Bittersweet Recollections

“Do you remember? Do you remember the day we first met?”

Jiyoon looked up to see a boy a little older than her, holding out the stuffed animal that’d just been stolen from her. He grinned a wide, toothy grin.

She gently took it from his hands, muttering a soft, “Thank you.”

He nodded to her. “They were picking on you. I saw it,” he admitted, looking rather disappointed for some reason. “Sorry I didn’t do anything sooner.” He shuffled his feet sheepishly, not meeting her eyes.

“It’s okay. You helped me lots, I promise!” Jiyoon beamed up at the boy, clutching her teddy bear to her chest.

The boy seemed to cheer up after hearing that, holding out his hand.

“I’m Jiyoon, by the way,” she chirped, holding her hand out for him to shake.

He grasped it in his own. She felt the warmth from his skin.

“Hansol.”

“I remember.”

Jiyoon sat on the swings as Hansol pushed her. She swung her feet back and forth as she swung higher and higher.

She looked back at him, smiling cutely at him. “Don’t you want a turn, Hansol?” she asked happily.

“And what, you’ll push me?” He quirked an eyebrow before letting out a laugh. “Like you could even push me high enough to start swinging,” he teased, pushing her gently again.

A pout settled on her face. “I could so!”

Hansol shook his head with another laugh. “Maybe another time.”

“Then I’m sure you remember… that I used to have a crush on you.”

She followed him around the school, her hand clutching at the back of his shirt. “How do you remember where to go every day?” she muttered.

“It’s just a school, Ji,” he replied, chuckling at her.

“But it’s so big!”

“It’s really not that much bigger than our old school.”

Jiyoon pouted, holding onto him tighter. “But what if I get lost? I don’t know what I’d do…” She bit her lip, looking nervous, scared, and lost.

He turned to her, wrenching himself out of her grasp. He grabbed her hands and smiled broadly. “I won’t let you get lost. I’ll find you no matter how lost you are, and I’ll bring you back,” he promised.

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“I remember.”

Hansol watched as Jiyoon laughed with her new friend, Soojung, who she’d met in her latest class. He smiled at her smile. He wouldn’t ever get tired of seeing that smile on her face.

“Dude, what’re you looking at?” his new friend, Kim Byungjoo asked, trying to follow his gaze. As his gaze landed on the tiny brunette and a grin spread over his face. “Seo Jiyoon? She’s cute.”

Hansol flushed. “Shut up! I’m not looking at her like that…” he muttered. “I’m only thirteen, God.”

It was with those words that Byungjoo’s grin only grew. “Thirteen is old enough to have your first girlfriend. I’m twelve, and I had mine, like, two years ago,” he said slowly, teasing his older friend. Hansol groaned and lowered his face. “Hyung, it’s fine! You like her, right?”

For once, Hansol didn’t respond.

“And you remember that we were best friends during middle school?”

Jiyoon and Hansol made their way down the streets, hands intertwined as Jiyoon skipped along happily, humming the tune to TVXQ!’s “Mirotic.” Hansol was watching her with a tiny smile on his face.

“Hey, Hansol?” Jiyoon asked, looking back at him with a smile. “Can we get ddukboki now?” Her eyes sparkled with hope.

Hansol just couldn’t deny her puppy eyes.

“Sure, Jiyoon.” He smiled, squeezing her hand and leading her to their favorite ddukboki stand near their school. “Two please, miss!” he chirped happily, never letting go of Jiyoon’s hand.

The woman at the stand nodded with a smile, recognizing the two young children who often visited her stand after school. She turned away to put their orders together, humming an older folk song that both Jiyoon and Hansol recognized.

Hansol fished his wallet out, handing the lady a few paper notes, thanking the her for the orders and gladly accepting the black plastic bag.

“Thanks so much, Hansol!” she cheered, hugging him around the waist and looking up at him with a bright smile.

He let out a chuckle, ruffling her hair with his own tiny grin. “Let’s go home, Jiyoon. We’re gonna celebrate me finishing middle school and you finishing your second year.”

She took his hand once more. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do without you next year, Hansol. It’ll be just me and Soojung. It’ll be kind of lonely,” she muttered, gripping his hand tightly.

“Hey, you still have Soojung.” Jiyoon didn’t smile. “And remember, Ji, we’re gonna be best friends forever.”

“I remember.”

Now in her first year of high school, Jiyoon fiddled with the tie around t