Smiling at the familiar name of her childhood best friend, Hye Mi felt a weight lift off of her shoulders. It was as if Mark was her buoy keeping her afloat in the surging waves of her distresed mind. 

 

She swiped her finger across the screen, answering the call. 

 

"SONG HYE MI!" Mark yelled at her through the phone. 

 

"Why are you yelling at me Mark?" Hye Mi questioned, slightly annoyed that this was how he decided to greet her as soon as she answered his call. 

 

"Well it may have to do with the fact that you left me hanging today! I thought that we were supposed to meet at the ice cream place on Jegiro street after school today. I waited for you for half an hour!" he answered back, irritated. 

 

Hye Mi's eyes widened in realization. She had totally forgotten about Mark and her's plans, and she felt extremely bad for doing so. 

 

"I'm so sorry!" she spoke into her phone, thumping her forehead in the process with her hand. "It completely slipped from my mind that we had plans today, something came up." 

 

"How about I make it up to you?" she suggested. 

 

She heard nothing at first, but after a moment of thinking the idea over, Mark's voice soon came back. 

 

"What do you have in mind?" he questioned. 

 

"What about we head over to the ice cream parlor right now, then take a trip to the park nearby." Hye Mi stated. 

 

"Fine", he humphed.

 

Hye Mi could tell that he was still a bit upset with her, but she knew that he wouldn't stay that way for long. She knew Mark long enough to know that he wasn't the type of person to prolong a grudge.

 

"Okay! It's a date!" she playfully said. "I'll be at your house in five minutes". 

 

 

Because Mark's house wasn't too far from where she lived, Hye Mi was able to get there in five minutes flat. The short distance walk was a given since Mark's house was located on the street behind hers. 

 

She began to let out a little giggle as she thought back to the time that Mark and her had first met. Her dad had been teaching her how to ride a bike without the training wheels on for the first time, and decided to take her out for a few rounds around the block. She had been so terrified of falling, even with her helmet and elbow and knee pads on her to keep her safe. She remembered that she had nearly cried when her dad had placed her up on the bike. Given her young age, sitting up on top of her pink princess bike seemed like sitting on top of a gigantic 200 ft tall sky scraper. 

 

When her dad had finally succeeded in getting her to at least sit on her bike, he began to push her along, instructing her to pedal as he did so. She had tensed up as she discovered that she was now moving, but hearing her father's directions, she obeyed. Not to her knowledge, her dad had let go of the bike, and she was now pedaling by herself. 

 

Sensing that the bike somehow felt lighter, Hye Mi had turned around to look for her dad. Discovering in the process, that she was now riding the bike by herself, she began to panick. She had spun her head back around, eyes widening at the sight before her. A boy just about her age was directly in her line of fire, and Hye Mi did not know how to stop. She prepared herself for impact, closing her eyes as she felt her bike ram into the said person. 

 

"Owwww!" the little boy had yelled. 

 

 "Omo! I'm so sorry!" she had called out to him worriedly.

 

She had fallen off of her bike which was now lying on its side, its wheels spinning in the air. She had also just so happened to have fallen right on top of the boy whom she had not so long ago rammed into with her bike.

 

After apologizing, she had quickly positioned herself upright. She was now standing beside the boy who laid on the floor holding onto his stomach, which she guessed was the part of his body which took the impact of her bike. She leant down and extended her hand out to him, offering him help to stand up. 

 

"Here, take my hand", she had said as she had taken ahold of one of his. 

 

"Thanks", he had responded as she had helped him onto his feet. "Next time you should really watch where you're going". 

 

"HEY! It was my first time riding without my training wheels on!" Hye Mi had yelled defensively. 

 

"Okay, okay!" the boy had replied, putting his hands up in a surrending type of gesture. He then took her hand in his and shook it. 

 

"My name's Mark Tuan by the way". 

 

"I'm Song Hye Mi", she had said in return. 

 

 

Right after the bike accident, Mark 's father had invited her father and her over to his house after Mr. Song had come over to make sure that Mark and her were alright. Who knew that their father's would then create a friendship over their shared love of soccer. This led to Hye Mi's parents and her regularly visiting the Tuan household.

 

One evening when the Song family had come over to the Tuan household to watch a soccer match, Mark had shown Hye Mi his new bike that he teased he would never 'run someone over with'. That snide remark of his had caused her cheeks to blush uncontrollably at the memory of their first encounter. 

 

"How about I show you just how much my bike riding skills have improved?" Hye Mi had suggested confidently. She had practiced a lot since that day where she had bumped into him. 

 

"Sure. Go ahead" Mark had urged. 

 

With his approval, Hye Mi placed herself atop of the bike seat and prepped herself to pedal around his backyard. She kicked herself forward with her right foot, making it easier to begin pedaling. She started off great, pedaling at a stable pace. That is until she rode over a crack in the pavement that she hadn't seen. The sudden jolt caused her to lose her balance, and she started to panick since she wasn't wearing a helmet or any sort of safety gear at the moment. 

