Distant Sky

13

'Getting to Know Each Other'

Joohyun and Taehyung started spending more and more time together as the week went by. Joohyun started bringing lunch for Taehyung daily and putting it in his locker every morning. They would meet everyday after school in the unused club room, which had now become their usual hangout and just chat till it was time for Joohyun to catch the bus. Sometimes Taehyung would join her if Bogum was busy. As Taehyung would start taking the bus more often, she sometimes wondered if it really was because Bogum was unavailable or he just wanted to spend more time with her.

Joohyun totally understands the feeling of wanting to spend more time together. They were just beginning to get to know each other and even though they were together a lot lately, it still didn't feel like enough. Their conversations, for the most part stayed on the casual and light hearted side, but they were slowly opening up about themselves.

Like that one time, when Joohyun shared a little about her life before in Daegu and how she had always found it hard to make friends. About the time, when a girl she had thought was her friend, betrayed her trust and turned against her, using the things she had told her in confidence to hurt her. About how that experience affected her, making it difficult for her to trust anyone completely.

In response, Taehyung had told her how he was always surrounded by people when he was younger. That he was outgoing and had easily made friends wherever he went. Also, that he had a big circle of both casual and close friends back in middle school. At that, Joohyun had told him how she envied him and that she wished she were more like him.

But Taehyung adviced her that having a lot of friends isn't always better. He told her, how he realised that most of the people around him were only with him because they wanted something from him and didn't really care about him. That he had cut contact with most of them when he realised they weren't worthy of his time or friendship, only keeping the ones that he could trust.

Then there was the day, when Taehyung had told her with a straight face and clipped voice, that his parents were divorced and that he lived here with his father. He had said it in a very casual and unaffected way, but Joohyun could tell from his body language that this was a sore topic for him and didn't push him further. That day he was silent during the entire bus ride, only giving her a small stiff smile before getting off.

Joohyun also started having lunch with Taehyung more often, since both Wendy and Seulgi had become more busy. Seulgi started spending more time in the dance club, practising, even eating lunch in the club room with members most days. Joohyun barely even saw Wendy these days. Ever since Bogum was elected as the student council president and new student council was formed, Wendy had officially taken on the role of council member and was now drowning in work. Since the student council met during the lunch break everyday, Wendy started having lunch in the council room with Bogum and other council members.

It was now Friday, the last day of the week already. Joohyun was having lunch with Taehyung today. She was excitedly telling Taehyung about her first outing in Seoul with her friends. "....and then we took a stroll around Yeonnam-dong. There were so many charming little bookshops and shops selling little antiques... I seriously wanted to explore more but we didn't have time..." She sighs recalling the trip. "I don't know when I'll get to go out again... considering how busy my friends are these days."

"I'm your friend too," Taehyung says. "Huh?" she says. "I can take you out if you want," he says. "Since I'm your friend now too... and I'm completely free this weekend," he grins at her. "Really!?" she says, eyes shining with excitement. He nods. "I used to go out a lot with my friends back in middle school. I haven't done that in a while now...." he turns to her, "It'll be fun... We can even go back to Yeonnam-dong if you want to explore more." "Yes!" she claps her hands, "Let's do it." "It's a deal," Taehyung says high-fiving her.

---

That night, Taehyung was in his room, lying on his bed. He was thinking about his new found friendship with Joohyun. It was crazy how they had gone from being total strangers to friends, hanging out everyday, every chance they get, just in a span of two weeks. It was hard to believe, that the girl who ran away after seeing him on the first day of school, was now one of his only friends here besides Bogum.

It alarmed Taehyung how much he had started to look forward to their time together and how much he missed her presence when they weren't together. When he would come home everyday after spending time with Joohyun, his home life seemed even more dull and depressing in contrast. His father was mostly out of town for work, but even when he was home they barely ever interacted with each other. Taehyung would go straight to his room, only coming out to get dinner and his father kept to himself too, rarely ever trying to start a conversation.

After his parents' divorce and after he started distancing himself from his friends, Taehyung decided to not be dependent on anyone. But after meeting Joohyun, that plan was going downhill, fast. He had already started opening up to her and depending on the distraction she brings him from his otherwise gloomy life. She was basically taking care of him now, bringing him homemade lunch everyday. He was getting used to it to the point that he didn't know if he could go back to eating whatever he did before.

Taehyung then reminisces about the happier times in his life, when he was still a kid, living in Daegu with his grandmother. Even though he didn't have many memories of that time, he knew he was truly happy back then. His parents moved to Seoul due to his father's job, when Taehyung was still in elementary school. He had lived with his grandmother till the beginning of middle school, when he moved to Seoul to live with his parents.

Even though he was sad to leave his grandma and his life in Daegu behind, he was actually happy with his parents in Seoul at the beginning. But soon enough, his parents would start having a lot of disagreements and arguments, which would later turns in fights. His mother would start to spend more and more time away, living with her relatives in Daegu. Then finally moving out completely after the divorce.

Around this time, Taehyung who was in final year of middle school, would start to distance himself from everyone, including his close friends. He was no longer the happy and outgoing person he was before and his friends were starting to worry about him. Not having the energy or will to act like his past self in front of his friends anymore, he had made a last minute decision to go to Hanseung Academy, instead of the school his circle of close friends had decided on attending together.

He cut all contact with them, rarely answering their calls or messages. It was almost a year now since he had gone out with any of his friends.

He then thinks about his um...outing?... with Joohyun tomorrow, thinking how it would his first one in a long time. He was still amazed at how quickly he had jumped at the opportunity when she had metioned that she didn't have anyone to go out with. The thought of getting to spend more time with her, overriding all his reservations.

He then turns to his side and closes his eyes, with a rare smile on his face, actually looking forward to the weekend for once.