2 YEARS LATER (1987)

Hyori ran out of the house smiling towards Jong kook.

Jong Kook: Hyori!

Hyori: Kookie!

Jong Kook: Chunhee’s ill, it’s just us today. Come on hurry up or we will be late to school!

Hyori: Is Chunhee really not coming today! But he hasn’t been in school all week!

Jong Kook: That’s what happens when you get ill silly!

Hyori: When I get ill, I’m still going to come into school, I’ll get bored at home!

Jong Kook: YA! Don’t be silly, if you’re ill then you have to stay home and get better or you could die!

Hyori suddenly stops in the middle of the path, her face flushes white and she starts to breathe heavily.

Jong Kook: What?  Hyori-ah!?

Hyori: Is Chunhee going to die?

Jong Kook: Sometimes I honestly don’t know what to do with you!

Jong Kook reaches forward and takes Hyori’s arm. He starts to pull her along the path. But Hyori tries to pull out of his grip. Her eyes are wide and her face has flushed white with shock. Jong Kook see’s this change and nearly laughs, Hyori always took everything far too seriously she trusted too easily in him most of the time.

Hyori: Jong Kook! If Chunhee is going to die, then I don’t think we should go to school

Jong Kook: Ya! Chunhee isn’t going to die! Hurry up or we will miss the bus!

Hyori pulls her arm out of Jong Kook’s hand

Hyori: Kim Jong kook! You said he would die!

Jong Kook:  I was exaggerating! Come on Hyori.

Hyori: Why did you lie!

Jong Kook: I wasn’t lying! If anything actually managed to get you ill then it must be serious. Most bacteria is probably scared away when it sees your ugliness!

Hyori: YA! Jong Kook, I won’t forgive you this time!

Hyori runs at Jong Kook, who also begins to run, they pass various grandmothers and grandfathers who are setting up for the day, they all call out to them as they run past, as it is a regular sight.

Various: Hello little sir! hello agasshi!

Hyori stops running, turns, smiles and waves at them, the familiar joke still causing her to smile. Kim Jong Kook nods politely each time, showing no emotion but smiling continuously inside. Jong kook looks round the corner and sees the bus approaching the bus stop. Hyori is too absorbed by the grandmothers and grandfathers to notice.

Jong Kook: Hyoriah! Forgive me!

Jong Kook puts his hands together and widens his eyes while pouting his lips at her trying to be cute. Hyori looked at him and tried to hold the smile from her face. Jong Kook then flutters his eyelashes, shocked and amused Hyori lets out a loud giggle. Seeing this as a truce,  Jong Kook grabs Hyori’s hand again and pulls her towards the bus stop. Hyori smiles, squeezes his hand and runs faster. Both of them reach the bus stop just in time. Hyori can’t hide her smile as Jong Kook pushes her onto the bus first.

Hyori walks up onto the bus, every day was the same Jong kook would be her best friend the second onto which she got onto the bus, but as soon as they were around other people who weren’t Chunhee, or the grandmothers, or grandfathers, or aunts or uncles, or brothers or sisters, she was ignored. She walked up the bus isle to her normal seat next to the window half way down the bus. She was the only one in her year apart from Chunhee who got the bus and everyone else had their own friends. Today would be worse than normal, not only would she have to watch Jong Kook having fun with other people she would be doing so alone.

Half an hour later the bus stopped outside of the elementary school, and Hyori toiled of the bus. Jong Kook got off the bus behind her, and as he overtook her to join his friends he squeezed her hand and walked off. Hyori smiled to herself, he never normally acknowledged her past the bus doors.

Suddenly she felt a huge forcing attacking her back.

Girl: YAHHHHHHHHH!

Hyori turned and saw her best friend smiling brightly. Shi Yeon had black hair cut in a bob, she had a thin face, but huge eyes, but petite other features. She wore a black skirt with a pink top and a bright pink rucksack.

Hyori: Shi Yeon! Why do you always have to hit me so hard!

Shi Yeon: Sometimes I wonder why I am friends with you! I saw that just then, Jong Kook-

Hyori put her hand across Shi Yeons mouth and dragged her towards to bike shed in the school yard.

Hyori: I’ve told you it’s a secret that me and Jong kook are friends! That means shi yeon if you see something secret you have to whisper it!

Shi Yeon: Whatever, I don’t even understand why you want to be friends with him, he is a boy!

Hyori: Shi Yeon, your friends with Chunhee!

Shi Yeon: Yeah, but he’s really girly! (giggles a lot), hey Hyori, my mummy told me that when girls hang around with a boy all the time they fall in love… do you love him?

Hyori: Eww! Love! Gross! That’s what adults do! Jong Kook is like my brother!

Shi Yeon: But I don’t like my brother

Hyori: That’s because you are weird! Come on we’ll be late for class, I need to tell Teacher Kim that Chunhee is ill.

