“It’s so hot today!” Hana complained as she rested on the soft green grass of the school yard. Two weeks of school had passed by already and the hot weather was not going away yet.

“I agree,” Soo Hyun said.

“Why do they make us do P.E. outside when we clearly have a gym that has air conditioning inside?!”

“They just want us to suffer,” Soo Hyun said as she glared off into the distance. “By the way, there’s Myungsoo.”

Hana immediately sat up and saw Myungsoo playing basketball with the other boys. She grew a goofy smile on her face when Myungsoo shot the ball up but it went over the basketball hoop instead of making it in. Honestly, Myungsoo was never the sporty type, but some of the people in the photography club played sports and encouraged him to try. Hana was glad he was at least trying something new.

“Oh, hey Mi Yeon,” Soo Hyun greeted as Mi Yeon came and sat with them.

“Hey Mi Yeon,” Hana welcomed. “How do you like Incheon so far?”

Mi Yeon thought for a moment before answering, “I haven’t really had the time to look around honestly.”

“Really?!” Hana gasped. “There’s so many things to do here!”

“Like what?” Soo Hyun asked.

“Well the malls are amazing, and… Oh! We can take the cable cart to Seoul! It’s less than 40 minutes away from here,” Hana said with excitement.

“So you’re basically just going to take her to Seoul?” Soo Hyun asked.

“No. There’s lots of things to do here, but going to Seoul is just one of them,” Hana winked.

Soo Hyun shook her head at her friend before turning back to Mi Yeon.

“So what do you say Mi Yeon? Want to be dragged everywhere with Hana?”

Mi Yeon lightly giggled before nodding.

“Yay! Then let’s hangout this weekend!” Hana said as she grabbed Mi Yeon’s hands.

“Can’t. I have work,” Soo Hyun said in disappointment.

“When don’t you have work?” Hana asked in a sarcastic way.

Soo Hyun nudged Hana’s head before answering, “Some people have to pay the bills.”

“Okay okay. Sorry,” Hana apologized while rubbing her head. “So then it’ll just be Mi Yeon and I this weekend.”

“Hana!”

The three girls turned their heads and saw Myungsoo running towards them.

No one else could see it, but through Hana’s eyes, Myungsoo was running in slow motion. His floppy hair bounced as he ran and his face was dripping with sweat. Hana found it most attractive when Myungsoo was working hard. She wished she could see him like that every day.

“Here. Hold this for me,” He said and quickly threw his jacket in Hana’s face.

Hana quickly brought it to her lap and saw him drinking from her water bottle.

“Hey, don’t you have your own water?” She asked.

Myungsoo took one last gulp before closing it and saying, “Nope.”

He threw the water bottle next to Hana before running back to the basketball court. Hana smiled. Honestly, she didn’t mind sharing things with Myungsoo. They’ve known each other for 9 years and they’ve shared a lot of stuff together. For example, Hana remembers a time when her parents had bought her a bike for her 7^th birthday. Hana knew Myungsoo really wanted a bike that year too, so she decided to make it her and Myungsoo’s bike.

After Hana told Myungsoo her idea, they got together one Saturday morning and redecorated it. Myungsoo wanted a black bike with a lightning bolt on the side, so they repainted over the pink color and flower designs. Hana wanted to keep the white basket in the front, but Myungsoo didn’t want to because it had flowers and butterflies on it. So they made a compromise. Myungsoo only let Hana keep the white basket if they took off the flowers and butterflies, but Hana had a better idea. She wanted to replace the flowers and butterflies with pictures of them instead.

Hana smiled as if it was yesterday. She held Myungsoo’s jacket close to her as she continued to watch him play basketball.

 

It was the end of the day and Hana still had Myungsoo’s jacket in her arms.

“So this weekend, let’s meet up and I’ll take you around Incheon,” Hana said.

Mi Yeon nodded and said, “That sounds great.”

“We can talk about the details throughout the week,” Hana said as she grabbed Mi Yeon’s arm in excitement.

They were giggling with each other when they heard someone call Hana’s name. It was Myungsoo. He was leaning against one of the brick pillars that made the entrance of the school. Mi Yeon saw Myungsoo glaring at her. She looked down at her feet before bowing to Hana and saying her goodbyes and running down the stairs.

“Okay. See you tomorrow Mi Yeon!” Hana yelled, but Mi Yeon kept going her way.

“Let’s hurry. I need to pick up my camera from the shop,” Myungsoo coldly said and walked down the stairs without Hana.

“Myungsoo wait for me!” Hana yelled and tried to keep up with him.

They walked in silence the whole way home. Myungsoo didn’t say anything. Nothing before or after they picked up his camera. Hana knew he was upset. But about what?

“Myungsoo, what’s wrong?” Hana asked.

“Nothing,” He quickly answered.

“Liar. Tell me what’s wrong,” Hana said and grabbed his shoulder but he only pushed her away.

“It’s nothing!” He said, irritated.

Hana stared at him with wide and worried eyes. She hated fighting with him, especially about something that’s bothering him. She just wanted to help him but he kept pushing her away.

“Sorry, but I think we should walk separately tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Myungsoo said and walked away.

