The Boy Next Door
feat. Atom of TOPP DOGG

It was September 19th, the air was crisp and clean and autumn was on its way. Children were just arriving home from Elementary School while their older peers were inside tending to chores and their homework. One boy, however, tended to another need of his, the girl next door. Ever since she moved into the house next door he has been watching her from a far. He knew when she woke up, went to bed and came home. He viewed into her room through a telescope his parent's had bought him years before when he had an interest in astronomy, but now his prime interest was her. Her name was ______ and she was two years his senior. She grew up in the States, but moved with her family to South Korea four years ago. When she first moved into town she barely knew Korean and never left her house. Her family noticed that she was not out making friends, and her Korean was not improving. They saw that the neighbors next to them had a son and figured they could try and form a relationship between them, in hopes she would have at least one friend in this new country.

Her parents were right. The moment the boy and his family entered their house there was an instant bond between the two. The communication was lax between them, but they knew what each other was thinking just by mere actions and eye glances. The boy was a known trouble maker in his household and family and got into mischief around the neighborhood with the other kids. His parent's tried to get him to calm down, but failed each time, until they saw the way he acted in front of ______. The boy's parent's found that he was calmer and paid attention to everything she said and came up with a plan to help their son out. They wanted her to become his personal tutor.

After talking it over with her parents _______ was now his tutor, but what they didn't know was she was also his victim. The boy had a secret that started brewing inside of him when he first laid eyes on her. The first year they lived in the neighborhood he would visit her home practically every day and help her parents with moving, and her father in his garage with the car that would eventually become hers. He helped her mom with some cooking, saying he always wanted to learn, but his mom's cooking was nowhere near as good as _______'s mother. He became part of their family, and no one knew what laid behind his mischievous eyes. 

Towards the end of the first year ________ had come home and told her family that she had met a guy at her school and he asked her on a date. Her parent's congratulated her and then called out to the boy who was behind her. His eyes were wide and he dropped the bowl of chocolate on the floor the glass shattering to pieces near his feet. Her parents ran over to him asking if he was okay, but he just stared at the girl who he not only loved, but who was the only reason he seemed to wake up every morning and breathe. When the mess was cleaned up he left after apologizing for the mess and ran straight to his room. He slammed his door shut and opened up his closet to his shrine of her. 

"Why did you do this to me noona...." he cried out as he stared at a picture he had taken of her during a camping trip they all had taken one weekend. "Why did you hurt me?" he asked leaning against the wall near his closet breathing heavily his eyelashes growing wet from the tears pouring down his face. He stayed in this sullen state for the whole evening until his eyes grew smaller from a devious plan that entered into his mind. He turned back to his closet and touched her picture. "I'll make you see I'm the only one for you..." he smirked. "I promise I'll make you mine forever..." he got up moved his clothes and boxes back in front of his shrine and closed the door walking out of his room thinking of nothing but his plan.

The summer months came and went and he stayed in his room viewing _______ from his telescope watching as her relationship with the boy from her school develop. He wrote down every time he saw them together, he took pictures and soon found out the guys name. He smirked and collected everything in a folder that he hid under his mattress. He took down the shrine of her from close encounters by his mother and kept everything in a box under his bed. He tended to his chores around the house and showed on the outside nothing had changed since ______ become unavailable, but on the inside he was a ticking time bomb waiting for the right moment.

The new school year had started and it was his last year of High School. He told his mother he was struggling with a few subjects, subjects he knew _______ passed with flying colors and asked if she could tutor him again like she did when they first met. His mother agreed and was glad he wanted to see her again after almost a year and a half away from her. He chuckled and merely said he thought he was spending too much time with her stating he was starting to think like a woman. His mother laughed and called _______'s mom and the second he heard she was coming over he knew his plan was not put into motion.

The boy ran up to his room and laid out his books on his bed and quickly went to his telescope and peered out to see if she was on her way over. When he saw her leave her house his stomach started to twist up in pure glee. He moved the view of his telescope pointing up to the sky as if he was only looking at the stars instead of at her house. He went to his bed and put one of his textbooks on his lap and waited to hear a knock on his door. It was a few minutes later when he heard footsteps walking up the stairs and he was getting more anxious by the second. He leaned towards the door and heard a soft knock and her sweet voice.

"A-Tom? It's me ______..." 

