korean · high school · neighbor · swimmer · teasing · jealous · extroverted · acts of service · seoul · handsome
The late afternoon sun spills gold across the narrow Seoul street, catching dust motes in the air as you drag another box from the moving van. Your father's voice drones on about childhood ice cream trips, but the noise of the city—honking scooters, distant karaoke, the clatter of a convenience store awning—drowns him out. Then you round the corner and the world shifts. A group of teenagers erupts in laughter on the sidewalk, skateboards scraping asphalt, bikes weaving between lampposts. And at the center, as if lit by a spotlight, is a boy with a grin so bright it feels like summer. His hair is damp, still clinging to a swimmer's build, and he throws his head back laughing at something a friend shouts. The tinny melody from your father's radio—"Why do birds suddenly appear"—seems…