Let's Fly

I remember my days in Busan very clearly, even though it's been a few years since I moved to America. When I was in Busan, it almost seemed like I had no worries. Life was always fun and happy for me. At least until towards the end of my time there.

From elementary school to middle school, I didn't have any friends. I spent every day alone, and never went over to a friend's house. I don't pity myself or anything. It really helped me focus on my studies and get good grades. I decided that paving a path for my future was a smarter idea than spending all day doing nothing. I bet I could've made friends if I tried.

I remember a turning point in my life that happened the winter before highschool. I was walking around my neighborhood after my mom had left the house for work, and was overwhelmed with a feeling of loneliness. I had never experienced that feeling before, so it came as a shock to me. I started feeling self conscious about being alone and embarrassed about the fact that I had no friends. I would watch groups of kids pass by, laughing and smiling and feel like nothing. I was at a particularly difficult time in my life because my mom and dad weren't really doing well financially, and I didn't have anyone to talk to.

Once highschool started, I lacked self confidence and was very shy. Everyone else had already formed their little groups when I got there, which was just typical. All except for one chubby boy sitting at the back of the classroom. I thought that I might as well give it a shot, and approached him. My nerves almost gave in last second, but he looked so lonely and pitiful that I almost needed to talk to him.

"Hey, I'm Park Soyul. Who are you?" I said.

I remember regretting saying that the moment after I said it. Why would I ask him that so bluntly? How rude of me. I sounded like a little kid.

"Hi," the boy replied with a smile, "I'm Lee Jung Hwan."

He spoke with a surprising amount of confidence. At least he seemed a lot more confident than me at the time.

After that awkward meeting, we somehow became closer after discovering we had a lot in common. For example, we liked to listen to the same type of music. We also liked singing. Jung Hwan would often being his guitar to school, and we would sing together after class. He had one of the loveliest voices I had ever heard. I always looked forward to hearing him sing.

Before I knew it, we were best friends. I remember whenever someone would do something bad to me, he would always be there to help. He listened to all of my concerns. Now that I think about it, he was always thinking about others, and not himself. We would spend a whole bunch of time together, and frequently visit each other's houses. Our relationship was never romantic like we were dating. It was a real friendship that couldn't be broken.

All of a sudden, at the end of eleventh grade, he told me he would stop coming to school for personal reasons. That was it. There was nothing else to it. He just vanished completely, and so did I.

Notes