Shy Boy Next Door

˗ˏˋ ☁️ prologue ☁️ ˎˊ˗

In the summer of 2011, a small family moved into the house next to Eunbyul's. It was a family of three, a husband, a wife, and a son. Eunbyul never thought her family would get close with their neighbors. In fact, they've never even interacted with strangers that happened to live on the same street. But with the next-door-neighbor family, it was different.

There was one Saturday when Eunbyul's dad saw the man who lived next door having trouble with his lawnmower, so he offered to loan his. To pay respect and appreciation, the man invited her family over to have dinner that evening. Of course, it was awkward for Eunbyul; she was the only child there. Her family was given a tour around the wedded couple's house after dinner. When they stumbled upon a certain room, the wife said it was her son's, about Eunbyul's age.

One summer evening, Eunbyul's family was planning to have a barbecue in their backyard. Her family was never one that had a lot of friends and parties, so it surprised her when her parents invited the Baes to come over. That day, Eunbyul met their son for the first time. When she saw him, she thought he was cute, like a younger brother. He had chubby cheeks, puffy lips, and droopy eyes. However, he wouldn't smile even once and never lifted his head. They were the only youngsters there, so they had no choice but to talk to each other. Assuming she is older, Eunbyul spoke up first. She tried introducing herself, asking questions, and bringing up new topics, but he would only reply with short answers or no answers at all.

It continued like that. Although the families would have a gathering once in awhile, Eunbyul was ignored by the boy next door that whole summer.

When fall came around, she realized she'll have to enter middle school with him. As an 11-year-old, Eunbyul only hoped that he would talk to her. She despised the way he made her feel invisible and unworthy. Middle school was a new thing for both of them, but he adapted so quickly while she was constantly tardy for getting lost. They had homeroom together, meaning she'd see him everyday for every class. She learned his name when the teachers took attendance. His mother did introduce him to her when they first met, but she forgot his name seconds after.

Jinyoung, it was. Bae Jinyoung.

As the first semester went by, she noticed he didn't just ignore her, but he isolated himself from everyone. He sat on the last seat of the class' lunch tables every day, with the other students who weren't quick enough to get their lunch and lost their seat at the front tables. Eunbyul made a few friends, but she would still glance at him every now and then. She was worried for him.

By the time 7th grade started, Eunbyul stopped observing Jinyoung. She realized he never changed, so he must be content with his life if he doesn't want to fix anything. She became close with her friends from the year before, while Jinyoung still didn't put any effort in making friends at all.

That spring, Jinyoung unexpectedly joined the track team. Eunbyul could no longer ride the bus and walk home with him on the other side of the concrete road until track season was over. There was once when she went to watch his track meet with both of their families. She watched him sprint the 100 meter and saw him challenge the mile. He wasn't in the higher ranks, but he did well enough to impress her. The next time the family went out together, she told him he did well and she enjoyed watching the track meet. For the first time in over a year, he replied with a small "Thanks."

In 8th grade, Eunbyul decided to test herself and joined the track team as well. She wanted to experience what Jinyoung did. Perhaps, she admired him. That year, Jinyoung also tried out for the field team. Every day after the practices and meets, Eun Byul noticed how tired and breathless he was. She thought that she'd be able to get closer to him if they did the same things together, but like usual, he blocked her away. It wasn't until that one time when he twisted his ankle, but stayed silent and managed to finish the meet. When Eunbyul and Jinyoung were waiting for his mother to come pick them up, Eunbyul noticed and asked him about it. He said it was nothing, but she didn't think that way.