That's What Friends Are For

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Author's Note: 

I'll post bits and pieces of Hyeyeon's memories of the past as the story progresses. If it helps you with your imagination, both Hyungsik and Hyeyeon are eight years old here (year 1998) 😊

April 1998

From where I stood, the sky looked dark and the clouds seemed gloomy.

Mother's words from before immediately rang in my ears. "Hyeyeon ah, don't play outside today. You can watch the TV after you finish your homework. Just stay home. Do you hear me?"

Her words entered through my left ear and departed through my right.

If it was Friday, then I'd stay inside the house for sure. I would never miss an episode of The Powerpuff Girls.

But there was nothing for me to watch on a Tuesday afternoon. Staying inside the house was hot and stuffy too.

And the best excuse of all: Hyungsik wanted to play outside too. Five minutes into my Maths homework, I heard a whisper from the window of my room, located at the east side of our single-storey house.

"What are you doing there, nerd?" He kept his voice as low as possible.

"Your favourite subject," I emphasized the word 'favourite', because to Hyungsik, Maths was no different than a horrifying monster and alien.

"How lame," he rolled his eyes.

"And what kind of fun are you having over there, dork?" I asked, feeling a little insulted.

He leaned closer towards the window, "I'm on a bicycle. My dad just gave it to me yesterday. Don't you want to ride it too?"

I blame it on Hyungsik. And his silly new bicycle. Those were the two main reasons why I sneaked out of my house (while mother was napping) and ended up here, about a hundred meters from home, staring up at the dark skies.

"Don't you think we should go home now, Sikkie, before it rains?" The scaredy-cat in me asked out loud.

"Why? Are you scared of falling off the bike?" He teased with a chuckle, "Don't you worry. Just look straight and pedal, I won't let go of the bike. I promise!"

To be honest, I wasn't scared of falling off the bike. I was anxious to pick up the skill of cycling as soon as possible. The sight of my older sister, Hyewon, cycling around the neighbourhood made me jealous. I was determined not to lose to her.

I just wanted to make sure I got home dry, so that mother would never know that I went outside to play.

"Fi... Fine," I responded gingerly.

I held tightly to the handle, and step forward on the bicycle pedal. I felt a slow push from behind me as Hyungsik gently encouraged me. It was difficult to keep my balance, with the gear swerving left and then swerving right. I called out, "You better not let go, Sikkie!"

There was no reply.

I called out his name again, "PARK HYUNGSIK----!!"

Somehow, I felt the need to turn my head and give him a good glare. When I did, I found him standing at the starting point with a wave on one hand and a "thumbs up" on the other. I panicked and started to sweat, realizing he was not holding on to the bicycle. I cried out in horror, "What do I do?? How do I stop this?? Sikkie, helppppppp!!"

The road before me was winding and going downhill. The howling wind came at the perfect timing too. I felt like my heart was gonna pop.

From the corner of my eyes, I could see Hyungsik running. He was calling out my name. But he wasn't fast running enough to catch up.

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