2003 (4th year elementary school)

(In case you didn’t know, Jung Sooyeon is Jessica’s Korean name and Jung Taekwoon is Leo’s)

The 10 years old Jung Mimi pouted in her seat, her hands wrapped around her older sister’s waist as she leaned on her like koala. Beside them, her older brother Leo was in the middle of finishing his second plate of ice cream.

Jessica looked at her younger sister in amuse, perfectly knowing Mimi is bored despite the amounts of food and desserts around them because she knows Mimi never likes going outside, especially attending business party like they are currently at.

“Why do we have to come here, Unnie?” As expected, the youngest Jung started whining.

“Appa built this hospital, Sweetie,” Jessica said as she kissed Mimi’s chubby cheeks. “We are here to celebrate the opening.”

“I know, but why do we have to come too?”

“Because there’s a lot of foods here,” answered Leo, still enjoying his ice cream (very well). Mimi rolled eyes at the second Jung. Her own bed is definitely more appealing than all the foods around them.

Jessica laughed. “Wants to go around to look for Appa and ask him to go home?” she asked as she playfully ruffled Mimi’s hair.

Mimi nodded excitedly. They stood up from their chairs (Leo hurriedly gulped all the ice cream from his plate in a second before following them) and looked around for their Dad in the sea of business people. They found him in the middle of the hall, was busy talking with someone.

“Appa~” Mimi ran and hugged her Dad’s legs, mouth formed a cute pout she knows her Dad can’t resist. “I want to go home~”

Mimi heard a laughs from the man in front of her Dad. She looked up to see him curiously.

“This little lady must be Mimi, am I right?” The man asked. “Both Sooyeon and her really looks alike your wife.”

Mr. Jung nodded with a smile. “I know right? And I’m glad there’s at least Taekwoon who resembles me… Mimi-ya, this is Appa’s friend, Mr. Shin.”

“Annyeonghaseyo, Mr. Shin,” Mimi said politely, before turning back to her Dad. “Appaaa~ I wanna go home.”

“She must be bored,” said Mr. Shin, chuckled, “This business party must be boring for kids.”

“Yeah, but didn’t you bring your daughter too?”

“I did, and I bet she’s running around the building right now, talking to everyone and touch everything she saw. My wife had to stay beside her to make sure she didn’t try to hurt herself,” Mr. Shin explained with a huff.

Mr. Jung laughed at that. “She seems a very energetic girl.”

“Too much energies in that little body, yeah.”

Mimi letting out a loud whine as the two man seems forgot about her. “Appa~~~”

They all laughed again at the cute whine.

“Appaaaaa!!”

All of them turned to see another little girl ran excitedly to them, followed by a woman behind her. The girl immediately hug Mr. Shin’s legs, just like Mimi.

“Hey, be careful, Honey,” Mr. Shin said, laughed at his daughter’s excitement. “Hana-ya, this is Mr. Jung and his daughter, Mimi.”

Hana looked up to Mr. Jung, she bowed and said, “Annyeonghaseyo, Mr. Jung.” And then she turned to Mimi. “Hey,” said Hana, beamed, her hand already reaching out to her. “I’m Hana.”

Mimi only stared at the little hand, confused at the sudden greeting.

And maybe she’s staring at it a bit too long because her sister just said “Jung Mimi” in a low, threatening voice behind her.

Mostly because of the fear to her Unnie, Mimi unwillingly reached Hana’s hand and shake it lightly and quickly.

“Mimi,” she said shortly.

Mr. Shin chuckled again. “She’s cute.” Beside him, Mrs. Shin nodded and smiled at her. “And pretty too. As expected of The Jungs blood.”

Mimi feeling embarrassed at the unexpected compliment. She was sure she didn’t do anything cute. Her body instinctively hid herself behind her father’s leg.

Her father patted her head gently. “She’s shy to new people.”

“She’s in the same age with Hana, right?” Mrs. Shin asked, and Mr. Jung nodded.

The adults talked about something else Mimi can’t caught on, or simply doesn’t care, but Hana’s stare still lingering at her, curiosity all on her face, and the stare started disturbing the youngest Jung.

“Why are you staring at me?”

Hana blinked in surprise. “Huh? Why?”

“Because, duh,” Mimi huffed in annoyance, “I don’t like it?”

“Why?”

“Well, I just don’t like it,” she said, getting more annoyed. And then a flick landed on her forehead and she yelped. “Ow! Unnie!”

Jessica glared at her. “Be nice.”

She pouted at her older sister, why should she being nice? This Hana is annoying, she doesn’t like the way Hana staring at her.

