Step by Step [TO1 ROMEYOU 1]

CHAPTER 3

     The stars in the sky started appearing slowly, and the moon was revealed behind the clouds. The playground lied in silence as a soft squeak could be heard from the swing Jerome sat down on. Every evening he accompanied the stars and shared his thoughts and feelings. 10 years have passed since he has seen his best friend. He doesn't even know if it really was his best friend. But he surely knows it was his only one. Even worse are Jerome's memories - they almost vanished, but with his feelings still remaining. He doesn't even know his name anymore. Seeing his own parents fighting, his only escape was the playground nearby with the little boy waiting for him to play together. They did the funniest things, not caring about the rest of the world. Not even each other's names. Building sand castles, playing tag, hide-and-seek, hongsam and animal kingdom with other kids. But they never got close to anybody but one another. They were running around and having fun. It was something Jerome needed the most to forget his mother's cries and screams.

»You're still not here...« Jerome kicked the sand beneath his feet lightly while whispering.
Still. I am saying this almost every evening for 10 years already. But I don't want to give up either. At the same time, I know I am wasting my time here. It's so pathetic.

Jerome kicked the sand harshly and looked at the sky. The stars gave him the same feeling of comfort and affection as his one-time best friend.

He reminisced about the day and his first dance class with Jeyou. It turned out more frustrating than he would have thought. Uneasiness began to flood his body once again.
Am I that hard to get along with? I apologized though.

»Don't worry, it's okay to feel tired from time to time. You will get the hang of it« Donggeon's words echoed through Jerome's head. He felt unusually comforted by his words. His presence in general. Maybe it feels exaggerated because of the horrible vibes he got from Jeyou. Donggeon's appearance at that moment was perfect. He even got... a feeling of affection? It felt similar to the person he lost track of 10 years ago.

Jerome put his hands into his pockets in search of an item. A shiny keychain with a lion motive got revealed into the moonlight. He caressed the lion with his fingertips and started tossing it between his fingers. Those keychains can be found at any store at the counter. Once, Jerome saved his pocket money to buy one of those for his friend. He chose a lion among other animals because it described his friend the best. Strong, someone to rely on, but still soft on the inside. Jerome probably didn't think about these reasons, as he was too young for these thoughts. But the feeling why he chose it remained. It was a couple of days before he vanished. They met up in the playground as always.

»Look! I have something!« Jerome roamed his small pockets and let the keychain swing from his hand.
»A lion!«
»Isn't it cute?«
»Yeah! Where did you get it?«
»I got it for you«
»Me?« His eyes glittered with surprise as he grabbed the keychain and started investigating it.
»Really! Is that for me? I can really keep it?«
»Yes! I got it only for you!«
They were so happy and hugged each other before continuing to play. Jerome felt proud as his friend showed off his newly gifted keychain to other kids on the playground. But a week later, he never found him again.

He took a last look at the keychain. Of course, it wasn't the one he gifted to him but another duplicate he found accidentally, since they were easy to get. Beside a few toy cars, it was the only thing he could keep as a memory now.

»Why...« Jerome whimpered with teary eyes. He usually doesn't think about that moment anymore. Even though he remembers it clearly.

A hand dropped onto Jerome's shoulder as he suddenly jumped off the swing and turned around, almost screaming. He didn't hear any footsteps approaching and looking into the bright moon for a few minutes, his eyes needed some time to adjust to the dark surroundings.