“And I am all alone. There is no one here beside me. And my problems have all gone. There is no one to deride me. But you got to have friends the feeling's of so strong. You got to have friends to make the day last long.”—By Friends by Bette Midler

Yunho’s parents made his lunch. Jaejoong thought that was super sweet and cute.

Jaejoong was jealous, because he had to buy his food if he didn’t make it himself. He wished his older siblings or parents could make his lunches.

His sister, Kim Lieah, two years his senior, was lazy and would simply wake up, eat, get ready for work and leave.

If she had not been required by the state to receive higher education after secondary school—and she partly chose a vocational school given that her grades were not on par to be admitted to a university—and get a job where she was forced to perform to par, she would have had rather stayed at home and sleep all day long.

Ironically, she loved to exercise, and hanging out with her friends too much. That was her biggest positive trait however, because not only was it a desired trait it allowed her to land her perfect job. Lieah was extremely social and really good with people, especially the youth, and that was why she chose apply for a position at the Socialization Youth Club. Within months of employment she had been promoted to lead a youth group.

He was the closest to his sister out of his three siblings.

His older brother, Seungjun, four years his senior, was also busy with his own job, university classes, and getting to know the marriage candidate he had warmed up to.

His baby brother, Moonbok, seven years his junior, was like his older sister. All he did was play games. If he wasn’t required to go to school, join extracurricular clubs, make friends by socializing, and be at each youth meetings for training, and camping trips—where they learnt survival skills and hunting—he would stay at home and play video games all day. Games were Moonbok passion and his life, as he enjoyed telling his nagging, exasperated parents who wanted him outside enjoying his childhood.

His mother and father, Kim Soohyun and Kim Yoojung, were busy with their own jobs. His mother was a wedding planner while his father worked for a biotech company.

Breakfast and dinner was prepared by everyone in the household, but mostly by his parents, but lunch was something he had to buy for himself.

School lunch was healthy, meeting the state standards, but he wished his parents could make his lunch as they did before he entered secondary school. His mother was an amazing cook.

Though Jaejoong’s small and Yunho’s large group of friends sat together for lunch, the two boys usually ended up talking to each other for a long period of time, while devoting a few of their minutes to their other friends who would pulled them in the middle of conversations they got lost within.

Yunho’s obvious favoritism for Jaejoong did not go remiss.

“I am jealous,” Gym Juhli, the stocky female Yunho met when he was acting like a creep by lurking outside their practice room, laughed looking at the two males.

“Why?” Yunho bleated, blinking at her.

“Because you two looks so close.”

“Right?” Changmin leaned over Yunho’s shoulder. “When did you two get so close?” Changmin asked and lightly frowned with interest marring his handsome face. His baby fat was melting off his cheeks, making it more defined, more handsome. Changmin visualized how they all were no longer children.

The two boys shared a look and shrugged looking at their friends.

“Are we?” Yunho sought, tone neutral.

“Yes!” the two and a few others that had been paying attention shouted, laughing afterward.

They looked at each other again and then shrugged.

Jaejoong thought Yunho was easy to get along with; Yunho also thought the same.

Neap summers were beautiful and mostly everyone enjoyed the beauty, but the high temperature was a killer and the only downfall.

Other than the godawful heat, the students hated the dead leaves that filled the ground. Though it wasn’t yet fall, there was still a lot of it and the sight was maddening.

Their school was a mini wood, beautiful to look at but hard to maintain.

During the school year, it was the duty of the students to collect the fallen leaves off the campus ground.

“Stop playing around children and collect the leaves! We have to start practice soon,” their instructor yelled, rolling her sleeves a bit higher, her armpits darkening with perspiration.

She was, unfortunately, one of the five instructors chose to supervise the cleaning activities. The rest of the professors opted to stay inside where the blasting AC was.

The sun was high in the sky with the heat picking up. It was not a good time to be outside.

Yunho rolled his eyes at the command. “Why do we have to do this?” he groaned, sweats beading his forehead.

“At least we are doing it early in the morning, when it is relatively cool.” Myungsoo shrugged, his tone hinting it could be worse.

“How will this teach us self responsibility and hard work, again?” Lee Sungyeol, classical instrument student groaned, and leaned against his childhood best friend’s back.

