After meeting L.Joe, Heeyoung's life was slightly getting better at school, but she just couldn't accept L.Joe right away. She’s still finding it hard to open herself completely to him. Her relationship with L.Joe was just limited as schoolmates. Heeyoung herself didn't understand why she couldn't tell L. Joe about her hard times at home. That's what friends are for, right? It wasn't his fault either. He didn't do anything bad to her, but she just couldn't. Fortunately, L.Joe didn't bother her by asking more about her private life.

That day, L.Joe accompanied her home. She had asked him not to, but he insisted. He was worried. He could tell that something wasn't right by looking at her face.

"I'm okay. You don't have to accompany me home. It's the opposite way from your house. You'll take longer time to go home."

"Please just let me do it. Your face looks like you can collapse anytime. I won't force you to tell me what's actually happening, but let me just accompany you home, please?" that was the umpteenth time L.Joe convinced her.

"Fine. But you have to go home right away. Promise?" she just couldn't stand L.Joe's worried face anymore.

"Promise." L.Joe showed his widest grin. Heeyoung smiled at her friend's stubbornness. She was lucky to have a caring friend, but L.Joe couldn't replace her best friend's place yet. My very own best friend.

******

The night before.

Heeyoung was reviewing lessons in her room while listening to her iPod. Thank God, Minsoo didn't lose his grip to my iPod when I punched him. Actually, she couldn't stop feeling guilty for punching him at their first met. It undoubtedly made a bad first impression for her. To think it was an unimportant matter, but she hit the roof that easy. She blamed it on her troubled mind. Whatever! He got what he deserved for messing up with me!

"Ya! Why am I thinking of him!" she slammed close the book she was reading. "Urgh! What are you doing Heeyoung-ssi! You shouldn't even think about that jerk!" she was trying to get her focus back on the lessons when she heard a loud yell from the living room. And it's happening again.

It was her mom yelling at the person across her phone. She knew whom the person was. She knew him very well. She pretended not to hear and forced herself to focus back on the lessons. She even turned her iPod's volume up, but it didn't work. "Gah!" Heeyoung nagged as she took off her earphones and walked out her room.

"Mom please!" Heeyoung shouted.

Her mom was shocked at her sudden appearance. "Look, we're not done yet. Now I have to cool off your daughter's head. Listen to me, we’re not done yet!” her mom half shouted at the person across the phone before ending the call. "What now, Heeyoung?!" her mom asked rhetorically.

"You asked me what now?! You know what I mean! Would you just please stop it?! I'm sick listening to your shouts every damn night!"

"You know what's happening between me and your dad! It have to be solved as fast as possible!" her mom's tone raised up.

"What you care is all about that divorcing matters! You don't even think about me! About my feelings! You guys are so selfish! Don't you ever think about how I’m feeling right now?! You don't even care about how I'm doing in my new school! I got bullied and I even punched my friend in the first day! That's what happened when your daughter's mind isn't in a good state!! You should be grateful that I’m not in the asylum yet! All you do is arguing over the phone with dad! I'm sick of these all!" Heeyoung was shaking from anger. She stomped back to her room and slammed the door right away, leaving her mom speechless.

Heeyoung buried her face onto the pillow. She cried. She cried on the unfair world. The worst thing was that she didn't have anybody to share on. All she could think of was only Niel, her best friend back then in the US. Her best friend who's willing to do anything to help her. Her best friend who protected her anytime, anywhere. Her best friend who told her that it's gonna be okay everytime she messed up. Her best friend who could make her smile in burden.

Daniel, I miss you. Nobody could replace you, ever.

******

Every students gave Heeyoung weird stares as she walked past them to her seat, but she could see a boy was smiling widely at her. She slightly smiled back at him just right before she sat. Heeyoung just hated that feeling from moving into a new school. Although that's her umpteenth time, she always felt nervous everytime she did it. Introduction, weird stares, bullies, gossips. Those were just few things she'd been familiar with in the past few years. Her dad's job required her family to move like every few years. So as time passing by, she was getting used to move from one school to another. That's why she didn't like to be attached with her friends because she knew that one day she might not see them again.

Break time had come. She stayed in her class. Her classmates weren't even bothered themselves to talk to her. Which is good, she thought. She took out a novel from her bag and started reading when a boy appeared in front of her.