The day passed slowly for Hyori, she didn’t really like school, she didn’t understand why she needed to go, in the future she would just live with Chunhee and Jong Kook, and she didn’t understand why some people worked when they could be having fun. However she never mentioned this. She still remembered the incident two years ago when Jong Kook told her to work seriously.

When the school bell finally went, Hyori practically ran out of the classroom, to find Shi Yeon and her twin brother Haejin having one of their daily arguments, this time it was because Haejin was fiddling in class and shiyeon couldn’t concentrate over the sounds of the zip on his pencil case. Hyori stood between them, and pulled them into a three way hug.

Hyori: I will see you tomorrow! Remember our photo project for art is due in shi yeon! Bye Bye!

She called as she ran down the corridor straight into Jong Kook

Hyori: Ya! (Realises who it is) Oh! Sorry

Friend: Woah! Little kids these days are so rude! Did you hear that!

Another friend walks up behind hyori and pokes her in the back

Friend 2: Ya! Look where you are going next time squirt!

Hyori: Why sh–

Hyori catches jong kooks eye, he looks at her with caution in his eyes, Hyori gets the message but doesn’t calm down. Another one of his friends pushes her with little care

Friend 3: Why? Why what?

Friend 1: Yeah kid, what were you going to say?

Jong Kook, stares so harshly at Hyori, that she backs down

Hyori: Nothing, I’m sorry it was my fault

Friend 2: So what are you going to do about it?

Friend 3: Yeah my friend here is now badly hurt, what are you going to-

Jong Kook: I’m bored, let’s go play somewhere else

Jong Kook walks away leaving his three friends to reluctantly follow, still all jeering and staring at Hyori. The corridors suddenly begin to fill with people finally coming out of their classes. Hyori leans against the wall, she wasn’t scared, she could have easily beaten those three wimps, but she was angry, why was Jong Kook friends with these kinds of people. He was a nice person why couldn’t he find some nice friends.

*

Jong Kook looked at his watch, the coach left in two minutes and it never waited. If Hyori didn’t get on the bus soon, she would have to walk the two and a half hour route, Hyori was never late for the afternoon bus, she was always there first, he couldn’t remember a time when she hadn’t been on the bus waiting, when he arrived.

Driver: Time to go kids.

Jong Kook: Why wasn’t Hyori here yet? Did those jerks hurt her when they pushed her? The engine of the bus started and the doors closed. Jong Kook looked out the window and there was still no sign of Hyori. The bus had began to move slowly away from school. Jong Kook found himself on his feet,

Jong Kook: Agusshi! One minute, I left my book behind; I need to go get it!

Driver: I can’t wait kid, if you get off you need to make your own way home

Friend: Jong Kook! Just get it tomorrow

Jong Kook: I’ll see you tomorrow guys!

Jong Kook walked off the bus and manually opened the door. He stepped into the white dusty sand that covered the front yard and watched as the school bus drove away. He began to walk back up to school, when finally he saw a lone figure open the school doors and run towards him. Hyori was running so fast that she didn’t even see Jong Kook standing on the yard.

Hyori: AHH! What am I going to do? Hyori you idiot! How could you let your mind get so distracted?

Jong Kook: I want to know the answer to that too!

Hyori turned and stared at Jong Kook, almost as though she didn’t believe he was there. She smiled at him, and then very quickly frowned.

Jong Kook: Come on! I got off the bus didn’t I!?

Hyori: Yeah and how is that going to help me walk! You should have jumped infront of the bus and not let it leave!

Jong Kook: Like that would work! You know the driver! In order to get the job done on time he would have ran me over!

Hyori: But still what does it matter if you are not on the bus! Its not going to help me walk, and besides I don’t want to talk to you!

Jong Kook: umm well its dangerous for kids to be out by themselves and I’m sorry.

Hyori: Jong Kook, you are only two years older than me! And plus, you are not sorry because you are still friends with those jerks!

Jong Kook: Those jerks are still my friends, alright Hyori!?

Hyori: What does it matter to me! It’s nothing to do with me! Its yourself you should be sorry for.

Jong Kook: Let’s just go home ok!

Jong Kook stormed out of the school gates and hyori followed. It finally sunk in that Jong Kook could be with his friends right now

Hyori: Oppa?

Jong Kook: Yes Hyori?

Hyori: You could be with your friends right now yes?

Jong Kook:  yes

Hyori: On the bus?

Jong Kook: Yes

Hyori: Instead of walking miles and miles home with me

Jong Kook: That’s right, yes.

Hyori smiled and ran up to Jong Kook.

Hyori: I’m tired! Oppa, carry me!

Jong Kook: I have a better idea.

Jong Kook stuck his hand out along the road, and within five minutes a farmer going to Hapceon agreed to give them a lift to the outskirts of the town.

Jong Kook: Who is the best Oppa ever?

Hyori smiled at Jong Kook and curled up in the hay on the back of the truck.  Jong Kook spent the next half hour watching Hyori sleeping peacefully. When they reached the outskirts of the town, Jong Kook put the sleepy kid on his back and started the slow walk up the hill to the village.