Dlbn: Hello and happy new year everyone!
Nbld: No Review corner, but we will leave you with some good news instead.
Dlbn: I'm engaged!
Disclaimer: I own certain names but no characters. They're all property of Koogi and Killing Stalking. I make NO money off this.
Dedication: To my fiancé. Thank you for making last night memorable and magical. I love you. And thank you to my sister and brother in law and my fiancé's parents for celebrating with us.
000
When Bum stopped being a stool pigeon for the other kids, the teasing started to flare up more and more. He hated when they called him names and picked on how weak he was for getting upset. He hated how uncle complained when the principal called to say he was worried about Bum. He hated everything about school and the school year, except for the last day. The day the torment would end for the year and the day before Sangwoo would come home. Home. Bum wasn't certain when he started considering his best friend's house his home, but it had to be somewhere between second and third grades. Auntie always had him over for dinner when Uncle was gone for a few days and sent him home with leftovers for Granny. Sangwoo's Uncle talked to him once and a while, but he didn't interact with the other man much. Sangwoo didn't either. Sangwoo said it was because he looked too much like his father for his uncle to handle, and that he understood because he hated his face, too. A blushing Bum had admitted he liked Sangwoo's face, which made the other a bit happier with himself. It became a ritual almost for Sangwoo and Bum to spend the entire last day of summer together, from the crack of dawn until the end of the party. Bum would try not to cry when his only friend left with his parents, and Sangwoo would try to pretend he didn't know the other was going to cry in the first place. They used flashlights to alert each other at night if they wanted to talk. When uncle was complaining about noise, they'd hold up pieces of paper with short messages on them to show each other and communicate that way. They'd implemented a can and wire communication system until Bum's uncle saw it and ripped it down for being unsightly. Sangwoo would rush to Bum's doorstep to ring the bell the moment he got out of the car when he was dropped off, but after second grade, Bum was always waiting before he could press the button. He'd launch himself at Sangwoo for a hug, and they'd say goodbye to his parents together, then rush off to play. At the end of the summer party, they'd give each other last words to get through the school year with and hold a toast of some kind to next summer.
The summer after third grade, they sat on the swing set Sangwoo's uncle had built them the year before in the backyard, watching the adults talk and eat their food around the fire and grill.
"Sangwoo…?" Bum wondered, laying back on his swing.
"What?" Sangwoo asked.
"Can I ask you something?"
"You just did."
Bum giggled. "No, silly. Something else."
"What?"
Bum spun in a circle, twisting the chains before he let himself spin out. "Do you...do you think we'll always be friends…?" He asked.
"Huh?" Sangwoo wondered. "Why are you asking me this?"
"Just...the last day at school, Hyuel and Korain got into this huge fight over a girl and they're not friends anymore. But they've been friends since preschool. I never see them apart at school...but Hyuel said I never want to see you again and Korain said that would make my life the best. So, they're not friends. But...that's never going to happen to us...right…?"
Sometime during his story, Bum had stopped spinning and was now digging a toe into the dirt under them nervously.
"That's a...what a…" Sangwoo huffed. "Over a girl? Gross."
"Right…?" Bum laughed. "But...that doesn't…"
"We'll always be friends, Bumi."
Bum blushed at the semi-familiar nickname. Sangwoo had started calling him that two summers ago, but it still made him feel weird to be called that. To be called by that name that only Sangwoo called him.
"Forever…?"
"And ever."
"P...Pinky...swear…?" Bum opened one eye as he held a pinky to Sangwoo.
"God, you're needy." Sangwoo joked, looping their pinkies. "Pinky swear, alright? We'll be friends forever and ever. Happy now?"
Bum giggled. "Yes…"
000
The following summer, Bum didn't hear a car pull up to the neighbors' house at the usual time. He figured traffic may have been a factor, so he sat near the door and waited for Sangwoo to show up. And waited and waited. He checked the clock and frowned when he realized he'd been waiting two hours.
"I don't think he's coming this year." Granny informed, appearing in the foyer and wiping a dish with a cloth. "You're wasting your time."
"He always comes during the summer. The same day, the same time." Bum complained. "He'll be here…"
"And until he is, you're going to just sit there like a faithful dog?" Granny groaned in frustration. "Fine, be that way. But don't come crying to me when your uncle comes in and beats you for blocking the door like an idiot."
Bum glared at his grandmother's retreating back. He knew that she knew about the abuse but wasn't going to say anything because his uncle was taking care of her. He sighed and looked out the window, hoping that Sangwoo had come but he just hadn't heard the car. He didn't give up until an hour before his uncle was supposed to be home.