Kang Seung Yoon was my first love, at least my eight year-old self thought so then. Now, when I look back, it was probably rather a simple gratitude and delight of finding someone, who wanted to play and spend time with me. Moving out and leaving everything and everyone I knew behind in Busan was already hard enough, not talking about making new friends. But there he was, Seung Yoon, also a former Busan resident, who reminded me my home almost in every way.

• • •

During a lunch time of my first day in a new school, as I was swinging on the playground, a boy with a pensive look in his eyes, making him seem to be frowning, called me. “Yah, new girl, come here. Jung Eunji-ssi, right?” he asked, when I came curiously within earshot of this boy. “Come on, don't be afraid. I won't bite you, I'm just asking a simple question.”

“Who said I'm afraid? I'm not, and I'm certainly not afraid of you!” I snapped at him defensively. Who he thought he was? I'd bet my lunch that he was younger than me, since he needed a couple of extra inches to be able to look into my eyes.

“Yaaah, truly a Busan girl. I'm Kang Seung Yoon, by the way. I moved here a year ago, so I know it must be quite hard for you. Lets be friends.” Instead of being angry about my hostile rudeness, he genuinely smiled at me. It was then, when I realized that he was speaking in dialect. Dialect that was exactly the same as mine.

„Jung Eunji. It's really nice to meet you, Kang Seung Yoon-ssi!“ I exclaimed, my excitement clearly in my voice, shaking his hand he had reached out to seal our friendship.

„Nice to meet you too, Busan fellow. Now, want to play a tag with us?“ he laughed happily and motioned towards the group of some kids about our age, grabbing my hand, which made my heart skip a beat. That day, I found my first friend in Seoul and started to like a boy for the first time in my life.

• • •

“Do you miss your old life, Seung Yoon?”

“Sometimes. Maybe. I don't know.”

Hanging upside down, I rolled my eyes at him. “What kind of answer is that? For example, me, I miss my home a lot. I miss my grandparents and my friends too.”

“Have you befriended someone beside me?” Even though I shook my head, he didn't want to leave the broached topic yet. “Isn't there somebody interesting, perhaps in your class, who you'd like to know better?”

“Probably not.” I tried to run through the list of my classmates, since Seung Yoon was helping me all this time, despite actually being my dongsaeng and hoobae, and I wanted to show him some effort. “Maybe Yoon Bomi-ssi. She seems to be bright, funny and her personality is quite similar to mine.”

“Ah, I know her. Bomi sunbae is a very nice and honest girl, you should talk to her, I think you two would make quite a duo.”

“I don't know. It's still hard to forget about my pals back in Busan. What about you?”

“Well, it's been few days since you have moved here, so it's pretty normal that you're homesick.” Seung Yoon climbed up and joined me on the monkey bars. “I, on the other hand, live in Seoul for quite some time. It's different.”

“How?”

“Well, I have new friends here. I like our house too, because it's bigger and I can own a dog now. And my parents seem to be happier since they have better jobs. I think you just need to get used to the new situation and find something positive about it.”

“Why?”

“Aish, why do you keep asking so many stupid questions today?” He whined and with his knees holding on tight to the bar, he was now hanging upside down right next to me. Up close, his skin looked very smooth and cheeks cutely chubby and his eyes were sparkling joyfully at me. Seeing his face a few inches from mine in detail, it suddenly made me blush. Until then, I didn't even know what shyness was.

“Yah, pabo, how long have you been hanging like this? Your face is completely red, I think all the blood has rushed to your head. Aren't you feeling dizzy?”

Oh, yes, I did feel dizzy. But it wasn't really because of the blood in my head.

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter