Sincerely Yours | Enhypen

one

The house beside mine had been vacant for months now. The Lim family used to live there but they'd moved out a long time ago and there hadn't been any takers since.

Well, until one day.

It was a Saturday. I was stressing over my Math homework and was practically on the brink of tears. Finally, I threw my pen down in defeat. 

I looked outside the window, trying to clear my head. That was when I noticed the large van pulled up in front of the empty house on my left. A couple of men were unloading some furniture from the back of the vehicle and carrying them into the house.

A new neighbor?! I thought, excitedly.

I could feel the excitement bubbling within me as I wondered about the family that would soon move in. Would there be any kids my age? Would I make be able to make any new friends?

I alerted my parents about it and it seemed that they were pretty eager to meet the newcomers too. I watched and waited for the day they would arrive. And in the end, they finally did. 

My mother and I were the first to greet them. A woman with short black hair and a sweet smile introduced herself as Kim Youha. She explained that she and her family had just moved into the area so they could be closer to her husband's new workplace. I lost focus as the two adults chatted, looking around for her children so I could introduce myself to them. 

I spotted a boy standing at the open doorway of the house. He was leaning out a little bit but made no move to step outside. I waved at him and offered a friendly smile. He smiled back. His round cheeks lifted, making them look even rounder. It reminded me of a dumpling. I decided that he seemed sweet enough.

Mrs. Kim noticed her son standing at the doorway and she motioned for him to join us. 

"This is my son, Sunoo." she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

He smiled again and greeted my mom and I. He was very polite. 

 "Why don't you two go play while I talk to Mrs. Lee?" His mom suggested, giving her son a gentle and encouraging push towards me. 

He seemed a little hesitant as he looked at me, unsure of what to do or say. "Do you want go to playground?" I asked. He nodded and followed me as I led the way. 

We sat on the swings for a while, the silence lingering between us save for the creaking of the swings as we swayed to and fro. I glanced over at him. He was staring at the ground. He hadn't spoken a word since we got there. I was beginning to lose hope in us becoming friends. 

"So, um, what school do you go to?" Sunoo asked, finally looking at me. His voice was so quiet I almost didn't hear him.

I brightened. "I go to Chilbo Elementary School." I lifted my chin with pride as I thought of my school a few streets down, and my beloved friends whom I'd meet there 5 times a week. 

He smiled. "Chilbo? Sounds nice. Maybe I'll go there too." 

"Yes, you should! I could show you around and you can meet my friends!" My super social 11 year old self was practically quivering with excitement.

"Really? Thank you so much!" He smiled. I noticed that he smiled a lot. Not that I was complaining, his smile was lovely. 

"Come on, let's play tag!" I pulled him to a standing position.

"Tag, you're it!" I shouted, tapping his arm before running away in a fit of giggles. Grinning, he chased after me.

We ran around the playground, him tailing me. I was small and fast so he had to work his legs hard to keep up with me. Finally, he stretched his arm and tapped my back. However, his tap accidentally ended up being more of a push and I fell into a muddy puddle.