“My birthday is this Saturday. You should tell your mom that way you can come to my house and play,” Joohyun said during the last few minutes of school in late March, the same month she met Jieun. The latter looked at her friend and nodded with a smile, already excited with imagining the epic adventure of going over her new best friend’s house for the first time. They rode different buses so Jieun had no clue where she lived, but that just made it all the more fun. Over the next two days the pair along with a few other girls in their class confirmed they would have a sleepover at the birthday girl’s house on the day of. Saturday came and Jieun felt giddy as she clutched the wrapped present while sitting in the backseat of her mom’s car. The girl was too young to care when they turned into a well known sketchy part of town. Her mother felt a bit unsure of the idea when receiving the directions to the Bae residence on the phone. But Jieun’s excited babbling of the event made the woman put on a fake smile and push her preconceived notions aside.

    Once they pulled up to the house, Jieun didn’t see anything wrong with the noticeable peeling of white paint coating the small two-windowed home. The yard filled with blades of uncut grass, lined by wild bushes, dotted with pieces of random trash that came from who-knows-where. She was just excited to play with her friend. The little girl unbuckled herself and managed to open the car door with the present covering her lap. Her mother observed the neighborhood and made sure to lock the doors and hide anything valuable in the glovebox. It was nearing sunset but no other cars lined the street in front of the home and only one rested in the driveway. Jieun waited for her mother before ringing the doorbell, standing on her tippy toes in attempts to get a glance in through the tiny window. The entrance opened, revealing a woman a bit younger than Jieun’s mother, who looked a bit confused. She looked down and noticed the gift in the little girl’s hands, quickly putting two and two together before letting herself relax and smile. She opened the door and greeted them, standing back to let them in and Jieun quickly made herself at home.

    The girl stepped inside and kicked off her shoes, struggling to do so with no hands, but getting it done before anyone could offer to help. Both women stood in the living room and conversed, one mother explaining things to the other. Jieun heard voices of other children in the next room, so she navigated herself towards the sound and saw Joohyun sitting at the dining table as a boy and girl skipped around the room, playing their own game. Jieun walked around the pulled out chair her friend sat in and extended her arms towards her, offering the gift. Joohyun’s frown faded as she noticed her friend, causing her to jump do