A week passed by, without any disturbances from Jungha. Mickey had never felt such peace, now realizing the bliss of living an ordinary school life. He was now able to keep to himself and focus on his work. Though Mickey prioritized his studies, he did not shy away from interacting with his classmates. Unfortunately, ever since the incident with Hyung and Michelle, Mickey had built a stronger guard around him. Students would only know Mickey on the surface, and the chance to become close with him was unlikely.

            Mickey did not mind a life of solitude at school, being popular or adored by others was not in his interest. The most important thing to him was his family, and that, was his drive. His only desire was to be successful, to give back to his family. High-school friendships were like a candle wick with no wax. They were short lived and burned out if no substance were there to keep it ignited. Everyone would go on to live their own lives, after graduating, and that was how Mickey perceived it all.

            It was Friday, and Mickey was looking forward to the weekend. Their classes had turned in their projects, that week, which meant Mickey could relax for now. School was almost over, with only one period left. During the lecture, the class representative came into the room, to deliver a message to Mickey.

            Without disturbing the teacher, the class rep spoke to Mickey, courteously, “Mickey, Miss Guan would like to see you in her office right now.”

            Mickey furrowed his brows in confusion, “What for?”

            “I don’t know. She just asked for you.” He answered.

            The class rep then handed Mickey a slip of paper, excusing him from the lecture. Mickey got up and politely left the room. While walking to Miss Guan’s office, Mickey pondered to why he was summoned by his literature teacher. It was out of the ordinary and very suspicious. He could only assume the worst.

            Once he arrived at her office door, it was slightly opened. Mickey knocked three times, becoming more unease with each tap.

            “Come in.” A voice from the other side spoke out.

            Mickey opened the door and entered Miss Guan’s office. She was a middle-aged woman who wore red glasses. She had somewhat curly hair reaching to her shoulders. Miss Guan was sitting down in her office chair, still looking through papers. The atmosphere felt quite terrifying to Mickey. He did not know what to anticipate.

            Without glancing at the boy, Miss Guan spoke again, “There’s still another student we’re waiting on, before we can start.”

            Another student? Start what? Does she want me to do something for her? Mickey wondered.

            A knock can be heard from behind Mickey, slightly startling him.

            “Did you call for me Miss Guan?” The person asked.

            Mickey looked back to see who the student was. To his disbelief, it was Jungha. Mickey was unable to process the situation, none of this made sense to him. Why was Jungha here? Just when Mickey thought he was rid of Jungha, that boy always found a way back.

            “Do you two know why you are here today?” She interrogated.

            The two boys stood next to each other in complete silence, as if their teacher were asking a rhetorical question.

            She then held up two papers in each of her hands, “Did you two think you could fool me? Just because both of you are in different classrooms, doesn’t mean I wouldn’t notice. I do not tolerate any form of cheating or plagiarism in my class.”

            Mickey was in utter shock, “Miss Guan, please, I’ve never did any of the sort!”

            “Do not raise your voice at me, Mickey. There is no need to keep up this charade, I have the evidence right here,” Miss Guan placed the essays on the table, “Both of these essays are exactly the same, word for word. I asked some students, and they told me you two have been working on the paper together.”

            Suddenly, everything clicked in Mickey’s head, like a switch. Somehow, Jungha must have got a hold of his essay and copied it, he assumed. Even the characters written on Jungha’s paper were identical to Mickey’s, up to the last stroke. He quickly fired a stare full of resentment at Jungha. Jungha knew he was in big trouble, not just from Miss Guan, but also from Mickey. This did not faze him though, for it was all a misunderstanding on Jungha’s part.

            “Miss Guan, please hear me out.” Jungha tried to intervene, unfortunately talking back only escalated the situation.

            Miss Guan stubbornly retorted, “I don’t want to hear it! You two will stand outside by the courtyard as punishment, until the end of school. I also expect the both of you to redo the essay. Let this be a lesson, Mickey and Jungha. I am only doing this, so you two may understand that integrity is something you need to uphold. Not just as a student, but as the future adults of our society.”

            She then escorted the two boys to the courtyard, pointing out the spot where they would stay, “Stand right here and don’t move at all from your positions. If any of the school staffs catches one of you leaving your post before classes are over, suspension will be involved.”

            Miss Guan left, leaving Mickey alone with Jungha. They stood a mere foot apart, their arms straight by their sides. At this point, Mickey was so angry at Jungha, being forced to stand next to him was another punishment in itself. Unable to bare the sight of the boy who got him in trouble, Mickey faced away from him.

            “Hey! The teacher said we’re not supposed to move from our positions.” Jungha playfully informed.

            Mickey purposely ignored him. His gloomy expression unchanged since they arrived.  

            This time, Jungha grabbed Mickey’s right arm, trying to pull him back, “Didn’t you hear me? The teacher said…”

            Irritated, Mickey flung his right arm away from Jungha’s hand and yelled out, “Don’t touch me! I didn’t deserve this. It’s because of you I got in trouble!”

            Every word Mickey said shot like bullets. It was not Jungha’s intention to cause Mickey this much stress and anger.

            “Mickey… I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to copy your homework.” He explained, his voice was filled with guilt.”

