[ Chapter III ]

For a Change, I Look Forward to Tomorrow

There was only silence. Taekwoon didn’t know what to say. He was too shocked to hear that the door was talking to him.

“Hello?” it said again.

The voice sounded thin though as if it belonged to a child’s. Taekwoon hesitated for a bit and replied back.

“...Hello.”

“Heol! There’s someone behind this door?!” the voice exclaimed so loudly that it startled Taekwoon a bit.

“I’ve been here all week trying to figure out how to open this thing and no luck at all! I even thought this was just some prank from the other kids after they tricked me into coming here! It was so scary, I thought it was about time to give up!” he continued.

Taekwoon didn’t know how to reply. He was still bewildered by the door talking to him and all he could think about was how loud and rowdy it was being.

“Hello? You still there? You didn’t walk away, did you?”

“...”

“No wait, don’t tell me this door is the one talking?” and Taekwoon heard a kick on the door.

Taekwoon got shocked by the kicking and even Hyuk bounced a step backward before he let out a bark.

“Woof!” as Hyuk growled at the door.

“Huh? Wait, was that a dog I just heard? No way, there’s a dog on the other side too? Unless… it’s the door that’s making the barking sound as well!” he kicks the door again and started banging.

As if hurting the door could solve his mysteries.

The boy was loud, obnoxious and somewhat rude for scaring both Taekwoon and Hyuk but they didn't know what to do. The boy's energy was overflowing so much that Taekwoon could feel it from the other side. He’s never heard someone talk this much before, at least not when he's wasn’t getting bullied.

“I… I’m not the door,” Taekwoon finally said, hoping to put a stop to the boy’s kicking and fussing.

“You’re not?”

“Mhmm.”

“Than who are you? I’ve been coming here almost every other day because I lost a bet with my friends and I haven’t heard anyone else around until now.”

“I… I’m on the other side of this door,” Taekwoon said softly.

“What? I can’t hear you, Say again?’ The boy demanded.

“I’m on the other side. I just found this door and can’t open it,” Taekwoon said while trying to raise an octave into his voice.

“Really? Heol! Daebak! This is ….” the boy paused.

Taekwoon listened for the boy to continue.

“So cool!!! What is this? This is like one of those Seven Wonders of the World type of stories Dad always talk about!” The boy started to talk even louder. Taekwoon could hear the rustling of the ground from the other side.

Is he jumping around? Is he that excited? Taekwoon thought.

“Oh! What’s your name? My name is Cha Hakyeon. You can just call me Hakyeon. I’m 7 years old and my birthday is on June 30. I have a mom and dad and lots of friends. Oh, I love to dance but I hate sports and oh! And –“ the boy kept on going, not allowing Taekwoon to even answer him. He was too excited and talking too fast to the point that Taekwoon couldn’t keep up. The boy, Hakyeon, was too energetic and so loud it made Hyuk scrunch his face and covered his ears with his two tiny paws.

Hakyeon finally decided to stop.

“So what’s your name?” Finally giving Taekwoon a chance to talk.

“Taekwoon. Jung Taekwoon.”

“Taekwoon? Taekwoonie?” Hakyeon said.

Taekwoonie? Taekwoon shivered at the nickname that Hakyeon had already made for him while only ten minutes into their conversation.

“How old are you? You sound somewhat… young?” Hakyeon asked.

“Seven.”

“Just like me! No way! This is awesome! What a coincidence!”

Hakyeon continued his questioning and talking for so long that Taekwoon didn’t know how to reply half the time except nodding his head to himself or letting out a tiny ‘yes’ or ‘no.’

“You’re not much of a talker are you?” Hakyeon said.

Took you long enough to finally notice, huh? Taekwoon mumbled to himself.

“Well, that’s okay! I’m just happy you’re here. It was getting really scary just making my way here, you know? The other kids said they’d stop mocking about my skin and ignoring me if I was able to open this door but just coming here was scary you know and I hate scary things! But I guess it’s okay now since you’re here! Taekwoonie is here with me! Although you don’t talk much... but the fact that you’re here is all good. I feel safer just knowing that there’s someone here to talk to.” Hakyeon said.

Glad? He's glad because I'm here? Why?

Taekwoon has never been told such a thing before. Even his mother would never say those words directly to Taekwoon, even if he was all she had in the Underworld. No one has ever wanted Taekwoon to be here. But this kid called Cha Hakyeon told Taekwoon that he was glad that Taekwoon was here with him. Even if they had only just met.

“You’re glad?” Taekwoon asked hesitantly.

“Of course! Why wouldn't I be? Plus you’re seven years old just like me! This is like one of those things called ‘fate’ that mom always talks about when she tells me stories about how she met dad for the first time. Too bad I can’t see you though.” Hakyeon said disappointedly.

“Thank you…” The words Taekwoon muttered for the first time in his life. Words that he didn’t know how it came out except that it did.

“Huh? Thank you? Me? Why?”

“Just… because.”

“Heh, you’re really weird. You don’t talk much but I guess I can make up for that. So um, hey Taekwoonie? I have to go now because it’s getting too dark and it’s really scary if I can’t see anything but can you um…” Hakyeon paused.

“Can I what?” Taekwoon asked curiously.

“Can we talk again? I really want to talk to you and get to know you more! I think it’s fate that we somehow got to meet and even though I can’t see you, I know you’re a great person! People tend to walk away after listening to me talk for a while but you’re still here! That means you’re a great person and I want to be friends! Lifelong ones!”

Already? Lifelong friends? Taekwoon didn't dislike the sound of that. No one ever wanted to be his friend but how does this work? He hasn’t even met Hakyeon for more than an hour and the boy has already declared Taekwoon as a lifelong friend. But Taekwoon couldn't find it in his heart to reject Hakyeon.

“So?” Hakyeon waited for an answer.

“Mhmm,” Taekwoon agreed.

“Awesome! Let’s meet here again tomorrow, same time?” Hakyeon proposed.

“Okay.”

“See you tomorrow!” Hakyeon said as his steps went further away.

Taekwoon stood in front of the door for a moment, still looking up trying to figure out what had just happened. He was talking to someone named Cha Hakyeon through a door that didn’t open for hours, or more like Hakyeon talking to him, but that didn’t matter. It felt so unreal as if it was some sort of dream. No one has ever talked with Taekwoon before, at least without picking on him, but Hakyeon did and he talked so much that Taekwoon didn’t even know how to register all the things that happened during the time.

No one has ever told him that they were glad to meet Taekwoon and surely, no one has ever told Taekwoon that they wanted him as a friend. Taekwoon didn’t know what to do yet his heart felt a warm, fuzzy feeling inside that he couldn’t help but place his hands on it.

“What is this feeling?” Taekwoon muttered to himself.

Tomorrow.

Yes, they can meet again tomorrow. It will be the first time that Taekwoon has made plans with anyone and he liked the idea of it and for once, he looked forward to going to bed at night and waking up in the morning.

For a change, I look forward to tomorrow…