Leo hugged her and kissed her forehead. “Don’t pout like that. You are being too cute now,” he said while playing with her cheeks, making Mimi letting out whine as protest.

She heard Hana laughs at her, as she turned to the girl in front of her. The dislike she has to this Hana increased in a second.

Mimi felt Jessica’s hand ruffling with her hair. “Stop glaring at her, she didn’t do anything wrong… Hi, Hana, I’m Sooyeon,” Jessica offered handshake to the little girl, “And this is Taekwoon. We are Mimi’s Unnie and Oppa. Nice to meet you.”

Hana shook hand with both the older Jungs with a polite smile.

Mimi watched as Jessica and Leo talks to Hana, and she didn’t like how they become instantly close.

“I guess we should really go home now, the kids still have to go to school tomorrow,” Mr. Jung suddenly said, much for Mimi’s relief. “And I know this little Jung here is missing her bed so much.”

They all laughed, leaving Mimi blushed behind his father’s legs.

The Jung family bid goodbye to the Shin family later after a few talks. Mimi saw how Hana waved excitedly at them, but she didn’t even think to return the gestures.

Mimi sure she won’t ever see Hana again.

 

**

 

Mimi can’t believe her eyes when she saw the home teacher brought Shin Hana to the class. The very same Shin Hana she met last night at the business party.

“Kids, this is your new friend,” the teacher said. “Okay, now introduce yourself to the class.”

The little girl cleared nervously. “Annyeonghaseyo~, Shin Bora imnida. You can call me, Hana. I’m a transfer student from Tokyo. I was born and raised there but my father is Korean and my mother is Japanese. We lived there until recently we moved to Korea for my father’s work. Nice to meet you. Please take care of me.”

She finished her introduce with a bow. Hana looked around unsurely, feeling relief after she saw all eyes are staring at her with curious looks and enthusiasm. Her face immediately brighten up when she saw Mimi in the corner of the class, also looking at her with wide eyes.

“Hana, you can sit with Mimi there,” the teacher said.

Mimi watched as Hana excitedly walked to the empty seat beside her. She still can’t believe to meet Hana again.

“Hey,” Hana said as soon as she sat, still beaming.

Mimi didn’t answer. This must be a dream… Except, it is not.

Shin Hana really sat beside her, grinning and all.

She groaned to her sketchbook.

 

**

 

After a few days spending time in the same school with Mimi, Hana noticed her seatmate never pays attention to the teacher, only focusing on her drawing in the sketchbook.

“Why are you frowning at me like that?” Mimi said suddenly, startling Hana. Mimi’s eyes narrowed suspiciously at her.

“Uhm… Why are you always drawing?”

“Because I like drawing, obviously? Mind your own business, Shin Bora.” And just like that, Mimi already back to her drawing.

Hana surprised at the name. “Hey, why are you calling me with Shin Bora?”

“Because you said your name is Shin Bora?”

“Yes but I also said to call me with Hana.” It’s not like she hates her real name, but Hana would always prefer Hana than Bora.

“You ain’t my Dad or Unnie or Oppa so I’ll call you with Bora and that’s it.”

For the first time Hana felt the urge to hit someone else.

 

**

 

Hana watched in awe as Mimi working on the question on the board perfectly. Mimi wrote the last number on the board and turned and walked back to her seat, still looking all bored as she grabbed her sketchbook and started drawing again, totally ignoring her friends and the teacher’s stares at her.

Mimi never once looks interest in study, but the perfect answer on the board makes Hana looks at Mimi with new found of amazement.

The teacher can’t say anything too as she gave up and let Mimi draw as much she wants.

Hana bit her lips, who knows Mimi is so smart like this? Her lips unconsciously formed a smile as she thought how Jung Mimi is an interesting kid.

 

**

 

Mimi stopped on her track in the hallway and turned around. Hana, who walked behind her, immediately stopped walking too.

“Why are you keep following me?”

Since the first day Hana moved to their school, the girl has been oddly following Mimi to anywhere.

“I want to see you draw.”

“What?” Mimi didn’t expect the answer. “Why?”

“You are always drawing, even at the class,” Hana said. “So I’m curious about it.”

They stared at each other for a while, and Mimi sighed. “Do you really have to follow me?”

Hana nodded, pretending to not noticing the obvious bothered look in Mimi’s face. “I just want to see you draw. I won’t disturb you, I promise.”

And the girl really did as she said. A months passed and Hana weirdly still follow her anytime anywhere, to see Mimi drawing, and never say anything. Mimi really didn’t understand her.

