The next few days went without anything special happening. I had a lot of catching up to do with my school work. So I spent the whole weekend studying. I've never had much trouble with that. Studying, I mean. Because unlike others, I didn't have friends. I wasn't much interested in anything except books and one tv show. So I had loads of free time and I used it to study. So yeah. I could study the whole weekend without getting tired of it.

And of course, Park Shin Hye and Lee Min Ho were surprised to hear that.

"You did what?" both of them asked, surprised, when I told them at lunch.

"I studied," I said chewing some rice.

"The whole weekend?" Min Ho asked.

"Yeah."

"Are you sure you're human?" Shin Hye asked. "Nobody studies through the whole weekend. Not even the seniors."

"Then what else do you do?" I asked.

"Err.. I don't know. Go to the movies with friends. Or shopping. Or something!" Shin Hye said.

"Well, I've always studied during the weekend," I said.

"Why?"

"I didn't exactly have friends," I said. My voice was a whisper. "Okay? So I didn't know what else to do other than study."

There was a silence. Nobody spoke. I was looking down at my bowl of rice. I could feel their eyes on me. I guess they didn't know what to say to that. I wished I hadn't said that. What if they ask about my past? I didn't want anyone to know.

"How come?" Shin Hye asked. "Everybody have friends."

I didn't wanna tell her. Or anyone for that matter. So I tried to say something to cover up what I said. "I..um-"

I didn't get speak more than a word before Min Ho cut me off. "Well, now you have friends. We're you're friends. So you're not gonna stay home and study the next weekend. You're going out with us!"

"We're going out, oppa?" Shin Hye asked, excited.

"Yep! We are. Gotta show our Ji Hee the town," he said.

"Awesome! Then...." Shin Hye started talking and making plans. But I couldn't concentrate on any of the things she said. I was so greatful to Min Ho. I looked up at him. He was looking at me with his breathtakingly beautiful smile. I smiled back and nodded to let him know that I was greatful. He nodded back at me.

On Saturday morning, Min Ho and Shin Hye picked me up from my house. I was very excited to go out with my friends for the first time in my life. I got into the backseat of their car.

"So, where are we going?" I asked.

"Mudeungsan," Min Ho said.

"And that is?" I asked since I didn't know what that was.

"It's technically a mountain. The symbol of Gwangju. Now it's a national park." Min Ho explained.

"We can walk around and have lunch there. We brought food," Shin Hye said. She was more excited than I was.

"So, we're going on a pic-nic?"

"Yes, ma'am. Shin Hye's idea. Not mine," Min Ho said.

"Great! I've never really gone on a pic-nic before," I said.

"Well, then you are gonna love it! It's absolutely fun!" Shin Hye said.

We drove for like two hours before we got to the mountain. Min Ho parked the car in the car park and we all got down. Shin Hye handed me the bottle of orange juice and asked me to carry it. Min Ho took the food items and Shin Hye took the other things left.

We climbed the mountain without much difficulty. It was probably because the siblings were joking through the whole way. I didn't feel much tired when we reached the top. Even though it was a weekend, there weren't that many people in the park. I was relieved to see that. I never liked to be around many people. Shin Hye found a nice spot under a tree. She put down the blanket and started to arrange everything. I got down and helped her. Min Ho just stood there looking here and there.

"Yah oppa!" Shin Hye cried. "Don't just stand there. Come and help us!"

"Nah. You guys do it. It's girls' work," he replied.

"Urgh!" Shin Hye said annoyingly. "Don't you just wanna punch him in the face? So annoying!" Shin Hye said to me.

"I'll be right back," said Min Ho. He went away.

Shin Hye and I arranged everything beautifully. We placed the food items in the middle. Shin Hye took out some plastic cups. By the time we finished arranging, Min Ho retuned.

"Where did you go?" Shin Hye asked.

"Just to look around. There's an ice cream cart. We can get ice cream after lunch." Min Ho replied.

We all sat together on the blanket and started our lunch.

"I read that book," said Min Ho. "Now I see. I read it."

"What did you think?" I asked.

"It was good. I loved the way it was written. And I loved the ending. Well, let's just say I loved the book," said Min Ho. He turned to me and smiled.

I could feel a huge smile spread across my face. He liked it! I really wanted to jump up and hug him. I kept looking at him with my stupid huge grin. He didn't look away either. His smile seemed to get more and more beautiful.

"What is this? A staring contest?" Shin Hye's voice brought me back. I looked down feeling myself blush.

The rest of the meal went on without much happening. After we finished, we went to get ice cream. Min Ho insisted on paying for me as well. I let just this once. We walked around the park eating ice cream.

"So where are we going next?" I asked.

"Hmmm.... I don't know," replied Shin Hye. "Oppa?"

"Oh, I'm too full to do anything. Let's just stay here for a while," he said.

We went back to our blanket and laid down. I was in the middle while the siblings laid on either side of me.

"So Ji Hee," Shin Hye started. "What was it like in Seoul? How was your school?"

"Um... I didn't really like my school. That's why we moved here. I like it much better here than in Seoul." I replied. My voice was so low.

