Finding Jiyong

Chapter 2

Sandara had another tiring day at school. She had a hard time trying to communicate with everyone. She could understand some English words but only a few. She found everything confusing. To be fair to her classmates they were in fact nice. It's just that they couldn't understand each other. So other than just smiling awkwardly at their attempts to befriend her she made no active effort to communicate.

She joined her mom and siblings at their dinner table. Durami was rattling happily at her mom, telling her how she already made friends. Sanghyun was happily eating his food, humming softly to himself. He was a happy kid as long as there was food he didn't make any fuss. Dara on the other hand played sadly with her food barely eating anything. Their mom would steal worried glances at her as she listened with half an ear to Durami's animated retelling of her school day.

When Durami paused for a breather in between her enthusiastic monologue, Dara set aside her chopsticks, excused herself from the table. Her mom, who usually did not allow her children to leave the table without finishing their food, nodded at her to go knowing that her firstborn was going through a difficult time.

Durami went on with her chatter after telling Dara to have a good sleep. She was acting like she was the older sister. Dara smiled at her little sister and ruffled her hair good-naturedly. She pinched Sanghyun's cheeks. He squirmed at her hold and continued eating.

Dara was already big enough to take care of herself. She cleaned herself up in the bathroom, brushed her teeth and changed into her night clothes. As she tuck herself into bed, her mom knocked on her door and took a peek of her.

"I take it your school day wasn't as great as Durami's."Her mom smoothed her hair back and rearranged her blanket securely around her shoulders. Dara sighed. "I don't know how to make friends, eomma."

"Don't say that Dara. You're just starting school. The week's only halfway through. Don't compare yourself with your sister. You're both different. Don't force yourself to match her pace. Give yourself time. Just be yourself. You'll find friends who will like you just like Bom and Chaerin did." Her mom softly patted her cheek. "Remember how it took you a month in school before you girls became friends?"

Dara sighed and snuggled into her pillow, murmuring quietly, "I miss Bom and Chae."

"I know. I'm sorry that you had to leave them." Her eomma smoothed her back comfortably. Dara shuddered and snuggled deeper into her pillow. A soft shudder accompanied by sniffles told her eomma that she was crying. "I know among the three of you siblings you're the one who is hurting the most because of our leaving and yet you never showed your younger siblings that you were against our move. Thank you, Dara, for being a strong sister for your siblings."

Her sniffles continued. Her mom continued her soothing backrub until her silent crying stopped and her breathing evened.</p>

Once again she woke up on the bench. This time, however, her head was on the know-it-all boy's lap who was busy munching nuts. She sat up immediately as soon as she realized that she was not lying on her pillow, causing the contents of the pack of nuts that he had carefully balanced on the crook of her neck to scatter all over the ground.

"Aish! Look what you just did." The boy scowled at her.

She just rolled her eyes up at him. She knew he called himself Jiyong but she called him 'the boy' in her head. She couldn't quite accept yet that she had an imaginary friend. She was already eight. Bom and Chae would tease her when they find out she had one at her age. Imaginary friends are for loser kids who have no friends in real lifr. If she acknowledges his name, it only means she's acknowledging his existence more. It was too much for her eight year old brain to take yet here he is appearing in her dream night after night.

The boy took another pack of nuts from his pocket and started eating again.

Dara sat on the other end of the bench, closed her eyes and furrowed her brows as if she was concentrating on something.

"It's not working." She finally said after quite some time.

"What isn't?" the boy asked.

"You told me I could think of anything here and they would show up. I tried really hard but nothing happened." She gave an accusing glare at the boy.

The boy chuckled at her. "What were you trying to think of?"

"My friends. I wanted to see them but every time I open my eyes I only see you." She pouted at the boy.

"Well you can try every night but what you wish for is not going to happen." The boy told her in a matter of fact manner.

"Oh, so you lied to me." She snottily told him off. He raised an eyebrow at her. She scowled more at him, hating his guts even more for showing her how easy it was for him to lift one eyebrow, a feat that she is still unable to do even after practicing with Bom and Chae in front of a mirror for months.

"No. I didn't lie. I told you, you can think of things here and they will appear." The boy calmly answered. "Things not people."

"Oh. Why not people? This place is worthless, then." She kicked furiously at the dirt.

"But you're still here every night." He countered at her.

She sighed. "I don't have anyone to talk to."

He shrugged. "Want to talk about your day at school?"

"No." She hung her head low, her unbound hair covered her face.

"You look like Sadako when you're like that."

That earned him a Sadako-worthy glare. He chuckled at her still pretty face.

"If all else fails in your life you should audition as an actress. You'd be a natural for horror movies." He laughed shamelessly at her.

She felt a smooth round peanut under her palm. She automatically launched it on the annoying boy's head. It only earned more laughter when she missed by a yard.

"Aim for the tree next time so you'll hit me." He laughed even more but his laughter turned to yelps of pain when he felt a sharp tug on his scalp. Dara's fingers had a mind of their own and had reached out for the boy's hair and gave it a sharp tug. The boy grabbed her hand to stop her.

A slight tingle ran through them as their hands connected and they both took off their hands from each other. Dara looked away, confused at the variety of feelings the boy aroused in her. She never fought physically with anyone in her short life but the boy just triggered her emotions so effortlessly.

The boy frowned and looked weirdly at her, "Did you feel that?" She didn't answer.

The boy poked her on her pajama clad arm. "Hey, I'm talking to you."

She gave him an irritated glare. "What?"

"I asked you did you feel it?" The boy asked again.

"What?" She asked with false innocence, deliberately refusing to acknowledge that she felt something strange when their hands touched. It was weird. Not bad weird just confusingly weird.

The boy stared at his hand and then back at her. Shook his head in confusion then shrugged it off. He then slouched back at the bench, rested his head on the bench's backrest and stared up at the sky, whistling a happy tune that suddenly popped up in his head.

After a while he poked the girl who was starting to nod off from his surprisingly soothing whistling. "Hey, ahjumma." He decided to call her ahjumma because she was so grumpy. "Ahjumma!"

She sleepily glared at him. "Ahjumma, you coming back here tomorrow?"

"Because you're irritating. I'm not going back." She sleepily answered and her head started to sway sideways. So the boy gently guided her head down to his shoulder and she, despite her verbal declaration of irritation, did not struggle in protest.

The boy smiled at her sleeping figure, watching even when her outline started to blur and even until she disappeared entirely. The boy continued to smile after she was gone knowing full well that tomorrow, as it has become a pattern for the past week, she would still be here when he comes.