So they just sat there, at the backyard of the school, with Mimi and her sketchbook on her lap, and Hana beside her, sat still as she watched Mimi.

“You are weird,” Mimi finally said.

Hana just smiled.

 

***

 

2004 (5th year elementary school)

A year passed and as usual Mimi can heard Hana’s steps following her. Just like the day before and before.

They arrived at the school gate, and Mimi went to the shelter. She sighed when she didn’t spot her family’s car. She turned to face Hana.

“If I go to hell, will you follow me too?” she asked. Half annoyed, half curious. Even in the class, they barely talks and anything but Hana always follow her, insist to follow her. It’s been a year!

Hana frowned at the question. “Why do you want to go to hell?”

“So I don’t have to see you again,” Mimi rolled her eyes. “Seriously, why are you keep following me?”

Hana pulled out an envelope from her bag and handed to Mimi. “I tried to give this to you the whole day but you keep running away from me.”

“Well, because I don’t like you keep following me,” Mimi grumbled, “And what is that?” She eyed the envelope in Hana’s hand.

“Invitation to my birthday party,” Hana said, beamed. “I’m inviting you to come to my birthday party this Saturday.”

Mimi blinked at the unexpected invitation.

“No.”

“What?” Hana frowned, didn’t expect the rejection. “Why?”

“I’m not your friend. Why would I go to your birthday party?”

“Because I want you too! And we are friend!”

Mimi didn’t know what to say. No one ever asked her to come to a birthday party. She confused. Why did Hana invite her? And they aren’t friend… Are they?

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she will go to your party,” a familiar voice heard and Mimi turned to see her older sister and brother standing near them. “Yah Jung Mimi, Hana invited you to her birthday party and you will come, you hear me?”

“Unnieeee~” Mimi unconsciously whined, forgetting her cold demeanor.

Jessica glared back at her, successfully shut the youngest Jung.

“Hey, Hana, I hope you didn’t forget about us?” Jessica said as she and Leo approached them. “How are you?”

“Hi, Sooyeon Unnie, Taekwoon Oppa, I’m good. How about you two?” Hana said with a little bow.

“We are good too,” answered Leo with a smirk as he looked at his younger sister. “You know what, Mimi talked a lot about you.”

“I didn’t!” Mimi protested right away. Her cheeks turned to red. She didn’t talk about Hana a lot, but sometimes she needed to let out her frustration of being followed every day, and usually she happened to talk about it with Jessica. But it doesn’t mean she talked about Hana a lot!

“Yes, you did, little Jung,” Jessica laughed. “She’s being nice to you so you have to being nice too to her.”

Mimi let out another whine and Hana can’t help but smile. She remembered the same sight on the party a year ago, how Jessica and Leo teasing Mimi and Mimi whined at them. Jung Mimi at school and Jung Mimi around her siblings surely a different person.

“Whatever,” Mimi pouted and walked away.

Leo laughed and followed her younger sister before she walked too far. “Why are you pouting like this?” He hugged her sister and playfully pinched her cheeks, resulting another whine from Mimi, who hit him in return.

Hana watched them with envy, the same way as she felt at them in the first time. She doesn’t has any sibling to play with.

“Hana-ya,” Jessica said and Hana turned to her. “Thank you for staying with her although she is such a brat. I promise I’ll bring her to your birthday party, okay?” she took the envelope in Hana’s hand and smiled.

“Okay, Unnie,” Hana smiled back. “I think she’s nice so I don’t understand why she acts like that all the time.”

Jessica keep her smile but Hana can see her eyes turned sad. “She didn’t act like that before. She changed after our Mom passed away two years ago.”

The new information completely took Hana by surprise. That’s why she didn’t saw Mimi’s mom at the party a year ago.

“She closed her heart since then and never opened to anyone else except to Appa, me, and Taekwoon,” Jessica continued, “But then she started talking about you, complained about how persistent you are following her anywhere, and I don’t know why you did that but thank you that you want to be her friend.” She ended with a small laughs.

Hana could only nod.

“I’ll see you this Saturday with Mimi, okay?”

Jessica waved at her and followed Leo and Mimi to the car they parked not too far, leaving Hana alone in the shelter, too absorbed in her mind.

So she doesn’t has mother?

 

**

 

“Mimi-ya.”

Mimi felt someone shaking her shoulder and she grumbled. Who dare to wake her up from her nap?

She lifted her head from her hands and opened her eyes to see Hana. She frowned.

“What?”

“Can I borrow your pen?”

