Introduction to Naeun's nature. 

           Naeun was a quiet, but remarkable little girl. She made no friends, no close connections and avoided emotional attachments of any sort. She instead preferred to sit and observe other kids play as they unknowingly put on a show for her. She loved details and little bits of curious information, the same way other girls liked sweets and little pretty things. For example, she knew the swings were fixed on Monday at 3:38pm. She knew the big clock in the front foyer was beginning to slow down. She knew Sunny secretly picked her nose. She also knew Sunny did this because of her neurotic disorder. She knew Young only petted the kitten to appear kind and that Young was allergic to cats. She knew the nurse had been to jail. She knew the director found his comfort at the bottom of the bottle. She even knew the sizes of each crooked tile in the building and knew it took 625 child steps or 489 adult steps to get from the front porch to the nearby church. Naeun could entertained herself this way for countless of hours, avoiding other people.

As a result, while no one knew anything about her, she knew practically everything about everyone, everywhere.

           Despite her strange nature she also had a talent for slithering her way through a conversation; by the end of a small chat she could have virtually anyone believe they had an extraordinary red string of fate connecting them, which only the two of them could understand. This isn’t to say Naeun would up to others, but her gift instead made others feel they were special. You see, Naeun was such an odd, cold little girl that she naturally drew curiosity and bewilderment from both children and adults alike. So when one morning Naeun carefully tugged the edge of the nurse’s dress and asked to go out to the park alone, the nurse felt as if Naeun especially chose her to entrust something she couldn’t tell to anyone else on this planet. The nurse said yes, and even gave the girl a key to come back in. Other children didn't become jealous, or even curious when they saw Naeun wandering outside while the rest of them were forbidden to even step out of their rooms. They regarded her unapproachable and perplexing aura with a sense of respect.

          The day a new boy arrived and started picking on Naeun in attempt gain his new unrequited love’s attention, all the kids ganged up and told him to leave her alone. When the boy began asking ‘why?’ the only response was “Naeun is special” and a punch in the eye to solidify their request.

          But they weren’t trying to protect her. And they had nothing against her either, to prevent her from having a sweetheart. Some of them never even dared to look her straight in the eye. She was more of a class pet, a cat that no one really cared about, but still felt responsible for.

          After a black eye the new boy slowly befriended the rest of the kids. He fit in. He started a small soccer club. He even found a new crush and had time to get heartbroken. But he never looked at Naeun again. She once again gracefully blended in with the background like a ghost, and everything went back to normal for another year.