Myungsoo, first order YI member, promptly pushed his lazy childhood friend off him.

The teen whined pathetically and reached for Myungsoo, making the corner of the handsome male’s lips twitched in a smile—Lee Sungyeol’s magic.

“Stop playing around!” professor Do shout one last time at no one in particular before she, as the last supervisor outside, fanning her shiny crimson face walked toward the school building for some AC and cold water.

“Let’s get this done!” Yunho energetically shouted and started raking faster.

“Now that she is gone? Really, Yunho?” Sungyeol groaned, cocking a questioning eyebrow.

Yunho winked at him, sending him a cheeky grin. “The sooner we’re done, the better, right?”

Standing behind Myungsoo with his sweaty arms roped around his friend’s broad waist, cheek resting on top of his shoulder, body resting on his, Sungyeol swiftly groaned again and rolled his dark eyes.

“I agree,” Myungsoo said, and proceeded to half-heartedly tried to pry his lethargic friend off him.

Yunho rolled his eyes again, but softly grinned at Sungyeol’s load groaning and a sniggering Myungsoo, who was failing perfectly at forcing the tall male to stand on his own.

“Look at you go, being a good citizen. I wished I could care half as much as you do,” Changmin complained, and promptly dropped on the pile of leaves, and began swiping his arm back and forth, making leaves angel.

“Hey! Leaves everywhere!” Yunho laughed, playfully kicking the leg of his slothful friend.

Changmin beamed. “This is fun.”

“Get up,” Jihun reached down to yank Changmin up.

“No,” Changmin curtly said in a cute manner, bringing his arm to his chest, and merrily kept on creating havoc.

Smiling Yunho resumed his duties, while he searched for Jaejoong with his eyes.

His eyes zeroed on the male raking with a headband pushing his dark, wet fringes back, putting his white forehead on display. Jaejoong was laughing with a group of male students, his clammy cheeks tainted carmine.

So, he can smile like that, huh?

“Lee Sungyeol!”

Yunho turned his head to see said screamed after male exuberantly jump on a pile of dry leaves, mimicking his mischievous friend.

Myungsoo’s expression was a mix between displeasure and merriment.

Yunho suddenly got an idea.

“I’ll be back,” he announced.

Biting his bottom lip, eyes flashing mischievously, Yunho started jogging in his new friend’s direction with his rake in hand.

“Hey, Yunho!” Changmin screamed after his inattentive back, flopping with a flourish on his belly.

Dropping his rake halfway, Yunho sneaked behind Jaejoong. He told the kids that saw him to keep quiet by pressing his finger on his lips. Juhli eyes lit up, but she continued raking with Hyein standing next to her wiping beads of sweat off her beige forehead with a small yellow handkerchief taken from the pile the supervisors had administered.

Grabbing the unaware male around the waist, startling him into a shrill shout, laughing Yunho dumped Jaejoong in the large pile of dry leaves.

Yunho couldn’t help but laugh at Jaejoong’s choked scream that turned into effervescence laughter. His eyes lit up, his cheeks budding into bright red rosebuds, leaves stuck in his hair, neck and cheeks.

“Yunho!” he roared and wrung his hand up, as if he was going to yank him down too.

Yunho was too far away, but he still jumped back. He confidently wagged his finger tantalizingly at Jaejoong.

“I will get you,” Jaejoong managed to utter through his laughter and wild breathing.

Someone sneaked behind an unsuspecting Yunho who was laughing with tears prickling his eyes, and pushed him toward Jaejoong. He fell next to him, arm smacking the air out of Jaejoong’s lungs.

Their eyes locked in a moment of silence before Jaejoong began laughing again, tears streaming down the corners of his eyes into his hair.

 Jaejoong’s laughter rung supreme among the guffawing students.

Yunho soon followed after Jaejoong.

It all was funny in an absurd way.

Yunho’s sneak attack got everyone inspired, and it soon got out of control.

As their supervisor reprimanded them, eyes bulging, cheeks flaming red, they shifted awkwardly, trying their hardest to suppress their laughter. The moment the sweating man was gone they caught each other’s eyes and simultaneously let it all out.

