanks to you. Here, eat this.” He handed the dumbfounded girl the sandwich.

“R-really? Is this for me Oppa? You sure?” Jiyeon said with glittering eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, hurry eat that, the lunch time is only 10 minutes left.” He said coolly while turning his face away from the girl.

“Aaaa! Thank you oppa, I’ll be forever indebted to you! Thank you for the food.” Jiyeon eaten the sandwich veraciously, in no time, she already swallow up the sandwich.

“Geez, really.” Myungsoo chuckled as the girl beside her laughed happily while teasing him before laughing himself.

It was a calm day in the 2^nd week of fall; the leaves fall from the trees at the backyard of the school, swept away by the wind that blows gently. Myungsoo felt like he’s back to the time when he confessed to the girl he likes 3 years ago at his school roof. All feel the same for him, the way he sit, the atmosphere, and his feeling toward the same girl he sat with then and now, it’s all feel the same.