"Hello!" the boy greeted her. It's the boy who smiled at her before.

"Uh, hi." Heeyoung answered awkwardly.

"I'm Daniel, you can call me Niel. Nice to meet you, Heeyoung!" he introduced himself brightly.

Heeyoung startled a bit when Niel mentioned her name. Oh, I introduced myself before. Stupid. "N-nice to meet you too, Niel."

"Well, what are you doing here? I think we should go out from this hell for a while."

Heeyoung hesitated. Niel seemed so kind, she could get attached to him easily soon if he kept doing that. Refuse, refuse, refuse. Refuse it politely, Heeyoung. It won't hurt him. "Hm.. I was about to read a novel actually. I-" Heeyoung was about to refuse when he had already half dragged Heeyoung to the hallway. "Y-ya! Niel!"

Niel didn't care. He pulled Heeyoung's hand all the way. "Come on! We won't get a good spot if you keep talking."

"What are you talking about?" Heeyoung asked Niel, confused.

"See? That's what I meant. You should keep it shut and follow me instead."

This kid is a freak, really. They ended up sitting by the school field. It's nice and quite busy there. She's actually loving the atmosphere. "You're lucky today. This good spot hasn't even taken yet. It should've been," Niel told her as they sat on the ground. "I love it here. It's way better than staying in that hell." She could see what he meant by that. They're sitting under a shady tree, making it look contrast with the dry field.

"Thank you by the way." Heeyoung just didn't have another things to say at that time. "Why did you greet me?" she couldn't hide her curiosity.

"Eh? Shouldn't I?" Niel didn't even expect her to ask about it. "I just want to. I think it would be hard for you on your first day."

"No, it's okay. You're quite different from the other classmates, aren't you? Actually I've been in this kind of situation a lot. I've been moving in the last few years."

"You may say. Wow, really? That's cool! I haven't gone abroad even once," Niel said. "Where do you live here?"

"Bloomfield." She didn't understand why she bursted everything out easily that day. She had to admit that Niel's charm had impressed her.

"Bloomfield? That's just one block away from my house! I think we should go together everyday!"

******

"Do you feel better now?" Niel touched Heeyoung's forehead to check the heat.

"Yeah," she mumbled with her eyes closed. She couldn't stop sniffing. She'd been ill for 3 days. It's annoying to be ill in a holiday. It's more annoying when none of your family was home. Heeyoung's parents had been out the town for work. She felt grateful to have Niel as her bestfriend. He had been taking care of her. Fortunately, his mom didn't mind that. As well as her mom. She didn't mind Niel staying in with Heeyoung. She knew that Niel was taking care of her sick daughter well. "Have you slept?"

"I have. I slept on the couch while you're asleep. Mom called, asking your recent condition. I mean, your mom," he told. It's been 2 years for them mentioning each other's mom as mom like their own mom. Heeyoung's mom had been wanted to have a son, that's why she's happily asking Niel to do so. "What do you want to eat for dinner?"

"Whatever, I don't feel like eating though. I can't taste anything," Heeyoung said, still with her eyes closed.

Later, Niel came back to her room with a bowl of porridge. "Hee Young-ah~" Niel called her half humming.

"Ya! Stop it! You know I hate it." Heeyoung woke up, annoyed. "What's that?" referring to the tray on his hands.

"I purposely did it so that you could wake up in a flash. And this is chicken porridge. Specially made by Chef Daniel." He grinned.

She had a look at the porridge when Niel sat beside her on the bed. "What did you put in it, Daniel? You better not messing up with me," she asked suspiciously, joking.

"I put my love in it," he answered and formed his big lips into a smooch. "Now eat." He took a spoonful of porridge.

"Daniel you gross! Your lips grew bigger when you did that." She slapped Niel's head and ate the porridge Niel fed.

"Ya! You should be thankful to me!" he nagged. Heeyoung had to admit she's really thankful to him.

Heeyoung kissed his cheek right after he finished feeding her, making his cheek covered a bit by the porridge from her lips. "Thank you, Niel-ah." She .

"Park Heeyoung I swear to God you're the most disgusting girl I've ever met!" he swore. Heeyoung couldn't help to laugh at her bestfriend. Her caring and lovely bestfriend that she might lose anytime. And I lost him.