Junhong ran excitedly across the street, feeling the rain chase after him as he bolted towards Jongup’s house.  Before ringing the doorbell, he quickly removed his plastic yellow hood off of his head and wiped his face with the back of his wet sleeve. He eagerly pushed down the button with his small white fingers and waited for someone to answer the door.

“Hi Mrs. Moon, can Jongup play today?”  Junhong squeaked, standing on his toes despite the fact that he was already tall enough as it was.

“Hi Junhong.” The warm woman mused at the sight of the tall seven year old. “Of course. Wait just a moment.”

Junhong smiled and looked out at the grey sky that spread out beyond the Moons’ porch. He felt excitement bubble in his stomach as he was about to go and play with Jongup. Ever since the incident with Daehyun, Jongup and Junhong had been inseparable. 

There were times when Junhong thought Jongup was kind of weird; like Jongup’s universe was somehow bent a certain way and it reflected in his weird comments or actions, but Junhong quickly grew to love that quirky side of Jongup. And Jongup easily put up with Junhong’s quick losses of temper and his immaturity with the wide smile that constantly graced his features. 

“Junhong!”

“What’s up, Jongup?” Junhong laughed at his words. “Do you want to play today?”

“Yeah!” Jongup struggled to fit his arm in the ugly neon green rain jacket that his mother was forcing him to wear.

“Try not to get too messy.” Jongup’s mother sighed, knowing her warning was useless.

Junhong ran excitedly towards the park, not looking to see if Jongup was following him. He didn’t have to; he knew Jongup was.

“My mom taught me how to make paper boats today. There’s a spot where water flows quickly.” Junhong clapped his hands and pat his chest, making sure that his paper was still safely tucked away from the rain under his coat.

“We can have them race.” Jongup panted as they reached the small hill, near Youngjae’s house. 

“I’m going to beat you.” Junhong cackled.

“No way Junhong.”

Junhong reached the pool of water that was sheltered by the trees swaying in the wind overhead. He watched as the water ran from the pool down the other side of the hill and fell into a drain. It was the perfect spot for racing paper boats.

“Should we put snails in them?” Junhong asked as he began carefully folding his paper the way his mother had shown him.

“It would be too heavy and the boats would sink.” Jongup answered. For someone who didn’t think much, his logic was spot on. 

“It’s the traitor.” Daehyun’s sing-songy voice rose above the subtle patting of the raindrops on the leaves. “Can you guys move? We were here first.” Youngjae joined Daehyun’s side. The two boys towered over the squatting youngsters, imposing an air of dominance.

“No you weren’t!” Junhong protested, angered by Daehyun’s presence.

Daehyun pointed to a beautiful toy boat, sparkling with red and blue paint on its plastic hull. It had a name, Tug U.S.A, painted beautifully in white block letters on either side of it. Daehyun had even equipped it with little plastic soldiers, and he had set them up so they looked like they were manning the boat diligently.

Junhong felt a pinch of jealousy in his stomach. He pursed his lips and looked at his paper boat, the paper was getting soggy and grey from being pelted by raindrops, it sagged slightly on his fingers as he tried to hold it up straight.

“We’ll move.” Jongup tugged at Junhong’s yellow plastic sleeve. “Come on, Junhong. Forget them.” Jongup whispered.

Junhong followed Jongup with a sullen face. “I have more paper…” He held out his now completely drenched paper boat before him.  He and Jongup found a spot nearby that was a bit further and less covered by the trees, but great for racing boats nonetheless.

Although the encounter had left Junhong a bit shaken, he found racing Jongup with the paper boats so fun that he forgot all about it.  He had folded at least ten, giggling maniacally as he and Jongup launched them into the water, screaming at the white hats to go faster. They yelled until their excitement caught in their throats and they could just watch with eager eyes as their boats drifted slowly, bumping into each other dangerously, down the stream.

Junhong squealed in delight as his boat passed Jongup’s for a moment before getting caught in a leaf. Annoyance gurgled in his throat as he raced to remove the obstacle.

“I won!” Jongup jumped from the spot he was squatting at, his whole body relaxing.

“This is the seventh time!” Junhong wailed in protest.  

“Maybe it’s more fun with more people?” Jongup suggested, his eyes traveling to where the ten and nine year old were squatting, fussing over the plastic boat.

“Well…”

“They were fighting the whole time. I saw them.” Jongup whispered the last sentence, as if it was some terrible secret.

Junhong looked back over at the duo and saw Youngjae standing up, arms crossed over his chest, back turned to Daehyun.

Junhong fiddled aimlessly with his drenched paper boat, his eyes traveling around as he tried to make sense of the situation. “You invite him.” Junhong finally turned to Jongup.

Jongup bore an offended look. “NO. You invite him.”