It took a few seconds for her sleepy brain to process what Hana just said. She didn’t say anything and gave her pencil case for Hana and turned around, put her head in her hand and trying to continue her sleep.

“Thanks,” Hana said. “Can I use your ruler too?”

Mimi mumbled a “yeah” in annoyance.

“How about we eat lunch together later?” Hana talked again.

Another lunch invitation. It’s been like, what, everyday? Mimi sighed. After her last meeting with Jessica, for some reason Hana always insisted to ask her to eat together these days.

“No.”

 

**

 

“Mimi-ya, I brought a lunch for you, how about we eat lunch together?”

Mimi looked up from her sketchbook, frowned at the pink box in Hana’s hand in front of her.

“No.”

“Oh, come on,” Hana pouted. “I woke up early to make this for you.”

Mimi was about to say she never ask Hana to do such a thing but Hana looked at her really sad and damn how can she say no to that pout?

She sighed. “Do whatever you want.” She grabbed her sketchbook and started walking to the door.

Hana beamed. She knows Mimi is going to the backyard to draw again. “Okay!” She followed Mimi right away, bringing the lunch boxes in her hand happily.

Mimi didn’t say anything, but the unfamiliar warm feeling engulfed her heart as she let Hana fed her, enjoying the view of the backyard of the school and for the first time she didn’t feel annoyed with Hana.

 

**

 

“Have you ever feel bored?” Mimi asked someday, her hand busied with her sketch, as usual.

It took a few second from Hana who seems struggled with her homework to answer. “Bored with what?”

“Staying like this with me? We don’t even talk about anything.”

“I didn’t talk because I don’t want to disturb you,” To her surprise, Hana suddenly move to sat beside her. “But do you want to talk about something today? How about we talk about my mathematic homework?”

Hana said with a wide grin, and Mimi could only blink in surprise.

“Oh come on, I know you are great with mathematic. I need to finish this for tomorrow,” Hana said, didn’t aware of the sudden aegyo from and her puffed cheeks.

And Mimi torn between squish that cheeks or hit it so she looked away from the girl to her book. “Which one?”

Hana grinned in victory. “This one, and this one, and-” and she never stop talking after that.

Mimi rolled her eyes.

 

***

 

2005 (6th year elementary school)

“I want to be a doctor,” Hana said someday.

Mimi didn’t say anything as usual, her hand never stopped working on her sketchbook, but Hana knows she is listening.

“I want to be a doctor and save people like my parents,” she continued. “Appa and Umma supports me, they said I have to go back to Japan and study there.”

Mimi kept shut but a strange feeling creeping into her heart. The thought of someday she will separate from Hana comes to her mind and she didn’t understand why she feels she didn’t like that idea.

She shook her head, this is their last year. Maybe Hana will choose a different school after this? She didn’t ask though.

She mumbled a “whatever” to Hana.

 

***

 

2006 (1st year junior high school)

Mimi almost didn’t believe her eyes when she saw Hana on the school gate, wearing the same uniform like hers.

Hana grinned at her. “So we are in the same school again?”

Mimi didn’t know if she likes it or not, as they sat together again at the back of the school. Hana did most of the talks, or sometimes reading her books or doing her homework, and Mimi just sat there beside her with her sketchbook.

It’s nice actually, to sit again with Hana and listen to her rambles, but duh, Mimi will never say it out loud.

 

***

 

2007 (2nd year junior high school)

Hana opened her lunch box and casually took a piece of kimbap and fed it to Mimi. Without saying anything, Mimi opened and began to chew. Beside her, Hana began to open the novel she was carrying.

Hana fed another kimbap to Mimi and she smiled as Mimi opened and accepted the food. It became their daily routine, just like their elementary school time. Mimi never resist nor reject Hana’s presence. She gave up about it a long time ago.

“I want to know,” Mimi said. “Why are you still following me, after all these years?”

“I told you billion times too,” Hana gave her water bottle for Mimi to drink. “I just want to see you draw.”

“Okay, but why?”

“I want to see you finish your sketch.” Hana turned to the view in front of her. The backyard of the school located in the highlands makes them free to see the skyscrapers. “I’ve been with you since the paper is empty until now you started giving it colors. I want to see an artist finish her masterpiece.”

Hana’s words made Mimi lift her face and look at Hana from the side. She opened to say something but no words came out of .

For a moment she just stared at Hana who was busy with her novel again. Unaware of her words managed to make Mimi’s heart beat fast.

What is this feeling?

Mimi shook her head. Trying to restrain herself. Hoping what she had just felt was a momentary feeling.

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