After calming down and wiping their tears away, they slowly assembled the leaves into huge, neat piles.

That evening with the sun already set and the sky darkening and the school gate closing, a supervisor told them to be punctual tomorrow morning and to get sleep in a tone that told them she wanted them gone and her duty to them completed for the day.

Bowing they scurried away, conversations loud.

A tired Jaejoong found Yunho walking next to him when someone asked if they wanted to grab dinner on their way home and he looked up, Yunho caught his eyes and he beamed at him.

Jaejoong startled and smiled weakly up at the personification happiness.

They all agreed to dinner.

The group of students struck gold. The restaurant was half empty when they got there, therefore they were offered a private room, and it was one of the large expensive ones with a bamboo stalks painted beaded screen and a long wooden table to fit their large party.

On most days they would have not been able to afford the room, but that night they got to pay the price they would if they were seated in the main room.

Sitting across from Yunho, sandwiched between his loud friends, Jaejoong learnt a bit more about the general; like how Yunho's older sister swore he was a baby that was thrown away and was found on the border, meaning he was not a citizen of Peyisivil. She patronized him during most of his childhood with that fear. When Changmin said he found Yunho crying one day over that, a sniggering Yunho swore his best friend was lying.

Everyone laughed, because they all could tell Yunho was embarrassed and lying.

All Yunho’s childhood friends raved over Yunho’s family, starting from his Poppi and how wise and layered he was, not to mention the amazing tea he made, which were accompanied by Yunho's parents’ pastry.

Sungyeol stated, stabbing his chopstick in steamy dumplings, “I do not understand why Yunho's parents did not open a bakery. They would have gotten a lot of loyal customers. Including me.”

Jaejoong wanted to taste their creations then.

 Sungyeol’s declaration opened a floodgate of praising. The boys began praising Yunho's parents by contrasting them to their ‘strict’ parents. Reportedly, Yunho’s parents were attentive of children, even of their friends too.

Overall, Yunho had a beautiful family.

Jaejoong could understand why Yunho was such a beautiful soul, all bubbly and optimistic.

He truly was a quintessential Peyisivil child.

“Your parents sounds nice,” Jaejoong nodded over at Yunho who had a droopy smile.

He laughed and said, “They are normal.”

“Normal?” Sungyeol shouted, making Jaejoong flinch at the high frequency. Myungsoo reached over to his friend and told him to calm down and keep it down.

Jaejoong didn’t know them much, but he deduced from their short time spent together that Myungsoo kept Sungyeol inline.

Sungyeol pushed his friend off and seamlessly picked up where he left of. “I want to have your parents, Yunho,” he whined and, once again, he started the whining session.

Yunho tried his best to flip it around and praise everyone’s parents.

Jaejoong found his reaction funny. It was cute. Something only Yunho would do.

They moved from whining traveled down memory lane.

“Changmin, do you remember when you got lost during one of our weekend youth camping trips?” Yunho asked the male, laughing.

Changmin shook his head denying the story, which reduced him to the blubbering, frightened nine year old he had been.

His friends took pleasure in telling the newcomers the story. Changmin’s face hardened with each syllable uttered.

Rolling his eyes, he said to Jaejoong and his friends, “They are all lying. I am a soldier. I would never cry over being caught. It was only a drill, and I knew that.”

Realistic drills made to scare children into soiling their pants.

“Of course, you wouldn’t.” Heejun who had been there rolled his eyes with an all knowing smile, throwing an arm around his friend's shoulder. The embarrassed Changmin threw his arm off, making his dinner companions laugh louder.

“He cried like a fussy baby,” Yunho assured, beaming at a scowling Changmin.

“Yunho, please shut up and eat more. Weren't you just complaining a moment ago about how hungry you are?”

The glowering male’s efforts to change the subject and shut his friend up made their cackles harder and lasted longer.

The food that night tasted especially good.

Before they left, some of them encouraged their new friends to phone them.

Yunho pointedly said to Jaejoong, “We could-should hang out sometimes outside of school.”

Jaejoong agreed, nodding. “We should.”

“Great!” Yunho’s eyes shone brilliantly. “I will phone you then.”

Jaejoong bobbed his head, face impassive.

Yunho took his blank face as a sign that he was excited for their expanding friendship.