"C-Come in noona..." he called out nervous. She walked into his room and looked around amazed. It was the first time she had ever been into his room, and it was only her fifth time ever being in his home. She smiled at all of his small knickknacks on his shelves. Her eyes grazed over to his telescope and smiled walking up to it. She looked at the angle and saw it pointed to the sky. "It's even better a night." he whispered behind her. She gasped and turned around seeing him right behind her. 

She laughed and nodded. "I bet it is, I almost forgot you talked about having a telescope." she looked at the telescope and at him. "May I take a quick look?" she asked and he nodded.

"It would be an honor." she bent over and looked at the beautiful clear sky and saw a few birds flying in the sky and then moved it down and saw the backyard of her house and laughed.

"Wow you can easily see into our backyard." she looked at him. "We could have had fun with this telescope a few years ago. I could have sworn my cousins came over and skinny dipped in our pool before." she stood up properly. "It would have been nice to have proof." he stared at her admiring how beautiful she had gotten from the year and a half away from him and ended up spacing out. "A-A-Tom?" she waved her hand in front of his. "Earth to A-Tom?" she giggled which caused him to regain his focus and he chuckled. "What was up with spacing out like that?"

"S-Sorry noona, y-you just really got pretty since the last time I saw you." his cheeks became flushed from the blood rushing to his face.

"Awe, thank you so much!" she reached in and hugged him. He gasped from the sudden body contact and closed his eyes smiling ear to ear. He wrapped his arms around her gently and held her close to him. "I guess it has been a long time since we've talked huh?"

"It's been one year, six months, 2 weeks and 3 days." he sighed still enjoying the feeling of her in his arms. When he noticed what he said he quickly backed away and chuckled. "I-I mean it has been a long time."

"You were always great at remembering dates I'll give you that." he nodded scratching the back of his neck. "So what do you need help with?" she went to his bed and saw some of his textbooks laid out.

He quickly walked to his bed and sat down. "Pl-Please sit down noona..." he gestured for her to sit and she sat down making herself comfortable. "I-It's the new math lesson we are learning, and I'm having trouble with my history class and I really don't understand this Shakespeare lesson at all..." he looked down pretending to be ashamed from his lack of understanding.

"Awe, A-Tom don't worry noona's here!" she giggled and picked up his math book. "Let's start with the most boring subject first!" she laughed and took a look at the chapter. "Ah, okay I remember this stuff, it was hard to understand in the beginning, but it's really easy." she put the book down and leaned down explaining the concept to him. The truth was he knew everything about his lessons and didn't need any help at all. He just wanted her to come over, so he can finally get his plan on the roll. 

The next couple of days she had come over every day and they studied in the living room, his room and on his back porch. Their parent's noticed that it seemed like things were back to normal with them and enjoyed seeing them together again. However, at the end of October things took a slight turn in the opposite direction. ______ had just walked up to A-Tom's house and he was sitting on the front porch pretending to read over the latest novel for school when he saw her boyfriend pull up in his car. She heard him call her name and she smiled and turned to him walking away from A-Tom in the process. A-Tom watched as she talked to the guy who was still in his car and she pointed towards him and then waved him over. He pointed to himself and she nodded. He groaned not wanting to see the so called Neanderthal in his mind anymore than he already had to from his telescope.

A-Tom walked up to the car and bowed his head. "Hello." he said through gritted teeth.

"Hey there kid!" A-Tom's fingers balled up into fists upon hearing the word 'kid'. "It's nice to finally meet you. You have no idea how much _______ talks about you." they both looked up and saw her smiling happily. "It's nice to put the name with the face." he stuck his hand out of the car. "My name's Gohn." A-Tom stared at his hand but reluctantly shook it. "______ was just telling me that she has been hanging out with you again, and I have to say, thanks for putting and even brighter smile on my girl's face." A-Tom's fingers clenched tighter the knuckles turning an off-white color. "And I wanted to invite you to a Halloween Party I'm throwing. You have to come in a costume though; I hope you can make it. It'd be nice if you could come." he gave him the invitation and A-Tom took it bowing his head. "Well I'll catch you later babe." _______ walked over to him and kissed him quickly causing A-Tom's eyes to widen. "And I'll see you at the party hopefully little man!" he waved and then drove off.

A-Tom watched as Gohn drove away and ______ waving at him. She turned around and saw the look in his eyes and