SUMMARY: It's Tatsuya's dream to be a Kpop star. His friends would have called him crazy if he actually didn't have the qualifications to be one. Korean-American OC
NOTE: "Italicized" is Korean speech
Chapter 1: Neighbors
The Himuro family moved into the house next to theirs when Kelly was seven. Kelly didn't know much about them other than what she had seen for herself and had heard from Mr. Rodriguez. They were apparently a small family of Asians—Japanese, Mr. Rodriguez had told her—and that they had a son. The boy seemed small—smaller than her.
"I heard the parents talk to the movers," Sarah said at dinner. "They must be fresh off the boat 'cause their accents were crazy thick."
It wasn't like their parents were any different. Still, the Kang couple had twenty years to assimilate into the American culture despite never understanding the ever-evolving slang. "Did you go talk to them?" Dad inquired.
"No, I was just passing by."
"Mr. Rodriguez did," Kelly piped up. "He said that they were Japanese."
"Oh, really?"
"It looks like you and their kid could bond over Pokemon and Digimon," joked Sarah.
Kelly doubted that would happen. Why would she hang out with a boy younger than her?
After one week since the move, the Himuros appeared on their doorstep with a presented boxed cake.
Mom had an expression of surprise on her face when she saw their neighbors standing before her. Immediately, she ushered them inside. Kelly, who was peering over at the corner, quickly scrambled over to the living room and dove into the cushions of the couch.
After cooing over how adorable their son was, Mom called out, "Kelly! Come meet our new neighbors!"
She really didn't want to, but she knew the weight of embarrassing oneself in front of other people if choosing to go against her parents. She learned well after observing the blunders that Sarah had made. Reluctantly, Kelly slid off the couch and padded over to the doorway entrance.
"This is Kelly, my youngest daughter," Mom said, pulling Kelly to her side and petting her head.
"Oh, you have more than one child?" the woman, Mrs. Himuro, said.
Seeing the couple in person, Kelly could tell that they were fairly young-looking. Mrs. Himuro in particular, Kelly noted, was quite pretty. She wondered if Mom would look pretty too if she decided to grow out her hair and wear dresses. Her eyes then fell down to their son, who was hiding behind his mother's legs.
"Yes, two. My oldest, Sarah, is twelve. Kelly is seven."
"Same with Tatsuya," Mrs. Himuro chirped, smiling brightly. "They be good friends!"she exclaimed in jubilance.
"Your son is Tatsuya?"
"Yes. He is seven-years-old, like your daughter."
Kelly was shocked. That kid was seven? He looked five at best!
"Really? He's very cute! Very handsome boy," Mom enthused. "Kelly, you take Tatsuya to your room and play, okay?"
While the adults would go off to the kitchens and talk about grown-up things, Kelly mused sullenly. "Okay," she sighed. She marched away from Mom and into the hallway, looking over her shoulder to see Mr. Himuro gently pushing his son to follow her. Tatsuya kept his head down and shuffled forward. Kelly briefly considered rolling her eyes like how Sarah would.
When they reached her bedroom, Kelly closed the door and sat down on her bed. "So, you're Tatsuya, right?" Kelly said.
Tatsuya didn't say anything. His eyes remained fixated on the floor.
"Are you Tatsuya?" she repeated in a louder voice, unsure if he heard her.
The boy flinched. "H-hai," he breathed out shakily.
She frowned. "Hi?" she mumbled, puzzled. "Hello? Hi there?"
He gave no response.
If Sarah was here, she would know what to do. Better yet, if Mr. Rodriguez was here, he would unfailingly make the boy talk. Kelly huffed out exasperatedly. Since she wasn't getting much of a reaction from Tatsuya, she might as well make use of her time while being confined here in her room. She pulled out her green folder and pencil case from her backpack and plopped herself into the chair before her desk.
She looked over at Tatsuya, who was still standing there awkwardly. Suddenly, a brilliant idea came to mind.
"If you're not going to do anything, you should help me do my homework," she said. She took out one of her math worksheets and shoved it into his chest. "Here's a pencil too."
His eyes widened. "N-nani?"
"You can do math, right? It's really easy, but it's so boring to do."
He glanced down at the paper, and then his body began to shake. Without warning, he broke out into a loud wail.
Kelly, stunned, just sat there, staring at him with wide eyes.
A few seconds later, Mom entered the room with Tatsuya's parents following after. "What is going on?" Mom demanded.
"I don't know!" Kelly exclaimed, regaining her senses. "He just started crying!"
"What you mean you don't know? Did you say something bad to him?"
Kelly felt a prickle of offense hearing Mom assume as such, but was too taken aback by Tatsuya's behavior to convey it. "No, I just said that he could help me do my homework! Honestly!"
Mrs. Himuro swept Tatsuya up into her arms. "Anata no mondai wa nanidesu ka?"
Tatsuya began to blubber slurred indistinguishable words into her shoulder, pointing accusingly at Kelly. Kelly looked over to Mom for an explanation, but even she seemed to be as confused as her. The woman then promptly turned to Mr. Himuro, who coughed into his fist.
"He says that your daughter was forcing him to do labor," Mr. Himuro said, his expression not betraying any emotion.
"Kelly!" Mom cried out, aghast.
"I just said that he could help me do homework!" Kelly cried back. "I wasn't forcing him to do anything!"
Needless to say, Kelly and Tatsuya never got the chance to bond over anime.