Paying their compound bill, they filed out of the small family restaurant and parted ways with some of the group.

Jaejoong had to pass in front of Yunho’s house to get to the train station.

Leaving Yunho standing in front of his yard waving, Jaejoong walked the rest of the way with his own friend Heejun, and Yunho’s friends, Changmin, Sungyeol, and Myungsoo. They all lived in the same area.

Yunho's friends were pretty cool, Jaejoong decided. Though Myungsoo was scarily handsome and quiet to the point he'd disappear when you do not look at him and pay him attention. Jaejoong supposed others too saw him in the same way.

Sungyeol made up for his best friend’s silence.

Lee Sungyeol was bubbly, and awfully loud to the point of exhaustion. He had the personality where you either like or hate him. There was no in between. But he complemented his quiet friend.

Sungyeol and Myungsoo were really close and touchy, and Jaejoong could not help but think their close, brother like relationship was beautiful. It was pure in a way that Jaejoong could not describe.

The opaque haired male concluded from his observation of Yunho’s friends that the touchy nature Yunho displayed was a widespread practice among his group of friends.

Jaejoong had his own friends, best friends even, but none of them were that close to him. What the two had was what he supposed he’s always aspired for and wanted, but never allowed himself to have.

They parted ways one by one, till Jaejoong had to walk home alone.

“See you tomorrow,” Sungyeol and Myungsoo waved at a tired—but pleased with the evening—Jaejoong. They lived in the opposite direction of Jaejoong’s home.

Smiling he return their wave and nodded, his chest warming up. “Tomorrow!”

The smiling teen walked toward his place of dwelling.

His apartment building was tall and spacious to accommodate the large and plentiful families that resided there; after all, the main goal of a married couple was to have a lot of children and raised them to be well loved, educated, cultured, and an upstanding patriotic citizen.

The greater part of the population lived in apartments. Land was expensive, and houses tended to be far apart and allowed for loneliness to foster. It became difficult to be the social creature that their government asked them to be when they could hear the sound of a chorus of crickets singing a mile away from their home at night. That was loneliness, unsociable, and unwanted.

Land was used for more productive endeavors, such as growing food, creating schools, hospitals, place of work, and building factors to foster innovation.

Like most apartments around the country, though the number of rooms changes depending on the complex, the Kims’ was made of seven small bedrooms, one for each of the four siblings and for their parents, and one for potential grandparents. The extra chamber was supposed to serve as a guest room.

The size of the rooms, though they all were relatively small, changed depending on its prospective owner. Parents’ (master) bedroom and the one designated for the grandparents were the largest—a sign of respect. The guest and children's bedrooms were much smaller. They could only afford their bed, a nightstand, and a desk for studying. The closets were tiny, a testament to the waste—not—want—not ideology they adhered to.

The miniature chamber was perfect for the small clothing selection the populace had. They operated through their whole lives with uniforms, starting from school, to the military, work, etc., and they had few house—clothes.

The Kims had no use for the two extra bedrooms, so one of them became the family’s study—it mostly served as a small library.

Every room was blessed with a large window for warm light to stream in. That was especially true for the interaction room and kitchen, which were essentially sunrooms. Those two rooms were the largest part of apartment because that was where most family spent their time together. Bonding was highly prioritized and fostered.

The rooms were built on the side of the long hallway that led into the interaction room and kitchen, giving the place the illusion of being longer and bigger.

Jaejoong found his father, Kim Soohyun, watching the news channel when he arrived home. Everyone else already in bed. He had waited up for him.

It was those little things that told Jaejoong that he was loved dearly by his parents. His family was as beautiful as Yunho’s.

Peyisivil created strong family structure and filial children.

“Dinner was kept warm for you,” he informed his son after Jaejoong greeted him.

“I already eat,” he informed, granting his dad a light grin.

“Alright then. Good night.”

“Good night,” the teen bobbed his head at the tired man.

Walking to his room, the news lady’s preppy voice followed Jaejoong.

He heard a few words that made him frowned “attack, “war,” “safe,” and “protected by the military.” He didn’t give it much thought the moment his door closed.

They had nothing to worry about as citizens of this country.

Their military couldn’t be compared.