Saying his final goodbyes to his friends, Hyuk turned away from the school for the last time before summer break. He looked either way before going across the street, making his way down his normal way home.

Deciding last second that he was going to go the short cut home, Hyuk turned and headed towards the park he had grown accustomed to seeing. As he got to it, his mind instantly started going to those moments he would meet HongBin there and they would both walk home together. It didn’t happen often, but it was enough to make him miss his friend all over again.

Where are you, HongBin….? He wondered, stopping and staring down the way that HongBin would have normally come from. Letting out a heavy breath, Hyuk slumped forward. If I were HongBin, where would I run away to…?

Continuing walkin, Hyuk was almost tempted to walk the way down to HongBin’s school. He wouldn’t be skipping school, would he? Sighing, Hyuk remembered how HakYeon had told him not to go searching for HongBin. I could find him…. Probably faster than anyone else…. He would never voice the complaints to HakYeon, knowing his cousin was torn up over everything already.  

He begrudgingly made his way through the park, wanting to get home before HakYeon came looking for him. As he moved down the trail, a light breeze blew through the passages, allowing him to inhale the fresh air and exhale the stress that had built up in his life recently. With everything that had been going on since the new year had started, he was surprised that he passed the semester at all, much less with a B average in his classes.

Hopefully next semester will be easier… He thought to himself.

As he was coming to the end of the park, his eyes caught sight of a lady. She was older, maybe in her early forties, with a couple strands of grey peaking out of her light chestnut hair. She was hauling a bag out of a doorway and down the street, the large black sack resting upon the back of her frail body. She wore large, worn out clothing that seemed that match her aura.

Hyuk watched her, not thinking much of it. He had seen the woman a couple of times walking home from school, always taking out the trash of the restaurant across the street. For as long as he could remember, she had been the packmule of that building, and she did her job everyday, just as she was expected.

He watched as some children ran around her, nearly catching her off balance. She regained her composure, however, and turned around wave a finger at the kids, shaking her head slightly at them. After a moment she started smiling, dimples forming on her cheeks as she turned away from the kids with a small breath. She continued doing her work, walking until she went down the alley to where Hyuk could no longer see her.