I

Seohyun’s eyes snapped open, widening in shock as she registered the rapidly darkening sky. Her room was as it had been before she had collapsed onto the bed and fallen asleep in exhaustion; curtains drawn, duvet folded neatly at the foot of her bed, her school bag resting at the foot of the door, as if patiently waiting for her to pick it up and bring it to the study, where it belonged.

She gave a lurch as she jumped out of the bed, smothering out her hair and realizing that she was still dressed in her school uniform. She must have fallen asleep without changing out of her clothes.

“Darn,” she muttered silently, softly scolding herself for falling asleep for the whole afternoon. Now she would have only the night left to complete the mountain of homework she had been assigned. She was about to make her way to the bathroom when she heard the front door click open.

“Seohyun?”

Running out of her room, she caught a glimpse of her father downstairs, taking off his shoes and socks. “Hi daddy,” she smiled softly, making her way downstairs to greet him.

Her father grunted in response, before saying, “I’m off to get dinner, do you have another you want to eat?”

Seohyun shook her head. She wasn’t a picky eater, and even though she didn’t eat much, she ate anything. Her father nodded, changing into slippers, and was about to make his way out of the door again when the doorbell rang.

“Huh,” his eyebrows furrowed, puzzled. The family had just moved into this new neighbourhood recently, and they weren’t expecting anyone over that day. “Stay here, Seohyun.”

She complied. Peeking out from behind her father’s shoulder, she caught sight of a young man standing behind their gates. He was tall and lithe, with pale skin that shone under the moonlight, a slim, straight nose and full lips. Dressed in a grey wife beater, he looked like he could be her age. Behind him was a small cart. He rang the doorbell rather persistently.

“Yes?” Seohyun’s father called out, not bothering to unlock the gates for him.

“Hi, sir,” the boy replied. “May I have a few minutes of your time?”

From where she stood, Seohyun could hear her father sigh audibly. He never liked door-to-door salesmen. “What is it?”

The young man paused for a moment before speaking. “It’s like this, sir. I’m from a boys’ home and I’ve been selling ice cream to pay for my school fees.” Already, Seohyun could see where this was going. “Would you like to buy some?”

And immediately, without much tact, her father replied. “Sorry, we don’t eat ice cream.”

Seohyun wanted to smack something. We didn’t eat ice cream? That was the worst rejection line she had ever heard any person utter. She suppressed a groan and turned to watch the boy’s reaction.

The young man closed his eyes understandingly before smiling at her father. “That’s alright. Thanks for your time, sir.” And with a polite nod of his head, he dragged his ice cream cart away, moving on to ring on her neighbour’s doorbell.

Her father turned back to her, and as if nothing had happened, said, “I’m off.”

“Okay…” She muttered a goodbye, eyes too transfixed on the boy’s retreating back to notice anything else. She retreated to her bedroom and immediately rushed to her window, which overlooked the front street below. There he was, ringing the doorbell of another neighbour, making his speech. She watched as he flicked his hair back, give another smile and drag his cart of as he was yet again rejected. The wife beater did nothing to hide the muscles on his arms. From downstairs, she could hear the engine of her father’s car start up. He had left to get dinner.

Almost in a trance, she slipped away from the window bending down to retrieve her wallet from her bag by the door. Counting the bills, she snatched up a few, and hurried down the stairs. Her heart was pounding. What was she doing?

Reaching the front door, she in a deep breath to calm her nerves, before unlocking the door and pushing open the gate.

He stood on the opposite side of the road, standing still as he took stock of his ice cream and what little money he had earned. The way he stood, with complete ease and… acceptance made her want to stop and stare at him. But she snapped out of her trance, and willed her feet forward before she could chicken out.

“Hi,” she said softly, tentatively.

The boy looked up and slowly a small friendly smile spread across his face. “Hi,” he said back, turning to face her properly.

“I, uhm,” she cleared . “Saw that you were selling ice cream.”

His face brightened. “Yeah, want one?”

She nodded, and moved closer to him as he gestured her forward. “Take your pick.”

There were many flavours, many colours and tastes and brands. But her eyes scanned through them all, until she found what she thought should be the most expensive ice cream in the cart. Picking out the bar of Magnum, she ask, “How much?”

He stared at her, probably shocked because nobody had ever bought such expensive ice cream from him before. “Are you sure you want to buy that?”

She hesitated for a moment, wondering what he meant, before nodding assertively. He told her the price, and she counted out the money before handing it to him. “Thanks,” he said, and she lifted her head up shyly to offer him a smile.

She didn’t know why she had done it. Maybe it was because she had seen how curtly her father had treated him and wanted to make up for it in some way. Maybe it was because she just wanted to acknowledge him for turning over a new leaf and trying to change his ways. Maybe she wanted to help him break free from the second jail of prejudice against ex-wrongdoers. Maybe she just wanted ice cream. Or maybe she just craved human company, someone her age whom she could talk to with no strings attached, who would smile at her and be friendly and not shun her like so many others did at school.

There was a pause of silence, then he said, “Best not to eat that on an empty stomach.”

She smiled and nodded in agreement. She clutched the ice cream in her hands, sure that it was melting, but not caring as she stood out on the road with him. The boy with the ice cream. The boy whose name she didn’t know. The boy who, with no reason, drew her in.

He glanced down at her uniform, and she bit back a yelp as she realised that she probably looked disheveled and unkempt. Her blouse was probably crumped and her skirt ruffled. And her hair, oh, her hair!

But all he did was grin. “Seoul High?” Seohyun nodded. “Prestigious school.” Seohyun didn’t know what to say.

“What about you?” Seohyun asked. “Are you in school now?”

“Yeah,” he smiled good-naturedly. “I missed most of my school year, though. But I’ve been taking night classes recently.”

She decided that it wasn’t in her place to ask why he had missed so much of the school year.

She smiled, conscious, as the boy looked at her, suddenly thankful that the lamp lights overhead were dim and that she could hide her blush easily.

“Well,” she said after a moment of pleasant silence. “I should be going back.” She raised the bar of Magnum at him. “Thanks for the ice cream.”

He tilted his head in a polite nod, watching her turn and walk back to her house. Her heart was beating happily at this small bit of human interaction, and she couldn’t keep the smile off her face.

“Wait!”

She turned, a questioning look on her face, as the boy gathered his wits.

“What’s your name?” He asked, looking nervous. There was a pause. He his lips, snapping her out of her trance, before she realised that she was staring at them. She wanted to slap herself. How indecent of her!

“Seohyun,” she said. Then, as if to make sure that he had heard her, she repeated, “Seohyun.”

The corners of the boy’s lips lifted ever so slightly, and she realised that she was staring at them again.

“And- and yours?”

The boy’s smile turned into a full-fledged grin.

“Myungsoo. Kim Myungsoo.”

___________________________________________________________

^^