            “Don’t make up such lame excuses for cheating.” Mickey coldly replied.

Jungha became adamant, “I’m not making excuses! I really admired your penmanship, so I practiced writing in your style, by rewriting your paper. I did write my own essay, but I turned in the one I copied from you, by mistake. I have proof, I can show you my real paper when we go back!”

Mickey let out a long sigh, he did not know what to believe anymore, “It’s fine… It’s already over with.”

Though Mickey was upset, he was not the type of person to hold grudges. He was willing to move on from the situation and accept the outcome. A frown surfaced on Jungha’s face, feeling even more guilty than before. He wanted to sprint all the way to his class and show Mickey the evidence, needing his forgiveness. Fifteen minutes of silence passed by, before Jungha would strike up another conversation.

“So, where did you used to live, Mickey? Before coming here.” He asked, pretending like nothing was wrong.

Mickey did not reply, his back still facing Jungha.

Jungha persisted, trying to brighten Mickey’s mood, “Did you ever live in this city before?”

Again, Mickey paid no attention to the boy.

An intriguing question soon entered Jungha’s mind. The corners of his lips curved, while lifting one brow, “Say, that bracelet of yours, it looked too girly for any guy to wear. Is it your girlfriend’s?”

Mickey did not want to answer, but Jungha’s statement bothered him, and he had to clarify, “It’s my mom’s bracelet.”

“Oh, I see...” Jungha felt a bit bad for bringing up Mickey’s parents, since he knew about the situation from Jiang.

But Jungha was still determined to know about Mickey’s love life, and eagerly questioned, “So, do you have a bracelet from your girlfriend too?”

Slightly annoyed, he responded, “No, I don’t even have a girlfriend.”

Right then, Jungha was glad Mickey was facing the other way, or Mickey would have seen his ridiculous grin.

School was finally over, and the two teenagers went back to their classes, to get their bags. Once Mickey got his stuff, he headed out the building. The schoolyard was nearly empty, with most of the students already gone. Mickey had texted Rain beforehand, that he would not be able to wait for her today. While leaving, Jungha was standing by the outside entrance. Mickey looked down and walked past him, pretending not to notice.

Jungha immediately swiped Mickey’s schoolbag, getting the boy’s attention, “Want to play basketball with me?”

At this point, Mickey was at his limits and grew weary of Jungha’s immature behavior. Mickey gravely spoke in a hopeless manner, “Jungha, I’m not in the mood to fight you right now. Why do you keep doing this to me, what did I ever do to you? If I did something to wrong you, I’m sorry. Just leave me alone, I’m begging you.”

After hearing the words “leave me alone”, it pierced like an icy arrow in Jungha’s heart. Jungha’s actions were like a kid, bulling the one he liked to mask his feelings. Ever since Jungha met Mickey, a feeling he could not understand manifested inside his very core. All he knew was that he longed to know more about Mickey. Every time Jungha approached the boy, he failed to act upon his true intentions, resulting in Mickey despising him.

Jungha finally opened up, the tone in his shaky voice was truly genuine, “Mickey, why are you always so cold to me? I’m trying my best. Don’t you know I’ve always wanted to be your friend? Even back then…”

Mickey was dumbfounded, staring blankly at Jungha.

Even back then? Mickey said to himself.

Disappointment was painted all over Jungha’s face, as he saw how clueless Mickey was.

Jungha shook his head, laughing at how foolish he was, “I shouldn’t expect you to remember. It was a long time ago, and we didn’t even talk. It makes sense for you to not know who I was.”

Now even more puzzled, Mickey sought to figure it out, “What do you mean?”

Jungha continued, “It was four years ago, and I had just finished the seventh grade. One day during summer, I went with my mom to the market. That’s where I saw you, at your little shop, selling vegetables. You were so confident at what you were doing, and I remembered the bright smile you had when talking to my mom. I was a shy kid back then and I hid behind her the whole time. I was too embarrassed, but amazed, that a kid my age was working so hard already. Ever since that day, I’ve always wanted to be like you, Mickey. I promised myself that if I ever met you in school, I would have tried to be your friend…”

As Jungha poured his heart out, he did not dare to keep his view on Mickey. Suddenly, Mickey’s eyes widened with astonishment. Jungha’s presence had completely changed. As if the boy in the cap Mickey met at the mall, had reappeared right in front of him. Every soft-spoken word Jungha said, flowed with sincerity into Mickey’s ears, melting away the fortress that confined his inner self.

“You don’t have to say anything… I promise I won’t bother you ever again.” Jungha said, trying to hold back his sadness.

Like Jungha insisted, Mickey did not say another word. Mickey slowly walked up to Jungha, who still could not look at Mickey in the eyes. Mickey took back his bag and walked away, the silence between them spoke louder than any word.

Before Mickey could take another step, he turned around, “Are we going to play basketball or what? Hurry up before I change my mind.”

Jungha’s once unhappy appearance immediately turned cheerful. Like a puppy, the smallest gestures could change his mood in an instant. He smiled widely with his teeth showing, running to catch up to Mickey. The two walked together into the distance, with the vast blue-sky shimmering above them.