NOIR

I've known him all my life. We went to the same preschool, primary, and secondary school together. We'd play in the park on warm summer afternoons, and he'd walk me home, holding onto my little hand, swearing he'd protect me from the dangers of our little neighborhood.

I knew him as Jung Daehyun, my loud best friend. That one best friend who always stole my food, but when he'd see my bottom lip quiver, quickly gave it back to me, or even went out of his way to buy me an ice cream cone. The one I went to when my parents fought, when my two brothers (I'm a triplet, the youngest too) picked on me, when school life was hard and all I wanted to do was runaway. He'd take my hand and look at me with a toothy smile, "I promise everything is going to be okay. How about a walk around town, and I'll get you an ice cream cone, yeah?" I knew him. And I loved him.

I still loved him, but as time went on, I left home to study, he got involved in his father's business, and we talked less and less. When I finally came home, I realized so much had changed. Daehyun had changed.