“No, do it!”

“You do it.” Jongup hissed.

“Fine!” Junhong stood up shakily, wiping away mud and water on his yellow raincoat. “Youngjae hyung!”

The brunette perked his head up at the mention of his name.

“Do you want to play with us?”

Youngjae’s face lit up and he uncrossed his arms. He glanced back at Daehyun. Daehyun looked up at Youngjae and quickly grabbed his sleeve. Junhong couldn’t hear what they were saying but it was clear that Daehyun didn’t want Youngjae to leave. But Youngjae was not in the mood to play Daehyun’s games anymore.

Daehyun suddenly threw his arms up in anger, making Youngjae’s arm swing violently back to his side. Youngjae turned back to Junhong and Jongup, giving Daehyun a final glance before making his way over to his dongsaengs.

“Thanks.” He huffed meekly as Junhong handed him a piece of paper.

“No problem!” Jongup chirped. “What were you guys fighting about anyways?”

Youngjae stuck his tongue out as he carefully folded his paper. “Daehyun is dumb.”

“Why?” Junhong watched Youngjae’s fingers work swiftly over the paper.

“His boat is too heavy so it doesn’t move. It’s no fun.” Youngjae pouted, looking over sourly at where Daehyun was.

Junhong observed as Daehyun squatted with his head ducked down, fingers splashing aimlessly in the muddy water. He then looked at Jongup who shrugged and gave him a confused look, which Junhong reciprocated.

It turned out that Jongup was right; boat racing was more fun with more Youngjae. Junhong felt his throat tighten as the white boats bumped into each other, each turn more perilous than the next. He jumped up and down despite himself, feeling the excitement of each race. Youngjae laughed a lot, his pink dusted cheeks becoming little mounds on his face, eyes disappearing almost completely as he became drunk with laughter.

“How do you make your boat go so fast?” Youngjae screeched between laughs as Jongup won yet another race.  Junhong had never seen this side of Youngjae before, convinced that he would hate him, but he found himself getting along well with the jovial boy.

“I don’t know.” Jongup shrugged, his eyebrows knitting comically. “I have skills with a z!” They all laughed, and Junhong made a mental note to remember that expression. 

“Can I play?” The three boys fell silent as they picked up Daehyun’s voice from behind them.

Junhong’s eyes shifted to his best friend, who looked at Youngjae for help. Junhong was still hurt by Daehyun’s words and unsure if his internal wounds were recovered enough to be exposed. He stole a quick glance at Daehyun; the boy, although thin, was looming threateningly over him. His lips were drawn back into a straight line, and his hands were balled onto his hips, like an inspector at a factory.

Junhong glanced again, this time locking eyes with the older. Daehyun looked slightly defeated, despite his powerful stance, his glassy brown orbs glistening with regret.

“Youngjae…” Daehyun whimpered softly. His friend rolled his lip between his teeth, unable to look straight at the older. He picked at the muddy banks of the sinkhole, like it had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the world.

The four boys sat in a tensioned silence; Junhong unwilling to forgive and forget, Youngjae sheepish for abandoning his best friend, Daehyun feeling regret and betrayal, and Jongup who was feeling the tug of the tension from both sides.

“Fine. You can play with us.” Jongup looked up Daehyun, who was now hunched over in conquest.

Junhong snapped his attention towards his best friend. His mouth hung open in disbelief, which was quickly turning into anger.

“On one condition, hyung.” Jongup continued, watching his audience carefully, and not missing the violent glint in Junhong’s eyes. 

Daehyun held his breath audibly, debating whether to give in and comply with his friend turned traitor, or keep his pride and walk away alone. “Okay. What is it?”

“Apologize to Junhongie.”

Everyone looked to Junhong, who was having a hard time containing his smile. He didn’t want to seem smug; but his heart was bursting from the love he had for his best friend.

Youngjae suddenly stood up and faced Junhong, who looked at his new friend in complete surprise. “Junhong. I apologize for being mean to you. I know Daehyun is supposed to apologize, but I’m sorry too.”

Junhong sprung to his feet, tackling Youngjae into a hug. He was unable to find any words, as they were stuck in the back of his throat, kept there by the glue of emotion.

Daehyun lowered his head, silence awkwardly filling the space between Youngjae’s apology and Daehyun’s anticipated next words.

He let out a frustrated sigh, rocking his body back and forth as he weighed the decision carefully in his mind. “Uh…” He started. “I’m sorry.” His voice was low and barely audible over the rain. Junhong just stared coldly at the older boy, unsure of what to do with the burden of forgiving.

Junhong just nodded slowly, subtly showing his acceptance of Daehyun’s apology.  It would take a while before the two of them could ever get close, but Jongup decided that he didn’t have the patience to wait around for it.  “Let’s play!”