lunch, but better.

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I'm still the same Hobi you grew up with.

SEPTEMBER, 2002

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SEPTEMBER, 2002.

    JAMIE WAS UPSET.

    The second semester of the school year had just begun. Second grade had been tough on her so far, and today, her friend hadn't come to school. She had another friend, but she, for some reason, was still on vacation with her family. The only hope she'd had that she wouldn't end up alone the entire day hadn't shown up yet, so Jamie was sitting outside in silence.

Jamie hated silence. She could hear gusts of wind sway every tree, all the other children yelling on the grass, her heart beating in her ears. It made her restless. But she'd learned to tolerate silence. After all, that's all it ever was once she got home.

The silence was not making her upset. It was her loneliness.

At home, she was not lonely. Her mother often stayed home, and when she wasn't cooped up in her bedroom writing, she was almost always with Jamie. Her father was always around when he got home from work. And if neither of her parents were around, her grandparents were just across the street. And if none of her family was around, she always had Hoseok. Even if her family was around, she still always had Hoseok.

She had Hoseok at home. But at school, he was not hers to keep. He was grade above hers, after all. She had to share. And worse, Hoseok was well-liked at school. Jamie's personal friend group changed monthly, with girls staying when Jamie was exciting and leaving when she was too much to handle.

But no matter what, Hoseok always found his way to Jamie at school. A lot of Hoseok's friends were Jamie's, because he'd introduced them when Jamie first moved to Gwangju. They didn't go to school together in the morning, but they always accompanied each other on the way home.

But Hoseok had not said 'Hello' at lunch today or yesterday. Nor has he been anywhere in sight in the last twenty minutes. Which would have been fine — she didn't mind the walk home — if she hadn't known Hoseok was at school. She knew Hoseok would be here today because she saw him wearing his uniform just before she left for school in the morning. She knew he hadn't left early because she saw him just before the day ended. She knew he was still here because his mother's car was parked outside the school's gates, and his mother had been waving her over.

"Jamie, come here!" his mother had said.

And Jamie had simply said in response, "I'm waiting for Hobi!"

So if he hadn't left, where was he? Why hadn't he told her anything? Why hasn't Hoseok been there at all the last few days? Why was he making her wait without any explanation?

It was her suspicions growing. Her trust fading. It was her humiliation from sitting on the grass for twenty minutes. It was the lingering feeling that Hoseok didn't want to be around her at school anymore.

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⏰ Last updated: Apr 06, 2023 ⏰

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