Hana’s fist tightened as tears brimmed her eyes. Why was he mad? Why wouldn’t he tell her? They’ve been friends for a long time. Why was he still like this? It’s like Hana hasn’t made any progress with him at all these passed 9 years.

She let out a shaky sigh before walking her way home. She watched as Myungsoo got farther and farther before disappearing from her sight. Tears fell down her cheeks as she thought of a life without Myungsoo. She felt that even though she’s getting closer and closer to him, he keeps getting farther and farther. But she felt so angry with him. Sometimes, she wonders if it was a mistake to be friends with him in the first place.

Her eyes widened from the thought. Of course not! Myungsoo just needs time. But how much more time does he need? It’s already been 9 years.

Hana arrived home and went straight to her room. She set her things down and noticed she still had Myungsoo’s P.E. jacket. She looked at it for a moment before throwing it on her bed. Maybe a shower would help her cool off. She the shower and waited for the water to warm up. She stared at herself in the mirror. She really hated seeing Myungsoo act up like that. He is such a baby for not owning up to his own feelings. Hana groaned in irritation before getting in the shower.

After Hana washed up, she went to lay on her bed. She had Myungsoo’s jacket on her stomach as she stared at the ceiling. Hana was still upset with Myungsoo, but she was really worried too. She grabbed her phone to check if he left any messages, but there was nothing. It made Hana even more mad. Seriously, what the heck was wrong with him? Why was he so angry?

Hana decided to ignore it and go do her homework. When she was in the middle of writing, her pencil ran out of lead. She opened the first drawer on her left to look for her box of lead, but instead she found a small, crinkled, folded note. She took it out and wondered what it was. She unfolded it and read:

 

Myungsoo. I’ll wait for you forever. No matter. I promise.

Love, Hana

 

Underneath it was a horrible drawing of Hana and Myungsoo holding hands. Hana smiled before putting the note back and finding more lead. Hana thought about the note more than about doing her homework. She wrote that when they first became friends, and when she first confessed to him about her feelings. Hana was supposed to give it Myungsoo when they were walking home together, but he seemed too happy about winning the relay race that day during P.E. that Hana decided to give it to him another time.

“I guess I forgot to,” Hana said to herself. She had the note back in her hands and smiled. She lightly grazed her thumb against the drawing of her and Myungsoo and thought that this was the reason why she became friends with him.

 

The next morning, Hana waited for Myungsoo at his locker. But he didn’t show up. The bell rang but Hana still had hope that he was going to come to school later. So she waited for him in front of his class during break. He wasn’t there but she still waited.

The halls were empty and it was just Hana waiting by herself. Maybe he wasn’t going to come today. Hana should have skipped today too and visited him at his place. Hana waited for a bit longer before seeing that break was about to be over. Just when Hana was about to go, she saw Myungsoo walking down the hall.

“Myungsoo!” She yelled with tears in her eyes. She ran to him and landed in his chest with a hug.

Myungsoo was surprised and slowly wrapped his arms around her.

“Myungsoo, I’m sorry,” Hana said with tears. “Please forgive me.”

Myungsoo looked at her in disbelief and said, “Hana, why are you apologizing? It should be me. I’m the one who’s sorry.” He pulled Hana away and looked at her. “Hey, look at me.”

Hana looked up with tearful eyes.

“I’m sorry for last night. I shouldn’t have been so rough on you,” Myungsoo apologized.

“I accept your apology, but could you please tell me what’s wrong? I should at least know what’s going on with my best friend,” Hana pouted.

Myungsoo chuckled and answered, “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. I’m over it now.”

“Are you sure?” Hana asked.

“Yes I’m sure,” Myungsoo answered.

Hana gave him a skeptical look.

“It’s nothing. Just something that happened during basketball,” Myungsoo answered.

 Hana thought it was odd for Myungsoo to be upset about that. He was still hiding something. But before she could ask about it, the bell rang.

“Well, see you at lunch,” Myungsoo waved before walking to his class.

Hana watched him go. She was still worried. He wasn’t telling the truth. She sighed before heading to her class.

She felt that Myungsoo was keeping something to himself. He was pretty good at talking about his family and his past, but talking about how he felt now seemed difficult for him. What was he hiding from her that he doesn’t want to talk about it?

“Hana!” Soo Hyun called.

Hana saw that she was with Mi Yeon. Hana ran to be with them so they could walk to class together. She smiled as they talked about something funny that happened during break.

“Man, I can’t believe I missed that!” Hana said in disappointment.

“Here, I recorded it for you,” Soo Hyun said and showed Hana the video.

They all laughed together when the teacher walked in and scolded them for being so loud. Mi Yeon quickly went back to her seat and Soo Hyun put her phone away.

The next class began but Hana just couldn’t focus. She stared out the window and thought about what was truly bothering Myungsoo.

 

Myungsoo. Promise me that you’ll always tell me your troubles and doubts. I will always be there for you.

Love, Hana

 

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Hello!

I'm really sorry for such a late update! But thank you to those who subscribed and waited patiently for me.

So here's an update. I have more time to write now since I'm on summer break! However, I've been getting writer's block and it's only the second chapter OTL

But there are more updates coming soon! So please look forward to the rest of the story.

Subscribe if you like the story and comment because I would love to hear back from you guys.

Thanks so much!

Sincerely,

Pastel Sky