C H A P T E R O N E

J E O N J U N G K O O K

It was a bright and sunny morning, and I was playing with Youngju. We were playing tag, and I'm it. She was running away, and I was chasing her.

"You can't catch me!" she shouted with a laugh, and then she turned around the corner. I smiled, while catching my breath.

"Let's see about that!" I shouted as I ran for her, and as I turned around the corner, she was sitting on the ground, looking pale and breathing heavily. My smile vanished as I ran towards her and knelt down beside her.

"Are you okay, Youngju?" I asked. I suddenly became nervous and worried about my best friend. She just nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just need some air."

I looked at her with a worried face, "Come on, I'll bring you to your house." I stood up and guided her. I offered my hand, and she grabbed it. She smiled at me and I walked her to her house.

Kim Youngju is my bestfriend since we were seven. Wow, four years have already passed since we became friends. Best friends, I mean. Youngju was sent to her room to rest. I sat at the sofa while her mom thanked me. "Jungkook-ah, thank you for bringing Youngju home. She must be very tired now."

"You're welcome," I said as I bowed my head, "But, may I just ask? What's wrong with Youngju?" I asked, curious.

Youngju's mom suddenly became, I don't know...nervous?

She faced me with an awkward smile, "It's just that, she was so tired this day. You played almost the whole day, right?" I nodded my head.

After a few more minutes, I headed home with a bag of cookies. Her mom gave it to me, and I thanked her.

The following day, I went to their house. Youngju was the one who opened the gate for me. "Jungkook-ah." she said with a smile. I smiled back at her.

"Let's play, Youngju." I said.

She smiled even bigger and nodded. "Sure! Let's go at the playground!" She went inside her house and brought her bag, then she grabbed my hand and dragged me with her. We ran together and reached the playground in a moment. She rode on the swing, and I was the one who pushed it.

We spent the whole day playing. It was so fun, but she suddenly vomited. "Youngju-ah, are you really okay?" she nodded, as she grabbed a bottle of water from her bag and drank it.

Then she smiled at me. "It was nothing."

A few minutes after, she said she'll go home already. I don't want her to go yet, but I was worried about her so I said okay and we'd just play tomorrow.

That night, there were so many things running around my head. Why was she vomiting? Why w