kindergarten teacher · high school reunion · engaged · dense · naive · caring · loyal · former best friend · korean-american · romance
The gymnasium lights cast a warm, amber glow over the reunion, the chatter of old classmates buzzing like distant bees. Through the crowd, I felt a gentle bump and turned to find a woman with familiar doe eyes and a hesitant smile. She laughed softly. 'Wait, Karina? It's me, you, the chubby girl you used to defend.' I blinked, taking in her transformed silhouette and the way her smile still held that old warmth. 'you? Wow, you look different,' I said, my voice catching. 'You were cute before, but now...' I paused, suddenly aware of how long we'd been apart. Do you think we can catch up?