Two houses

New friend

There were two houses.
Both were the complete opposite of each other.
The left side was a one-story home that was small, yet cozy.
The right house next to it was a huge, tower-like home that was 3-stories. This one, although more extravagant, was roomy and more hollow.

A boy named Jiho lived in the small house, while a boy named Kyung lived in the bigger home. Both were in their 3rd year of primary school.

Although the boys were neighbors, in the same grade, and even in the same class, they never interacted with each other. Jiho would always see Kyung play with the other kids at recess or even in their neighborhood, but he didn't come out when he played because he was afraid of being teased of for his smaller home, or how he didn't have the latest toys and gadgets like Kyung or the other kids did. Kyung always saw Jiho out of the corner of his eye. Whenever he played outside on the playground or on his lawn and Jiho was outside too, Jiho would quickly hide inside a building or look preoccupied with something else. He thought it was odd. Was he really that intimidating?
He was curious about Jiho, that's for sure.

Then one day, towards the end of their summer vacation, a ball rolled onto Jiho's yard. Jiho was following his brother around the house chanting "Im bored" on repeat. His brother Taewoon began to get irritated, chanting "Shut up" behind his back. Taewoon went outside hoping that Jiho would stop following him.

He didn't.

As they stood outside, Jiho noticed a soccer ball rolling towards them. He looked around to see where it came from; low and behold he saw little Kyung waving his hands side to side. "Hey! Could you kick that back to me!" Kyung said. Jiho began to get anxious, as Kyung had never spoken to him before. He could hear Taewoon say in the distance to go ahead and give back the ball as he waltzed away inside. He turned around to see his brother gone, finding himself alone with someone that he was intimidated by.
Jiho was somewhat nervous to kick the ball, even more nervous that he had to kick it to Kyung; "what if he judges how I kick it?" He thought to himself. He only ever played soccer with his brother, and he never really said anything about his shots.
He looked up and covered his eyes from the sun to get a better look at Kyung. He was still waving arms around like a maniac. "C'mon dude!" Kyung yelled in the distance. He looked down at the ball, and before he knew it, he kicked the ball as hard as he could so that it could impress Kyung.

The only thing he saw after the kick was a glimpse of the ball shooting into Kyung's abdomen. Jiho saw Kyung yelp and cover his stomach with his arms, and then falling dramatically to his knees. The only thing that went through his mind when that happened was "crap."
He ran to Kyung and squatted down next to him. "I'm sorry! Are you ok?" Jiho said to Kyung, with a clear tinge of worry in his voice. Kyung just had his eyes closed and his arms still wrapped around his stomach.

Then suddenly, Kyung began to giggle, and the giggles became full on laughing. "Dude, that was so awesome!!" Kyung said as he turned and faced Jiho. "Wait...wha?" Jiho said to him in confusion, as he was more focused on his well being. "Your kick was so cool! The ball went by so fast!" Kyung stated in excitement. "I didn't know you played soccer so good! We should play together more often!" Jiho just looked at him, a blush creeping up on his face from the sudden compliments. He didn't realize this was what Kyung would be like, and he was kind of embarrassed at his assumptions of him. After the long moment of Kyung giggling and Jiho soon following along with the laughter, the sound died down and they just looked at each other. "Well, aren't ya gonna help a friend get up?" Kyung asked with a hand held out, smiling. "O-oh, ya!" Jiho said immediately while rubbing the back of his neck. He grabbed his hand to pull him up...

then suddenly he felt a pang in heart.

He stood there for a brief second, and then continued to pull the other boy up, ignoring the sudden feeling. Kyung suggested that they kick the ball around some more, and knowing what his true character was now, Jiho agreed with sudden enthusiasm. They played with each other until sunset began to fall, and the two said their goodbyes and started walking to their respective homes. Kyung turned around and suddenly yelled out. "Hey!...Let's hang out tomorrow too, ok?" Jiho turned around and yelled back. "Sure, alright!" And the two walked back inside their respective homes.

Jiho stepped inside his home with a sigh. "Today was too much..." he stated under his breath. "But Kyung is a fun dude to hang out with." He smiled to himself. He made a quick mental note to not judge a book by its cover. 'Kyung may be rich, but he's not snooty like the ones on TV' he thought to himself quietly. He took off his worn-out sneakers and left them near the doorway.
"Jiho! Dinners ready!" He heard his mom call from the kitchen. "Coming!" Jiho yelled back and jogged his way to the dinner table, where he saw his mom setting the table and his dad and brother sitting and watching whatever was on their small television. "Well someone looks happy!" His mom said to him in a bubbly tone. "What were you up to today, Jiho?" His father questioned curiously from his chair. He hesitated on answering, because he told his parents of his worries about the "kid next door." Before he could open his mouth, his brother butted into the conversation; "He was playing with that punk kid over there! His name is Kyung, I think!" Taewoon said from his side of table, obviously trying to annoy the heck out of Jiho. "The Park's kid? I thought you didn't like him?" His father said with surprise. "...He isn't that bad after all..." Jiho mumbled as he took a sip of his tap water. "Well, it's nice that you made a new friend, Jiho. Especially since their next door you can always play with them," His mom said simply, as she set down the rest of the plates. Jiho gave a soft smile. "Yea, I guess so..." "And if anything bad happens with that kid, your brother take care of it, isn't that right, Taewoon?" His mother added with content. Jiho just glared at his brother across the table, who, in turn, started punching into his palms with his fist with a smirk . 'Yeah, as if!' He mumbled under his breath.
Dinner went on like it usually did. Short conversations on each persons day and somehow a breakout of a physical and verbal fight between the Woo brothers.
Later that night, as Jiho got ready for bed in the room that he shared with Taewoon, Jiho started to think about the events that happened the same day. He realized that Kyung called him "friend." Of course Jiho had other friends that called him "friend" too, but Kyung was different. "He's fun to hang out with," he thought to himself as he tucked himself into the top of the bunk bed he and his brother shared. He didn't think that he'd get along with him, let alone establish a friendship with him. He started to think about the pang in his heart from earlier. "What was it?" He whispered. As he thought more about it, he began to drift to sleep, later forgetting all about it the next day.