Kim Do-Young and the Philosopher's Stone

- CHAPTER TWO -

The Vanishing Glass

NEARLY ten years had passed since the Jungs had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Jungs' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Jung had seen that fateful news report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets -- but Jung Hoseok was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too.

Yet Kim Doyoung was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Jihyo was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day.

"Up! Get up! Now!"

Doyoung woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again.

"Up!" she screeched. Doyoung heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.

His aunt was back outside the door.

"Are you up yet?" she demanded.

"Nearly," said Doyoung.

"Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Hoseokie's birthday. "

Doyoung groaned.

"What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door.

"Nothing, nothing. . . "

Hoseok's birthday -- how could he have forgotten? Doyoung got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on. Doyoung was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept.

When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Hoseok's birthday presents. It looked as though Hoseok had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike. Exactly why Hoseok wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Doyoung, as Hoseok was very fat and hated exercise -- unless of course it involved punching somebody. Hoseok's favorite punching bag was Doyoung, but he couldn't often catch him. Doyoung didn't look it, but he was very fast.

Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Doyoung had always been small and skinny for his age. He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Hoseok's, and Hoseok was about four times bigger than he was. Doyoung had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright brown eyes. He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Hoseok had punched him on the nose. The only thing Doyoung liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning. He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Jihyo was how he had gotten it.