"The rustling  sounds by the warm wind on the trees are back again .Even  after the grueling cold of the harsh winter, the muffled cries of the cicadas are back; The little buds are starting to blossom back into their past glories. The tree, insects, flowers… they all came back to life. But this spring is still silent as the dead of the night. The signs of life and warmth are back but still...

I am here sitting alone in this public playground, watching kids play among themselves in the sandbox, in the swings. Their smiles are up to their ears and they poke fun at each other. I tried to make friends with people from my school but all attempts to befriend them were repeatedly turned down.

I never wish to be an outsider to them.

I never wish to be foreign.

I fervently wish to belong.

I wish that my mom and dad never have to move again and again.

I wish that I'll have someplace to stay, somebody to spend time with and will grin to me while doing funny antics.

I lower my head in defeat and stares at my lap for a few moments. I'm so lost with my thoughts that I never noticed the tears streamlining down my cold cheeks. My quiet sobs quickening its pace. I try to muffle the sobs with my sleeves. It is a useless effort. The pains from years of trying to fit in slowly devours me. The pain of constant rejection because your language is different stays.

I feel so defeated that I never noticed the sound of footsteps drawing near me.

'Hey kid!' He called.

I quickly regain my composure and stare up to him. His voice may sound harsh but his gaze looks warm. I stare at him longer and furrow my eyebrows. I throw him an inquisitive look.

'Don't go crying there all by yourself.' He said and threw a bunch a colorfully wrapped candies into my lap.

'You can have those.'  He commanded while not looking directly into my face and avoiding my eyes.

I am baffled by his words. No one ever approach me. I blush slightly from the concern and starts to stare at his face. He doesn't look bad, as a matter of fact, he looks handsome… really handsome. His eyes are a warm color of the earth. I start to blush a shade redder from my unexpected assessment of  his looks.

He suddenly looks at me and inspects my face. His face turns into a thoughtful frown

'Hey! Are you okay? Wait… those candies doesn't have any weird stuff. I swear'

He proceeds to pick one and pops one into his mouth.

'Nice~ Strawberries. This one's my favorite flavor.'

I smile at him and this is the first real smile that I gave to another person since coming into this place. I feel a warmth in my chest and my heart pounding really fast. Gathering all my courage, I reach out my hand.

'Nice to meet you. I'm Luhan'  I said in a loud voice… in an extra loud voice.

Ashamed of my sudden volume, I stare at the ground blushing and waits for his reply.

'Oh YES! I forgot!' He shouted.

He reaches out his hand to meet mine.

'I'm Kris'

His smooth hands feel warm under my touch. I never felt happier in my stay here in Korea."

Luhan swept off the beads of sweat that are forming in his forehead. He brushed his honey blonde hair aside. Gasping for air, he stared at the white sterile ceiling; like examining every detail of the pattern of the ceiling. He sits up from the white sheets and breathed out a small sigh. He never had that dream for a while.  He started to drone a bit more and reminisce at his friend from his high school years.

Kris was his first ever friend ever since coming to Korea. He never knew Korean language and it alienated him from other kids in his age. Kris taught him Korean and taught him the culture too. Apparently, he is also an immigrant from China and he told a lot of stories to Luhan. They were inseparable since both of them missed China and feels at home whenever they are together.

Their friendship seemed to be happy and forever until Kris suddenly drifted away from him. He started to avoid him and never talked to him anymore. Luhan never knew why and he even swallowed his pride to ask him directly what is wrong.

He never answered. His reply was just neutral face. He brushed it off and continued to avoid him.

Things continued even after graduation and Luhan's family needed to move to a new place so he left; left all the memories of his first friend behind in that silent town where Luhan's heart beats loudly.

He sadly smiled at the thought. 'I wonder where he is now. I hope he is leading a good life'

He smiled once again but this smile is painful. Pain was etched in his somber russet eyes. He tried to push all of those memories at the back of his mind and shifted to look at his alarm clock.

'6:00'

'It is still too early to open the shop. I'll probably grab a bit of tea and some bread'  He internally mumbled. 'Oh! And also some candies'

He grabbed a festive pink candy from the glass bowl beside his bed and pops it into his mouth

"Nice~ Strawberries. I really like this" He happily chirped.

He grabbed his sweater and started to prep up for the day.