"Why didn't you like your school?"

"The students there were not very nice. I just didn't like going there."

"I see... Did you ever have a boyfriend?"

"Um... No. I wasn't very popular."

"You don't have to be popular to have a boyfriend." Min Ho said. I looked at him. He turned his head towards me. "You just have to be nice and good. Boys don't always go after popular girls. We like nice girls."

I couldn't take my eyes off of him. "It's true," he said smiling at me.

"Well said, brother." Shin Hye said.

We laid in silence after that. I was thinking about what Min Ho said. It really touched my heart. He was a nice guy. A really really nice guy. I suddenly started to feel really happy about moving to Gwangju. I liked this city. I liked my school. I've made friends for the first time and I loved them.

"It's getting late. We should go now." Min Ho broke the silence.

"Yeah, we should." I said.

"Hey Ji Hee, can you ride shotgun? I wanna stretch my legs." Shin Hye asked me.

"Sure," I said.

Min Ho got into the driver's seat and I got into the passenger seat. Shin Hye got in back.

I was nervous as we rode. This was the first time I was riding in the front seat with a guy.

"Are you okay?" Min Ho asked. You look... um..... nervous."

"Yeah," I said. "Yeah, I'm good. It's just... um... nothing. "

"It's just what?"

"Uh... It's just.... well... this is my first time riding in the front seat with a boy."

Min Ho was silent for a moment. I looked at him. A slight smile was playing on his lips.

"So, you do think of me as a boy," he said.

"Aren't you a boy?"

"Yeah, I am. But, you know."

"What?" I honestly didn't know what he was talking about. He didn't say anything. He looked at me again.

"Oh, you're so adorable," he said. "Never mind."

We rode in silence for a moment. Shin Hye had fallen asleep. It was getting dark.

"What time should you be at home?" Min Ho asked me.

"I've never had a curfew. So I'm not really sure." I said.

"Really?" he looked at me surprised.

"Yeah. Well, I never really went out before I moved here. Actually this is my first time going out with friends. This is my first time having friends. So my parents never had a curfew for me. There was no need."

Min Ho was silent for a moment. "Kim Ji Hee."

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you what exactly happened in Seoul? Why did you move here? Why did you hate your school? And why didn't you have any friends?"

I was silent. I looked down at my hands. I could see the mark of the cut I made in my wrist.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to. I was just curious-"

I cut him off in the middle. "No, it's okay. I've never talked about it with anyone before. So...."

"Look, you really don't have to-"

"No, I want to." I said. "Telling someone would make me feel better." I waited for a while before I answered.

"I never had friends in my old school. I hated going there. There was this guy. He.... um.. her used to bully me. A lot. And it was really hard for me. He was the scariest person I've ever met. The whole school was afraid of him. I guess that's why nobody dared to be friends with me. I really have no idea why he picked me to bully.

"He made me do things. A lot of things. I was like his servant. He even made me the floor in front of the whole school once. I... I still have nightmares about him.

"And one day, I just couldn't take it anymore. I went home and grabbed a knife. I tried to kill myself by cutting my wrist. But my parents managed to save me. I almost succeeded though. So that's why my parents decided to move from Seoul. They thought it would be good for me. And also they were afraid I would do something like that again. I'm actually really glad we moved here. This is a nice place."

Min Ho listened to all of this in utter silence. Tears had formed in my eyes without me being aware of it. Tears escaped from my eyes and dropped on my hands. I wiped my cheeks and looked up at Min Ho. His mouth was formed into a tight line. He didn't look at ne or say anything. I looked down at my hands again. He reached for my hand, but I took my hand away. I didn't want him to see my wound mark.

We rode in silence for the rest of the ride. It was around 8 by the time we reached my house.

"Thanks for the ride. And thanks for today. I had a really good time." I said. Shin Hye was still asleep. "Tell Shin Hye I thanked her too."

I got down from the car and turned around to wish him a good night. But he was getting down from the car too.

He came towards me. He reached out and took my hand. I was surprised.

"Kim Ji Hee," he said. I liked the way my name sounded in his voice. He turned my hand to see the mark on my wrist. He touched it really softly. I tried to take my hand back, but he tightened his grip.

"I'm really sorry that you had to go through all that. I truly am. I cant imagine what it would've been like." Then he looked straight into my eyes. "But I promise you that you wont have to go through it again. I won't let it happen. You have friends now. You've got me and Shin Hye. We will always be there for you. Don't ever forget that."

I could feel my eyes starting to tear up. So I looked down. He bent down to see my face. I tried to turn away. But he let go of my hand and embraced me in a bear hug!

"Don't cry. You're not alone anymore."

"Thank you, Min Ho. This means a lot to me." I said through tears. He hugged me tighter. "And also, this is the first time that a boy hugged me." I said. He laughed silently, but didn't let me go. I hesitantly put my arms around him and hugged him back. We stayed like that for a minute and he let me go. "Now go inside."

"Good night. And thank you." I gave him a smile.

"Good night. Sleep well," he said and waved at me. I waved back and turned around to go inside. He watched me until I went inside and drove away. That night I slept with no nightmares.