 

She had now lost complete control over the bike, and was now riding straight towards the wooden fence framing the perimeter of the backyard. She closed her eyes, regretting that she had even brought up the idea of riding the bike in the first place. But the loud crash, or even slight bump from her colliding with the fence never came. She opened her eyes and saw that a pair of arms had grasped onto the bike's handles, stopping it from moving. She turned her head around and saw that it was Mark whom had saved her. The closeness of their faces since he was practically giving her a back hug, caused her eyes to widen slightly and her cheeks to heat up. 

 

"T-thanks", she had stuttered in response to his actions. 

 

"Aishh, what am I going to do with you Song Hye Mi?" Mark had let out teasingly. "You're such a clutz". 

 

Following that second bike inccident, the beginning of a long friendship formed. One that stuck with them all the way till highschool. 

 

 

Smiling at the past that Mark and her shared, Hye Mi rang the doorbell of the oh so familiar house. Soon enough, a middle aged woman with short brown hair greeted her at the door. 

 

"Hello Mrs. Tuan!" Hye Mi addressed the woman. 

 

"Oh, Hye Mi! You're practically family, you don't have to be so formal", Mrs. Tuan told her. 

 

Hye Mi chuckled at Mrs. Tuan's statement, showcasing her bright smile. Before she could get another word in, a figure appeared behind the older woman's frame. 

 

"Mom, Hye Mi and I are heading out. I'll be back home in a bit" Mark quickly informed his mom before planting a kiss on her cheek.  

 

"Oh, alright! Be safe, and don't stay out too late" Mrs. Tuan called out to them as they made their way down the driveway. 

 

Hye Mi waved goodbye to her in return, then followed after Mark who was making his way down the sidewalk ahead of her. Since it was June, it was the perfect temperature outside to enjoy a nice walk and some ice cream. The walk to the ice cream place would take about 10 minutes, but it was worth it since ice cream was one of Mark's and Hye Mi's favorite type of dessert.

 

They spent the walk talking about school related events such as tests, mean teachers, and other stuff of that sort. Then the topic of discussion ventured on into which ice cream flavor they would pick when they got to the creamery place, and which flavor was the best. Debating over cookies and cream ice cream or mint chocolate chip ice cream, and which one was the most delicious of the two, they finally reached Jegiro Street where the ice cream parlor was located. 

 

"I'm telling you, mint chocolate chip ice cream is the best", Hye Mi declared as Mark opened the door for her. 

 

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." he laughed. "I'll go and order for us, just find us a table to sit at". 

 

Hye Mi nodded and looked around the shop for a table to sit at. Spotting one by the windows, she made her way over. 

 

She placed her small bag that she had brought along on the table top, and went on her phone as she waited for Mark to return. 

 

A few minutes later, Mark returned to the table with two servings of mint chocolate chip and cookies and cream  ice cream, one cup in each of his hands. He placed the mint chocolate chip ice cream dish in front of her and then situated himself in the seat across. 

 

"Thank you!!" Hye Mi said in delight at the sight of the mouth watering dessert. 

 

"No problem, I know mint chocolate chip is your absolute favorite. Aside from vanilla that is", he replied, a smile ghosting over his lips. 

 

Hye Mi was just about to start digging into the delicious treat set in front of her with her spoon already in hand, but thoughts of what took place at school earlier that day flooded her mind. She set her spoon down slowly and slumped her shoulders in despair. 

 

'You're so fat already, stop eating so much!' she mentally yelled at herself. She sighed, her appetite disappearing. 

 

"Hey, why aren't you eating yet?" Mark suddenly spoke up, noticing that she wasn't touching her ice cream yet.  

 

"I just lost my appetite." Hye Mi said depressingly.

 

Mark placed his spoon down and looked Hye Mi in the eyes before speaking.

 

"What happened Sye Mi?" Mark asked, addressing her by the nickname he had created for her a few years back. The nickname was a combination of her entire name, and Mark often used it in times when Hye Mi needed comfort. 

 

She took a sharp intake of breath, explaining what had happened would mean having to relive that horrible moment all over again. She wanted to do nothing but try and forget about Jackson's harsh words, but it was impossible, since all she could think about now was exactly what she was trying so hard to forget. But Hye Mi knew that if there was anyone she could tell anything too, it would be Mark. 

 

She prepared herself to tell him about all that had happened between Jackson and her, and exhaled the breath that she had been holding. She then spilled everything. Down to the exact words that Jackson had said to her, the words that had so badly stung her heart.  

 

 

 

A/N : Hi!! If you guys don't know, my name's Jealizza, but you can call me JC :).  I hope you guys like this chapter, though I feel like it was kind of boring in some areas. But I felt like it was necessary to give some background on Hye Mi's and Mark's friendship. Please comment some feedback, it would be great to hear what you guys think about the story so far. Thanks for reading <3