“Howon, Howon!”

Two small boys tug on Howon’s pants. “What?” he asks, gently disengaging himself. “Come on, Sungyeol, Sungjong, you’re supposed to be in school.”

Sungyeol, the older twin, scowls. “We, we wanted to see you again,” he mutters angrily, refusing to meet Howon’s eyes. “You know, before you left.”

“Yeah!” Sungjong adds in a wobbly voice, lower lip trembling. “We, we, we really like you! Promise to come back!”

Scared that Sungjong – or worse, Sungyeol – might start crying, Howon kneels down and envelops them in a huge hug. “Yeah,” he comforts them gently. “Of course I’ll come back.”

Sungyeol struggles out of his grip. “People are saying that you’re stupid,” he says angrily. “They say that you might not, you know.”

Howon sighs, resisting the urge to curse. “They’re wrong,” he says shortly. “I’ll show them that I’m coming back, and you can tell them that.”

Sungjong wipes his eyes and sniffles loudly. “We’ll wait for you!” he shouts, eyes rimmed red. “Right, Yeol? We’ll wait as long as we’re alive.”

Sungyeol nods, hiding his face. Howon turns away, not bearing to see his two favorite students cry.

“Always,” he says softly, “keep the faith. Trust in me, because I will come back. And if not, I will always be with you in spirit.”

His words are lost in the wind, but Sungyeol starts crying.