“Sometimes the hardest step isn’t moving forward.
It’s believing the next place might accept you.”
The evening sun painted long shadows across the streets.
Jeheon was sitting outside the convenience store again.
This time…
There was no mathematics book.
Only a small paper cup of instant noodles.
Dong walked over carrying a folder.
“You look busy.”
Jeheon looked down at the noodles.
“I’m having dinner.”
Dong smiled.
“I can see that.”
He sat beside him.
For a while…
Neither of them spoke.
The city wasn’t quiet.
But somehow…
The silence between them always was.
Dong looked at the folder in his hands.
“I went somewhere today.”
Jeheon looked up.
“Where?”
“A school.”
Jeheon frowned.
“…Why?”
Dong took a slow breath.
“Tell me honestly.”
“Do you like your school?”
Jeheon didn’t answer immediately.
He looked across the street where children in different uniforms laughed together.
“…It’s okay.”
Dong smiled softly.
“That wasn’t my question.”
Jeheon lowered his eyes.
“…No.”
Another silence.
Not an awkward one.
An honest one.
Dong nodded.
“I thought so.”
He opened the folder.
“I spoke with the principal of Hanyoung Middle School today.”
Jeheon blinked.
“The one across the river?”
Dong nodded.
“They accepted your transfer.”
Jeheon stared at him.
“…Mine?”
“You’ll start next Monday.”
For several seconds…
Jeheon didn’t say a word.
Dong waited.
“Aren’t you happy?”
Jeheon quietly scratched the back of his neck.
“I don’t know.”
Dong smiled.
“Why not?”
“What if…”
Jeheon hesitated.
“…they don’t like me?”
Dong looked at him for a long moment.
Then he laughed.
Not loudly.
Just enough to make Jeheon look confused.
“Do you know what I noticed the first day we met?”
Jeheon shook his head.
“You stopped to return a stranger’s wallet.”
“You noticed a broken button on a vending machine.”
“You thanked me for banana milk.”
Dong smiled.
“Good people spend too much time worrying whether other people will like them.”
Jeheon looked away.
“…You really think I’m a good person?”
Dong answered without hesitation.
“I wouldn’t be sitting here if I didn’t.”
The words stayed with Jeheon.
No teacher had ever believed in him that way.
No report card had ever said anything like that.
For the first time…
The new school didn’t feel frightening.
It felt…
Possible.
Dong stood and dusted off his trousers.
“You’ll need a new uniform.”
Jeheon smiled nervously.
“…Do I have to wear the tie?”
“You definitely have to wear the tie.”
“I was afraid you’d say that.”
Dong laughed.
“I’ll meet you here on Monday morning.”
Jeheon nodded.
“…Okay.”
As Dong walked away…
Jeheon looked up at the evening sky.
“A new school…”
He whispered it as if trying to convince himself
It was real
Across the city…
The lights of Hanyoung Middle School slowly disappeared into the sunset.
Behind those gates…
A boy with his nose buried in a book.
A girl who was always late.
A best friend who never stopped talking.
Another who never stopped arguing.
Lives already moving forward…
Completely unaware…
That on Monday morning…
Someone new would quietly become part of their story.